Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty Monday to double murder charges in the December stabbing deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
Reiner, 32, appeared in court with a shaved head and wore a brown uniform with a white shirt. He entered the plea with Judge Theresa McGonigle. During his arraignment last month, his powerhouse lawyer announced he was stepping down from representing Nick.
Alan Jackson told reporters during a press conference that he had “no choice” but to withdraw from the case, and cited circumstances beyond his and Nick’s control as to why he abruptly resigned.
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“Circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control have dictated that,” Jackson said during a press conference outside the courthouse. “Sadly, it’s made it impossible for us to continue our representation of Nick. I’m legally and I’m ethically prohibited from explaining all the reasons why.”
Jackson remained adamant that Nick was “not guilty” of murdering his parents.
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“We’ve investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front,” Jackson said. “What we’ve learned — and you can take this to the bank — is that pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder.”
Jackson arrived at the Reiner home less than 24 hours after the couple’s bodies were discovered. Soon after, he signed on to represent Nick.
Kimberly Greene, the deputy public defender assigned to the case, spoke briefly with Nick after Jackson resigned and said Nick “was understanding that there was going to be a change in counsel.”
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The 32-year-old was charged in December with two counts of first-degree murder and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. He remains in custody at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility after formally being charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents.
Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead inside their Brentwood home on Dec. 14. Multiple agencies worked to find and arrest Nick, who was apprehended near the University of Southern California at approximately 9:15 p.m., hours after his parents’ bodies were discovered.
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Conan O’Brien broke his silence last week on Rob and Michele’s deaths. The talk show host was one of the last people to see the couple alive after hosting a holiday party the Reiners attended with Nick prior to their murders.
“I knew Rob and Michele, and then increasingly got closer and closer to them, and I was seeing them a lot,” he told The New Yorker. “My wife and I were seeing them a lot, and they were so — they were just such lovely people. And to have that experience of saying good night to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone.”
He added, “I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward. I mean, there’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful. And I think about how Rob felt about things that are happening in the country, how involved he was, how much he put himself out there — and to have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend.”
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Family and friends told the Los Angeles Times that Nick had gotten into a big fight with his parents at the party and that many people noticed him behaving strangely.
“Nick was freaking everyone out, acting crazy, kept asking people if they were famous,” a source also told People magazine.
Two days later, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman charged Nick with two counts of first-degree murder.
A spokesman for the Reiner family told Fox News Digital, “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings.”
