A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has agreed to bar the release of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner\u2019s autopsy reports at the request of law enforcement investigating the death of the Hollywood legend and his photographer wife. <\/p>\n
In a prepared statement, the Los Angeles County medical examiner\u2019s office said that it received a court order last week initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department to place a security hold on the cases. The order, signed by Judge Deirdre Hill, restricts the public release of \u201cany investigative information, notes, reports or photos\u201d related to the death investigation, according to the document obtained by The Times on Monday. <\/p>\n
The medical examiner\u2019s office had previously confirmed their deaths were the result of homicide, listing the cause as \u201cmultiple sharp force injuries\u201d in its public database. <\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the court order, the information is no longer available,\u201d the medical examiner\u2019s office wrote. \u201cNo other case information or records, including the Medical Examiner report, can be released or posted on the website until further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The LAPD sought to seal the records \u201cto ensure detectives from Robbery-Homicide Division learned of important information surrounding their deaths before the media and the public,\u201d the department said in a statement The Times on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe order was not sought to undermine transparency,\u201d the department added. <\/p>\n
Security holds are used by law enforcement agencies to prevent the release of details from an autopsy, notes written by coroner\u2019s investigators or results from toxicology and other tests during a death investigation. They have been used in several celebrity and high-profile cases including following the deaths of singer Whitney Houston, actor Paul Walker and the wife of actor Robert Blake. <\/p>\n
Last month, a Los Angeles Police detective wrote in court documents seeking the prevent the release of autopsy details surrounding the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez <\/a>that publishing such information could jeopardize their investigation. Celeste\u2019s body was found in September in the trunk of singer D4vd\u2019s Tesla. <\/a> <\/p>\n The slayings of Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, have given rise to a intensely watched legal struggle involving their son Nick, who has been charged in the killings. <\/p>\n Prosecutors allege the 32-year-old fatally stabbed his parents inside the master bedroom of their Brentwood home early Dec. 14 and then fled. He was arrested that night in Exposition Park near USC. <\/p>\n Nick Reiner could face life in prison without parole, or the death penalty if convicted. He has not yet entered a plea and is expected to appear in court on Jan. 7. <\/p>\n Authorities haven\u2019t offered a motive for the attack. <\/p>\n