Nick Reiner case over parents’ killing delayed after lawyer asks to be replaced
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead at their Los Angeles home on December 14.
A US judge has delayed Nick Reiner’s arraignment in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, after his high-profile defence lawyer asked to be replaced.
Judge Theresa McGonigle agreed to lawyer Alan Jackson’s request during a hearing where Nick Reiner was set to be arraigned and enter a plea on Wednesday.
Mr Jackson did not say why he wanted to leave the case.
Judge McGonigle then delayed arraignment until February 23.
Reiner’s scheduled appearance in a Los Angeles Superior Court came three-and-a-half weeks after the actor-director and his wife of 36 years were found dead with stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles, authorities said.
Reiner appeared behind glass in a custody area of the courtroom on Wednesday morning, wearing brown jail garb and with his hair shaved.
Lawyers went into the judge’s chambers to confer before his case was called.
Dozens of media members with cameras were gathered outside the courthouse and dozens more reporters gathered inside waiting for the hearing.
A judge approved the use of cameras inside the courtroom, but at a previous hearing she did not allow them to take pictures of the defendant.
Nick Reiner, 32, the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, was arrested hours after the couple were found dead and has been held without bail since.
He was charged two days later with two counts of first-degree murder.
He did not enter a plea during a brief first court appearance on December 17, when he wore shackles and a suicide prevention smock.
Mr Jackson gave no indication of the plans for his defence.
A decade ago, Nick Reiner publicly discussed his severe struggles with addiction and mental health after making a movie with his father, Being Charlie, which was very loosely based on their lives.
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were killed early on the morning of December 14, and they were found in the late afternoon, authorities said.
The LA County Medical Examiner said in initial findings that they died from “multiple sharp force injuries” but released no other details, and police have said nothing about possible motives.
Mr Jackson is a high-profile defence lawyer and former LA county prosecutor who represented Harvey Weinstein at his Los Angeles trial and Karen Read at her intensely followed trials in Massachusetts.
After the initial Reiner hearing, Mr Jackson called the case “a devastating tragedy”.
He said the proceedings would be very complex and asked that the circumstances be met “not with a rush to judgment”.
The counts against Reiner come with special circumstances of multiple murders and an allegation that he used a dangerous weapon, a knife.
The additions could mean a greater sentence.
Prosecutors have said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.
The prosecution is being led by deputy district attorney Habib Balian, whose recent cases included the Menendez brothers’ attempt at resentencing and the trial of Robert Durst.
Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable films of the 1980s and ’90s.
His credits included This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, A Few Good Men and When Harry Met Sally.
