Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty on Monday in the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele, who were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14.
Reiner, 32, appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, and spoke only once, agreeing to a future court date of April 29.
Reiner is facing two counts of murder with an enhancement that could carry the death penalty or life without parole if he is convicted.
He is being represented by Kimberly Greene, a deputy public defender who took over the case after his initial lawyer, Alan Jackson, withdrew last month.
No mention was made of Reiner’s mental state during the brief hearing. Reiner wore a brown jumpsuit and his head was shaven.
Outside court, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office is still in the process of deciding whether to seek the death penalty. Hochman, who reversed his predecessor’s moratorium on seeking execution, said that veteran prosecutors with death penalty experience would be involved in the decision.
Hochman said he expected that a preliminary hearing in the case will likely be delayed due to the volume of evidence in the case.
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Judge Sam Ohta was assigned to handle the case going forward.
Reiner is being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. He was arrested around 9:15 p.m. on Dec. 14, hours after his parents’ bodies were discovered by his sister.
“Rob Reiner was one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation,” Hochman said when the charges were filed, calling their deaths “shocking and tragic.” “We owe it to their memory to pursue justice and accountability for the lives that were taken.”
Nick Reiner was open about his years-long battle with drug addiction. He told interviewers that he attended 18 rehabs between the ages of 15 and 19. In an interview for Anna David’s recovery podcast, he said he had thrown a rock through a window to prove he needed medication.
“I was insane,” he said. “And I said, ‘I’m insane.’ And they said, ‘No, you’re not.’ I was like, ‘Well, they’re not taking my word for it. I might as well demonstrate what crazy is.’”
From Variety US