An extremely grim picture has begun to form for the Reiner family and Nick Reiner. At first, sources kept talking about Nick’s years-long drug problems and how he was in and out of rehab. But something else has begun to creep into the reporting: Nick is likely emotionally disturbed with violent tendencies, especially while on drugs. Reportedly, Romy Reiner was both concerned for her brother and concerned about what Nick might do to other people. Romy was the one to tell police that she believed Nick killed their parents. Page Six also noted that Nick’s dynamic with his siblings was increasingly hostile. LA prosecutors have now charged Nick with first-degree murder. The state wants to apply special circumstances as well.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles on Tuesday formally charged Nick Reiner with murdering his parents, the Hollywood fixtures and Democratic Party heavyweights Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. The son faces two counts of first-degree murder, with prosecutors requesting they be considered under “special circumstances,” in part because there were multiple murders. Special circumstances can add time to a sentence if convicted.
If convicted, Nick Reiner could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, although prosecutors have not said whether they would seek the death penalty. (Gov. Gavin Newsom has put a moratorium on executions, but the death penalty still exists in California.) Mr. Reiner has not yet entered a plea.
Nathan J. Hochman, the Los Angeles County district attorney, announced the charges two days after Mr. Reiner’s parents were discovered dead at their home in Brentwood. Prosecutors said that Mr. Reiner killed them using a knife and that the coroner was still determining whether they died on Saturday or Sunday.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Hochman told a packed room of reporters that the case would be particularly difficult to prosecute because of the intimacy between the victims and the accused.
“These cases, involving family members, are some of the most challenging and most heart-wrenching cases that our office faces,” Mr. Hochman said. He emphasized that, given the high-profile nature of the case, rumors and speculation were likely to spread, and he urged the public to use caution.
Nick has already hired a big-time defense attorney too – he hired Alan Jackson, who previously represented Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Karen Read. I genuinely wonder if there will be a trial though – surely, the best case for everyone involved would be a plea deal? There seems to be an abundance of evidence that Nick did it. I can’t even imagine what Nick’s siblings, Romy and Jake, are going through. I hope they’re getting a lot of support from extended family and their parents’ friends.
The night before their murder, Rob and Michele Reiner attended Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party. They brought Nick, and it was a bad scene. We heard earlier that Nick and Rob got into a huge argument at the party. Now NBC News and Entertainment Weekly report that Nick’s “strange behavior had his parents and other guests worried” and that Nick had an “unsettling encounter with comedian Bill Hader, in which the latter was chatting with another guest before being interrupted by Nick. When Hader told him the conversation was private, Nick allegedly appeared to stand still and stare before ‘storming off.’” Nick also ran around the party, asking people if they were famous. Rob and Michele were “upset and embarrassed” about Nick’s behavior and they left the party quickly.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
