"If convicted as charged, Reiner faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole," Hochman said. "A decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made at a later date."
The screenwriter has not yet entered a plea, but attorney Alan Jackson confirmed he is representing Nick in the case.
In the hours before his parents’ deaths, Nick had joined Rob and Michele in attending Conan O'Brien's Christmas party. However, he reportedly caused a scene at the celebration, with multiple sources telling the L.A. Times and People that the father-son duo were seen arguing during the evening.
Nick also allegedly interrupted a conversation that comedian Bill Hader was having with two guests, two sources with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.
After Bill told him their chat was private, Nick stood still for a time before "storming off," one source said.
E! News has reached out to reps for Bill and Conan for comment but has not heard back.
While Nick has been open about his addiction struggles over the years—including 18 stays in various rehab facilities—Rob continued to express his support for him. In fact, the Spinal Tap director previously said he wasn't worried that Nick's difficult past would reflect badly on him or his career.
"That never crossed my mind. He's my son. I love him. It doesn't matter," Rob told Entertainment Tonight in 2016. "He's more important than anything that could happen to me. I care more about him."
He went on to say that his children—including Tracy Reiner, 61, Jake Reiner, 34, and Romy Reiner, 27—were his biggest priority.
"And Jake and Romy and my family, they're the most important," Rob added. "So, that doesn't factor in."
Read on for more details into the murder investigation.
Years before Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s tragic deaths, their son Nick Reiner shared that he struggled with addiction, even collaborating with his father on the 2015 film Being Charlie about substance abuse.
Nick explained that he had been to rehab 17 times before turning 30.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” he told People in 2016. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”
Two years later, Nick recalled an instance when he “wrecked” his home while high on drugs.
“I went 10 rounds in my guest house,” he shared on the Dopey podcast in 2018. “I got totally spun out on uppers—I think it was coke and something else—and I was up for days on end. I started punching out some things in my guest house.”
The When Harry Met Sally director and his 32-year-old son got into a heated argument at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on Dec. 13, multiple sources at the event told People. Family friends also confirmed to the L.A. Times that Rob and Nick fought at the holiday celebration, saying that guests noticed Nick acting strangely.
Two sources with knowledge of the situation told NBC News that Nick was being disruptive at the party and interrupting conversations.
The day after the Christmas party, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call of a death investigation at a home in Brentwood, Calif., at about 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 14.
“Once inside the residence, officers discovered two victims,” the LAPD said in a press release, “who were subsequently identified as Robert and Michele Reiner.”
The Robbery Homicide Division, Homicide Special Section (RHD/HSS) started an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.
Deputy Police Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that many family members would be interviewed, per NBC News. In addition to Nick, the couple are parents to daughter Romy Reiner and son Jake Reiner, and Rob also adopted late ex-wife Penny Marshall's daughter Tracy Reiner.
Rob and Michele did not die of natural causes, with a source close to the Reiner family telling NBC News that the couple appeared to have died from stab wounds.
“As a result of the initial investigation,” the LAPD said in a press release, “it was determined that the Reiners were the victims of homicide.”
The LAPD said their investigation determined that Rob and Michele's son Nick was "responsible for their deaths.” The screenwriter wasn’t taken into custody until hours after his parents' bodies were found.
“Nick Reiner was located and arrested at approximately 9:15 p.m.,” police said in a press release, adding as of Dec. 15, “He was booked for murder and remains in custody with no bail.”
E! News was not able to find a lawyer on file to speak on Nick Reiner's behalf.
After Rob's death, Tracy said she’d seen her father the day before his passing.
“I came from the greatest family ever,” she told NBC News. “I don’t know what to say. I’m in shock.”
"I saw them night before last looking healthy and happy," the actress wrote on Instagram Dec. 15. "I am reeling with grief. Stunned."
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live Dec. 15, Michelle Obama revealed that she and husband Barack Obama were supposed to see Rob and Michele on the day they were found dead.
Two days after Nick was arrested in connection to the murder of his parents, criminal defense attorney Alan Jackson—who previously represented Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Karen Read—confirmed to E! News Dec. 16 that he had been hire as Nick's attorney in the case.
As officials gathered at a Los Angeles courthouse Dec. 16 to announce formal charges against Nick, his attorney told reporters that the screenwriter "has not been medically cleared" to appear in front of a judge.
“Every inmate has to be medically cleared before they can be transported to court," he explained to reporters, per MS NOW. “Hopefully, he’ll be cleared tomorrow and we can get him here.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Dec. 16 that his office plans to formally charge Nick with "two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders."
The D.A. also confirmed Nick will also face a "special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife" on his parents.
He added, "These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty."
Nick was formally charged Dec. 16.
Though Rob and Michele's bodies were discovered around 3 p.m. on Dec. 14, they were likely killed around 12 hours prior, according to authorities.
The district attorney said in a Dec. 16 press release that the murders took place "in approximately the early morning hours of December 14."
Nick is accused of "fatally stabbing" his parents, per the D.A. press release on Dec. 16. He allegedly "personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife" in the murders.
