Nick Reiner had been diagnosed with schizophrenia before he allegedly stabbed his parents to death in a shocking double homicide inside the family’s Los Angeles home, Rolling Stone has confirmed.
Legendary actor and director Rob Reiner and his photographer and producer wife, Michele Singer Reiner, died from “multiple sharp force injuries” at their Brentwood residence on Dec. 14, coroner investigators confirmed Wednesday. Nick, 32, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, with prosecutors identifying the alleged murder weapon as a knife.
TMZ was the first to report Nick’s schizophrenia diagnosis. Sources reportedly told the outlet that Nick had been receiving treatment at a Los Angeles center specializing in mental illness and substance abuse. A recent change in Nick’s medications had been causing “erratic and dangerous” behavior that his doctors were trying to get under control, the sources reportedly said.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County D.A. Nathan Hochman said the felony charges included the special circumstances of multiple murders with a deadly weapon, making Nick eligible for the death penalty if tried and convicted as charged. (Any trial would require that a judge first find him competent to stand trial.) Hochman said his office was still considering whether to seek the death penalty. Gov. Gavin Newsom currently has a moratorium on executions in California.
Hochman declined to comment on whether Nick had a history of mental illness, separate from his admitted struggles with addiction. “If there is evidence of mental illness, it will be presented in court and in whatever detail the defense seeks to do that,” he said.
Nick was arrested late Sunday near Exposition Park, west of downtown Los Angeles. Hours earlier, his younger sister, Romy, had discovered the murder scene and called for help, Rolling Stone previously confirmed.
Nick went before a judge for the first time on Wednesday, appearing in a sleeveless blue suicide-prevention gown with a shackle around his waist. His high-powered defense lawyer, former county prosecutor Alan Jackson, said it was too early to enter a plea, so the arraignment was postponed to next month.
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“This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family. We all recognize that,” Jackson said in a statement outside the courthouse after the hearing. “Our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family. There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. They need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with and examined.”
Sources previously told Rolling Stone that the night before their slayings, Rob and Michele Reiner had asked if they could bring Nick as their guest to Conan O’Brien’s holiday party. At the party, Nick was exhibiting “antisocial behavior,” including staring at people, sources said.
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The Reiners had three children together. On Wednesday, their older son Jake, 34, and Romy, 27, broke their silence to share their grief and thank supporters. “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,” the siblings said in the statement obtained by Rolling Stone. “They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”
The siblings expressed gratitude for the “outpouring of condolences” they’ve received. “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,” they said.