Celebrity Lawyer Analyzes Reiner Murders & Defense Strategies

[Source: Court TV]

Celebrity lawyer and legal analyst Christopher C. Melcher, who is ranked as a best family law attorney in California, analyzes the Reiner Murders and Defense Strategies on Court TV.

Summary:

The segment presents a Court TV–style investigation into the alleged brutal murders of Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, and the arrest of their son, Nick Reiner, following a family dispute. Prosecutors announced two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, with the death penalty on the table, while investigators remain tight-lipped as the case develops. Legal analysis from celebrity lawyer Chris Melcher focuses on whether the defense will argue lack of intent or pursue a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity strategy, as scrutiny intensifies around evidence, mental health, and police procedure.

Transcript:

I’m Vinnie Politan. The subject of my investigation, the violent, brutal murders of Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, and the arrest of their own son, Nick. Here’s the story.

Every story has a beginning. Some have an end we never expect. Rob Reiner, the legendary filmmaker behind Stand By Me, and When Harry met Sally, spent decades bringing laughter, heart, and truth to audiences worldwide. A husband, father, and storyteller, he believed in the power of love and family, even when his own son battled addiction. But one December weekend in Brentwood, Los Angeles, that belief would meet a devastating turn.

What Happened to Rob Reiner & his Wife?

After a tense argument, Rob Reiner, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their home. Authorities have arrested their son, Nick, and a community reels from a tragedy that no one saw coming. What happened during the final hours of the life of this Hollywood icon?

This hour, we’re going to take a close look at a lot of the issues in some of the newer developments in the investigation into the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, a violent, violent end that they met inside their own home, inside their own mansion out in Brentwood. Let’s get to some of the facts here. We’re going to bring in Court TV field reporter Cody Thomas, who joins us tonight live in Los Angeles at the LA County Superior Courthouse. And we have new video, Cody, allegedly showing the arrest of Nick Reiner. What can you tell us?

How Was Nick Reiner Arrested?

Cody Thomas:

Yeah, Vinnie, that’s absolutely right. This new video posted by the outlet, Page Six, allegedly showing that arrest. Now, we heard from DA Nathan Hochman today that Nick Reiner was arrested without incident. Now, they say this shows Nick Reiner surrendering to police. You see him throwing his hands up at a crosswalk at a metro station in downtown LA. This is about 15 miles away from his mother and father’s Brentwood home in Los Angeles where those stabbings took place. Now, we know that he was arrested near the Exposition Park area, obviously in a public area near the University of Southern California. And Vinnie, upon talking to some people here in Los Angeles today, just some people on the sidewalk, they say that area is a heavily drug-influenced area as well, methamphetamine, heroin, things of that nature. But that video, again, posted by the outlet Page Six, showing Nick Reiner, throwing his hands up and being arrested by LAPD.

Vinnie Politan:

All right. Let’s talk about the big press conference that took place. What did the DA say about this case?

What Charges is Nick Reiner Facing?

Cody Thomas:

Well, the most important thing, Vinnie, he says official charges will be filed and that the death penalty is still on the table. They have not made a decision about it yet, but it’s on the table as far as this case is progressing.

Now, District Attorney Nathan Hochman says prosecutors will file two first degree murder charges against Nick Reiner, which he says are upgraded to special circumstances due to there being multiple murders involved in this case. Now he explained the charges, why they may seek the death penalty and how the case may play out. Take a listen to this.

Nathan Hochman:

Today, I’m here to announce that our office will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, actor-director, Rob Reiner, and photographer producer Michele Singer Reiner. These charges will be two counts of first degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife.

Is the Death Penalty on the Table?

These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty. Announcing these charges, I also want to announce that they’re just that. They are charges. Charges are not evidence. Evidence is something that we will be presenting in a court of law to meet the standard of proof we meet in every criminal case, which is beyond a reasonable doubt to 12 jurors who will unanimously have to find that we’ve met that standard to prove the charges we bring to court.

Right now, with respect to the process, once the charges get filed this afternoon, Nick Reiner will be then brought to court. He is going through medical clearance, something that everybody who gets arrested and gets held in a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail goes through. Once he is medically cleared, he will be brought to court to be arraigned on these charges. At that point, he will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

Now, prosecuting these cases involving family members are some of the most challenging and most heart-wrenching cases that this office faces, because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved. Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades. His wife, Michele Singer Reiner was an equally iconic photographer and producer. Their loss is beyond tragic, and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice.

