Nick Reiner is reportedly no longer under suicide watch as he prepares for his upcoming arraignment related to the murder of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
The 32-year-old, accused of stabbing the acclaimed director, 78, and his photographer wife, 70, to death, has been relieved of the obligation to wear a suicide-prevention smock. However, he will continue to be held in solitary confinement at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles until further court directives, according to a sheriff’s source who spoke with People on Monday.
Reiner remains under close observation and is expected to appear at the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Stanley Mosk Courthouse for his arraignment at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. This hearing was postponed from December when his lawyer argued it was premature for his client to enter a plea.
Nick was apprehended on December 14, following the discovery of his father’s body by his younger sister Romy at their family home in Brentwood. She later learned of her mother’s death as well.
Two days post-arrest, Nick was formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, alongside a special allegation involving the use of a knife. A conviction could lead to a life sentence or the death penalty.
Shortly after the tragic event, TMZ disclosed that Nick had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The report suggested that recent medication had exacerbated his already “alarming” behavior, making it more “erratic and dangerous.”
Records obtained last week by People show that authorities twice responded to the Reiner home in early and late 2019 for a welfare check and a mental health-related call, respectively. Officers told a supervisor they found “no indication of mental illness” at the time, according to those records.
Nick has long been open about his lifelong struggle with substance abuse, which has reportedly resulted in over a dozen stints in rehab and multiple bouts of homelessness.
A resurfaced clip from a 2016 podcast appearance features Nick admitting that he once manufactured a “crazy” state of mind to get access to the antidepressant medication, Wellbutrin.
Last month, a police source told People that Nick was in solitary confinement, would have to wear a suicide-prevention smock 24/7 and would “remain on suicide watch until a doctor clears him, which could take a long time depending on his mental health.”
