Prosecutors in California will file murder charges against Nick Reiner, the younger son of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday.
Hochman said his office is expected to file two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance alleging multiple murders Tuesday afternoon. Nick Reiner also faces a special allegation that he used a knife in the killings, Hochman told reporters.
Nick Reiner faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if convicted, he said.
“Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades,” Hochman said. “His wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, was an equally iconic photographer and producer.”
“Their loss is beyond tragic, and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice,” he said.
Nick Reiner’s attorney, Alan Jackson, said his client was not medically cleared to appear in court Tuesday. Jackson would not specify what medical issue prevented Reiner from being cleared, saying only that it was “procedural.”
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In the grip of drugs, Nick had distanced himself from his family. But having returned to his parents’ home in Los Angeles, he frightened them with lengthy, chaotic binges, an insider told the Daily Mail.
“He would do meth and not sleep for days and then have outbursts, breaking things, punching walls,” the source said, claiming that Rob and Michele had threatened to kick him out of the house if he did not stop using drugs.
In September, the family appeared united as they posed alongside Nick, their daughter Romy, their elder son Jake and his wife, Maria Gilfillan, at the premiere for Spinal Tap II.