Prosecutors said they planned to file murder charges on Tuesday against the younger son of Hollywood filmmaker and political activist Rob Reiner, accusing him of using a knife to kill his parents in their Los Angeles home over the weekend.
Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested several hours after the bodies of his father, actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and mother, photographer-producer Michele Reiner, 70, were discovered in the couple's house on Sunday afternoon.
Prosecutors said evidence gathered by the Los Angeles Police Department led homicide detectives to Reiner, who was taken into custody without incident.
Police investigators turned over the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday, and DA Nathan Hochman said at a news conference that two counts of first-degree murder would be formally filed in court against Nick Reiner later in the day.
Hochman said the charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or capital punishment, but prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty in the case.
The district attorney said a knife was used in the killings, but gave few other details about the investigation and or the circumstances of the slayings.
Various news media outlets have reported that Nick Reiner had been seen quarreling with his parents on Saturday night at a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O'Brien.
Nick Reiner, the younger of the Reiners' two sons and their middle child, had spoken publicly about his years-long struggle with substance abuse and homelessness. He has remained held without bail at a Los Angeles County lockup since he was booked on suspicion of murder on Sunday night.
Prominent Los Angeles defense attorney Alan Jackson, representing Reiner, said his client had yet to be medically cleared for his initial court appearance on Tuesday, but would possibly be arraigned on Wednesday.
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