The first court appearance for Nick Reiner was abruptly put on hold on Tuesday after his legal team said he was not physically able to be transported to court, adding another delay to an already shocking and closely watched case.
According to Fox News, Nick Reiner, 32, did not appear before a judge as scheduled, marking the first time he was expected to face court proceedings since his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, were found dead inside their Brentwood, California, home on Sunday, Dec. 14.
His attorney, Alan Jackson, confirmed the postponement to Fox News Digital.
“He is not medically cleared to be transported to the court,” Jackson said.
As a result, Tuesday’s hearing was postponed to a later date.
Authorities have said that following their initial investigation into the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, they determined that their son was “responsible for their deaths.” Nick was located several hours after the bodies were discovered and arrested at approximately 9:15 p.m. Sunday.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Nick was booked on suspicion of murder. He was initially held at the Metropolitan Detention Center before being transferred to the Inmate Reception Center and later to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, where he remains without bail.
Fox News Digital confirmed that Jackson — a high-profile criminal defense attorney — appeared in court Tuesday on Nick’s behalf, despite his client’s absence.
Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead around 3:30 p.m. Sunday inside their home. Nick was not at the residence at the time, and ABC News reported that authorities later located him near the University of Southern California campus.
As prosecutors consider formal charges, legal experts have weighed in on possible defense strategies.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said Nick’s attorneys could seek a psychiatric evaluation, but he believes such an approach would be unsuccessful.
“The defense may ask for a psychiatric evaluation to argue not guilty by reason of insanity,” Rahmani said. “But for that, you have to be unable to know right from wrong. If you’re capable enough to have an argument with your parents at a Christmas party, you are not insane.”
“Insanity requires a psychosis, schizophrenia, or something similar, such that Nick doesn’t even know he’s killing his parents,” he continued. “He thinks, for example, they are aliens, demons, or that God is commanding him to do something.”
“If you are coherent enough to have an argument with your parents, and you’re disagreeing on something, that’s not an insanity defense,” Rahmani added.
Investigators have also focused on an alleged argument between Nick and his parents the night before their deaths. Family friends told the Los Angeles Times that Nick clashed with Rob and Michele at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on Saturday evening.
“Nick was freaking everyone out, acting crazy, kept asking people if they were famous,” a source told People magazine. TMZ reported that after a “very loud argument” between father and son, Rob and Michele left the party.
Rahmani said that confrontation could significantly undermine any defense strategy.
“Assuming that Nick is the killer, the fact that he got into an argument with his parents a day before the murders at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party is fatal to any real defense in the case,” he said. “It’s evidence of premeditation, which is what you need for first-degree murder for special circumstances under California law.”
“If you get into an argument with someone and you come back with a weapon, that’s premeditation,” Rahmani added. “That’s what happened with the Nipsey Hussle murder case in Los Angeles.”
Nick Reiner remains in custody as authorities move closer to determining formal charges in the case.
