Nick Reiner Fights To Keep Grand Jury Records Sealed In Parents’ Murder Case

LOS ANGELES, CA — An Oct. 21 hearing was set Wednesday in the case of actor-director Rob Reiner's youngest son, Nick, who was indicted on murder charges in the deaths of the famed filmmaker and his photographer wife, Michele, in their Brentwood home.

The hearing involves further status issues regarding a defense motion to keep grand jury transcripts sealed.

Nick Reiner, 33, is charged with the slayings of his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother, who were found dead about 3:30 p.m. Dec. 14 in the couple's Brentwood home in the 200 block of Chadbourne Avenue between Sunset and San Vicente boulevards.

The murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder while lying in wait, along with an allegation that he personally used a knife in the commission of the crime.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced last month that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner.

"In deciding whether or not the DA's office was going to seek the death penalty, we have gone through a rigorous review, where we look at the aggravating factors as well as the mitigating factors," he told reporters Sept. 15. "We have spoken to the victims' family. We have spoken to prosecutors and law enforcement and have worked with the most senior people in the district attorney's office. After a careful and thorough review of all these factors, the district attorney's office will not be seeking the death penalty in this case. That means the maximum sentence that Mr. Reiner will be looking at is life without the possibility of parole."

Hochman said then that his office would leave a motion by the defense to seal the grand jury transcripts of the case to the discretion of the court, although prosecutors do not believe unsealing them will prejudice the case against the defendant.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta ordered the transcript to be conditionally sealed pending a hearing on the request by defense attorney Kimberly Greene.

Nick Reiner's siblings, Romy and Jake, also oppose the unsealing of the transcripts, prosecutors Habib Balian and Jonathan Chung wrote in a court filing that noted that the two have "expressed a strong desire for as much privacy as possible after these horrific and unimaginable murders" and that the two have "reasonably asserted 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."

Nick Reiner had been awaiting a hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial, but the grand jury indictment, handed up July 20 and unsealed Aug. 12, could allow the case to proceed more quickly to trial.

In a statement issued after the indictment was unsealed, Hochman said, "This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing. ... We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice."

The L.A. County Office of Medical Examiner classified the couple's deaths as homicides, with both dying from "multiple sharp force injuries."

The death certificates note they were killed "with knife, by another."

Nick Reiner was arrested by Los Angeles police in the Exposition Park area near USC less than six hours after his parents' bodies were discovered. He remains behind bars without bail.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell declined soon afterward to provide any details on what led to Nick Reiner being identified as the suspect.

Another hearing is scheduled Oct. 23 on Nick Reiner's bid for access to a more than $1.5 million trust fund to help pay for his defense against the criminal charges.

Nick Reiner was initially represented on the murder case by prominent local defense attorney Alan Jackson, who left the case a short time later without specifying a reason for his departure. The petition states Nick Reiner's inability to access the trust fund money left him unable to pay for Jackson's services.

According to Nick Reiner's nearly 140-page petition, he contends he has been denied access despite "unambiguous instructions" left by his parents on how to disburse the funds in the trust that was established in 1993.

"Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths," the petition states. "But the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this trust litigation."

The trust was established as part of the Reiners' estate plan, but is separate from the larger family trust that includes the estate's assets, according to the petition, which further states that each of the Reiners' three children has an independent trust for their individual benefit, including Nick Reiner's siblings.

According to the petition, Nick Reiner was entitled to half of the trust when he turned 30 and should receive the remainder when he turns 35 — distributions his attorneys say are mandatory and unconditional.

"They were a commitment by Nick's parents, in the most binding way the law of trusts allows, that these resources would belong to Nick for his use and benefit," the petition states.

Reiner's attorney, Anita Wu, has argued that continued delays were impacting his ability to prepare a defense.

The dispute hinges on California's so-called "slayer statute," which dictates that a person cannot receive an inheritance from the death of someone they intentionally killed.

Reiner's legal team has argued that he is considered innocent until proven guilty, and thus he is not subject to the "slayer statute."

In a statement released the day of their brother's initial appearance in connection with the charges, Nick Reiner's siblings said, "Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren't just our parents; they were our best friends.

"We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life," the two said. "We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave."

Rob Reiner was best known for his iconic role as Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the classic sitcom "All in the Family" — a role for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards, along with being the director of films including "Stand By Me," "The Princess Bride," "A Few Good Men," "Misery," "This Is Spinal Tap" and "When Harry Met Sally."

According to multiple reports, the couple's 28-year-old daughter discovered her father's body. One report suggested that a massage therapist had shown up at the couple's home for a scheduled appointment but got no answer at the door and contacted their daughter, who went inside the home and found Rob Reiner slain. She contacted authorities, who subsequently found Michele Reiner's body in the house.

Rob and Michele Reiner, along with Nick, attended talk-show host Conan O'Brien's Christmas party the night before, and sources said Rob Reiner and his son got into a heated argument over his son's odd behavior at the event. Rob and Michele Reiner wound up leaving the event, but it was unclear when their son left. TMZ reported that Nick Reiner checked into a Santa Monica hotel around 4 a.m. the next day, and that blood was later found in the room.

It was reported in December that Nick Reiner had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was taking medications that made him "erratic and dangerous."

Citing two sources with knowledge of the situation, TMZ reported that he had been under the care of a psychiatrist for mental illness, but that his behavior had grown more alarming in recent weeks.

Nick Reiner has been open about his struggles with drug abuse over the years, even working with his father to produce a 2015 semi-autobiographical movie titled "Being Charlie," based on Nick's drug-addiction issues and the family's struggles to cope.

In media interviews and podcast appearances, he previously described being in and out of rehab programs throughout his teen years, and spending time homeless in various states, including Texas, New Jersey and Maine. He also described an instance when he was high on cocaine for multiple days and trashed his parents' guest house.

Rob Reiner — who was married for 10 years to actress/director Penny Marshall before they divorced in 1981 — married Michele Singer in 1989 after meeting her while he was directing "When Harry Met Sally." Reiner often told the story about how his romance with Singer led him to change the ending to the movie — with the characters played by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan reuniting rather than going their separate ways.

Rob Reiner was a vocal Democratic Party activist, helping to spearhead efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in California and to pass a 1998 initiative that created the First 5 California childhood-development services program, funded by a tobacco tax.

City News Service