No Death Penalty for Rob Reiner's Son, Prosecutor Says

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Tuesday, September 15, that his office will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner (33), who is charged with killing his parents, director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner. Hochman made the announcement at a press conference outside the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

“After careful and thorough consideration of all these factors, the District Attorney’s Office will not seek the death penalty in this case,” Hochman said. He added that the harshest possible sentence, if Reiner is convicted, remains life in prison without the possibility of parole. “That means the most severe sentence facing Mr. Reiner is life in prison without the possibility of parole,” the prosecutor said.

Nick Reiner is accused of stabbing his parents to death on December 14, 2025, at their home in Los Angeles. According to the indictment, unsealed in August, he faces two counts of first degree murder, with special circumstance allegations of multiple murder and lying in wait, along with a separate allegation of using a knife as a deadly weapon. At his arraignment in February 2026, he pleaded not guilty.

Hochman said that before reaching the decision, his office also spoke with the defendant’s brother and sister, Jake and Romy Reiner. “We spoke with Nick Reiner’s brother and sister, and they made their views clear,” the prosecutor said, adding that their opinion was taken into account in the final decision not to seek the death penalty. He did not disclose what sentence the family had asked for.

Public defender Kimberly Green, who represents Nick Reiner, called the prosecution’s decision the right one. According to her statement, cited by ABC News, Reiner suffers from a serious mental illness and has a long history of struggling with self medication.

“His circumstances are a tragic example of how difficult it can be for people with serious mental health struggles to access the treatment and support they need,” Green said, adding that the defense continues to approach the case with care, compassion and a commitment to making sure Nick’s circumstances are fully understood.

The next contested issue in the case concerns the possible unsealing of the grand jury transcripts. According to Hochman, Jake and Romy Reiner have expressed a strong wish for the transcripts to stay sealed, arguing that releasing details of their parents’ killing to the public and the media would cause additional trauma and harm. Hochman said his office has taken no position on the matter, but believes unsealing the records would not harm either side in the proceedings. The final decision rests with the court, and media organizations have until September 22 to object to the family’s request to keep the record closed.

Nick Reiner made a brief court appearance on Tuesday, and the next hearing is scheduled for October 7, when the court will set a schedule for arguments over the transcripts and other pretrial matters. A trial date has not yet been set. Hochman said that, in his estimate, the trial will not begin before 2027.

The killings came to light on December 14, 2025, when a massage therapist arrived for a scheduled appointment at the Reiner family home and got no answer at the door. The therapist then contacted the couple’s daughter, Romy Reiner, who went to her parents’ house and found her father’s body. Paramedics found both parents dead inside the home. Nick Reiner was arrested that same evening after police spotted him walking near the University of Southern California, about 20 kilometers from the crime scene.

Had Hochman decided to seek the death penalty, the move would in practice have been largely symbolic. California still has inmates on death row, but the state has not carried out a single execution in the past 20 years, and Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on carrying out death sentences in 2019.