Prosecutors Won't Seek Death Penalty for Nick Reiner in Killing of Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner
LOS ANGELES, Sept 15 (Reuters) — Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday they will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, the 33-year-old son accused of fatally stabbing his parents, Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer-producer Michele Singer Reiner, at their Brentwood home in December.
The decision, announced by District Attorney Nathan Hochman, means Nick Reiner faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. A trial is not expected to begin before next year, Hochman said.
Hochman said his office considered the wishes of the couple’s two surviving children, Jake Reiner, 35, and Romy Reiner, 28, along with mitigating factors he did not detail. “We did speak with Nick Reiner’s siblings; they made their views very clear,” Hochman told reporters outside a downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
In a statement, he added: “This decision reflects our careful judgment about the most appropriate path to take in this case and does not diminish the severity of these crimes.”
The announcement came shortly before Nick Reiner appeared in court, where prosecutors formally told the presiding judge they would not seek capital punishment. The defendant, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, sat beside his lawyer in brown jail clothing, shackled to his seat, and answered “yes” softly to several procedural questions from Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta.
Origins of the case
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Reiner, 70, were found stabbed to death on Dec. 14 in their mansion in Brentwood, an upscale West Los Angeles neighborhood. The killings quickly became one of the most shocking celebrity homicide cases in the city’s history.
Nick Reiner, who has acknowledged a years-long struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues, was arrested later that day and charged in the killings. He was widely reported to have quarreled with his parents while the three attended a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien the night before the couple was slain.
He was formally indicted by a grand jury earlier this month, allowing prosecutors to take the case to trial without a preliminary hearing to establish probable cause.
Hochman said Nick Reiner’s siblings have urged the court to keep grand jury transcripts sealed, arguing that public disclosure of details about their parents’ killings would “cause them additional trauma.” The judge said he would decide whether to unseal the transcripts after further proceedings on any motion by news media to make the records public. The next hearing, including pleadings on the transcripts, is set for Oct. 7.
A Hollywood legacy and a final Emmy
Rob Reiner was a prominent Democratic Party activist and donor who gained fame as a co-star in the 1970s hit television comedy All in the Family. He later directed popular films including When Harry Met Sally, This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride.
Hollywood paid tribute to the couple at Monday night’s Emmy Awards. Actor Jamie Lee Curtis called Rob Reiner “generous and kind and funny as hell” and noted that he won a posthumous Emmy a week earlier for his guest comedic appearance as a restaurant consultant on The Bear.
The win set a new Emmy record for the longest gap between acting awards. Rob Reiner’s last Emmy came 48 years earlier for his All in the Family role as Mike “Meathead” Stivic, the son-in-law and liberal foil to Carroll O’Connor’s working-class bigot Archie Bunker. The previous record holder was his father, television comedy pioneer Carl Reiner, who won Emmys 37 years apart.
Although capital punishment remains on the books in California, the state has not executed anyone since 2006, and Governor Gavin Newsom imposed an indefinite moratorium on executions in 2019. That backdrop had made the question of whether prosecutors would seek death in such a high-profile case closely watched.
Reporting by Steve Gorman and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; additional reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; editing by Bill Berkrot.