Nick Reiner's arraignment delayed after his lawyer withdraws from murder case
- - Nick Reiner's arraignment delayed after his lawyer withdraws from murder case
Mekishana PierreJanuary 8, 2026 at 12:01 AM
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Nick Reiner; Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner
Nick Reiner will no longer be represented by power attorney Alan Jackson in the case connected to the stabbing deaths of his parents, acclaimed filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner.
During Wednesday's scheduled hearing, Jackson, who appeared at Reiner's initial court appearance following his arrest, went into the judge's chambers, where he seemed to announce his decision to remove himself from the murder case for unknown reasons.
"We feel we have no choice but to withdraw," Jackson said, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Nick will now be represented by a public defender named Kimberly Greene, PEOPLE reports.
He did not enter a plea during Wednesday's hearing.
A judge has delayed Nick's arraignment until Feb. 23 and directed the case to the public defender's office.
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Nick Reiner in September 2025
The 32-year-old, who has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the killing of his parents, made his second court appearance on Wednesday since being arrested on Dec. 15. Reiner appeared in court wearing a tan jumpsuit with his head shaved, a noticeable change from the jail-issued suicide prevention smocks he wore at his first court appearance two days after his arrest.
Having been removed from suicide watch on Tuesday, the son of the acclaimed director no longer needs to wear the stiff suicide prevention smocks, thick garments that cannot be folded to prevent them from being fashioned into a noose.
Nick has been charged with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, and is also facing a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.
Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Dec. 14. Their death certificates revealed that they died within "minutes" of sustaining "multiple sharp force injuries" inflicted "with [a] knife, by another" in their home, reports PEOPLE.
Rob, 78, was discovered their daughter, Romy Reiner, at 3:45 p.m. local time, while Michele, 70, was found a minute later.
Eric Charbonneau/Getty
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner in 2017
Hours later, Nick was arrested in the Exposition Park neighborhood in connection with their deaths. Within days, he was formally charged. If convicted, he faces life in state prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty.
In the wake of his arrest, reports emerged that Nick was prescribed medication for schizophrenia before the deaths of his parents. Sources told NBC4 that the Stand By Me filmmaker's son was diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago and had been treating it with medication. His medication was reportedly changed or adjusted before the killings, though an exact time frame for that alteration was not revealed.
Nick has spoken out about his struggles with drugs, which began in his teens, and homelessness in the past. He was placed on suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles after being diagnosed with having a "mental disability" by medical staff.
Nick was originally scheduled to be arraigned in court on Dec. 17, but the hearing was canceled because he was not yet medically cleared to appear, Jackson previously told reporters outside Los Angeles Superior Court. The attorney did not give any additional details about Nick's planned defense at the time.
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In addition to Nick and Romy, Rob and Michele — who married in 1989 after meeting while Rob was directing When Harry Met Sally — have another son, Jake. Rob is also the father of Tracy Reiner, whom he adopted during his marriage to actress and director Penny Marshall.
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Jake Reiner, Nick Reiner, Romy Reiner, Michele Singer Reiner, and Rob Reiner in 2024
Romy and Jake shared a joint statement mourning their parents on Dec. 17, expressing their heartbreak over their deaths. "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 siblings continued, "We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life. We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave."
Rob and Michele were cremated, with Romy and Jake saying they would provide their plans for a memorial service at a later date.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
