Nick Reiner avoids death penalty over his parents’ killings but still faces life in prison

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Nick Reiner appears during his arraignment on murder charges for the deaths of his parents, Feb. 23, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Chris Torres/Pool Photo via AP, file)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner‘s son will not face the death penalty on charges he fatally stabbed his parents after lying in wait at their home in Los Angeles late last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.

If convicted, the maximum sentence 33-year-old Nick Reiner could get is life without the possibility of parole, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a news conference. Before reaching its decision, Hochman said his office did a thorough review, including speaking to Rob and Michele Singer Reiner’s families and evaluating mitigating factors in Nick Reiner’s favor.

Nick Reiner, who briefly appeared at a court hearing Tuesday morning, has twice pleaded not guilty. The death penalty had been on the table because of the lying-in-wait allegation, the fact that multiple people were killed, and the use of a knife, which is considered a dangerous weapon. However, it’s been two decades since California’s last execution, and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on the practice in 2019.