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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner's son will not face the death penalty on charges he fatally stabbed his parents after lying in wait at their home in Los Angeles late last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.
If convicted, the maximum sentence 33-year-old Nick Reiner could get is life without the possibility of parole, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a news conference. Before reaching its decision, Hochman said his office did a thorough review, including speaking to Rob and Michele Singer Reiner's families and evaluating mitigating factors in Nick Reiner's favor.
Nick Reiner, who briefly appeared at a court hearing Tuesday morning, has twice pleaded not guilty. The death penalty had been on the table because of the lying-in-wait allegation, the fact that multiple people were killed, and the use of a knife, which is considered a dangerous weapon. However, it's been two decades since California's last execution, and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on the practice in 2019.
Reiner's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene, said prosecutors made the right decision.
"Nick has a serious mental illness and a long history of struggling with self-medication. His circumstances are a tragic example of how difficult it can be for people experiencing significant mental health challenges to access and navigate the treatment and support they need," Greene said in a statement. "Nothing can undo the profound loss experienced by the Reiner family and those who loved them. Our hearts remain with the family."
Nick Reiner was charged with first-degree murder on Dec. 16, two days after the stunning killings. Reiner's former defense attorney, Alan Jackson, adamantly insisted 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.
A grand jury indicted Reiner in July. The judge in the case was deciding whether to make public the transcripts of those secret grand jury proceedings, a move that would likely reveal many key details about the killings.
Hochman said his office will not oppose the transcripts' release, but Nick Reiner's siblings Jake and Romi Reiner were adamantly opposed, saying it would add to their trauma and harm.