The slayings of Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and his photographer wife, Michele, have given rise to a complex and intensely watched legal struggle involving their accused son, prosecutors and defense attorneys, who all face key strategic decisions in the coming weeks and months.
Prosecutors allege Nick Reiner fatally stabbed his parents inside the master bedroom of their Brentwood home early on a Sunday morning, then fled the area.
They have offered no motive for the Dec. 14 attack, but Nick Reiner struggled with addiction for years, and he had been prescribed medication for schizophrenia at some point before the killings, according to two sources with knowledge of the criminal investigation. Sources have also said he got into some type of argument with Rob Reiner at a Christmas party hours before the slaying.
Legal experts say Reiner’s mental condition and the details of what happened at the party could be important elements in the case.
A complete assessment of his mental health will probably take months, and the results of that could influence how both sides proceed and whether prosecutors seek the death penalty.
Reiner, 32, was charged with two counts of murder and could face life in prison without parole, or the death penalty if convicted of the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. Reiner appeared in court Dec. 17 wearing a blue suicide prevention smock, which is issued to defendants who pose a risk of self-harm. A judge approved attorney Alan Jackson’s request to continue Reiner’s arraignment to Jan. 7.
Reiner did not enter a plea, so the public has not yet heard his side of the story. Prosecutors have also released few details.
Assessing Nick Reiner’s mental state
Lou Shapiro, a Los Angeles defense attorney, said he expects that Jackson is now working to evaluate “Reiner’s history of mental health and state of mind during the commission of a crime. That is going to take time for the experts to prepare a report.”
Those findings could be the basis for discussions of a plea deal or the beginning of an insanity defense, according to Shapiro and others.
The brutal killings of the Reiners stunned the world, and the stakes are going to be high for Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman and his staff, who have vowed justice for the beloved couple.
Shapiro said Hochman is unlikely to consider a punishment less than life without the possibility of parole, since he has already alleged special circumstances.
“It is going to be hard for him politically to walk that back,” Shapiro said.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, agreed but said he would be surprised if prosecutors sought the death penalty.
“California hasn’t carried out an execution in decades, and Newsom had placed a moratorium on the death penalty,” he said. “It’s still highly unlikely that Nick is executed, but the possibility of the death penalty may be used by the prosecution to leverage a plea. More likely, this won’t be a capital case and it will go to trial because the prosecution won’t offer anything less than life without the possibility of parole.”
The Conan O’Brien party fight could be key
The case is in its earliest stages and prosecutors have presented very little evidence against Nick Reiner, including forensics, videos or other data. So it is impossible to know precisely what will happen next. Prosecutors have not commented on the allegation that Rob and Nick Reiner exchanged words at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party. Some family friends told The Times the clash had been “overblown.”
But Rahmani said prosecutors could use it.
He said it could be used as evidence of premeditation. “If you get into an argument with someone and you come back with a weapon, that’s premeditation.”
Rahmani also said prosecutors could use the argument to fight an insanity defense. “If you’re capable enough to have an argument with your parents at a Christmas party … you are not insane,” Rahmani said.
Insanity defense has challenges
Defense attorney Dmitry Gorin, a former L.A. County prosecutor, said Jackson’s first task is assessing his client’s mental health. That assessment could ultimately lead to a not guilty by insanity plea, but could also provide evidence to move Reiner from the county jail to a private psychiatric facility.
“The most important thing in criminal cases is to have the clients get immediate treatment, and be able to cooperate in his defense, which will not happen while he’s in jail,” he said.
Gorin said that the insanity defense is particularly tough in California, and that in rare cases it must be proved that a defendant did not know right from wrong.
“The burden of proof is on the defense in an insanity case, and the jury may see the defense as an excuse for committing a serious crime,” he said. “The jury sets a very high bar on the defendant because it understands that it will release him from legal responsibility.”
Sources told The Times that after the killing, Nick Reiner went to a hotel in Santa Monica. He was arrested that Sunday night near USC. His overall movements that day remain unclear.
Neither Jackson nor prosecutors would comment on the direction of the case.
‘Complex’ issues
Jackson has called the killings “a devastating tragedy. But he cautioned the public not to rush to judgment or jump to conclusions, saying there are “very complex and serious issues” that need to be “thoroughly, but very carefully, dealt with and examined and looked at and analyzed.”
Nick Reiner’s addiction has been public for years.
He has said in interviews that he became addicted to heroin as a teenager, and had cycled in and out of rehabilitation centers and experienced bouts of homelessness. Reiner said he was no longer using by 2015, when he co-wrote “Being Charlie,” a film about a drug-addicted young man whose father is a cold former movie star running for governor of California. Rob Reiner directed the film.
Nick Reiner has no criminal history and at the time of the killing was living in the back house of the Reiners’ property.
