Nick Reiner appears in L.A. court after being charged with murder in deaths of his parents
Nick Reiner appeared in a Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday for the first time since he was accused of killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
His arraignment was pushed back till Jan. 7, the second time it was delayed since he was arrested on Sunday in connection to his parents’ deaths.
While in court on Wednesday, the 32-year-old was wearing what appeared to be an all blue vest. The only words he uttered during the brief appearance were, “Yes, your honor.”
The filmmaker’s son was charged on Tuesday with two counts of murder with special circumstance allegations of multiple murders, as well as using a deadly weapon, a knife, in connection with the death of his parents, according to court documents. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, officials said on Tuesday.
Arraignments are usually the first open-court hearings in a criminal case and exist to present a defendant with the charges filed, as well as with an opportunity to plea guilty, not guilty or take more time. A judge will also often address the question of continued detention, ensure legal representation and set the next hearing date.
His arraignment was postponed on Tuesday because he was not medically cleared in time for the hearing, his lawyer, Alan Jackson, said. Jackson — a prominent Los Angeles-based attorney whose client roster includes Karen Reed — did not specify what medical issue may have prevented the hearing, saying only that it was a “procedural” matter.
It is unclear why his client’s arraignment was pushed back for a second time.
“There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case,” Jackson said Wednesday, addressing reporters outside the courthouse. “Things need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with and examined and looked at and analyzed.”
“We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward … not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves, and that the family deserves,” he added.
Rob Reiner, 78, a legendary actor and filmmaker, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in the master bedroom of their Los Angeles home in the Brentwood neighborhood on Sunday, Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said at the department’s weekly commission meeting Tuesday.
The pair had been fatally stabbed “in the early morning hours” on Sunday, the DA’s office said.
Shortly after 9 p.m. that night, Los Angeles police gang officers located Nick Reiner in University Park, the sometimes gang-troubled community that abuts the University of Southern California, and took him into custody, according to inmate records.
Newly released surveillance camera footage, obtained by NBC Los Angeles, shows the moment authorities arrested Nick Reiner on Sunday.
The footage shows the filmmaker’s youngest son being confronted by four police vehicles at around 9:15 p.m. Sunday as he walked across a street near the intersection of Exposition Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, about 15 miles from his parents’ Brentwood home. He can be seen putting his hands above his head, dressed in a black and green sweater, a hat and wearing a red backpack.
Moments earlier, the footage shows Nick Reiner wandering around a gas station convenience store and waiting in line to purchase a bottled beverage.
Nick Reiner was being held with no bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, according to inmate records.
Jake, 34, and Romy Reiner, 27, the other two children Rob and Michele Reiner shared, asked “for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity” in a statement on Wednesday.
“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,” they said. “The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”
The five-sentence-long statement did not mention their brother.
Nick Reiner has had a troubled relationship with drugs, telling People magazine in 2016 that there were times when he spent weeks sleeping on the streets and that he has been in and out of drug rehabilitation programs since he was 15.
He co-wrote the 2016 movie “Being Charlie” with his father, who directed it. It follows the experiences of a young man who struggles with recovery.
Nick Reiner and his parents attended a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien on Saturday, and the younger Reiner was seen being disruptive at the event, two people familiar with the situation told NBC News.
He is alleged to have interrupted as comedian Bill Hader was having conversation and “storming off” after being told the chat was private, another source said.
Rob Reiner, son of comedic giant and producer Carl Reiner, established himself as a TV star on the 1970s sitcom “All in the Family” before transitioning to directing and turning out some of Hollywood’s most-beloved films, including “Stand By Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally…” “A Few Good Men.”