You will hear in the media rumors. You will hear speculation. You will hear hearsay. What I’m asking everyone to do is to rely on trusted sources. If it doesn’t come from the District Attorney’s office, from LAPD, from the Coroner’s office, or from the courtroom itself, then there is a good chance you are hearing misinformation. Because at the appropriate time, the actual evidence involved in this case will be presented in a court of law. So I ask for your patience until that is done.

What Are the Police Not Saying?

Cody Thomas:

Now Vinnie, the DA and LAPD declined to answer many of the comments or the questions from media today due to this being a thorough ongoing investigation, but they did comment on some of the aspects of the investigation and the arrest of Nick Reiner itself. Take a listen to this.

Chief Jim McDonnell:

He was found with good solid police work, investigative tools used by Robbery-Homicide and Gang and Narcotic Division detectives with the US Marshal Service Task Force involved as well. So we’re thankful for the work that was done. I won’t go into talking about what was found or anything that could potentially taint the investigation.

Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton:

Specifically, he was arrested in a public area, in the Exposition Park area near the University of Southern California campus. He was approached by the officers and he was arrested without incident. There were no indications that… There was no indication that he was going to resist or anything like that. He didn’t flee or anything like that. He was taken into custody without issue, and he was transported to our police headquarters facility.

Nathan Hochman:

Any evidence, if there is any, of mental illness for his background, will be coming out in the hearings that will occur. We anticipate, again, after the arraignment, the process will go through the normal process a case like this goes through. At the appropriate time, if there is evidence of mental illness, it will be presented in court and in whatever detail the defense seeks to do that.

What Evidence Remains Unknown?

Cody Thomas:

Now, Vinnie, we are still waiting on Nick Reiner’s medical clearance for him to make his first court appearance, and we are still waiting on the autopsy report of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. Now, the DA also did not comment on the timeline or anything specific like that regarding the murders, and he also didn’t comment on where they were actually found within the Brentwood residence.

Vinnie Politan:

All right, Cody’s going to be with us all hour. And obviously they know a lot more than they said today, and that brings us to the first question in our investigation. What don’t we know about what happened? Let’s bring in our guests who are going to help us through all this. Joining us, retired homicide detective, host of the YouTube True Crime show, Murder Mind, Vince Velazquez is with us, and celebrity legal analyst, Chris Melcher out there in L.A. Great to see you both. All right, Vince, you’re looking at this. Homicide investigators like you obviously have been on this case. What are some of the things that we don’t know right now about what happened that you may suspect that they know about what happened?

What Are Detectives Focusing on?

Vince Velazquez:

Well, I think what LAPD homicide is doing right now is a full timeline. That’s so important, starting with what the victims were doing from the moment they woke up that day, but more importantly, what Nick Reiner was doing from the moment he woke up that day, all the way to the party. And that’s going to include Hollywood’s Who’s Who of the witness list. They’re going to have to interview all those folks. Digital evidence, app activity, geofencing, where Nick Reiner was, and then the full forensic story, exactly what happened inside that house. And then lastly, motive, like was this substance abuse? Was it a mental health breakdown? Or could it have been something else that we just don’t know about?

Vinnie Politan:

Yeah. Chris Melcher, from your perspective, what don’t we know about what happened here that you think is going to be significant as all this plays out?

Was the Crime Planned or Impulsive?

Chris Melcher:

What we don’t know about is, was there any planning involved? Is this something, an act of rage that happened? Was he suffering from some kind of mental disorder that prevented him from really having the capacity to form intent? This is what I imagine is of keen interest to the defense because if it’s clear that he committed the crime, the question then is, okay, could he get out on a not guilty by reason of insanity? And I think that that’s where the focus of the defense is going to be, but also the investigators are going to be looking for evidence maybe to contradict an NGI plea.

Vinnie Politan:

And Vince, this arrest is quick. This is a fast arrest in all of this. So what does that tell you about some of the evidence that they may have found or statements or things that they’ve learned?

Why was the arrest so fast?

