Nick Reiner will not be facing the death penalty for the December 2025 murders of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Tuesday.
“We did speak with Nick Reiner’s siblings,” Hochman said at a morning press conference. “They made their views very clear. We took their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty.”
“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,” he added in a statement. “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.”
If convicted, Nick faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. While no trial date has been set just yet, Hochman indicated he didn’t see it starting before 2027.
Last month, Nick was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder after his parents were stabbed to death in their Brentwood home, adding a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait. Reiner was arrested just hours after his parents were found dead in their home and has been held without bail ever since.
He has pleaded not guilty. While Hochman has not disclosed Nick’s siblings’ views on the matter, it is worth noting that both Rob and Michele stood throughout their lives in staunch opposition to the death penalty.
“We have gone through a rigorous review where we look at the aggravating factors as well as the mitigating factors, where we have spoken to the victims’ family, we have spoken to prosecutors, law enforcement, and worked with the most senior people in the district attorney’s office,” Hochman said Tuesday, regarding his office’s decision not to seek the death penalty.
“The brutal murders of Michele and Rob Reiner are ones that will never leave us,” Hochman reiterated. “We believe we have that murderer right now in custody.”
Hochman’s announcement comes the morning after Rob Reiner was extensively honored at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles Monday night. During the show’s In Memoriam segment, Reiner’s friend and “New Girl” and “The Bear” co-star Jamie Lee Curtis took to the stage to pay tribute to him.
“He was generous and kind and funny as hell,” Curtis said of Reiner, adding, “And a friend to all. And we all miss Rob and Michele and all those we lost this year.”
