Nick Reiner won't face death penalty if convicted, DA says
Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said on Tuesday.
If Nick Reiner is convicted of the murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, the maximum sentence he would face is life without the possibility of parole, Hochman said.
Hochman said while deciding whether or not to seek the death penalty, the DA's office examined the aggravating and mitigating factors and spoke to the victims' family, prosecutors and law enforcement.
Nick Reiner's siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, made their views about the death penalty "very clear," Hochman said, adding that the DA's office took "their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty."
LA County deputy public defender Kimberly Greene called not seeking the death penalty the "right decision," saying Nick Reiner "has a serious mental illness and a long history of struggling with self-medicating."
"His circumstances are a tragic example of how difficult it can be for people experiencing significant mental health challenges to access and navigate the treatment and support they need," Greene said in a statement. "... Our hearts remain with the family and all those impacted by these tragic deaths. We will continue to approach this case with care, compassion and a commitment to ensuring that Nick’s circumstances are fully understood."
Nick Reiner, who turned 33 on Monday, is accused of fatally stabbing his parents in the family's home in December. The night before the killings, Nick Reiner -- who was living on his parents' property and had previously struggled with addiction -- got into an argument with his father at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News at the time.
A point of debate in the case is the potential unsealing of the grand jury transcripts, Hochman said.
Jake and Romy Reiner expressed a "strong desire for these transcripts to remain sealed," Hochman said.
The siblings "basically have said the disclosure to the public and media of the details and evidence of the killing of their parents will cause them additional trauma and harm," the DA explained.
Hochman said prosecutors "have made it clear to the court that under the standards of whether or not unsealing the transcripts would prejudice the government's investigation, or prejudice the right to a defendant's fair and impartial trial, that we do not believe that unsealing the transcripts will cause such prejudice."
"However, we have deferred to the court the decision on this ruling of whether or not the transcript should be unsealed," he continued.
Nick Reiner made a brief appearance in court on Tuesday and is set to return to court on Oct. 7 for a hearing over the potential unsealing of the documents, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
The indictment unsealed in August charged Nick Reiner with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait, according to prosecutors. He also faces a special allegation that he used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife. He pleaded not guilty.
No trial date has been set. Hochman said on Tuesday that he believes a trial will not occur before 2027, adding, "when the defense is ready to proceed, the government will be ready to proceed."
If Hochman had decided to pursue the death penalty, it would have been mostly a symbolic move. While California does have inmates on death row, there has not been an execution in the state in 20 years and Gov. Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in 2019.
