Nick Reiner makes brief court appearance on murder charges, next hearing set for September
Nick Reiner makes brief court appearance on murder charges, next hearing set for September
Dylan StablefordWed, April 29, 2026 at 6:24 PM UTC
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Nick Reiner appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday for the first time since being arraigned on murder charges in the stabbing deaths of his parents, Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. He pleaded not guilty in February and is being held without bail.
During the brief appearance, Reiner, 32, agreed to waive a deadline for a preliminary hearing, during which a judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. His next court appearance will be held on Sept. 15, when a date for that hearing will be set.
The proceeding was not televised. According to reporters in the courtroom, Nick Reiner wore a yellow prison smock and blue pants. Prosecutors said in court that they were still awaiting autopsy results.
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead inside their home in Brentwood on Dec. 14.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said the preliminary cause of their deaths was "multiple sharp force injuries."
Nick Reiner was arrested hours later and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
The charges — which include special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and use of a dangerous weapon, a knife — carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty with no possibility of parole. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said no decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty.
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His initial arraignment was delayed for weeks after his former lawyer, the high-profile defense attorney Alan Jackson, abruptly quit the case, citing unspecified reasons beyond his and his client’s control. He is now being represented by public defender Kimberly Greene.
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer at the Los Angeles premiere of "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" in 2025. (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
Rob Reiner was the director of several classic Hollywood movies, including This Is Spinal Tap, A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, Stand by Me and Misery.
As an actor, Reiner was best known for playing Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the iconic sitcom All in the Family, alongside Archie Bunker.
Singer Reiner was a photographer and producer. The couple met on the set of When Harry Met Sally and married in 1989. They shared three children together: Jake, Nick and Romy. Rob Reiner also had an adopted daughter, Tracy, from his previous marriage to Penny Marshall.
In an online essay published last week, Jake Reiner described the killings of his parents as a "living nightmare."
"Nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it," Jake Reiner wrote. “It’s almost too impossible to process."
Nick Reiner had spoken publicly about his struggles with mental illness and addiction. In 2015, Nick and Rob Reiner collaborated on a semi-autobiographical movie, Being Charlie, about Nick’s troubled life and the strain it put on their relationship.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
