Nick Reiner appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday looking ânumbâ as he faces charges for the December 2025 murders of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
The freshly turned 33-year-old sat partially handcuffed to a chair at the defense table beside his public defender, Kimberly Greene, who took over representing him in January after high-profile attorney Alan Jackson withdrew from the case.
Nick â who remained âemotionlessâ and âeerily calmâ throughout the hearing â wore a brown prison uniform and sported a bit of facial stubble with his previously short hair grown out and combed to the side.
He kept his focus on Judge Sam Ohta and replied âyesâ when asked whether he understood that he was waiving his right to a speedy trial.
At one point, Nick also thanked the judge.
In July, Daily Mail reported that the accused murderer was ârapidly deterioratingâ while incarcerated at Los Angelesâ Twin Towers Correctional Facility. However, that was not our observation Tuesday. In fact, Nick appeared healthy and even looked like he had put on some weight since his last hearing in April.
Though Robâs sister, Annie Reiner, has remained by her embattled nephewâs side amid the legal proceedings, she was not in court on Tuesday.
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Just before the hearing, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced in a press conference right outside the courthouse that his office would not be seeking the death penalty.
âThat means that the maximum sentence that Mr. [Nick] Reiner will be looking at is life without the possibility of parole,â Hochman said.
He also added that Nickâs siblings â brother Jake Reiner, 35, and sister Romy Reiner, 28 â had âexpressed a strong desire for [the grand juryâs] transcripts to remain sealed,â noting that the court would ultimately make that decision.
Hochman estimated that the trial itself would not occur before 2027. âHowever, when the defense is ready to proceed, the government will be ready to proceed,â he made sure to add.
Nick was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers on Dec. 14, 2025, shortly after his dad and mom â who were 78 and 70, respectively â were found stabbed to death inside their Brentwood home.
He was initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances of multiple murders and personal use of a knife.
Last month, however, Nick was hit with a new indictment that accused him of planning the murders. The indictment included the allegation of âlying in wait,â a special circumstance that could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole now that the option of the death penalty has been taken off the table.
He has also been accused of using a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.
Nick â who was diagnosed with schizophrenia before the killings and has a long history of drug addiction â has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to Rob and Micheleâs death certificates, they died on Dec. 14 within âminutesâ of receiving âmultiple sharp force injuriesâ with a âknife, by another.â
The night before, they had gotten into an argument with Nick at Conan OâBrienâs Christmas party.
Rob and Michele, who had been married since 1989, were also parents to Jake and Romy. Before marrying Michele, the actor-director was married to Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981. During that time, Rob adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner, 61.
In April, Jake broke his silence on his parentsâ deaths in a heartbreaking Substack essay that detailed the exact moment he found out they had died.
âI was in Union Station at a celebration of life for one of my best friends, Christian Anderson, who died in October,â he wrote at the time. âIt was at that moment I received a call from my sister Romy telling me our father was dead. Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead.â
Jake continued, âThe 45-minute Lyft ride from downtown to the west side was unendurable. My world, as I knew it, had collapsed. I was in a trance. The only thing I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home. I needed to get to my sister. I needed to figure out what the hell just happened.â
Jake lamented that he felt ârobbed of so many thingsâ after losing his dad and mom, noting that the tragedy âsimultaneously breaks [his] heart and enrages [him].â
âNothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time,â he added. âItâs too devastating to comprehend. I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, itâs not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare.â
Romy, for her part, has not yet spoken publicly about the tragedy.