Rob and Michele Reiner Stabbed to Death — Son Nick's Insanity Defense Takes Shape
True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews
Tony Brueski
4.2 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The legal strategy in the Nick Reiner case is becoming clear. When defense attorney Alan Jackson withdrew on January 7th, he told reporters his former client is "not guilty of murder" under California law—language that strongly points to a not guilty by reason of insanity defense. Nick Reiner, 32, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents, legendary director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, at their Brentwood home on December 14th. Nick has a documented history of schizoaffective disorder, was in and out of rehab eighteen times starting at age fifteen, and was placed under a mental health conservatorship in 2020. Sources say he had recently switched psychiatric medications and was becoming more erratic. Hours before the murders, Nick attended a Christmas party at Conan O'Brien's home, where witnesses described bizarre behavior—repetitive questions to guests, inappropriate attire, and an argument with his father.
Nick is now represented by public defender Kimberly Greene, who requested additional time to review the case. His arraignment has been delayed until February 23rd. If convicted, he faces life without parole or the death penalty. The DA's office hasn't decided whether to seek death and says it will consider the family's wishes.
#RobReiner #MicheleSingerReiner #NickReiner #ReinerMurders #InsanityDefense #Schizoaffective #BrentwoodMurder #HollywoodTragedy #TrueCrimeToday #MentalHealthCrisis
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Bruske, Stacey Cole, and Todd Michaels. |
| 0:08.0 | Nick Reiner's arraignment has been pushed now to February 23rd after his high-profile |
| 0:13.6 | defense attorney Alan Jackson abruptly withdrew from the case about a month ago, January 7th. |
| 0:19.0 | Before stepping down, Jackson told reporters he'd |
| 0:21.6 | investigated the matter top to bottom in that quote, pursuant to the law in California, |
| 0:26.7 | Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Print that. Take that to the make. Vains protruding from his |
| 0:32.9 | head outside of the courthouse. He's now being represented by public defender Kimberly Green, |
| 0:37.9 | and legal analysis are already pointing towards a likely not guilty by reason of insanity |
| 0:42.1 | defense, given Nick's documented history of schizoaffective disorder and his 2020 mental health |
| 0:46.7 | conservatorship. But here's what's getting lost in the legal maneuvering. The behavioral |
| 0:51.1 | warning signs were everywhere for decades from childhood tantrums |
| 0:55.0 | that a family yoga instructor said she'd never seen anything like to violent outbursts in rehab |
| 1:00.8 | at 15 to destroying his parents' guest house on meth. With what Nick himself described as no |
| 1:06.5 | logic to the erratic behavior at Conan O'Brien's Christmas Party just hours before the murders. |
| 1:11.6 | Robin Drake, retired FBI Special Agent. |
| 1:14.1 | Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program is with us to help us examine this life arc, if you will. |
| 1:22.6 | The formative experiences that shape how individuals respond to stress. |
| 1:28.0 | Let's talk about Nick. |
| 1:29.0 | When you look at the accounts of his childhood and going on the way back to the yoga instructor, |
| 1:34.9 | describing screaming meltdowns lasting 20 minutes, the constant need for immediate attention. |
| 1:40.4 | The way everyone in the family accommodated is chaos. |
| 1:43.1 | What is that early baseline? |
... |
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