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LAST UPDATE | 9 hrs ago
A US JUDGE has delayed Nick Reiner’s arraignment in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, after his high-profile defence lawyer asked to be replaced.
Judge Theresa McGonigle agreed to lawyer Alan Jackson’s request during a hearing where Nick Reiner was set to be arraigned and enter a plea today.
Mr Jackson did not say why he wanted to leave the case.
Judge McGonigle then delayed arraignment until 23 February.
Reiner’s scheduled appearance in a Los Angeles Superior Court came three-and-a-half weeks after the actor-director and his wife of 36 years were found dead with stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles, authorities said.
Reiner appeared behind glass in a custody area of the courtroom this morning, wearing brown jail garb and with his hair shaved.
Lawyers went into the judge’s chambers to confer before his case was called.
Nick Reiner, 32, the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, was arrested hours after the couple were found dead and has been held without bail since.
He was charged two days later with two counts of first-degree murder.
He did not enter a plea during a brief first court appearance on 17 December, when he wore shackles and a suicide prevention smock.
Mr Jackson gave no indication of the plans for his defence.
A decade ago, Nick Reiner publicly discussed his severe struggles with addiction and mental health after making a movie with his father, Being Charlie, which was very loosely based on their lives.
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were killed early on the morning of December 14, and they were found in the late afternoon, authorities said.
Nick Reiner, who lived in a guest property at his parents’ home, had attended comedian Conan O’Brien’s glitzy party on Saturday, 13 December with his parents, where some attendees reportedly spoke of him behaving erratically.
The New York Times, citing a source close to the family, said the couple had been due to dine with former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle on Sunday evening, and had seemingly booked an in-home massage for that day.
The paper said when no one answered the door for the appointment, the therapist contacted the couple’s daughter, Romy Reiner.
When she arrived with a friend, she discovered her father’s body, and emergency services were called. Paramedics told her that her mother’s body was also at the property.
Police arrested Nick Reiner several kilometers away from the scene of the crime later that night.
Rob Reiner, the son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, started his showbiz career in acting.
He won fame as the oafish son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic on groundbreaking 1970s sitcom “All in the Family,” before transitioning to directing.
As a director, he struck Hollywood gold.
His output included classic films like 1984′s rock music mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap,” fantasy gem “The Princess Bride” from 1987, and seminal coming-of-age movie “Stand By Me.”
“A Few Good Men,” starring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
With reporting b AFP
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