Nick Reiner’s arraignment, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning, has been delayed after his attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew from the case and asked the judge to replace him with a public defender, per the Associated Press. Reiner’s arraignment is now expected to go forward on February 23.
Reiner, 32, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. He could face a sentence of up to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty, if convicted, per NBC.
Jackson — who has represented Karen Read, Kevin Spacey, and Harvey Weinstein, among others — did not say why he was leaving Reiner’s case.
The Reiners were found dead with stab wounds in their Los Angeles home on December 14. The couple’s daughter, Romy Reiner, reportedly found her dad’s body after she was contacted by a massage therapist who was there for an appointment but got no answer at the gate. Nick Reiner was arrested that night, with the LAPD alleging he was “responsible” for his parents’ deaths.
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Prior to his parents’ deaths, Reiner had long been open about his struggles with addiction, which inspired a 2015 movie, Being Charlie, that he co-wrote and his father directed. In 2016, Reiner told People that he was 15 the first time he went to rehab, and that he returned at least 17 times after that and was at times homeless.
Police have not identified a motive in the case. Reiner made an initial court appearance on December 17, where he was seen wearing a suicide-prevention smock. In a press conference after the hearing, Jackson reportedly asked that the public “allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward, not with the rush to judgment, not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.”
