Jennifer Gould

Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now.

I'm Jennifer Gould.

The high-stakes murder trial of Hollywood heir Nick Reiner descended into absolute chaos Wednesday when his celebrity defense attorney abruptly dumped his client in open court, leaving the accused double killer to face a double murder rap with a public defender.

The judge then addressed him in court.

Nick, the 32-year-old son of legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, sat in standard jail scrubs and let out an eerie, chilling smirk as his legal powerhouse, Alan Jackson, announced he had, quote-unquote, no choice but to walk away from the case.

The courtroom shakeup sent shockwaves through the Stanley Mosque courthouse just as Reiner was slated to be arraigned for the grisly December 2025 slaughter of his parents.

Jackson, who has represented Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and who recently most famously secured an acquittal for Karen Reed, held a frantic closed-door meeting with the judge before emerging to announce his departure.

Outside the courthouse, Jackson hinted at a massive internal fracture, stating that, quote-unquote, circumstances beyond Nick's control made it impossible to continue, and that although he's removing himself from the case, he continues to back Nick's innocence.

Listen.

Insiders whisper that the Reiner family may have pulled the huge plug on the millions in legal fees required to keep a top-tier firm on the case.

The details of the crime remain stomach-churning.

Rob, 78, and Michelle, 70, were reportedly found with their throats slit in their beds hours after a heated holiday blowout at comedian Conan O'Brien's home.

Prosecutors allege Nick, a troubled drug addict with 17 stints in rehab, snapped and carried out a frenzied knife attack so violent it left the Brentwood mansion looking like a blood-drenched war zone.

Nick's sister, Romy Reiner, found her dead parents after a massage therapist was left waiting outside the Reiner gate with no response from inside.

Nick was arrested a few hours later, 20 minutes away from the crime scene.

was a powder keg years in the making.

Records reveal the LAPD had been called to the Reiner residence at least six times since 2013 and two times in 2019 for family violence, mental health crises, and welfare checks.

Despite a decade of domestic terror and drug use, the parents allowed Nick to live in a guest house on the property.

While Reiner's new public defender, Kimberly Green, scrambles to catch up, Los Angeles D.A.

Nathan Hockman made it clear the state is eyeing the death penalty for the multiple murder special circumstances case.