Nick Reiner, with a freshly shaved head, appeared in court for his arraignment on murder charges in connection with the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, who were found dead inside their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home on December 14th. As he arrived at the court on Wednesday, January 7th, Nick, 32, was dressed in a khaki jumpsuit and a rugged five o'clock shadow, accompanied by his attorney Alan Jackson. His hands remained cuffed as he sat through the hearing, during which Jackson withdrew from the case and Nick was reassigned a public defender.
Nick appeared on the verge of tears as he made his way through the court proceedings. He waived his right to finish his arraignment on January 7th, and the court proceedings were rescheduled for February 23rd. According to an L.A. County sheriff's source, PEOPLE confirmed on Monday, January 5th that Nick was no longer on suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles prior to the arraignment. He had previously been placed under heightened supervision when he entered the jail system on December 15th and had been held in solitary confinement in the weeks since his arrest in connection with his parents' death.
In solitary confinement, he is required to wear a jail-issued shirt and blue pants, according to the sheriff's source. The jail has removed the suicide-prevention smock he was previously required to wear at all times and wore during his first court appearance in the murder case on December 17th.
Nick faces two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his parents, director Rob, 78, and photographer Michele, 70. The L.A. County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to PEOPLE on December 17th that the couple died from "multiple sharp force injuries."
Nathan J. Hochman, the L.A. County district attorney, is also pursuing a murder conviction with "special circumstances," a designation that could make Nick eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole. In the years leading up to their deaths, there were signs of concern at the Reiners' home. Police previously responded to welfare-check calls at the Los Angeles residence, records obtained by PEOPLE on January 2nd show. In 2019, officers went to the home twice while their son Nick was living there - once for a call coded as a welfare check and once for a call classified as mental health-related.
Nick was reportedly being treated for schizophrenia before the deaths of his parents. The Los Angeles Times and KNBC both reported, citing sources, that Nick was being treated with medication for the mental illness. Schizophrenia is a widely misunderstood but treatable condition characterized by symptoms of psychosis, psychiatrist Dr. Molly "Mary" Conlon told PEOPLE. Conlon oversees the inpatient program at Northwell Health's Zucker Hillside Hospital and is not connected to Nick, his treatment or the case.
Rob and Michele first met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally... and later married in 1989. They also shared son Jake, 34, and daughter Romy, 28, in addition to Nick; Rob also shared daughter Tracey, 61, with his first wife, the late actress Penny Marshall.
