Nick Reiner appeared in court Wednesday for the first time since his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, were brutally stabbed to death.
The 32-year-old showed up to Los Angeles Municipal Court just one day after he was formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The appearance also marked the first time Nick was spotted in public since he was arrested over the weekend.
With disheveled hair, Nick remained stoic and somber throughout Wednesday’s hearing, looking straight ahead. He was shackled at both hands and feet and wore an anti-self-harm prevention smock.
Following the short hearing, Nick’s lawyer — famed criminal defense attorney Alan Jackson — announced to reporters outside the courthouse that an arraignment has been set for Jan. 7.
“First of all, and most importantly, this is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family. We all recognize that. Our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family. There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. These need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with and examined and looked at and analyzed,” he said.
“We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward. Not with the rush to judgment, not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.”
Jackson continued, “So with that, we are set for Jan. 7 for an arraignment. That’s the next court date, and that’s all I have to say at this point. There may be more at some other point, but today we’re going to rest on where we stand procedurally.”
An arraignment hearing was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed because Nick — who is reportedly on suicide watch at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where he is being held without bail — was not “medically cleared” to be transferred to court.
LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced during a press conference Tuesday that Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders.
“He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife,” Hochman told reporters.
Nick is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
Hochman noted that the LA County District Attorney’s Office will take the “thoughts and desires of the family into consideration” when deciding whether to pursue the death penalty if Nick is convicted.
On Sunday afternoon, Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home, with sources claiming their throats had been slit.
The Post reported that the couple’s daughter, Romy Reiner, 28, made the grisly discovery.
Nick — who has a history of violence and has been battling drug addiction for more than half his life — reportedly checked into the Pierside Santa Monica hotel on Sunday around 4 a.m. local time.
Eyewitnesses told TMZ that he appeared “tweaked out” upon arrival and left bloody evidence in his room.
Nick was eventually tracked down and arrested by the LA Police Department Gang and Narcotics Unit in Exposition Park, near Downtown LA, around 9:15 p.m.
One night before Rob and Michele’s tragic deaths, Nick had joined his parents for a Christmas party at Conan O’Brien’s house Saturday evening.
An insider told The Post that he allegedly “freaked out” and had a massive blow-up with his parents at the bash. He also allegedly had a bizarre exchange with Bill Hader and made guests feel “uneasy,” per NBC News.
Reps for Hader and O’Brien did not respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
As Page Six previously reported, Nick has had a rocky relationship with his parents over the years.
A source told us he “really resented his dad” and “hated himself for not being as talented, prolific or beloved” as the award-winning actor-director.
Meanwhile, stunt performer Erik Audé called Nick a “spoiled” and “unappreciative” nepo baby in an interview with Page Six.
Yoga instructor Alanna Zabel, who knew Nick as a child, described him to Page Six as “intense” and “egocentric,” claiming that he had “inexhaustible” energy and serious “behavioral issues.”
Zabel wondered whether attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was ever at play, as children and teens with ADHD are more likely to abuse substances, according to the Child Mind Institute.
Notably, Nick has been to rehab almost 20 times and experienced bouts of homelessness, which he and Rob chronicled in the 2015 semi-autographical film “Being Charlie.”
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