Nick Reiner lost his top defenseman Alan Jackson on Wednesday. He is now being represented by a public defender as he faces charges that his parents – legendary Hollywood director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner – to have killed. The shocking double killing occurred on December 14 at the family home.
Jackson, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor, resigned from the case when Nick Reiner, 32, appeared in court wearing a brown jail jumpsuit and his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 23.
Nick was led into the courtroom at 9:20 a.m. and frequently turned to stare at people in the public gallery as he sat in a Plexiglas cell waiting for the trial to begin.
Court date and change of defense
Jackson met for 10 minutes in the judge’s chambers with the judge and the deputy chief of the prosecutor’s office’s serious violent crimes division, Habib Balian. He then spoke to Nick, who stood up and craned his neck to see someone Jackson was pointing at in the front row. It was Los Angeles County Public Defender Kimberly Greene who then went to see Nick.
At the start of the hearing, Jackson told the court he had “no choice at this time but to step down as defense counsel” and he was doing so with Nick’s consent. The judge then immediately appointed Greene as the new defense attorney. Greene then requested that the reading of the charges be postponed. Nick spoke only once during the hearing, telling the judge that he agreed to the postponement: “Yes, I agree with that,” he said.
Statements after the hearing
At a press conference after the trial, Jackson declined to elaborate on his withdrawal, but stressed that he and his team “remain deeply, deeply committed to Nick Reiner and his best interests.”
“I have had to step down as Nick Reiner’s defense attorney. Circumstances beyond our control, but especially beyond Nick’s control, have unfortunately made it impossible for us to continue our representation,” he said. “I am legally and ethically prevented from explaining all the reasons. I know that this is the question on everyone’s mind.”
Jackson said he was contacted in the early hours of December 15 to represent Nick. However, he did not say by whom. “My team and I have dropped everything and devoted literally every waking hour for the past three weeks to protecting Nick and his interests. We have investigated this case from cover to cover,” he said.
Defense assessment
“What we learned – and you can remember this – is that under the laws of this state, under the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Print that,” Jackson said. (Under California law, first-degree murder requires premeditation and planning.)
A source told the New York Times that it was initially lawyers for the Reiner family who hired Jackson to take on the case. In a statement to ROLLING STONE, a spokesman for the Reiner family said they have “the utmost confidence in the rule of law and will not comment further on questions related to the ongoing proceedings.”
Investigations and prosecutions
Rob Reiner was found stabbed to death along with his wife last month. LAPD Deputy Chief Dominic Choi told the city’s police commission that the couple’s bodies were discovered in the master bedroom of their Brentwood home.
Choi said “information from the early stages of the investigation” led officers to arrest Nick shortly after 9 p.m. on Dec. 14 near a gas station in the Exposition Park area of downtown Los Angeles. The coroner later confirmed the couple died from “multiple sharp force injuries”. Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, with prosecutors identifying a knife as the suspected murder weapon.
Possible death penalty and mental health
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the charges involve special circumstances. Including several murders with a deadly weapon. Which would qualify Nick for the death penalty if convicted. (A trial would require that a judge first declare him competent to stand trial.)
Hochman said his office is still considering whether to seek the death penalty. Governor Gavin Newsom has currently imposed a moratorium on executions in California.
Hochman declined to comment on whether Nick has a history of mental illness in addition to his known addictions. “If there is evidence of mental illness, it will be raised in court. To the extent the defense deems appropriate,” he said last month. Sources previously confirmed to Rolling Stone that Reiner had been treated for schizophrenia. This diagnosis was first reported by TMZ.
Previous appearance and family background
Nick first appeared before a judge on December 17th. Dressed in a sleeveless blue suicide prevention gown and with a cuff around her waist. Jackson said at the time that it was too early for a plea, so the arraignment was postponed.
“This is a devastating tragedy that has struck the Reiner family. We all recognize that,” Jackson said after the first hearing at the courthouse. “Our thoughts are with the entire Reiner family. This case involves very complex and serious questions that must be examined thoroughly but very carefully.”
Sources previously told Rolling Stone that Rob and Michele Reiner asked if they could bring Nick as a guest to Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party the night before her death. Nick showed “anti-social behavior” at the party. Including staring at people.
History of addiction and previous violent outbursts
Nick had a long and public history of drug addiction. In 2016, he told People he first entered rehab when he was 15. More than a dozen stays in rehabilitation facilities followed, as well as periods of homelessness in Maine, New Jersey and Texas. He later wrote a screenplay loosely based on his experiences. This resulted in the film “Being Charlie” (2016), directed by his father.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the Reiners said they tried desperately to help their son, but arranging his care was difficult. “The program works for some people, but not for everyone,” Reiner said. “When Nick told us it wasn’t working for him, we didn’t listen. We were desperate, and because people had diplomas on the wall, we listened to them instead of our son.”
Nick Reiner’s own statements
Speaking to the Dopey podcast in 2018, Nick admitted to being an addict and detailed an incident in which his drug use led to violent behavior. He recalled trashing his parents’ guest house after he was “isolated” there during a drug binge.
“I knocked my guest house into the ground,” he told host Dave Manheim. “I was high on stimulants. And I think it was cocaine and something else. I was awake for days and started breaking different things in the guest house.” When asked if he had injured his hand, he replied: “I don’t remember that.” The incident in 2017 led to further intervention; he later suffered a cocaine-induced heart attack during a flight.
Siblings’ reactions
Rob and Michele Reiner had three children together. On December 17, older son Jake Reiner, 34, and daughter Romy Reiner, 27, broke their silence and shared their grief. “Words cannot describe the unimaginable pain we experience every moment of every day. The terrible and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something no one should ever have to experience,” the siblings said in a statement obtained by ROLLING STONE. “They weren’t just our parents. They were our best friends.”
The siblings also thanked for the many expressions of condolence. They asked for restraint. “We now ask for respect and privacy. That speculation be met with compassion and humanity. And that our parents be remembered for the incredible lives they led and the love they gave.”