Unsealed Indictment Against Nick Reiner Levels New Allegation Regarding Parents’ Slaying
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It’s been almost eight months to the day since Hollywood filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead at their home in Brentwood, California.
Since that Dec. 14, 2025, incident, Rob Reiner’s son Nick Reiner, 32, has been the primary suspect.
Accused of murdering his parents, Nick has been in custody since the night of the incident.
Now, on Aug. 12, an indictment against Nick has been unsealed, and it includes new allegations against Nick regarding the murder of his parents.
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About The Indictment Against Nick Reiner
While Nick previously entered a plea of “not guilty” back on Feb. 23 for two separate charges of murder, this newly unsealed indictment adds an important allegation against the accused.
Returned by a grand jury on July 20, the indictment was unsealed on Aug. 12, and it levels two counts of murder against Nick for the killing of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
This indictment, as detailed in a news release issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, then goes on to add “special circumstance allegations,” alleging Nick committed “multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait.”
Lastly, the indictment levels “a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife,” the news release states.
The caveat of “murder by means of lying in wait” is unique to this indictment, and reflects the path that the prosecution will take against Nick.
According to the Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions, murder by means of lying in wait is defined by the following characteristics:
- He or she concealed his or her purpose from the person killed;
- He or she waited and watched for an opportunity to act;
- Then he or she made a surprise attack on the person killed from a position of advantage; and
- He or she intended to kill the person by taking the person by surprise.
The jury instructions go on to note:
“The lying in wait does not need to continue for any particular period of time, but its duration must be substantial and must show a state of mind equivalent to deliberation or premeditation.”
Further, the defendant — in this case, Nick — must be found to have “acted deliberately if [he] carefully weighed the considerations for and against [his] choice and, knowing the consequences, decided to kill. The defendant acted with premeditation if [he] decided to kill before committing the act that caused death.”
Responding to this indictment, Nick entered a “not guilty” plea on Aug. 12.
While it is not a charge against him, the LA County District Attorney’s Office adds that “Nick Reiner fled but was arrested later” in the evening of the alleged murders.
In a press release accompanying the unsealing of the indictment, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said, “This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing.”
He added:
“The indictment unsealed today also adds a special circumstance allegation that the defendant committed the murders by means of lying in wait. We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice.”
If Nick is convicted as charged, the LA County District Attorney’s Office states that Reiner will face the death penalty or life in state prison, and this will be without the chance of parole.
With this indictment, ABC News notes there will no longer be a preliminary hearing.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15 — just one day after Nick Reiner’s 33rd birthday, on Sept. 14 — at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California.
This is a developing story.
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