Nick Reiner faces potential death penalty under new grand jury indictment
Nick Reiner accused of lying in wait in parents' murders
The indictment against Nick Reiner replaces the case filed last Dec. 16 against the 32-year-old man, who is charged with the slayings of his 78-year- old father and 70-year-old mother, who were found dead about 3:30 p.m. Dec. 14 in the couple's Brentwood home in the 200 block of Chadbourne Avenue between Sunset and San Vicente boulevards.
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that Nick Reiner, the son of Rob and Michele Reiner, has been indicted by a grand jury.
What we know:
Prosecutors secured a grand jury indictment, bypassing a preliminary hearing and adding a lying in wait allegation, meaning they believe he hid from the victims in order to ambush them.
After the indictment was unsealed Wednesday, Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder with special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait. He also faces a special allegation of using a dangerous and deadly weapon.
He is being held without bail.
The backstory:
The 32-year-old is charged in the slaying of his parents, legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. The couple was fond stabbed to death at their Brentwood home in Dec. 2025.
Police said Nick Reiner did not resist when he was arrested hours later in the Exposition Park area near the University of Southern California, about 14 miles from the crime scene.
Some have raised concerns about Nick Reiner's mental fitness to stand trial. In addition, he's also trying to get money from a trust his parents had set up for him, saying he needs that money for his defense.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner's son, Nick, arrested on suspicion of murder
- Rob Reiner, wife Michele, found dead in Los Angeles home
- Nick Reiner's Santa Monica hotel room 'full of blood' amid Rob Reiner, Michele Reiner's deaths: TMZ
- Tributes pour in after Rob Reiner, wife Michele, found dead at Brentwood home
- Nick Reiner pleads not guilty to murder in killing of parents Rob and Michele Reiner
What they're saying:
"This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. "The indictment unsealed today also adds a special circumstance allegation that the defendant committed the murders by means of lying in wait. We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice."
What's next:
Nick Reiner’s pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 15 as the case moves closer to trial. If convicted as charged, he faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Source: This story was written with information from a Los Angeles County District Attorney Office's press release and previous FOX 11 reports.