LOS ANGELES (Court TV) — The Los Angeles County District Attorney has announced his office would not pursue the death penalty for Nick Reiner.
Nick Reiner appears in court on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Chris Torres/Pool Photo via AP)
Nick Reiner, 33, has pleaded not guilty to counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances of lying in wait in the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner.
“We did speak with Nick Reiner’s siblings; they made their views very clear,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a news conference on Tuesday morning. “We took their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty.” Nick Reiner now faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if he’s convicted.
The Reiner family has “expressed a strong desire for these transcripts to remain sealed,” Hochman said. “They have basically said that the disclosure to the public and the media of the details and evidence of the killing of their parents will cause them additional trauma and harm, and they have respectfully asked for the court to keep the transcripts sealed.”
At a brief hearing on Tuesday morning, Judge Sam Ohta issued a conditional order to seal the transcripts.
Nick Reiner was arrested hours after his parents were found dead from apparent stab wounds in their Brentwood home. Rob Reiner rose to fame as part of the sitcom “All in the Family,” and went on to direct films including “When Harry Met Sally…,” “A Few Good Men” and “The Princess Bride.” Michele Reiner was a photographer and movie producer; the couple had four children, with Nick Reiner as the third-born.
Prosecutors have not shared any possible motive in the case and have released few details about their investigation.
Hochman said he anticipates the defense will file a motion to dismiss the charges, but none had been filed as of Sept. 15. While the district attorney said he anticipates the case will not head to trial until 2027, he said the prosecution is ready to try the case as soon as the defense declares it is prepared.
As Nick Reiner prepares his defense, he has filed a motion seeking access to a trust fund his parents created as part of their estate plan. The trust’s instructions dictated that the defendant receive the first half of the money in the account when he turned 30—on Sept. 14, 2023—but that never happened. “Although the Trust still holds more than $1.5 million for Nick’s sole benefit, and every dollar of it must be released to him outright in two years when Nick turns 35, the Trustee still has not released the money he was due on his 30th birthday, or even told Nick its amount,” the motion said.
Nick Reiner’s defense accused the trustee of offering “a shifting series of excuses and justifications,” including “unsubstantiated ‘concerns’ about Nick’s so-called competence to ‘manage a trust.'”
“The stakes for Nick could not be higher,” the motion says. “While the Trustee unjustifiably continues to withhold funds that are rightfully Nick’s (and which must be released in their entirety no later than when he turns 35), Nick has been unable to obtain even the small sums he needs for basic necessities while incarcerated—or to pay for criminal counsel.”
The motion revealed that Alan Jackson — the attorney who famously represented Karen Read — withdrew from representing Nick Reiner because “anticipated funding did not materialize.” After Jackson withdrew, the judge appointed a public defender to represent Nick Reiner. The motion said that the defendant wants to rehire Jackson’s firm if funds are available and made clear that the money he is seeking is not part of his parents’ estate.
Reiner is due to return to court on Oct. 7.
