Introduction to the Case

In the years before Rob and Michele Reiner were killed, Los Angeles police made at least two visits to their home in Brentwood. On Feb. 25, 2019, officers conducted a welfare check after someone called 911 at 9:51 p.m. According to LAPD records reviewed by The Times, officers arrived at the address at 10:12 p.m., completed the call and reported the incident to an unidentified supervisor. Then on Sept. 27, 2019, police responded at 4:24 p.m. to a mental health–related call for service involving an unidentified man. Officers later informed a supervisor that they found “no indication of mental illness,” according to department records.

Earlier 911 Calls

The calls were fairly innocuous and typically would not raise eyebrows. But authorities now allege the couple’s son, who lived in the guesthouse on their property, fatally stabbed them in their master bedroom last month. The mental state of Nick Reiner, who struggled for years with substance abuse and had been prescribed a schizophrenia drug, has now taken center stage in his legal battle.

Legal Battle

Prosecutors have not detailed their case, and Reiner’s legal team has not provided his own story. It is still possible his defense could present compelling evidence that Reiner did not commit the killings. But if the case is strong, the trial could revolve around his mental state and the length of sentence. Prosecutors charged Reiner, 32, with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for the killings in the early hours of Dec. 14. Authorities have not offered a possible motive in the case.

Defense Strategy

Reiner is due back in court Wednesday and is no longer considered to be a suicide risk. He has not yet entered a plea. Legal experts say Reiner’s attorney, Alan Jackson, is likely now working to evaluate his client’s history of mental health and state of mind at the time of the crime. Those findings could be the basis for discussions of a plea deal or the beginning of an insanity defense, attorneys say. There are also other defenses that Jackson could pursue based on Reiner’s mental history and possible changes in his medication and other factors that might not have been made public yet, including what might have triggered the killings, said Laurie Levenson, professor of law at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor.

Mental State Evaluation

Saul Faerstein, a clinical and forensic psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at UCLA, said doctors will likely try to piece together the days leading up to the killings to determine what kind of mental state Reiner was in at the time. “We’d want to know what was happening on Friday or Saturday. Was he beginning to decompensate? Was he acting out of character? Was he doing and saying things that surprised people or frightened people? Was he saying things that made no sense?” Faerstein said. Reiner’s ability to check into a hotel and travel across Los Angeles where he was seen at a gas station and ultimately arrested isn’t necessarily a sign that he was of sound mind, Faerstein said.

Similar Cases

There have been a few examples of cases in California in which charges have been reduced because of mental health factors. In 2023, Bryn Spejcher was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for killing Chad O’Melia, a man she’d been dating, with kitchen knives inside his home in Thousand Oaks. They had been smoking marijuana out of O’Melia’s bong, which caused Spejcher to suffer from cannabis-induced psychosis. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office had originally filed a murder charge against her, but reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter after the prosecution’s experts agreed that she was in a psychotic state brought on by the marijuana intoxication. Prosecutors could not prove malice in the case.

Conclusion

Though insanity defenses in many cases are not successful, based on the facts known at the time, this case could be an exception, experts say. “It’s a pretty classic situation where you have what looks like a really horrific, maybe premeditated murder, and then you start learning more about his background, that it doesn’t look like he’s making this up, that there seems to be some medical history of this, the change in medication, and all of a sudden you say, ‘Wow, this might be that rare case where mental defense, or an insanity defense, will succeed,” Levenson said.

FAQs

Q: What were the circumstances of the 911 calls made to Rob Reiner’s home?
A: The calls were made in 2019, with one being a welfare check and the other related to a mental health issue, but both were resolved without major incident.
Q: What is the current status of Nick Reiner’s case?
A: Nick Reiner is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is awaiting further proceedings, with his mental state at the time of the crime being a key factor in his defense.
Q: Can an insanity defense be successful in this case?
A: Experts believe it’s possible, given the history of mental health issues and the circumstances of the crime, but it’s still early in the process.
Q: What are the potential outcomes if Nick Reiner is found not guilty by reason of insanity?
A: He could be committed to a mental health facility, with the possibility of being released if his condition improves.