The Los Angeles County district attorney charged him with two counts of first-degree murder two days later. If convicted, Reiner could face up to life in prison without parole or the death penalty, although no decision has been made yet about seeking a death sentence.
Reiner made a brief court appearance the week of his arrest, but his arraignment was postponed at Jackson’s request.
“There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. Those need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with,” Jackson added after that hearing.
Reiner arrived at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Centre yesterday in brown clothing and with close-shaved hair. He conferred briefly with Jackson and other lawyers through plexiglass as he sat in an enclosed area for defendants.
After sitting down, he stared straight ahead, expressionless. His lawyers spoke briefly to the judge and intermittently conferred with Reiner before Jackson announced his withdrawal from the case.
For years, Reiner has struggled with drug abuse and has had several stints in rehab. He fought with his parents often. Being Charlie, the loosely autobiographical 2015 film based on his experiences that was co-written by Reiner and directed by his father, reflected their tense family dynamic.
One of Reiner’s final arguments with his parents reportedly happened at a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien, where he had been behaving strangely, according to a person with knowledge of the party, who spoke anonymously.
Reiner’s 34-year-old brother, Jake, and his 28-year-old sister, Romy, wrote in a statement last month that “words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. 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. 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”.
Other tributes to the murdered couple poured in from close entertainer friends Billy and Janice Crystal, Martin Short and Larry David, and from Democratic Party political figures, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi.
Rob Reiner won two Emmy Awards for his role in All in the Family. He also directed several critically acclaimed films such as This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally … and The Princess Bride. Singer Reiner was a photographer known for taking Donald Trump’s photo for his 1987 book The Art of the Deal.
The couple, who met on the set of When Harry Met Sally … and were married for 36 years, collaborated on film projects and political activism, advocating for early-childhood education and the legalisation of same-sex marriage at the state and national levels.
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