Nick Reiner’s schizophrenia medication reportedly altered before parents’ killings

Sources say Nick Reiner’s schizophrenia medication was adjusted before killings of his parents, timing still unclear

Nick Reiner was diagnosed with schizophrenia several years ago and was receiving treatment for the condition before the killings of his parents, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the case. The sources said his medication was changed or adjusted at some point prior to the deaths, though it is not clear how soon before the incident the change occurred.

A sealed medical order was signed on Friday by the judge overseeing the early stages of the case. The order is believed to relate to Reiner’s mental health condition and treatment, though the sources declined to discuss its contents.

Reiner, 32, has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70.

The sources said Reiner was being treated for a serious psychiatric disorder at the time of the killings. As of Friday, investigators had not recovered the weapon used in the slayings, according to two of the sources.

They said the absence of the weapon was of limited investigative value given other evidence, including findings at the crime scene, items recovered during Reiner’s arrest and his alleged statements to police.

The Los Angeles Police Department said the couple were found dead in the master bedroom of their Brentwood home on the west side of the city. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said they were fatally stabbed in the early morning hours on Sunday. The county medical examiner ruled the cause of death to be multiple sharp force injuries.

Reiner was arrested shortly after 9 p.m. on Sunday in University Park near the University of Southern California, about 15 miles from his parents’ home. He is being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, according to inmate records.

He appeared in court on Wednesday wearing a blue vest. His arraignment has been postponed twice, with his next appearance scheduled for January 7. His attorney, Alan Jackson, said the initial delay occurred because Reiner had not been medically cleared in time.

The couple’s other children, Jake and Romy Reiner, described their parents’ deaths as “horrific and devastating”, adding, “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.”