Nick Reiner may have experienced a moment of elation as he flashed a creepy grin during his arraignment in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Monday.
Body language expert Susan Constantine spoke exclusively to Page Six after Nick pleaded not guilty to the stabbing deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner.
“He has a very interesting fake smile where he bows his head and then smiles,” Konstantin said, adding that by tilting his head downwards he was “trying to hide his emotions.”
Constantine classified his expression as “a form of leakage” called “deceptive pleasure”.
“‘Duper joy’ is when a person feels sensation, haste, or enjoyment,” she says. “It’s like a creepy smile, and you can see it slipping out at the most inappropriate moments.”
Constantine believes that Nick was showing “a form of enjoyment” at that moment, but at the same time was trying to hide his emotions.
“It was an involuntary laugh that expressed feelings of fun, elation, or excitement,” she said.
Constantine said Nick “consciously realized” that he was grinning and immediately “changed his attitude.”
Mr Constantine, whose book How to Spot a Liar in 7 Seconds is due to be published in 2027, surmised that the “pulsation” in Nick’s jawline and the creases in his forehead indicated that he was “quite tense”.
“You can see a very worried look on his forehead,” she says. “His eyes show paranoia and fear. That’s a significant level. The intensity level is significant.”
Page Six previously reported on the arraignment of Nick, 32, who was seen on camera at Monday’s arraignment wearing a brown jumpsuit and with his hands shackled.
The hearing was Nick’s first appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom. The screenwriter of “Being Charlie” had sunken eyes and a shaved head.
He sat impassively next to his attorney, public defender Kimberly Greene.
The judge asked Nick if he was willing to waive his right to an expedited preliminary hearing, to which Nick replied, “Yes.”
His next court appearance is scheduled for April 29th.
Nick, 32, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstances of multiple murder after his parents were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on December 14, 2025. Rob was 78 years old and Michelle was 70.
The When Harry Met Sally director and Michelle died from “multiple sharp trauma injuries,” according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. Their deaths were ruled homicides.
Nick appeared in court in the same month wearing a suicide prevention smock, but did not wear one at his second trial in January.
Before the court appearance, Nick’s lawyer, famous criminal defense attorney Alan Jackson, abruptly resigned. Jackson said at the time that he and his team “had no choice but to withdraw and seek relief.”
Nick, who faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, is being held in solitary confinement at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles without bail.
Rob and Nick are said to have gotten into an argument at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party the night before the Hollywood icon and Michelle were murdered.
However, a close friend of Rob’s told Page Six that Nick and his parents were on very good terms in the weeks before his tragic death.
Nick had been in and out of rehabilitation facilities due to drug addiction, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia before his parents died.
Nick’s brothers, Romy and Jake Reiner, are slowly returning to normal life after losing their beloved parents, but they’re keeping a low profile.
If you or a loved one is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
