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Nick Reiner Pleads Not Guilty: Legal Expert Kelly Hyman Breaks Down Death Penalty Stakes | Crime House 24/7
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Hi, it's Vanessa. If you're drawn to true crime stories about disappearances, there's a new Crime House original you should check out. It's called the Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Sarah's an advocate for missing and murdered victims whose own sister disappeared in 2001. And Courtney is a true crime storyteller who's seen firsthand how crime can change a family forever. Together, they bring lived experience to every case, examining the moments just before a person disappears, the routines, the timelines, the small details that often get overlooked because every disappearance has a moment where everything still feels normal until it doesn't. Listen to and follow the final hours on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday. Foreign. I'm Vanessa Richardson and this is crime house 24 7, your home for breaking true crime news. Today we're taking a slight turn from our usual format for an extended discussion on a case that is taking over headlines, the Nick Reiner Investigation.
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On December 14, 2025, 78 year old Rob Reiner and 70 year old Michelle Singer Reiner were found dead from multiple stab w in their Brentwood, Los Angeles home. Their youngest son, 32 year old Nick Reiner was arrested later that night and charged with two counts of first degree murder including special circumstances for multiple murders and use of a knife. According to prosecutors. The violence allegedly followed a family gathering the night before at the home of television host Conan o'. Brien. Court filings state that Rob, Michelle and Nick returned to their Brentwood residence late that evening. Authorities allege that sometime after midnight an argument escalated inside the home. Prosecutors contend that both victims were stabbed multiple times inside the master bedroom. Roughly 12 hours later, the couple's daughter, 28 year old Romy Reiner, went to the home after being unable to reach her parents by phone. Inside the bedroom, she found both parents unresponsive and called 91 1. Los Angeles Police Department officers responded and determined the deaths were homicides. Under suspicion of his parents murder, Nick Reiner was taken into custody and has remained jailed without bail. He first appeared in Court on December 17, 2025, but did not enter a plea at that time. His arraignment was later postponed from January 7 to February 23 after high profile defense attorney Alan Jackson withdrew from the case. At that hearing, Reiner pleaded not guilty to all charges. Prosecutors have alleged that the special circumstances elevate the severity of the charges, making Reiner eligible for either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, though the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has not yet decided whether it will pursue capital punishment. Public reporting has also documented that Nick Reiner has struggled with addiction and has a history of serious mental illness, including prior diagnoses of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Records indicate he was previously under a mental health conservatorship in 2020 and had experienced medication and substance use challenges in the weeks before the December incident. How that history factors into his legal defense remains to be seen. Amid these legal proceedings, reports indicate that Reiner's siblings, Jake and Romy, have declined to continue funding private legal defense, leaving him represented by a public defender, to help unpack what this case means legally, what the prosecutors must prove, and how intense media scrutiny intersects with due process. I'm joined today by attorney and legal analyst Kelly Hyman. Kelly, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for being here. Tell us a little bit about your background and why this case has stuck out to you so far.
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This case has stuck out to me because we all know Rob Reiner, know of him. Some people have personal knowledge, and the fact that a child is charged with the crime is significant from not only a legal standpoint, but also from a human standpoint as well. And I am Kelly Hyman. I am a TV commentator who's appeared on all different types of networks from CNN to MSNBC to Fox News. And someone who grew up in the entertainment industry. Before I went to law school, I was a professional actress. And so this story is not only the human interest story, but the whole idea of Hollywood and potentially some celebrities that could testify in the case.
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Oh, Kelly, thank you so much for being here. You're very connected to this. I really appreciate your time. This case is both highly public and of course, deeply personal. Like you said, we all know Rob Reiner, we all know his work, and it involves the death of two prominent figures allegedly at the hands of their own son. How does the criminal justice system balance presumption of innocence with intense public interest like this?
