By Steve Gorman and Jane Ross
LOS ANGELES, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Nick Reiner, the troubled son of slain Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder charges stemming from the fatal stabbing of his parents in their home, one of the most shocking celebrity homicide cases in Los Angeles history.
The 32-year-old was arraigned during a brief proceeding that had been twice rescheduled, most recently last month, when his original attorney abruptly quit without explanation and was replaced by a public defender.
Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deadly knife attack on actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer-producer Michele Reiner, 70. Their bodies were found on December 14 inside their West Los Angeles mansion.
Seated behind a glass partition dressed in brown jail garb, his head shaved and beard closely cropped, Reiner appeared alert but spoke little during the proceeding except to answer “yes” when asked if he agreed to waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Theresa McGonigle also set the preliminary hearing, where prosecutors present evidence intended to show probable cause for proceeding to trial. It was set to take place within 30 days of April 29.
Nick Reiner, who has acknowledged a years-long struggle with substance abuse, was also ordered to remain jailed without bond, as he has been since his arrest in the hours after his parents were slain.
The killings stirred an outpouring of grief among Hollywood luminaries for Rob Reiner, who first gained fame by co-starring in the 1970s hit television comedy “All in the Family” and later directed such beloved films as “When Harry Met Sally,” “This is Spinal Tap” and “The Princess Bride.”
VICTIMS MINGLED CELEBRITY WITH POLITICS
Reiner went on to become a prominent Democratic Party activist and donor. He and his wife, married for nearly 37 years, had planned to attend an evening gathering with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on the day of the murders.
Nick Reiner was widely reported to have quarreled with his parents while the three were attending a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien the night before the couple were slain.
The circumstances and celebrity surrounding the Reiner case stirred memories of the 1994 stabbing deaths of former football star O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges in a sensational case hyped in the media as the “trial of the century,” but a civil court jury later found him responsible in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the victims’ families.
If Nick Reiner is convicted as charged, he would face life in prison without the possibility of parole, or prosecutors could decide to seek the death penalty. Such a determination has yet to be made, District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters after Monday’s hearing.
Authorities have disclosed few details about the crime and offered no explanation for what may have precipitated the killings. Autopsies found both victims died of “multiple sharp force injuries.”
High-profile defense lawyer Alan Jackson, initially retained to represent Nick Reiner, suddenly withdrew from the case on January 7, forcing the second of two arraignment postponements in three weeks. A lawyer from the public defender’s office, Kimberly Greene, was assigned to take over for Jackson on short notice. She was in court with Reiner on Monday.
Neither of Nick Reiner’s siblings – older brother Jake Reiner, 34, or younger sister Romy, 28, who reportedly was the first to find her father’s body – has been present in court for their brother’s hearings.
Following his initial court appearance in December, the siblings issued a joint statement expressing the “unimaginable pain” they were experiencing following the “horrific and devastating loss of our parents.”
It remained to be seen how Nick Reiner’s history of drug addiction, rehab and periodic homelessness might factor into the murder case. Those struggles inspired the movie “Being Charlie,” which he co-wrote with his father.
The New York Times reported last week that in 2020, Nick Reiner was placed under a court-approved mental health conservatorship that had allowed for involuntary psychiatric treatment, a legal arrangement that ended in 2021.
The Times said both the public defender’s office and the district attorney’s office declined to comment on the matter.
(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Jane Ross in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio)
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