Nick Reiner, who was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances following the passing of his father and mother, Rob and Michele Singer Reiner, appeared back in court on Wednesday, April 29.
According to PEOPLE, Reiner “sat stone-faced with a goatee and a shaved head, while wearing a yellow smock and plastic restraints.” While he barely spoke during the appearance, his only response came when the judge asked if he agreed to waive his rights to expedite the proceedings, where he responded, “Yes.”
This comes as Reiner’s court-appointed defense lawyer, Kimberly Greene, says that they are still waiting on more evidence from the prosecution, which includes the release of reports detailing the autopsies of Rob and Michele.
The preliminary hearing has now been scheduled for September 15.
Nick Reiner Entered Formal Plea In February
On Monday, Feb. 23, Reiner appeared at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse where he entered a not guilty plea in the murder of his parents. While he has yet to specificaly plea insanity, his mental status at the time of the murders is expected to play a factor in his defense.
If he’s found guilty, Nick could face a death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Nick is now being represented by Kimberly Greene after his first attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew from the case in January. However, Alan has since spoken out, making it clear that he does not believe Nick is guilty.
“We’ve investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front,” Jackson also said in January. “What we’ve learned – and you can take this to the bank – is that pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder — print that,” Jackson said outside the courthouse after he resigned.
Rob Reiner’s Son Jake Opens Up About His Parents Passing For The First Time
Jake Reiner, the other son of Rob and Michele, spoke out for the first time since his parents’ passing, sharing a touching and heartbreaking statement on Substack on Friday, April 24 (per ABC News).
“I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream,” he said. “”This truly is my living nightmare.”
“One thing I keep coming back to is how frightened they must have been,” Jake said of his parents. “They were the last people in the world to deserve what happened to them. They deserved to be loved, they deserved to be respected, and above all they deserved to be appreciated for how much they gave to all three of us and to the world.”
He also reflected on the fact that it was his brother behind this tragedy.
“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” Jake wrote. “Any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it,” he said. “It’s almost too impossible to process. I understand that people have questions about what happened. Some of those answers will come in time. But some parts of this belong only to our family.”
