Nick Reiner won't face death penalty after being charged with double murder of parents
Nick Reiner will no longer face the death penalty after being charged with the murders of his parents Rob and Michele.
The couple were found dead in their Hollywood home on December 14 last year. The filmmaker and his wife had been found by their daughter with multiple stab wounds prompting a major police investigation.
Rob had directed a string of critically acclaimed films during the '80s and '90s, including Stand By Me and When Harry Met Sally. He also received a posthumous Emmy nomination.
Nick Reiner, 33, their son, was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder on December 16, two days after the killing of the couple, who were aged 78 and 70.
Advert
The grand jury indictment also claimed that he had allegedly committed the murders by means of 'lying in wait.'
He has since been locked up at the Los Angeles County Twin Towers Correctional Facility in wake of his arrest. It is there he is being held without bail on two first-degree murder charges.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner previously announced the couple were the victims of a 'homicide' and each suffered 'multiple sharp force injuries' which led to their deaths.
Officials in the US said the pair, who were married for 36 years and shared three children, died within 'minutes' after being attacked with a knife.
Nick has not yet entered a plea after two court hearings, but his former defence lawyer Alan Jackson said adamantly shortly after resigning from the case that 'pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder'.
Special circumstances in the allegations against him made him eligible for the death penalty.
However, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the issue would be deferred while his office decided whether to pursue it.
Those circumstances include alleged multiple killings and the use of a dangerous weapon, a knife.
But prosecutors then said on Tuesday (15 September) that they will not pursue the death penalty.
Mr 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 favour, before reaching its decision.
He said his office made the decision following a 'rigorous review' of the case.
The district attorney said the maximum sentence Reiner will be eligible to receive if convicted will be life without the possibility of parole.
Topics: US News, Crime, Entertainment, Celebrity
James Holt