Nick Reiner Faces Death As Prosecutors Say He ‘Lay In Wait’ To Kill Parents

A Los Angeles County grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner on murder charges in the brutal slayings of his parents, actor and director Rob and photographer and producer Michele Reiner. There was an additional allegation that he was lying in wait before the attack.

The indictment was returned on July 20 and was unsealed Wednesday, when Nick Reiner entered a plea of “not guilty.”

The grand jury indictment allows prosecutors to skip California’s preliminary hearing process. Because Nick is accused of lying in wait to attack, prosecutors are able to seek the death penalty, though they have not specified whether or not they intend to do so, The Associated Press reported.

“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. “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 is currently being held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on September 15.

The deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, who were discovered in their home on December 14, stunned Hollywood. Their son, Nick, was charged with their murders shortly afterward. Witnesses have alleged he was behaving erratically at a party hosted by Conan O’Brien shortly before the killings.

Nick Reiner’s two siblings, Romy, 28, and Jake, 34, issued a statement after their brother’s first court appearance in December.

“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” the statement read.

According to police documents, when Romy discovered her parents’ bodies, she told responding officers that her brother had been living in on the property and described him as “dangerous.”

Nick Reiner’s attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew from the case for undisclosed reasons in January, as The Daily Wire previously reported.