Rob and Michele Reiner murders: Suspect Nick Reiner is on suicide watch in solitary confinement, report says
Nick Reiner, who has been charged with the murder of his parents, the director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, is reportedly on suicide watch in solitary confinement in a Los Angeles jail.
Reiner, 32, is being made to wear a blue suicide-prevention smock and is not permitted to communicate with anyone outside his counsel and jail and medical staff, a law enforcement source told People.
“While he is on suicide watch, a supervisor checks on him every 15 minutes to ensure his safety,” the source said. “He is currently struggling with mental health concerns, but he has not attempted self-harm. He remains alone in his cell and communicates very little.”
The Independent has contacted Reiner’s attorney for comment.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department, which manages Los Angeles jails, directed questions about Reiner to the LAPD, which has not responded to an Independent request for comment.
Prior to his arrest over the weekend, Reiner was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he was being treated for a serious psychiatric disorder at the time of his parents’ murder, unnamed sources familiar with his background told NBC News. At some point prior to the killing, his medication had been adjusted, the outlet reports.
Before Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday, the director and his son were reportedly seen arguing at a Christmas party, where some guests reported Nick Reiner had been acting erratically.
“Nick was freaking everyone out, acting crazy, kept asking people if they were famous,” a source told People.
Others have disputed this account. An unnamed source told The New York Times that the supposedly heated nature of the argument had been overblown, and that the intensity of the conversation between Rob Reiner and his son may have been misinterpreted or exaggerated.
Reiner made his first, brief court appearance on Monday. He did not enter a plea, and an arraignment is planned for January.
“There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case,” his attorney, Alan Jackson, told reporters at the time, adding that it was “too early” for a plea to be entered.
“These need to be thoroughly, but very carefully, dealt with and examined and looked at and analyzed.”
If convicted, the 32-year-old could face the death penalty.
Reiner has spoken previously of his struggles with drug addiction and homelessness.
