Nick Reiner murder case delayed until September, autopsy reports still not complete
Published in News & Features
LOS ANGELES — The murder case against Nick Reiner will not proceed until September, in part due to delays in the release of reports detailing the autopsies of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, officials said in court Wednesday.
Reiner, 32, was charged with killing his parents inside the master bedroom of the family’s Brentwood estate last December. Rob and Michele were found stabbed to death on Dec. 14, and their son was arrested in Exposition Park roughly 12 hours later. He has pleaded not guilty.
During a brief hearing in downtown L.A. on Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Chung said prosecutors still have nearly two terabytes of discovery to provide to the defense. Chung said autopsy reports in the case had yet to be prepared. Josh Rubenstein, communications director for the district attorney’s office, later confirmed the reports are “not complete.”
It was not clear why the reports had yet to be completed more than four months after the killings. Kelly Vail, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County medical examiner, said both cases remain on “security hold via court order initiated by the” Los Angeles Police Department. Rubenstein said either the LAPD or the D.A.’s office will have to move to unseal the autopsies, when they are completed.
Representatives for the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office, which is representing Reiner, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Both victims were killed with a knife, according to a death certificate for Rob and Michele.
Nick Reiner appeared wearing a yellow jail jumper with his hair cut short. He barely spoke during the hearing other than to answer “yes” to a few questions from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta.
A motive in the slayings has not been made public, though Reiner had spoken publicly about his struggles with mental health and addiction. The father and son worked together to create the 2015 film “Being Charlie,” in which characters that were thinly veiled versions of Rob and Nick explored how drugs could damage a relationship between a successful actor and his privileged son who was in the throes of addiction.
Nick Reiner entered his not guilty plea in February, but his case has otherwise been stalled by procedural delays.
High-profile defense attorney Alan Jackson dropped out of the case earlier this year, and has yet to publicly explain why. The public defender’s office has not said how or if its client’s mental health and addiction struggles will factor into the defense.
Prosecutors charged Reiner with murder with special circumstances, so he could face the death penalty if convicted at trial. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has not said when prosecutors will make a decision about seeking capital punishment.
A celebrated director and comedic actor, Rob Reiner was known for his work on classic films, including “When Harry Met Sally ...,” “Stand by Me” and “This Is Spinal Tap.” Rob and Michele met on the set of “When Harry Met Sally ...,” and Rob later said he changed the ending to have the central couple stay together after he fell in love with Michele during filming.
The couple’s oldest son, Jake, last week published an emotional firsthand account of the moment he learned of his parents’ deaths.
“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable. Sure, any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it,” he wrote.
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