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C
It's a balancing act because in the court of law, you are innocent until proven guilty. And what that means is the prosecution in the criminal cases that bring the cases have to prove the elements of each one of the crimes. Now, of course, there's always public interest in this case being a high profile, Rob Reiner as being not only an actor, but also a director as well, and his wife as an artist. So there's a lot of public interest and they want to know the facts. But the court has mechanisms in place, safety nets, in order to make sure that the public's right to know doesn't interfere with someone's right to a fair trial. And that is really important. And so in the legal system there are certain safety guards in place, such as the judge can set certain parameters, whether or not to have cameras in the courtroom, or also not giving the public all the information as once so they have access to it, potentially issuing a gag order so the attorneys can't speak to the media to make sure that Nick Reiner, who's been charged with the crime, is protected as well. And then once the case goes to trial, if in fact goes to trial, there are certain mechanisms in place during the trial in order to balance the people's right to know, but then also balance someone's fair trial.
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A
Absolutely. It is a balancing act because it's, you know, innocent until proven guilty. They've got a lot of work ahead of them. Rob and Michelle were, as you know, last seen publicly at a Christmas party hosted by Conan o', Brien and they brought Nick with them. So given that high profile setting, could this trial attract even greater media scrutiny? And is it possible, do you think that well known public figures could be called to testify?
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C
As to the well known public figures, that is definitely possible, not only from the prosecution standpoint, but from the defendant standpoint as well. Now there it's allegedly that Rob and Nick were at Conan o' Brien's house for their party and allegedly there was some kind of disagreement. What exactly that disagreement is, it might potentially be important to the case because the prosecution may argue, yes, in fact, that because of the fight, it set the Things in motion. And what that means is from a legal perspective, that it set things in motion to potentially for Nick to go forward and plan this crime because of what he's being charged with, the first degree murder, that it had to be premeditated, planned with specific intent. So potentially I could see the prosecution bringing some celebrities who were supposedly at the, at the party as well. Not only Cohen, o', Brien, but some other well known established actors as well. Now, the defense could also potentially have some of those witnesses on their witness as well to help substantiate the defense side of the case.
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A
Nick Reiner, as we know, faces first degree murder charges with special circumstances. So that's a designation that can dramatically affect sentencing options. Can you explain what special circumstances mean in California law and how they change the legal stakes here?
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C
So the special circumstances that heightens the penalty and what that means is the death penalty is on the table. As far as I'm aware of, the LA District Attorney has not decided whether in fact to bring the death penalty, but that is still an option for them as well. And why is it special circumstances is because the killing is more than one person. So that heightens the penalty phase of the case.
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That is fascinating. How rare is it for the prosecution to seek the death penalty in California now, given the moratorium on executions here? And what might guide their decision?
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C
Well, there's a new district attorney in Los Angeles and there's a lot of factors that the district Attorney can consider. So one important one is what the family members want. So Rob and Michelle Reiner had three children, and it's been reported that the two other children do not want the death penalty for their brother. But then the prosecution will look at the totality of the circumstances as well and potentially use that as a bargaining tool for a plea deal. Potentially, the prosecution can say, okay, we will take the death penalty off, but you admit that you did this crime and you will spend the rest of your life in jail.
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Do you think a plea deal is realistically on the table? What do you think prosecutors would seek in exchange for taking that off the table? I mean, you just mentioned life in prison. Do you think that would be an
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C
exchange that is possible, that he would spend the rest of his life in prison without parole? Now, in plea deals, it's potentially a negotiation. So if that happens, if that's what the prosecution offers, defendants could say, well, look, there is mitigating circumstances for this plea deal, and there has been reported that there's mental health issues and so that should mitigate some of the time and potentially try and negotiate a deal, it might not happen in this case and go to trial. We're going to have to wait and see how it plays out in the court of law.
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Absolutely. Well, as you mentioned, we don't know yet what's going to happen. Prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek the death penalty. California has a moratorium on executions even though the death penalty still remains legal. How does that shape how prosecutors and defense attorneys approach a case like this?
