Indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the December 2025 deaths of his parents, director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, Reiner has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty, and no trial date has been set.
At an Oct. 21, 2026 hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta again put off deciding whether the grand jury transcripts and exhibits should be made public, after Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene asked for time to present expert evidence on media coverage of the case; he set a Jan. 13, 2027 hearing.234 Two days later, in the separate probate dispute over a trust his parents set up for him in 1993, a judge allowed the trustee to make small deposits, capped at $300 at a time, to his jail commissary account, and the parties are set for mediation on Dec. 16.765
Reiner has not been tried. Everything in this section about how his parents died is an allegation by prosecutors, set out in charging papers and a grand jury indictment. Because the case went to a grand jury, there was no public preliminary hearing, and the grand jury transcripts remain sealed.132 The district attorney’s office has said: “The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”1
Rob Reiner, an actor and director, and Michele Singer Reiner, a photographer and producer, were found dead at their home in Brentwood on Dec. 14, 2025.1413 Authorities said they had been killed hours before they were found.14 The Los Angeles County medical examiner listed the cause of death as “multiple sharp force injuries.”148 According to the district attorney’s office, their son Nick stabbed both of them early that morning, fled, and was arrested hours later in Exposition Park.1
Authorities have not disclosed a motive, and a court order has blocked the release of further details, including the autopsy reports.1413 Hochman urged the public to rely on his office, the police, the coroner and the courtroom rather than rumors.18
On Dec. 16, 2025, the district attorney’s office charged Reiner with two counts of murder, with a special circumstance of multiple murders and a special allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon, a knife.1 Hochman said: “We owe it to their memory to pursue justice and accountability for the lives that were taken.”1 He also said, “Charges are not evidence.”18
Reiner did not appear in court that day; his lawyer, Alan Jackson, told The New York Times that he “had not been medically cleared” to be moved to the courthouse, according to Global News.18 Jackson withdrew from the case on Jan. 7, 2026, and the public defender’s office took over.16 On Feb. 23, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf to two counts of first-degree murder before Judge Sam Ohta.14
A Los Angeles County grand jury returned an indictment on July 20, 2026, and it was unsealed on Aug. 12.133 It charges two counts of first-degree murder and adds a second special circumstance, that he was “lying in wait,” to the multiple-murder allegation, along with the knife-use allegation.138 The indictment, as reported, does not describe what the lying-in-wait allegation is based on.13 It replaced the complaint and let prosecutors skip a public preliminary hearing.1210 Reiner pleaded not guilty the day it was unsealed.12
The special circumstances made Reiner eligible for death or life without parole.12 On Sept. 15, 2026, Hochman announced that his office “will not be seeking the death penalty in this case,” saying, “That means the maximum sentence that Mr. Reiner will be looking at is life without the possibility of parole.”98 He said the decision followed talks with the family and a “rigorous review” of the case.10 At a brief hearing that day, Reiner agreed to an indefinite delay of the trial start, and Hochman said he did not expect a trial before 2027.9
The court conditionally sealed the grand jury transcripts while the defense moved to keep them sealed.8 At an Oct. 7 hearing, the judge said the defense bears the burden of showing that releasing them would prejudice Reiner’s right to a fair trial, and set arguments for Oct. 21.8 Prosecutors Habib Balian and Jonathan Chung wrote that Reiner’s brother and sister oppose unsealing; the district attorney’s office has left the question to the court.83 A coalition of news organizations opposes sealing.2
On Oct. 21, at Greene’s request, Ohta postponed the decision so the defense could present more evidence, including expert opinion on media coverage of the case and further witness statements. He set the next hearing for Jan. 13, 2027.234
In a separate probate case, Reiner is seeking money from a trust his parents established for him in 1993.35 His petition says he was entitled to half of the trust at age 30 and the remainder at 35, and his lawyers call the distributions mandatory; the trust is reported to hold more than $1.5 million.313 A financial steward for the trust has argued that California’s “slayer statute” bars a person from receiving money from someone he intentionally killed, and that funds paid out now could not be recovered if he were convicted.11 His civil attorney, Anita Wu, argues that he is presumed innocent and that the money was owed before his parents died.36 He has said he needs the money for his defense, and reports say he wants to rehire Jackson, who left the case because of a lack of funds.115
Judge Ruben Garcia oversees the trust case.11 At an Oct. 23, 2026 hearing, the court allowed the trustee to deposit up to $300 at a time in Reiner’s jail commissary account, to be replenished as it is spent, and set a “global mediation” for Dec. 16.76
As of Oct. 28, 2026, no plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and no competency proceeding had been reported in the sources reviewed.23 Lawyers with no role in the case have told reporters that the defense could raise insanity or mental impairment.1716 Neither the defense nor the court has said so.
