Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Sept. 15 that his office will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

Los Angeles County prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, who is accused of fatally stabbing his parents, director Rob Reiner and photographer-producer Michele Singer Reiner, in their Brentwood home last year.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the decision on Sept. 15, saying his office determined capital punishment was not appropriate after reviewing the circumstances of the case and consulting with members of the Reiner family.

“This decision reflects our careful judgment about the most appropriate path to take in this case and does not diminish the severity of these crimes,” Hochman said. “I have spoken to the Reiner family and evaluated the mitigating and aggravating factors that are part of special circumstance murder cases. Seeking capital punishment should be reserved for the most egregious instances, and we determined after a thorough review that the death penalty was not the appropriate resolution in this case.”

Reiner, 33, was indicted by a grand jury in July, and the indictment was unsealed on Aug. 12. He pleaded not guilty that day to two counts of murder with special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait. He also faces an allegation that he used a knife.

The lying-in-wait and multiple-murder allegations made Reiner eligible for either the death penalty or life in state prison without the possibility of parole.

Reiner is accused of fatally stabbing his parents during the early morning hours of Dec. 14, 2025, at their home in Brentwood. Rob Reiner was 78 and Michele Singer Reiner was 70.

Los Angeles Police Department officers were called to the home that afternoon. Investigators identified Nick Reiner as the suspect, and he was arrested later that night in Exposition Park.

The case has also seen a change in Reiner’s defense team. Attorney Alan Jackson withdrew from the case in January, saying circumstances beyond his and Reiner’s control made continued representation impossible. The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office was subsequently appointed to represent Reiner.

At the time, Jackson told reporters his team believed Reiner was “not guilty of murder,” while Hochman said prosecutors were confident a jury would convict him beyond a reasonable doubt.

With the death penalty no longer being sought, Reiner now faces life in state prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. He remains jailed without bail. Reiner is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 7.