What you need to know
Nick Reiner will be represented by a public defender after his lawyer withdrew from the case as he was scheduled to be charged with murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of his parents Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner.
Alan Jackson, who appeared at his first court appearance after Reiner’s arrest, will no longer represent Nick, PEOPLE has confirmed. He will now be represented by a public defender named Kimberly Greene.
Nick was in a Los Angeles courtroom with a shaved head and wearing a tan jumpsuit when Jackson entered the judge’s chambers on Wednesday, January 7. He did not enter a plea.
After speaking with the judge, Jackson told the court his defense team had “no choice” but to withdraw from the case.
The arraignment was then postponed to February 23.
After the hearing, Jackson declined to say why he withdrew from the case, but said his former client was “not guilty” of the murder.
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Greene spoke after Jackson and told reporters she had only spoken to Nick briefly this morning and had not spoken to his family.
A spokesperson for the Reiner family released a statement following Jackson’s withdrawal.
“They have the utmost confidence in the legal process and will not be commenting further on matters related to the legal process,” the spokesperson said.
Rob, 78, and Michelle, 70, were found dead in their home on Sunday afternoon, December 14, and their son Nick, 32, was arrested about six hours later.
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Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hockman announced at a December 16 press conference that Nick is expected to be charged with two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstances of multiple murders and a special charge of using a “dangerous and deadly” weapon, such as a knife.
Hochman gave a short speech after the Jan. 7 hearing, saying Nick was entitled to a fair defense and was confident a jury would find him guilty of murder.
Hochman said because the case is being tried under special circumstances, if convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison without parole or the death penalty. “No decision has been made regarding the death penalty at this time,” Hochman told reporters, adding that the family’s views would be taken into account.
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The couple’s deaths occurred hours after Rob and his son Nick allegedly got into a heated argument Saturday night at a Christmas party hosted by Conan O’Brien, according to a press statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
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Two sources described the incident between father and son at Mr O’Brien’s Christmas party, with one source describing it as a “big fight”.
Hours later, Rob and Michelle were allegedly murdered inside their home.
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People newspaper reported that the couple’s daughter Romy Reiner, 28, first discovered it on December 14th. According to the New York Times, Romy ran from the house after finding her father, but did not initially realize that her mother had also been killed until she was contacted by emergency personnel.
When the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived at the family’s home to provide medical assistance around 3:40 p.m. local time, the couple was pronounced dead at the scene.
Later that night, Nick was arrested “without incident” near the University of Southern California campus and charged with murder, authorities announced at a press conference on Dec. 16.
“No one should ever have to experience the horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michelle Reiner,” Romy and her brother Jake Reiner, 34, said in a joint statement on Dec. 17, asking the public both for privacy and for “speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity” amid the legal fallout over her brother Nick’s impending indictment.
Jake and Romy said: “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day.”
Rob and Michelle first met while directing When Harry Met Sally and later married in 1989. The couple have three children, Jake, Nick and Romy, and Rob also has a 61-year-old daughter, Tracy, with his first wife, the late actress Penny Marshall.
