Nick Reiner has made an appearance in court after pleading not guilty for the murders of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
Nick, 32, attended a hearing on Wednesday, April 29, during which time he waived his right to the 30-day preliminary period. The screenwriter wore blue pants and a yellow jail smock and sported a shaved head and goatee. He remained stone-faced throughout the hearing and spoke only three times to respond to the judge’s questions. At one point, Nick responded, “Uh-huh,” to which the judge asked if that meant “yes.”
Nick’s family was not present in the courtroom.
Nick will appear in court again for a preliminary hearing on September 15, where prosecutors will present evidence to be able to formally charge him.
News broke on December 14, 2025, that Rob and Michele were found dead in their Los Angeles home at ages 78 and 70, respectively. Nick was subsequently arrested in connection to the murders and later denied that he fatally stabbed his parents. The pair shared kids Nick, Jake and Romy, and Rob was also the adoptive father of ex-wife Penny Marshall’s daughter, Tracy.)
One day before Rob and Michele were killed, Nick reportedly got into a verbal dispute at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party. Nick had been staying in his parents’ guest house at the time.
Nick, who’s widely reported to suffer from schizophrenia and had been open about his struggles with drug addiction, had reportedly fired his psychiatrist and changed medications before his parents’ murders.
“The medical staff warned Rob and Michele not to let Nick live at home until he got his medication straightened out,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in a March cover story.
Months after Rob and Michele’s deaths, Jake opened up about how he learned his parents were brutally killed.
“On the afternoon of December 14, I was in Union Station at a celebration of life for one of my best friends, Christian Anderson, who died in October,” Jake began in a Substack essay published Friday, April 24. “It was at that moment I received a call from my sister Romy telling me our father was dead. Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead.”
He continued, “The 45-minute Lyft ride from downtown to the west side was unendurable. My world, as I knew it, had collapsed. I was in a trance. The only thing I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home. I needed to get to my sister. I needed to figure out what the hell just happened.”
While Jake stressed in the essay that this was “his story,” he shared that Romy will “tell hers in her own way and in her time.”
“I was robbed of so many things that day,” Jake said. “My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t get to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t get to see me have the successful career I’m still seeking. It simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