Vince Velazquez:

Well, what I’ve read is that these victims, the daughter actually found them and told LAPD that her brother was a prime suspect from the beginning. So they kind of knew who they were kind of looking for as a prime suspect and through cell phone tracing and things like that, it wouldn’t be that hard to track him down. And it’s interesting, of course, they just took him into custody. They didn’t really charge him right away. But what’s really interesting, I would love to… In the future, we’re going to hear about what that interview was like. If he chose to talk to them and what he said to the LAPD, that could lend to motive and exactly what was going on in his state of mind. Now, if they found him in an area that was frequented with people that used drugs, one of the things that I would have done as a detective investigating this is get a warrant and test his blood. Even though it’s hours later, it still is evidence that could shed some light on his mental state.

Vinnie Politan:

Yeah. And Chris, how about the events of that day? What are you most interested in and believe will reveal much more about what happened here in terms of things that happened during the course of the day?

Could Text Messages Reveal Motive?

Chris Melcher:

Well, Vinnie, what I would like to see is messages that Nick sent to either his parents or family members before the incident, and then any messages that he sent afterwards. To me, this is pivotal because if he is expressing anything in these messages before the crimes were committed about planning and threats, then that would indicate that he understood what he was doing. And then messages that happened afterwards that might indicate that he understood that this was wrong. And the reason why I’m focusing on that is because if he goes with a not guilty by reason of insanity, he not only has to show that he had a mental disorder, but that he did not understand the nature and quality of the act, or that it was legally and morally wrong. So to me, it’s all about these messages that may have been sent.

Vinnie Politan:

And Vince, for the detectives that are working the case, and this is obviously incredibly high profile, is there more pressure you feel? Does more pressure come from the folks upstairs? How does it work when you’re working a case like this one?

How much pressure is on the LAPD?

Vince Velazquez:

Extreme pressure. I mean, let’s just look back at the OJ Simpson case from 1994, 1995. I mean, LAPD made so many mistakes forensically, and I think historically they’ve learned that. This case is going to be a media frenzy, and LAPD knows that. Anytime a detective or a department has a case like this, they have to cross those T’s and dot those I’s, even if it doesn’t need it. It’s one of those things where you go 18 extra steps that you typically may not have done because it’s going to have so much scrutiny on it. I guarantee you, it’s going to be some high-priced, some very well known defense attorney (like in the OJ case) that’s going to pick or try to pick this case apart. So LAPD, I would imagine at this point is really taking their time. They’ve got a very, very robust group of seasoned detectives, and I really think that they’re taking their time with this thing.

They’ve already charged him. They’ve already charged Nick Reiner with the crime, so it’s not who did it. Now they have to prove it. And now is the time when you really have to slow down and make sure you’re doing everything correctly.

Vinnie Politan:

All right. Our guests are going to stick around. Coming up next, what will Nick Reiner’s defense focus on?

Chief Jim McDonnell:

It’s with deep sadness today I address the tragic loss of Robert and Michele Reiner. Today, the Los Angeles County District’s Attorney’s Office has formally filed charges against Mr. Reiner for the murder of his parents. This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones, but for our entire city.

Vinnie Politan:

Yeah, there aren’t many who are bigger in Hollywood or were bigger in Hollywood than Rob Reiner. I mean, the legendary movies, his career took off with a legendary role in one of the biggest sitcoms of all time. And from there, it was just bigger and bigger and bigger. And then his political activism kept him in the headlines even when he wasn’t making movies. So everyone feeling it out in Hollywood. Let’s get back to Court TV field reporter, Cody Thomas, who is in LA tonight. In front of the courthouse. So let’s talk about court. What happened in court today out there in LA?

Why was the arraignment delayed?

Cody Thomas:

Well Vinnie, nothing happened at all because that scheduled arraignment that we thought was going to happen this morning got pushed. And that’s because Nick Reiner’s defense attorney says that he was not medically cleared and suitable enough to be in court. Now, who is that defense attorney? None other than high profile defense attorney, LA-based, Alan Jackson. Of course, Alan Jackson representing Harvey Weinstein, defendants like Kevin Spacey. And for our viewers here at Court TV, Karen Read during the Karen Read murder trial and retrial that we aired right here on the program. And I actually saw Alan Jackson today in the courthouse looking very unassuming for a few minutes. He spoke with media outside the courthouse just after what was supposed to be that arraignment hearing. Here’s the video that TMZ posted.

Alan Jackson:

Every inmate has to be medically cleared before they can be transported to court. He has not been medically cleared. It’s just a procedural issue.

Speaker 13:

Have you spoken to your client at all?

