The murder case against Nick Reiner will not proceed until September, in part due to delays in the release of reports detailing the autopsies of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, officials said in court Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Reiner, 32, was charged with killing his parents inside the master bedroom of the family\u2019s Brentwood estate last December. Rob and Michele were found stabbed to death on Dec. 14, and their son was arrested in Exposition Park roughly 12 hours later. He has pleaded not guilty. <\/p>\n
During a brief hearing in downtown L.A. on Wednesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Chung said prosecutors still have nearly two terabytes of discovery to provide to the defense. Chung said autopsy reports in the case had yet to be prepared. Josh Rubenstein, communications director for the district attorney\u2019s office, later confirmed the reports are \u201cnot complete.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not clear why the reports had yet to be completed more than four months after the killings. Kelly Vail, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, said both cases remain on \u201csecurity hold via court order initiated by the\u201d Los Angeles Police Department. Rubenstein said either the LAPD or the D.A.\u2019s office will have to move to unseal the autopsies, when they are completed.<\/p>\n
Representatives for the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Public Defender\u2019s office, which is representing Reiner, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Both victims were killed with a knife, according to a death certificate for Rob and Michele.<\/p>\n
Nick Reiner appeared wearing a yellow jail jumper with his hair cut short. He barely spoke during the hearing other than to answer \u201cyes\u201d to a few questions from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta. <\/p>\n
A motive in the slayings has not been made public, though Reiner had spoken publicly about his struggles with mental health and addiction. The father and son worked together to create the 2015 film \u201cBeing Charlie,\u201d<\/a> in which characters that were thinly veiled versions of Rob and Nick explored how drugs could damage a relationship between a successful actor and his privileged son who was in the throes of addiction. <\/p>\n Nick Reiner entered his not guilty plea in February, but his case has otherwise been stalled by procedural delays. <\/p>\n High-profile defense attorney Alan Jackson dropped out of the case earlier this year, and has yet to publicly explain why. The public defender\u2019s office has not said how or if its client\u2019s mental health and addiction struggles will factor into the defense.<\/p>\n Prosecutors charged Reiner with murder with special circumstances, so he could face the death penalty if convicted at trial. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman has not said when prosecutors will make a decision about seeking capital punishment. <\/p>\n A celebrated director and comedic actor, Rob Reiner was known for his work on classic films, including \u201cWhen Harry Met Sally\u2026,\u201d \u201cStand by Me\u201d and \u201cThis Is Spinal Tap.\u201d Rob and Michele met on the set of \u201cWhen Harry Met Sally…,\u201d and Rob later said he changed the ending to have the central couple stay together after he fell in love with Michele during filming.<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s oldest son, Jake, last week published an emotional firsthand account<\/a> of the moment he learned of his parents\u2019 deaths. <\/p>\n