Topline
Nick Reiner made a brief appearance in Los Angeles court Wednesday morning but did not enter a plea, marking Reiner’s first appearance in court since he was charged on two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly killing his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 68.
Rob Reiner and his son Nick Reiner attend AOL Build Presents: “Being Charlie” at AOL Studios In New York on May 4, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Rommel Demano/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Reiner, 32, told a judge he would waive his right to enter a plea in court Wednesday, and his arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 7, multiple outlets reported.
Reiner appeared in court wearing what appeared to be a suicide prevention vest, BBC reported, and the only words he uttered were, “Yes, your honor,” when asked to confirm he would waive a speedy arraignment.
In brief remarks to reporters outside the court, Reiner’s lawyer Alan Jackson said there are “very complex and serious issues associated with this case” and urged the public not to “rush to judgement,” declining to comment further or take questions.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon Reiner would be charged on two counts of first-degree murder, the maximum penalty for which is either life in prison without parole or the death penalty, but he said prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.
Hochman said Reiner’s charges include special circumstances, which can add time to a sentence, including that he is accused of committed multiple murders.
Nick Reiner was arrested Sunday around 9:15 p.m. local time, police said on Monday, hours after officers responded to an initial call at the Reiners’ Brentwood, California, home at 3:40 p.m.
Reiner was booked for murder and is being held without bail, police said (Los Angeles County sheriff’s office’s online records previously indicated he was being held on $4 million bail, though these records now say “no bail”).
ABC News reported Rob Reiner and his wife were stabbed to death, citing unnamed senior law enforcement sources, while NBC News reported the couple died from stab wounds, citing a source close to the Reiner family.
There was no sign of forced entry into the Reiners’ home, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a source close to the investigation, who also said one of the Reiners’ three children discovered them.
Nick Reiner arrives at the premiere of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.
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What Do We Know About Nick Reiner ?
Rob and Michele Singer Reiner had three children: Jake, 34; Nick, 32; and Romy, 28. Reiner and his late ex-wife Penny Marshall were adoptive parents of actress Tracy Reiner. Nick has battled drug addiction and homelessness, and was the inspiration for his father’s 2015 film, “Being Charlie.” He is credited as a co-writer on the film, which follows an 18-year-old addict whose movie star-turned-politician father forces him to go to rehab, and Rob Reiner has said the tensions in the film matched what the Reiner family actually experienced. “When Nick would tell us that [rehab] wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen. We were desperate and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son,” Rob Reiner told the Los Angeles Times following the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Nick Reiner told People in 2016 if he didn’t participate in the drug recovery programs his parents suggested, “then I had to be homeless,” stating there were “a lot of dark years there.”