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C
From the standpoint of the defense, they understand that even though that's the case, that it most likely will not happen. But from the prosecution standpoint, they're still putting it out there, that they're still considering it. And if in fact they do decide to go forward with that, before the jury is selected, they are asked questions about whether in fact, at some point in time could they impose the death penalty? So that could potentially change the dynamic of the jury pool for the jurors that sit because they have already said that if in fact the death penalty is on the table, they can consider it.
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When we come back, Kelly Hyman will continue to unpack everything we know about the Nick Reiner case.
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Welcome Back to Crime House 24 7. We're discussing the Nick Reiner case. This I found really interesting. His attorney at one point was high profile defense lawyer Alan Jackson. But Jackson withdrew in early January and Reiner now has a public defender. What are the legal implications when defense counsel changes, especially in a murder prosecution this serious?
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C
There could be a lot of things we can only speculate because an attorney owes a duty of confidentiality to the client. So we're probably not going to know what exactly the reason is. But it's important to remember his former attorney came out and said something along the lines that Nick Reiner is not guilty of the charges. Now it could potentially be at some point there was the attorney realized that there was a potential conflict in the case and that couldn't decide to do it. It could have been economic of the cost of the expense to do it. Unfortunately, we won't know the answer to that. But he does now have a public defender. And when I was in law school, I was a certified public defender. And public defenders are great attorneys. They are very familiar with the criminal justice system. This is what they focus on. And I truly believe that he will be adequately represented because that's something that's really important. But it's also going to take the new attorney to get up to speed, as we say, so the former attorney to give him information and to get up to speed. And so that's what takes a little bit of time when the transition from one attorney to another attorney in a case, and especially in such a high
- [16:47]
A
profile case, in domestic homicide cases, mental health defenses can sometimes play a role. And as you mentioned earlier, Nick Reiner struggled after changing his schizophrenia medication because of side effects one month before his arrest. So legally, how does mental health evidence factor into defenses like insanity or diminished
- [17:07]
C
capacity for the insanity defense? That is going to be key. But it's also important to remember in California it would be a bifurcated trial. And what that means is the prosecution would bring their case and they would have to prove his guilt. Nick Reiner's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt like that is the burden. So the jurors sit there and beyond a reasonable doubt, they believe that he committed the crime. Once that happens, then the burden shifts to the defendant and it's a lower standard preponderance of the evidence. And so the defense would have to prove reasonable of insanity defense. And how they would do that is by experts. And that would be during the time of the trial. And to your point, they would potentially have doctors testify about his, his medicine and potentially how he changed. But it's important to Remember that the insane defense is basically you did not know from right or wrong. So at that point of the alleged killing, he didn't understand right or wrong due to his mental health. And if the jury comes back and believes that, then he could potentially, potentially, rather than go to prison, go to a mental facility.
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A
Yes. So you just mentioned this, but I'm curious. There is a difference between competency to stand trial and the insanity defense. Can you explain a little bit more that distinction and how each would unfold procedurally?
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C
It's all about the timing. So when you talk about the competency to stand trial, that would mean that at the time of the trial, someone is competent enough to stand trial and understand the procedure, understand what's going on. Now, if in fact it is determined that he doesn't have the competency to stand trial, then usually the judge will stop the case, stop the procedures kind of put like a stop in order to give the defendant time to seek mental health, potentially, whether it's get new medicine or different medicine, and then that has to deal with the competency to stand trial. Now, when we're talking about the insanity defense, that timeline is at the time of the alleged murder. At that time, did you have the wherewithal? Did you have the knowledge, did you have the competency to truly understand your own at that point? That's when the defendants, by the preponderance of the evidence, after Nick Reiner has been found guilty by the jury, would come into play and you would have experts testify talking about mental health, talking about the new medicine, potentially looking over the logs and the notes from his time with a psychiatrist, potentially have some celebrity witnesses at the party, maybe potentially to help establish his behavior, how Nick reacted at the party, what did they notice? Was everything, you know, fine, was everything normal? Just to kind of give a timeline of what exactly happened and Nick Reiner's mental state from an observation perspective from, from someone seeing him.
