Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty to murdering his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, more than two months after the couple were found dead inside their home.
Nick, 32, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for his arraignment on two counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, according to a report from Deadline published on Monday, February 23. Prosecutors allege both victims died from multiple stab wounds inside their Brentwood home on December 14.
Nick has been held without bail since his arrest hours after the bodies were discovered. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, per NBC. He is also accused of using a deadly weapon, identified in court documents as a knife. If proven, those enhancements could result in a harsher sentence.
His arraignment was initially scheduled for January 7, but it had to be delayed after his original criminal defense attorney, Alan Jackson, asked to be removed from the case.
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Jackson previously reiterated his belief in his former client’s innocence, noting: “What we’ve learned and you can take this to the bank, is that pursuant to the laws of this state, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Print that. We wish him the very very best moving forward.”
Jackson has not specified why he requested to be removed from Nick’s case, and in January, he told Kelly Ripa that he couldn’t divulge his reasoning for “ethical” and “legal” obligations during an appearance on her Sirius XM radio show.
However, Jackson also told Ripa that he and his team “remain and will remain completely committed to the best interests of Nick Reiner.”