Nick Reiner Prosecutors Won’t Seek Death Penalty in Killing of Rob & Michele

Nick Reiner DA Won’t Seek Death Penalty

Published September 15, 2026 6:21 AM PDT

The Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is taking the death penalty off the table in Nick Reiner’s criminal case ... and it is partly due to his slain parents’ view on executing criminals, TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Hochman and his team decided to remove the death penalty for several reasons -- in no small part because Rob and Michele were against the death penalty. 

Before his death, Rob, who was a Democrat and outspoken about his views on politics, praised Erika Kirk for forgiving Tyler Robinson, the man who allegedly killed her husband, Charlie Kirk. 

Our sources tell TMZ another factor is that the case has been especially hard for Nick’s siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner. They would have a hard time during sentencing if execution of their sibling were on the table. That said, Jake and Romy are not aligned at all with Nick. They already made a decision not to fund Nick's defense.  

On top of all that, yet another factor in the decision was a 2019 order by Governor Gavin Newsom ... that halted the death penalty for 737 executions planned. 

Newsom said the death penalty was "unevenly and unfairly applied to people of color, people with mental disabilities, and people who cannot afford costly legal representation."

The last person executed on death row in California was in 2006, although people still have been sentenced to the death penalty in recent years.

Despite the death penalty being taken off the table, prosecutors are still going after Nick for murder in the first degree with special circumstances -- lying in wait -- which means he could still end up with a life sentence without the possibility of parole. 

As TMZ previously reported, Nick was arrested for allegedly murdering his parents on December 14, 2025, inside their L.A. mansion.