Reiner was born on Sept. 14, 1993, according to the district attorney’s office.1 He is the second of three children of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, who married in 1989; his grandfather was the comedian and director Carl Reiner, the Los Angeles Times reported.2013 His parents were married for 36 years.13 His older brother called the loss “a living nightmare” that is “too devastating to comprehend,” Spectrum News reported.13
Reiner has spoken publicly about drug addiction. According to People, he was first sent to rehab around his 15th birthday and went on to 17 stays in rehab amid periods of homelessness.19 In an earlier interview with People, he said, “I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” and, “If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless.”19 In a 2016 interview cited by the Los Angeles Times, he said that growing up, “I had nothing to fill my time. I had nothing to look forward to.”20 In a 2015 interview with the Times, his father said: “When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen.”20
With his friend Matt Elisofon, Reiner co-wrote Being Charlie, a film directed by his father and drawn from his experiences; it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015.2021 It follows an 18-year-old in and out of rehab and his conflict with his father.1921 Asked on NPR in 2016 about the main character’s theft of OxyContin, Reiner said, “I’m all for honesty, so I have definitely done things similar to” it.21 He told NPR, “A lot of people that go through addictions of all kinds are kind of hard to love when they’re doing those sorts of things.”21 The Times reported that he had said he was clean by 2015, and that he appeared with his family in September 2025 at the premiere of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which his father directed.20
The New York Times reported in January 2026 that a Los Angeles Superior Court clerk confirmed Reiner had been under a mental health conservatorship that began in 2020 and ended in 2021, according to Global News.15 The grounds for it are not public in the sources reviewed. No diagnosis has been testified to, filed or found by a court in the criminal case in the sources reviewed.
Reiner has been held without bail since his arrest.4 Reiner has made no public statement about the case in the sources reviewed.
Prosecutors allege Reiner stabbed both of his parents at their home early on Dec. 14, 2025, then fled.1 Announcing the indictment, Hochman called the case "a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing."1213 He has also said that "charges are not evidence" and that the evidence will be presented in court.18 On Sept. 15, 2026, he said his office would not seek death, a decision he said weighed the wishes of the victims' family and the aggravating and mitigating factors.9 He has said, "At any point in which the defense is ready to proceed, the people are ready to proceed."104 On the grand jury transcripts, his office has left the decision to the court, while telling it that it does not believe unsealing would prejudice the case.83
Reiner has pleaded not guilty and is represented by the public defender's office, which declined to comment on the indictment.1413 His first lawyer, Alan Jackson, said as he withdrew in January 2026, "pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder."14 The defense has asked that the grand jury transcripts stay sealed to protect his right to a fair trial, and plans to present expert evidence on the case's media coverage.32 In the probate case, his petition says, "Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths," and his lawyers argue that he is presumed innocent and so is not barred by the state's "slayer statute" from money the trust owes him.133 No insanity plea has been entered in the sources reviewed; outside lawyers interviewed by the press have said such a defense is possible.1716
According to prosecutors, Reiner's brother and sister oppose unsealing the grand jury transcripts and want as much privacy as possible; Hochman said disclosure "will cause them additional trauma and harm."810 Hochman said he spoke with them before deciding not to seek death and that "they made their views clear," without saying what those views were.9
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner are found dead at their Brentwood home; Nick Reiner is arrested hours later.114
The district attorney charges him with two counts of murder, with a multiple-murder special circumstance and a knife-use allegation.1
Alan Jackson withdraws as defense counsel; the public defender's office takes over.16
Reiner pleads not guilty before Judge Sam Ohta.14
A grand jury returns an indictment adding a lying-in-wait special circumstance.13
Hochman announces the state will not seek the death penalty; Reiner agrees to an indefinite delay of the trial start.9
The court sets an Oct. 21 hearing on unsealing the grand jury transcripts.8
Ohta postpones the unsealing decision at the defense's request and sets a Jan. 13, 2027 hearing.23
In probate court, a judge allows capped commissary deposits from the trust; mediation is set for Dec. 16.76
A mediation in the trust dispute is set for Dec. 16, 2026, before retired Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff; any settlement needs the approval of Judge Ruben Garcia, who oversees the trust case.65 The next hearing in the criminal case is Jan. 13, 2027, on the defense motion to keep the grand jury transcripts and exhibits sealed.34 No trial date has been set, and Hochman has said a trial is unlikely before 2027.49