Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, has pleaded not guilty.
The plea, per the Associated Press, was entered on the 32-year-old’s behalf in Los Angeles on Monday (Feb. 23). Reiner had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He’s accused of fatally stabbing his parents in December of last year.
Reiner is expected to return to court on April 29.
On Dec. 15, detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division announced Nick’s arrest in the accused murders of his parents. The agency’s investigation, per a statement shared with media at the time, found that he “was responsible” for the murders.
Much of the ensuing news coverage focused on Nick’s prior substance abuse issues and mental health struggles. The 2015 film Being Charlie, directed by his father, pulled from elements of Nick’s life. He’s credited as a co-writer on the film, which first screened at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
Nathan Hochman, District Attorney of Los Angeles County, gave a short presser after Reiner’s plea on Monday. In it, he told reporters the case remains “on track” after this new development.
“This case is a death penalty-eligible case,” he noted. “Along those lines, we take the process in which we determine whether or not the death penalty should be sought extremely seriously. … We will be looking at all aggravating and mitigating circumstances.”
In a previous statement shared in December, Hochman pointed to the unique challenges of a case of this nature.
“Rob Reiner was one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation,” he said at the time. “His murder and his wife of more than 35 years, Michele Singer Reiner’s murder, are shocking and tragic. We owe it to their memory to pursue justice and accountability for the lives that were taken.”
In January, the New York Times reported that Nick Reiner had been placed in a temporary mental health conservatorship in 2020. The same report, seen here, cited sources as saying that Reiner had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Though the two conditions share symptoms, they are considered distinctly different diagnoses.