Alan Jackson:

I’m not commenting any further than what the procedure of the court today is.

Speaker 14:

Can we expect a hearing tomorrow?

Alan Jackson:

We’ll be back day-to-day. The bailiff has indicated that the Sheriff’s Department will take it on a day by day basis, and so hopefully he’ll be cleared tomorrow, and we can get in there.

Cody Thomas:

Now, Vinnie, important to note, Alan Jackson did not specify how he became associated with the case, or who exactly is paying his high profile legal fees either.

Vinnie Politan:

Yeah, great point, Cody. And also, a little different than what we saw in Dedham where he’s proclaiming his client’s innocence on the courthouse steps. This was a little bit different, and that brings us to the next question in our investigation. What will Nick Reiner’s defense focus on? Where is Alan Jackson taking this case? What’s it going to be about? Joining me, East Coast contributor for Los Angeles Magazine. Lauren Conlin is with us, and still with us, celebrity lawyer, Chris Melcher. Chris, first question to you about the hiring. So if he was arrested and charged with murdering someone and his father was still alive, I’d be like, “Okay, yeah, his dad made the call. His dad is paying for it.” What do you suspect? How did this happen that he’s got the highest profile criminal defense attorney in the country representing him?

Chris Melcher:

Well, Vinnie, it doesn’t make a lot of sense because even if a trust had been established for Nick’s benefit by his parents, I would imagine there would be a lot of restrictions on any distributions from that trust because of the chronic drug problems that he’s had. So I don’t imagine that he would have much of any money available to him, and he certainly can’t inherit from his parents if he’s killed them. So I got to think that Alan’s involvement here very quickly, maybe based on just wanting to be attached to such a high profile case and maybe trying to work out the finances later, there’s some lawyers who will do that, because there isn’t really a clear source to be able to afford such a high power defense.

Vinnie Politan:

Yeah. All right. Lauren Conlin, your reaction when you heard that Karen Read’s attorney, and we remember how all that went down, ends up taking this case. And how much of a game changer do you think it is based upon Alan Jackson’s history and the way he interacts with the media, and how his cases end up playing out?

Lauren Conlin:

I thought this was huge, Vinnie. I was not expecting Alan Jackson to step in. I mean, as you said, I was wondering about the payment, but I guess if he uses a credit card, I mean, it’s not really on Alan if the credit card isn’t paid, right? But no, I think that Alan Jackson is absolutely going to focus on police missteps. I think that he is going to pick apart every little thing that the LAPD does. And I think that, as Vince said, there have been some very high profile cases, like OJ that the LAPD has not done their best on. And so if you remember on Sunday when the news first broke, LAPD made sure to tell all of us that they had to wait to enter the house and search the entire house. They had to wait for the search warrant. And they also said that this search of the entire house is imperative to their investigation.

So I think that, of course, that the mental illness may come into play. The fact that he fled the scene after he did it, that kind of tells me he might not be as crazy as we all think. There’s some other reports saying that he did appear to be somewhat normal when a house guest was staying with the Reiners. Who knows? We don’t know what’s going on inside anyone’s head. But again, back to your original question, I think Alan Jackson’s just going to pick apart what the police did or didn’t do and go from there.

Vinnie Politan:

Chris, your thoughts about the focus of the defense?

Chris Melcher:

Well, I think Lauren’s absolutely right and raises a great point that if he was having a mental episode and didn’t understand the nature and quality of his act and didn’t know if it was right or wrong, why would he leave? Why wouldn’t he just stay there? So Lauren makes a great point there. I think certainly the first focus would be, “Hey, maybe we got the wrong guy. Nick wasn’t there. How could he do this?”

What will the defense focus on?

So certainly if there’s any plausible basis to deny that Nick was involved, then that’s going to be the first thing the defense is going to do. However, if it looks like there’s overwhelming evidence and there’s no real way of getting out of that, that he did it, then the focus would be on not guilty by reason of insanity because instead of doing life without possibility of parole or maybe even the death penalty, if it’s NGI, we’re talking commitment to a mental hospital.

Vinnie Politan:

All right. Chris Melcher, top family law attorney and celebrity legal analyst, always great to have you on the program. Great to see you. Lauren Conlin’s going to stick around. Still to come, how toxic was the atmosphere inside the home?

Make sure to follow Chris on Twitter at @CA_Divorce.

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