What Awaits Nick Reiner

Two weeks since Rob and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood bedroom. Ten days until their son Nick, 32, faces a judge for arraignment. And in that gap, developments keep piling up that paint a picture of what's coming.

Here's what we've learned since my last update.

They Died Within Minutes of Each Other

Death certificates released December 24th confirm what the crime scene suggested: Rob and Michele Reiner died within minutes of suffering "multiple sharp force injuries." The official cause lists their deaths as occurring "with a knife, by another." Rob was discovered at 3:45 PM. Michele at 3:46 PM. Both have been cremated.

The family announced a memorial service will be held "at a later date." Reports indicate the Obamas, Billy Crystal, and Larry David are expected to attend a private ceremony.

The Family Does Not Want Him Executed

This is significant. According to sources close to the family, Jake and Romy Reiner, Nick's surviving siblings, are opposed to the death penalty.

The family reportedly views this as "a catastrophic failure of mental health treatment" rather than a premeditated crime. Another source put it bluntly: "Another death isn't justice."

DA Nathan Hochman has not announced whether his office will seek the death penalty. That decision will likely come after the January 7th arraignment. But if the family is lobbying against it, that carries weight.

Nick's Current Situation: Solitary, Suicide Watch, Silence

Nick Reiner is being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. It's a mental health jail. He's in solitary confinement. He's on suicide watch. He's required to wear a blue suicide-prevention smock at all times.

He cannot speak to anyone except his legal counsel and authorized jail personnel. A police source told PEOPLE this isolation is deliberate: "This is important so that no one compromises this high-profile case, and so that no civilian or inmate can ask him questions, such as why he killed his parents."

When Nick arrived at the jail on December 15th, mental health staff evaluated him and determined he has a "mental disability." According to sources, "He will remain on suicide watch until a doctor clears him, which could take a long time depending on his mental health."

Police Were Called to the Reiner Home Six Times Since 2013

The Daily Mail obtained LAPD records showing officers were called to the Brentwood mansion in 2013, 2014, 2017, twice in 2019, and on December 14th, the day Rob and Michele died. The calls ranged from "alleged family violence to welfare and mental health checks."

This wasn't a family caught off guard. This was a family in crisis for over a decade.

The Insanity Defense Question

Legal experts are weighing in on whether Nick Reiner will pursue an insanity defense. Attorney Neama Rahmani, speaking to PEOPLE, was blunt about the odds: "Being found not guilty by reason of insanity is a very difficult legal hurdle to overcome in California."

The standard is strict: "You have to prove, between disease or defect, the defendant does not know the nature and consequences of his actions. Essentially, you have to show that the defendant doesn't know right from wrong."

Here's the problem for the defense. As one legal expert noted, Nick "is a smart guy who has made films and did press tours, and he was functional enough to attend a party the night before the killings." That functionality cuts against an incompetency argument.

The Redmond O'Neal Parallel

I've been tracking the case of Redmond O'Neal, son of Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett. In 2018, Redmond went on a violent crime spree in Los Angeles, stabbing one man in the head with a knife and seriously injuring another. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Sound familiar?

A judge found Redmond incompetent to stand trial in 2019. He was committed to Patton State Hospital, where he's been for seven years.

Now, in January 2026, the same month as Nick Reiner's arraignment, Redmond O'Neal returns to court. He's been deemed competent. The attempted murder charges are moving forward.

His attorney says he's been "a model patient" at Patton State. But here's the point: Seven years. That's how long Redmond O'Neal has been institutionalized while the system figured out whether he could even stand trial.

If Nick Reiner's defense raises competency concerns, we could be looking at the same trajectory. Years in a state hospital before any trial even begins.

A Voice From the Other Side

This week, a publication called Mad In America ran an essay that stopped me cold. The author is Issa Ibrahim. He killed his own mother during a psychotic breakdown while going through his first major schizophrenic episode. He spent 19 years institutionalized. He's now an advocate and author.

He wrote about Nick Reiner.

Ibrahim described what Nick is facing with brutal honesty. The guilt and shame that pursue you like "The Furies" from Greek mythology. The family that will be polarized: some who knew his heart and will support him, others who will exile him to what Ibrahim calls the "dark corners of Fuck'im."

He described both paths ahead. Prison: "One eye on your calendar, counting the days till release, with the other on the lookout for shanks or booty bandits." State hospital as an insanity patient: "You have no release date, and you could conceivably stay there until you die."

It took Ibrahim almost ten years before he stopped contemplating suicide. Ten years before he realized his mother would know he didn't mean to kill her, that she loved him, would forgive him, and wouldn't want him suffering on the back wards.

His greatest concern for Nick Reiner: "That he will crumble under the weight of his new identity. No longer the ne'er-do-well son of a Hollywood icon but now a pariah who committed the unthinkable."

Ibrahim hopes Nick watches the archive of his father's interviews. Sees Rob Reiner fighting the stigma of addiction and mental illness, loving his son publicly, never giving up. "I hope Nick sees that before any rash choices and recognizes, like I did, that they loved him, would forgive him, and wouldn't want him to suffer."

What Happens January 7th

Ten days from now, Nick Reiner faces Judge Theresa McGonigle for arraignment. The questions on the table:

Will Nick enter a plea? He waived his right to a speedy arraignment on December 17th. The defense bought time. They may buy more.

Will the defense raise competency concerns? If they do, we're looking at psychiatric evaluations and potentially years of delay before any trial.

Will the DA announce a death penalty decision? Hochman has said that decision is pending. The family's opposition may factor in.

This case is going to take years. Whether Nick Reiner ends up in prison for life, in a state hospital indefinitely, or somewhere in between, the system is just beginning to process what happened in that Brentwood bedroom.

Two weeks in. A lifetime to go.