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A
Now, to convict Nick Reiner, what must prosecutors prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a first degree murder case with special circumstances? And how does that differ from other homicide charges?
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So when we look at the charges against him, since we have the special circumstances, that means the killing has to be more than one person. So here the charges are for not only Rob Reiner, but also his wife, Michelle Reiner as well. And it's important to remember that for first degree murder with special circumstances, you need everything you need in first degree murder, premeditated intent. But the only difference between the first degree murder and first degree murder with special circumstances is the killing of two or more people.
- [21:35]
A
So you touched on this earlier. But critics sometimes say media coverage can influence juror perception or prosecutorial decision making. How do courts attempt to insulate a jury from external narratives in such high profile cases like this? It's all over the news. How do we insulate a jury from knowing all of these facts?
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C
There's a lot of different tools, as we say the court can do. The most important that comes to mind is the voir dire. And what that means is when the potential jurors come in, they at some cases are given written questions ahead of time. So the attorneys will have those written questions potentially, like, have you heard about this case? What do you know? Do you have any, you know, family members that were killed? Do you have any family members that have mental health? Try and get as much information as possible from the potential jurors to see if they can be fair and impartial, because that is key. A juror can't come in there with a preexisting idea. Now, if someone comes in and says, I know 100% he is innocent, I know 100% he is guilty, and I can't be persuaded any other way because I saw this TikTok video or I know someone who knows someone and they know the intel, then that is not justice. That is not giving the someone on the jury who is fair and impartial. And then also each attorney has the opportunity potentially to ask questions of the potential jurors as well, and the judge as possible, depending on what the judge decides to do, whether it's a judge will ask questions, but also to give each side the opportunity. And if someone on the jury could say that, you know, I can't be fair and impartial, then the one side can challenge that also the attorneys as well. Not only can, you know, challenge for cause as well, but they also get peremptory strikes. And so what that means is they can decide this person in the either prosecution or defendant believe that that juror cannot be fair and impartial. And so they can strike the juror as well. Now, another tool that the court could use as sequester the jurors, that's somewhat severe and have the jurors somewhere, they all go together and stay in a hotel and then come back as well. The judge can also have instructions to the jurors as well in the beginning that you should only look at the evidence and that opening statements are not evidence and that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty and that the prosecution at the initial stage of the charges has to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. And another thing as well, that they could potentially try and file a motion to defendants to transfer the case to a different venue, a different location. I don't know if that's going to happen in the case, but could say that this jury pool being in Los Angeles is too familiar for this case and that we want to go and have the trial in a different county. So there's a lot of tools both sides can use in order to make sure that the trial is fair.
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Still ahead, Kelly Hyman continues our conversation on Nick Reiner Parle tu francais Hablage espanol?
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Welcome back to crime house 24 7. We're discussing the Nick Reiner case with attorney Kelly Hyman. Are there types of forensic or digital evidence that tend to carry the most weight with juries?
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C
All the evidence is important, but when we look at it from a standpoint, DNA is really important. And why is DNA so important? Because the DNA can help substantiate the fact that someone was there, whether it's like blood stains or some kind of marking and stuff like that. So DNA in these type of cases is always important. But nowadays with technology and everyone has their phone, there's certain kind of tracking to see where someone goes or where someone left. Also there, supposedly in the Nick Reiner manner. There are surveillance videos from different places after his parents were killed in showing his move abouts and stuff like that. So all this type of evidence is definitely going to be key. And then also to your point about the, the mental health could definitely play a role, whether it's documents from psychiatrists or the fact that he switched his medicine. Those kind of things are definitely important as well.
