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Reiner Family Tragedy Raises Tough Questions
Clear Facts
- Nick Reiner has been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for the alleged murders of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
- Harvey Levin reports Nick’s mental state deteriorated after a medication change, and he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
- Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder and is expected to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
A Fox Nation documentary highlights new evidence and troubling details in the case surrounding Rob and Michele Reiner’s deaths. Nick Reiner, their son, is alleged to have committed the murders and is considered incompetent for trial due to mental health concerns.
“He is not competent to stand trial right now. He is almost childlike in jail, we’re told,” Harvey Levin said.
Levin added that Nick “can’t process the consequences of what he’s done. He knows what he did. He just can’t understand where he is right now, and I know that sounds crazy, but he is out of his head right now.”
Nick’s diagnosis is schizoaffective disorder, a condition that can result in delusions, hallucinations, and mood disruption, and his medication was recently changed because of side effects. This adjustment reportedly led to instability shortly before the tragic incident.
Levin described the alleged killings as “incredibly brutal.” He shared that “we know people in the medical examiner’s office who are traumatized just by the pictures.” Nick was arrested in a drug den, and meth use is suspected to have played a role after his medication was altered. The nature of the crime left investigators deeply shocked.
“It has the markings of somebody who was just wild, wildly strong. We have not gotten the confirmation of that, but we’ve talked to people… If he were just Nick Reiner without something additional, the carnage wouldn’t have been the way it was,” Levin explained.
Nick faces two first-degree murder charges. The attorney who formerly represented Nick, Alan Jackson, maintains that Nick is not guilty, likely by reason of insanity. Levin noted, “[Jackson] says [Nick] is not guilty. What he’s really saying is, not guilty by reason of insanity. And I think that’s gonna be the plea in this case, because there’s no way he’ll plead not guilty.”
This case, now detailed in a Fox Nation special, has left many questioning how such a tragedy could have unfolded and whether it could have been prevented.
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
