By Jorge Casuso

January 6, 2026 -- Nick Reiner's arraignment Wednesday will offer no further details on why he allegedly murdered his parents, Robert and Michelle Reiner, or his movements in Santa Monica that day.

At the arraignment, Nick Reiner, 32, will formally face murder charges in a brief, mainly procedural hearing that will include no evidence presented in the case.

Those details could take longer than usual to surface after the LAPD, which arrested Reiner in the early morning hours of December 14, initiated a security hold on the records, including the medical examiner's report.

The only information made public was the death certificates released by the LA County Department of Public Health on December 23, which indicated the couple died within “minutes” of receiving “multiple sharp force injuries” with a “knife, by another.”

According to the death certificate, Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were cremated on December 21 at Mount Sinai Mortuary in Los Angeles, and their remains were given to their oldest son, Jake.

In a statement to NBC Los Angeles on December 29, police officials said the department "sought to seal the records of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's investigation into Robert and Michele Reiner’s death.

"The causes of death," the statement said, "have already been made public. The order was sought only to ensure detectives from Robbery-Homicide Division learned of important information surrounding their deaths before the media and the public.

"The order was not sought to undermine transparency," the statement said.

A December 21 article in The Los Angeles Times cited two sources who said the suspect, who is the middle child of the celebrity Hollywood couple, had been prescribed medication for schizophrenia.

NBC News reported that Reiner was being treated for serious psychiatric disorder at the time of the crime, according to three sources cited.

"They said Nick Reiner's medication was changed or adjusted before the killings, but did not provide a more specific time frame," NBC said.

The "sealed and confidential medical order was signed by the judge overseeing the initial stages of Nick Reiner's murder prosecution that may have to do with the 32-year-old's mental health condition and treatment, and could add more delays to the legal proceedings."

The Hollywood breaking news source Deadline noted that "while not unprecedented, sealing such records like the Reiners after they have been out there already for a couple of weeks is a rare development."

It is unclear when LAPD's investigation and the autopsy findings will be released to the public. It also remains unclear whether Reiner will plead insanity, which could further delay the trial.

“To be found not guilty by reason of insanity, that is a very difficult legal hurdle to overcome in California,” Neama Rahmani of California’s West Coast Trial Lawyers told PEOPLE.

“You have to prove, between disease or defect, the defendant does not know the nature and consequences of his actions," Rahmani said. "Essentially, you have to show that the defendant doesn't know right from wrong."

Key evidence in the case will likely center on the hours Nick Reiner spent in Santa Monica after murdering his parents ("Did Nick Reiner Spend the Day in Santa Monica After Allegedly Killing His Parents?" December 18, 2025).

Surveillance footage taken at 12:15 a.m. on the night of the killings, show the suspect walking past a gas station in the direction of the Brentwood Country Mart on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica.

Some four hours later, at approximately 4 a.m., Nick Reiner checked into The Pierside Santa Monica hotel at 120 Colorado Avenue with a credit card and reserved a room for the night but never formally checked out.

A video of his arrest by LAPD officers was taken at around 9:15 p.m. near the Expo Park/USC station some 20 miles from the end-of-the-line terminal in Downtown Santa Monica.

Where Nick Reiner was or what he did during the approximately 19 hours between the two videos may not be made public until evidence is presented at a trial that could take many months to begin.