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A
And in the context of this case in particular, what role do family statements, public sentiment, of course the Reiners are huge and the victim's legacy play in legal strategy on both sides.
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C
They I say there's two courtrooms, a courtroom of the public opinion and then the court of law. And so they're different. But it goes to the first point, the court of public opinion, a lot of people have strong opinions, but as a juror, it's important for them to put that aside and be fair and impartial in the court of law. Ultimately, the jurors will decide someone's guilt or innocence and they will weigh all the evidence, they will look at all the evidence, they will weigh the credibility of someone testifying and look at the totality of the circumstances in the court of law and ultimately base their decision on that.
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A
Nick Reiner collaborated creatively with his father on a film project in the past. In a case like this, can prior public collaborations or a documented close relationship between a defendant and the alleged victims become relevant in court? And if so, how?
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C
It could definitely play a role and each side could potentially use it for their own narrative in opening statement. Each side, the prosecution and defense gets to tell their story, as we say, and tell about their side of things, their perspective. And so this could potentially be used by the defense to kind of Highlight their relationship and what it was like and what was going on. And the prosecution could potentially use that as well. Now, it's important to remember people always think, like, why did someone do something? What exactly was their motive? That is not an element of the crime. But people always think that. And so you think, well, why did someone do something? What was their motive? What was the reasoning behind what they did? But motive is not an element of the charges. And going back to your point about that, if it is relevant for either side, the prosecution or the defendant, I could definitely see them bringing that forward to highlight their story, potentially in the opening statements or to have a witness testify it, to paint their side of their story.
- [31:07]
A
For families or individuals listening right now who want to understand the legal process after a tragedy like this, what are the key milestones and decisions ahead in the Nick Reiner case, from preliminary hearings to evidence disclosure to potential trial dates? What does that look like?
- [31:24]
C
So, first, from the defense standpoint, they, since the new attorney, want to get up to speed, get all the evidence and look at things, and then strategize what is the best way forward. Whether it's to hire, you know, an expert. Most likely, I could see them hiring an expert to, you know, evaluate Nick, to see what his mental state is, to kind of find out what exactly happened with the new medicine as. As well. And then also to see how they could potentially poke holes at the prosecution's case. From the prosecution standpoint, they are looking at the different charges that they brought and thinking, how can they help substantiate their case? What do they need to prove this case premeditated? Who can they get to help establish their case? Who do they need to prove their case? Whether it's DNA expert, a psychiatrist. But as it moves through the court system as well, each side sharing evidence and then potentially getting ready for trial as well. But then there can also be some arguments in the meantime about certain evidence where one side could try and get the evidence not admitted, whether it's relevant. So we see this going through the court system, and since Nick has waived his right to a speedy trial, could see this case going in trial not this year, but 2027. But it's also important to remember that Nick Reiner is in jail even though he is in the court of law. You're innocent until proven guilty.
- [33:14]
A
Absolutely. Well, well, obviously this is such a huge tragedy, and it's good to hear, you know, that there's no stone left unturned, that this is. I appreciate your time and hearing about this process. Kelly, thank you. Before we wrap up, are there any thoughts you'd like to share with us before we head out? I really appreciate your time.
- [33:32]
C
It's important to remember that this is about justice. It's about justice for the tragic death of Nick and Michelle Reiner and also for a family that is grieving. And that it's important for us to be mindful of that while it plays out in the court of public opinion, that it's a little different in the court of law from the standpoint, as I stated, the jurors hear just the evidence presented in the court and lastly, that someone is innocent until they're proven guilty. So we're going to have to wait and see how this plays out.
- [34:27]
A
Absolutely. Kelly, thank you again so much for joining us on crime house 24 7. This trial raises big questions about culpability, consequences and the breakdown of trust within a family. And you've helped so thoroughly and respectfully clarify the legal side in a way that's clear and accessible. We really appreciate that. We appreciate you walking us through it and helping our listeners understand what to watch for as this case continues.
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Great to be with you.
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