DA not pursuing death penalty against Nick Reiner

Nick Reiner is accused of fatally stabbing his parents at the family's home.

September 15, 2026, 11:20 AM

Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said on Tuesday.

If he is convicted, the maximum sentence he would face is life without the possibility of parole, Hochman said.

Hochman said while deciding whether or not to seek the death penalty, the DA's office examined the aggravating and mitigating factors and spoke to the victims' family, prosecutors and law enforcement.

Nick Reiner, who turned 33 on Monday, is accused of fatally stabbing his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, in the family's home in December.

The night before the killings, Nick Reiner -- who was living on his parents' property and had previously struggled with addiction -- got into an argument with his father at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News at the time.

Nick Reiner is due in court on Tuesday for a hearing concerning the unsealing of the grand jury transcripts, Hochman said.

Nick Reiner's siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, expressed a "strong desire for these transcripts to remain sealed," Hochman said.

Jake and Romy Reiner "basically have said the disclosure to the public and media of the details and evidence of the killing of their parents will cause them additional trauma and harm," he explained.

Hochman said prosecutors "have made it clear to the court that under the standards of whether or not unsealing the transcripts would prejudice the government's investigation, or prejudice the right to a defendant's fair and impartial trial, that we do not believe that unsealing the transcripts will cause such prejudice."

However, we have deferred to the court the decision on this ruling of whether or not the transcript should be unsealed," he added.

The indictment unsealed in August charged Nick Reiner with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait, according to prosecutors. He also faces a special allegation that he used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife. He pleaded not guilty.

Nick Reiner is held on no bond. No trial date has been set.

While California does have inmates on death row, there has not been an execution in the state in 20 years and Gov. Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in 2019.