Los Angeles DA won’t seek death penalty against Nick Reiner

Los Angeles County prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents in their home in December, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday. Hochman announced the decision at a morning press conference.

Reiner, who turned 33 on Monday, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday for a pretrial hearing. He faces two murder charges, including special circumstances alleging he was lying in wait and personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon.

Those special circumstances made Reiner eligible for capital punishment, but Hochman said the question was deferred while his office reviewed whether to pursue it.

“I have spoken to the Reiner family and evaluated the mitigating and aggravating factors that are part of special circumstance murder cases,” Hochman said. “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.”

Hochman said the office conducted a thorough review, including speaking with Rob and Michele Reiner’s family and evaluating mitigating factors in Nick Reiner’s favor. The decision came after, he said, “careful judgment about the most appropriate path to take in this case and does not diminish the severity of these crimes.”

If convicted, the maximum sentence Reiner faces is life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has pleaded not guilty.

California has not executed a convict since 2006, and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on the practice in 2019.

Reiner’s former defense attorney, Alan Jackson, said after resigning from the case that “pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder.” Jackson withdrew for undisclosed reasons he said were beyond his and the client’s control, and a public defender took over.

Rob Reiner received an emotional tribute at the Emmy Awards on Monday night. He won a posthumous Emmy at an earlier ceremony for best guest actor in a comedy series for his role on “The Bear” and was honored by his friend and “Bear” co-star Jamie Lee Curtis.

“He was generous, kind and funny as hell, and a friend to all,” Curtis said Monday. “And we all miss Rob and Michele and all those we lost this year.”