The son of Hollywood film producer Rob Reiner will not face the death penalty for stabbing his parents to death as they lay in wait at their Los Angeles home late last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.
If convicted, Nick Renner, 33, could face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a news conference. Before reaching his decision, Hochman said his office conducted a thorough review, which included speaking to the families of Rob and Michelle Singer Renner and evaluating mitigating factors in favor of Nick Renner.
Nick Renner, who appeared briefly at a court hearing Tuesday morning, has twice pleaded not guilty. The death penalty was imposed in the case under special circumstances, including the allegation of perjury; The fact is that many people died; And that a dangerous weapon – a knife – was used. However, it has been two decades since California’s last execution, and Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom announced a moratorium on the practice in 2019.
Renner’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Green, said prosecutors made the right decision.
“Nick has a serious mental illness and has a long history of struggling with self-medication. His circumstances are a tragic example of how difficult it can be for people experiencing significant mental health challenges to access and navigate treatment and support,” Green said in a statement. “Nothing can compensate for the deep loss suffered by the Reiner family and those who loved them. Our hearts go out to the family.”
Nick Renner was charged with first-degree murder on December 16, two days after the shocking murders. Renner’s former defense attorney, Alan Jackson, firmly insisted that “according to the laws of California, Nick Renner is not guilty of murder.”
Jackson had to step down for undisclosed reasons, which he said were beyond his and the client’s control, and was replaced by a public defender.
A grand jury indicted Renner in July. The judge in the case was deciding whether to make the transcripts of those secret grand jury proceedings public, a move that would potentially reveal many important details about the murders.
Hochman said his office would not oppose the release of the transcripts, but Nick Renner’s siblings Jake and Romy Renner strongly objected, saying it would traumatize and harm them.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Sam Ohta said he would hear arguments on the issue next month.
Renner has asked a different judge to release money from the trust his parents set up for him when he was a child so he can re-hire Jackson, a high-profile defense attorney whose clients include Kevin Spacey and Karen Reed.
The trustees overseeing the money argue that Renner should not get the money, but his lawyers argue that under the law he is still innocent and the money would have been legally his regardless of his parents’ deaths. Reiner is waiting for a decision on the money. Jackson has said he wants to return to the case.
Hochman said he doesn’t expect a trial until next year.
Rob Reiner received an emotional tribute at the Emmy Awards on Monday night. He won a posthumous Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in “The Bear” and was honored by his friend and “Bear” co-star Jamie Lee Curtis.
“He was extremely generous, kind and funny and everyone’s friend,” said Curtis. “And we all remember Rob and Michelle and all those we lost this year.”
Nick Renner was the second of Rob and Michelle Renner’s three children. He and his father co-wrote the screenplay for the 2015 film “Being Charlie”, based partly on the son’s struggles with addiction and homelessness in his teenage years.
Rob Reiner started out as an actor, starring in the TV sitcom, “All in the Family” as Michael “Meathead” Stivic, the liberal son-in-law of the much more conservative and staunch Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O’Connor. Renner won two Emmy Awards for the role.
He became a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and unwatchable films of the 1980s and 90s. His credits include “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand by Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally…”, during the production of which he met photographer Michelle Singer. They got married soon after and were married for 36 years.