Nick Reiner may remain on suicide watch and in solitary confinement for the foreseeable future as he faces charges for the double murder of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
Nick was arrested last Sunday and later charged in the fatal stabbings of the beloved director, 78, and photographer, 70, whose daughter Romy discovered the grisly scene at their Los Angeles home. The 28-year-old reportedly found her father’s body, but wasn’t notified until later that her mother had also been slaughtered.
A police source confirmed to People that the late couple’s son must wear a blue suicide-prevention smock 24/7 while he’s behind bars at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown L.A. He’ll “remain on suicide watch until a doctor clears him, which could take a long time depending on his mental health,” the source said.
Health professionals have determined that Nick has a “mental disability,” though he was deemed “mentally sound enough” to make a brief court appearance on Wednesday. At the hearing, his lawyer requested his arraignment be postponed until Jan. 7, saying it was “too early” for the 32-year-old to make a plea.
While Nick, who has a longstanding history of substance abuse and mental health issues, remains on suicide watch, “a supervisor checks on him every 15 minutes to ensure his safety,” the police source said. “He is currently struggling with mental health concerns, but he has not attempted self-harm.”
The source also confirmed that Nick is barred from leaving his cell unless for court appearances or medical reasons, at which point he’s “escorted at all times by a sergeant with a video camera.” He’s only permitted to communicate with legal counsel and authorized jail personnel to make sure “no one compromises this high-profile case.”
The source’s remarks come a day after TMZ reported Nick has schizophrenia — exacerbated by his substance abuse — and that his recent “alarming” behavior had only intensified with a change in medication, which made him “erratic and dangerous.”
Nick was charged on Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder, with a special allegation that he used a dangerous weapon — a knife — to carry out the slayings. The charges are punishable by life in prison without parole or the death penalty, which prosecutors have said they’ve not ruling out at this time.
