Nick Reiner Pleads Not Guilty to Parents Murders, After High Profile Lawyer Walks Away

Nick Reiner, 32 pleads not guilty to the December 2025 murders of his parents, director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. His preliminary hearing has been postponed to Sept. 15, 2026, as the defense is still waiting for evidence. There is roughly 2 terabytes of discovery and autopsy results. Reiner is now represented by a public defender after his previous high-profile attorney Alan Jackson withdrew.

Reports suggest Reiner is in a high-observation mental health unit in jail. Reiner has faced severe, long-term mental health challenges, including diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and was under a mental health conservatorship between 2020 and 2021.

The murderders happened after Michele and Rob Reiner leave Conan’s party without their son after his off-putting behavior, like wearing a hoodie to a formal event and interrupting Bill Hader’s private conversation, leads to an embarrassing public row.

Reiner, however, doesn’t make his own way to Brentwood. Instead, he pops up in Santa Monica at 4 a.m. Sunday morning, checking into The Pierside hotel. Desk staff don’t notice anything off about Reiner’s appearance, but the next morning, housekeepers find sheets covering the windows, and blood all over Reiner’s bedding and shower.

The Reiners’ troubles with their middle child have been bubbling to a head for months. Every photo of the family from the September premiere of Rob’s latest film, "Spinal Tap: The End Continues," picture the 32-year-old sporting a deep scowl.

By November, Nick Reiner moves back into his parents’ guest house, which he’s trashed on multiple occasions, leading up to a blowout fight the day after Thanksgiving that left Michele “at her wits’ end.”

Joining Nancy Grace:

• Philip Dubé - Court-Appointed Counsel, Los Angeles County Public Defenders: Criminal & Constitutional Law; Forensics & Mental Health Advocacy; X: PhilipCDube, IG: PhilipDube, YouTube: PhilipDube3922
• Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLivee
• Scott Eicher - A founding member of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (C.A.S.T); Historical Cellular Analysis Expert; Former FBI agent of 22 years; Former Police Officer and Homicide Detective with Norfolk Virginia Police Dept. having served 12 years; Currently with Precision Cellular Analysis handling Criminal, Defense and Civil Cases
• Rob Shuter - Host: Naughty But Nice Podcast, Author of Newly-released Novel “It Started With A Whisper;" Former Publicist of Sean Combs; IG: @naughtygossip
• Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Host of Podcast, "Mayhem in the Morgue," and Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
• Kayla Brantley - Reporter-At-Large for DailyMail.com and Host of DailyMail’s Podcast: 'The Trial of Diddy;' X: @_KaylaBrantley, Instagram: @KaylaBrantley
• Sydney Sumner - Investigative Reporter, ‘Crime Stories’

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