Nick Reiner’s defense attorney withdraws from case

(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner returned to court on Wednesday for the alleged murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner.

The 32-year-old, who faces two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders, sat behind the glass, wearing a dark jumpsuit and sporting a buzz cut.

His defense attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew from the case during Wednesday’s court appearance. Reiner will be assigned a public defender. Jackson is under a protective order to not talk about the case.

The hearing is ongoing.

On Dec. 17, Nick Reiner made a brief first court appearance and waived the right to a speedy arraignment. 

Since his last appearance, sources told ABC News that law enforcement and defense attorneys have been working to piece together Nick Reiner’s psychiatric and substance abuse history. Legal experts say California law allows defense attorneys to signal as early as Wednesday’s hearing whether they will seek to use mental health in their defense.

Nick Reiner has a documented history of addiction and substance abuse treatment, and friends have told investigators that his mental health had been deteriorating prior to the murders.

He could enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday, though that could also come later.

Under California law, a jury can find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, which would result in confinement to a state psychiatric hospital rather than prison. That process can begin at arraignment but is not required to.

To pursue this defense, attorneys must demonstrate that the accused suffered from a mental illness prior to developing an addiction. A mental illness caused solely by addiction does not meet the legal standard.

Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14.

The night before the murders, Nick Reiner — who had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager, and had been living on his parents’ property — got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party, and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.

Nick Reiner was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles hours after the bodies were discovered.

Rob and Michele Reiners’ other children, Jake and Romy Reiner, said in a statement last month, “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing.”

“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” they said.

“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life,” Jake and Romy Reiner said. “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”