Nick Reiner Indicted on Murder Charges in Parents' Stabbing Deaths
A Los Angeles grand jury indicted Nick Reiner, 32, on two counts of murder with special circumstances in the killing of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
Nick Reiner, 32, was indicted on two counts of murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents, film director Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer and producer Michele Reiner, 70, at the family's Brentwood home in December, Los Angeles County officials said.
Reiner pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the charges, which include special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait. The indictment, returned last month, replaces the original murder case filed in 2025 and adds the lying-in-wait allegation.
Special circumstance allegations can increase potential penalties at the sentencing phase of a trial. Reiner also faces a special allegation that he personally used a knife, a dangerous and deadly weapon, according to the district attorney's office.
Reiner appeared in a 13th-floor courtroom at the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement, "This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing."
His appointed defense attorney, L.A. County Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene, declined to comment after the arraignment.
The indictment allows the case to move directly toward a jury trial, bypassing a public preliminary hearing that had been expected in the fall.
Reiner has been held without bail since his arrest on Dec. 15, a day after his parents' bodies were found in their bedroom. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 15.
If convicted, Reiner faces death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors said a decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made later.
Rob Reiner directed films including "When Harry Met Sally...," "A Few Good Men" and "This Is Spinal Tap." The couple's deaths stunned Hollywood and prompted tributes from entertainment and political figures. The family's struggles with Nick's drug addiction had been well-documented; in September, they appeared together at the Los Angeles premiere of "Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues."
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