Prosecutors won’t pursue death penalty for Rob Reiner’s son Nick in killing of his parents

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors said Tuesday that they won’t 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 Dec. 16, two days after the stunning killings. A grand jury allegation from this summer said he was lying in wait before killing the couple, ages 78 and 70. He has twice pleaded not guilty in the case.

Special circumstances in the allegations made him eligible for the death penalty, including that there were multiple killings and the use of a dangerous weapon, a knife.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office did a thorough review, including speaking to Rob and Michele Reiner’s families and evaluating mitigating factors in Nick Reiner’s favor, before reaching its decision.

The district attorney said the maximum sentence Reiner will be eligible to receive if convicted will be life without the possibility of parole. California still officially has capital punishment, but 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 adamantly 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.

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.”

Rob Reiner began as an actor, starring in the TV sitcom, “All in the Family,” as Michael “Meathead” Stivic, the liberal son-in-law to a much more conservative and bigoted Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O’Connor. Reiner won two Emmy Awards for the role, and last month got a posthumous Emmy nomination for his work as a guest star on “The Bear.”

He became a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s. His credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally…” during the production of which he met photographer Michele Singer. They wed soon after and were married for 36 years.

Nick Reiner was the second of the three children they had together. He and his father co-wrote the script for the 2015 film “Being Charlie,” which was partly based on the son’s teenage struggles with addiction and homelessness.

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This story has been updated to correct that Nick Reiner has twice pleaded not guilty in the case, rather than not entering a plea.