Nick Reiner accused of planning murders of parents Rob and Michele in new indictment, could face death penalty

Nick Reiner has been indicted on new murder charges for the December 2025 killings of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.

The indictment, returned on July 20 and unsealed and obtained by Page Six on Wednesday, includes the allegation of “lying in wait,” a special circumstance that means he could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty at sentencing.

Nick is also being accused of using a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife, in the indictment.

The 32-year-old pleaded not guilty to the new charges in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday.

In the state of California, “lying in wait” is a type of first-degree murder where someone waits for their victim and then kills them in an ambush-style attack, according to LA-based criminal defense law firm Eisner Gorin LLP.

The firm describes the charge on their website as an “aggravating circumstance” that is “considered a factor that makes the penalties more severe.”

Eisner Gorin LLP notes that in order to convict someone of “lying in wait,” the prosecutor must prove all the “elements of the crime,” which include the fact that the defendant concealed their purpose from the victim, waited and watched for an opportunity to act, made a surprise attack on the victim, and acted with a specific intent to kill them.

The new indictment allows prosecutors to avoid a preliminary hearing, which would involve evidence being shown and witnesses testifying publicly about the circumstances surrounding the killings or Nick’s history.

Instead, the case can skip right to a trial.

“This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement.

“The indictment unsealed today also adds a special circumstance allegation that the defendant committed the murders by means of lying in wait. We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice.”

Nick was arrested on Dec. 14, 2025, and accused of killing Rob and Michele at their Los Angeles home, located in the Brentwood area. Rob was 78 and Michele was 70.

The “Princess Bride” director and his wife allegedly died within “minutes” of receiving “multiple sharp force injuries” with a “knife, by another,” according to the couple’s death certificates, which were obtained by Page Six in December.

The pair were reportedly found by their 28-year-old daughter, Romy Reiner.

Nick — who was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia before the alleged killings and has a long history of drug addiction — was arrested hours later near Exposition Park in downtown Los Angeles. He allegedly left behind bloody evidence at a hotel in Santa Monica, California.

He was initially hit with two separate charges for first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty to those charges at a February court hearing.

Nick is currently behind bars at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles.

Under the initial charges, Nick was facing a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.

Nick, who is being represented by public defender Kimberly Greene, requested access to his $1.5 million trust fund to cover his attorney’s fees in February.

The youngest Reiner child claimed he’s being blocked from his $1.5 million inheritance left by his slain parents, calling it an “abuse of the Trustee’s discretion to refuse those requests.”

Nick has a hearing regarding the trust fund on Aug. 17, followed by a pre-trial hearing for the murder case on Sept. 15.