Nick Reiner, with a Newly Shaved Head, on Verge of Tears as He Appears for Arraignment Over Parents’ Killings

Nick Reiner appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom with a freshly shaved head for his arraignment on murder charges connected to the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. The couple were found dead inside their Brentwood home on Dec. 14.

The 32-year-old arrived at the Jan. 7 hearing wearing a khaki jail-issued jumpsuit and sporting a five o’clock shadow. His hands were cuffed as he sat beside attorney Alan Jackson, who formally withdrew from the case during the proceeding. The court reassigned Nick a public defender. Visibly emotional, he waived his right to complete the arraignment that day, and the hearing was continued to Feb. 23.

Ahead of the court appearance, authorities confirmed that Nick was no longer on suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. He had initially been placed under heightened supervision when he entered custody on Dec. 15 and was held in solitary confinement in the weeks following his arrest.

While in solitary confinement, Nick has been required to wear standard jail clothing, including a jail-issued shirt and blue pants. Officials also removed the suicide-prevention smock he had been required to wear during his earlier detention and first court appearance on Dec. 17.

Nick faces two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his parents — director Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, 70. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that both victims died from multiple sharp-force injuries.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman is pursuing the case with special-circumstance allegations, a legal designation that could make Nick eligible for either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Law enforcement records indicate that police had responded to welfare-check calls at the Reiners’ home in the years before the killings. In 2019, officers visited the residence twice while Nick was living there — once for a welfare check and once in response to a mental health–related call.

Multiple media outlets have reported that Nick was being treated for schizophrenia prior to his parents’ deaths and was receiving medication for the condition. Mental health experts note that schizophrenia, while often misunderstood, is a treatable illness that can involve symptoms such as psychosis.

Rob and Michele Reiner met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally… and married in 1989. They shared three children — Nick, Jake, and Romy — and Rob also had a daughter, Tracey, from his previous marriage to the late actress Penny Marshall.