Prosecutors forgo death penalty for Reiner’s son Nick in killing of parents

Prosecutors said on Tuesday that they would not pursue the death penalty for Nick Reiner in the killings of his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, who were stabbed at their Los Angeles home late last year.

Nick Reiner, 32, was charged with first-degree murder on December 16, two days after the stunning killings of the couple, aged 78 and 70. A grand jury allegation from this summer said he was lying in wait before killing them.

Special circumstances in the allegations against Nick Reiner made him eligible for the death penalty, but Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said the issue would be deferred while his office decided whether to pursue it. Those circumstances include multiple killings and the use of a dangerous weapon, a knife.

The district attorney said the maximum sentence Reiner will be eligible to receive if convicted will be life without the possibility of parole.

Nick Reiner has not entered a plea after two court hearings, but his former defence attorney, Alan Jackson, said adamantly shortly after resigning from the case that “pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder”.

Jackson had to withdraw for undisclosed reasons that he said were beyond his and the client’s control, and a public defender took over for him.