Nick Reiner indicted on new 'lying in wait' charge in Rob and Michele Reiner murders
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Nick Reiner has been indicted in the fatal stabbings of his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer-producer Michele Reiner, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday, August 12.
A grand jury indictment was unsealed, charging the 32-year-old with the murders at the couple’s Brentwood home in December 2025.
The indictment, returned on July 20, replaces the original murder charges and adds a special-circumstance allegation of "lying in wait."
Nick Reiner faces new murder indictment
After the indictment was unsealed on Wednesday, Nick pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder with special-circumstance allegations involving multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait.
He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.
The lying-in-wait allegation would make Nick eligible for life without parole or the death penalty if convicted.
“This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing,” LA County District Attorney Nathan J Hochman said in a statement.
He added, “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.” The late couple were found dead at their Westside Los Angeles home on December 14, 2025.
Their daughter and Nick’s sister, Romy, discovered Rob’s body, prompting her roommate to alert authorities, who later found Michele’s body.
The LA County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that both died from multiple sharp-force injuries, with their manner of death ruled a homicide.
Nick was initially charged with two counts of murder and pleaded not guilty in February.
He is being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles without bail and is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on September 15.
At an April 23 hearing, he waived his right to a speedy trial and agreed to a general time waiver, responding only “yes” when asked whether he understood the delay.
Jake Reiner mourns parents' tragic deaths
Nick and Romy’s brother, Jake Reiner, wrote about the deaths of their parents and the devastation of having Nick at the center of the tragedy. In an April Substack essay, he wrote, “We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable.”
He added that losing both parents at the same time and having his brother at the center of their deaths was “almost too impossible to process.”
Jake also wrote, “I understand that people have questions about what happened. Some of those answers will come in time."
He continued, "But some parts of this belong only to our family, and keeping them private is the only way to protect what little remains of something that was taken from us.”
Nick also recently allegedly caused a “verbal disturbance” at the Los Angeles County Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
According to a July 29 report, he allegedly became “extremely hostile” toward jail deputies after taking a shower around 8:15 am on April 27 and wanting to be escorted back to his cell.
When deputies did not immediately return, he allegedly began “yelling, screaming, being disrespectful,” and “shouting many profanities.”
A source described him as “very impatient,” “upset and hostile,” and “frustrated and angry,” while deputies were reportedly handling a medical emergency elsewhere in the jail.
