LOS ANGELES, CA — Nick Reiner will not face the death penalty in connection to the murder charges he faces in connection to the killing of his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, the district attorney announced Tuesday.
Nick Reiner, 33, was charged with first-degree murder on Dec. 16, two days after the killings. A grand jury allegation from this summer said he was lying in wait before killing the couple, ages 78 and 70, at their Brentwood home. He has twice pleaded not guilty in the case.
Special circumstances in the allegations made him eligible for the death penalty, including that there were multiple killings and the use of a dangerous weapon, a knife.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced his decision about how to prosecute the case at a news conference Tuesday. He said he made the decision after "rigorous review."
"This decision reflects our careful judgment about the most appropriate path to take in this case and does not diminish the severity of these crimes," Hochman said in a release. "I have spoken to the Reiner family and evaluated the mitigating and aggravating factors that are part of special circumstance murder cases.
"Seeking capital punishment should be reserved for the most egregious instances, and we determined after a thorough review that the death penalty was not the appropriate resolution in this case."
Hochman said that as a result, Reiner will face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A hearing is set for Oct. 7 to discuss the possible sealing of grand jury transcripts at teh request of Reiner's attorney. The defense was also expected to make a motion to dismiss the case, although that has not occurred yet, Hochman said.
The trial is not expected to occur before 2027.
California still officially has capital punishment, but has not executed a convict since 2006, and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on the practice in 2019.
Material from the Associated Press and City News Service was used in this report.
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