LOS ANGELES — Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Wednesday after prosecutors unsealed an indictment against the son of actor-director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, accusing him of “lying in wait” to fatally stab his parents at their Los Angeles-area home in December.
Nick Reiner, 32, made a brief court appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The newly released indictment replaces the original murder counts filed in 2025, according to the newspaper. On Wednesday, Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder with special circumstances.
“This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. “The indictment unsealed today also adds a special circumstance allegation that the defendant committed the murders by means of lying in wait. We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case, it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice.”
Nick Reiner has been indicted for the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, in their Brentwood home last year, with prosecutors signaling an aggressive posture on the case as they look to trial.
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 12, 2026
Details on the new indictment: https://t.co/uw7D379vEh pic.twitter.com/KHunMappbD
Hochman said authorities will decide whether to seek a death penalty against Nick Reiner at a later date, according to The Washington Post. He is being held without bail. The special circumstance in the indictment makes a person at sentencing subject to either life without parole or the death penalty, the Times reported.
Nick Reiner has been held in custody without bail since pleading not guilty to the murders in February, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He was accused of stabbing Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, on Dec. 14, 2025, at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, the district attorney’s office said in its news release.
Nick Reiner fled but was arrested later that evening in Exposition Park.
He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances relating to multiple homicides. That allowed the district attorney’s office to seek a sentence of life in prison without parole if he was convicted, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the district attorney’s office, Nick Reiner is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 15.
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