Nick Reiner appears in court, case delayed until September

Rob Reiner's son Nick is back in court again after pleading not guilty to murdering his parents.

Nick Reiner, 32, was in court on Wednesday, April 29, for the third time since being charged in the deaths of his parents, director Rob Reiner and his wife of 36 years, producer Michele Singer Reiner.

After a lengthy delay, Reiner appeared for a short hearing and spoke only to say "yeah" and "yes." He looked straight ahead with a wide-eyed expression sitting next to his new attorney, public defender Kimberly Greene. Reiner, with his head shaved and a scruffy goatee, wore a yellow prison top with blue prison pants.

At one point during the brief hearing, Judge Sam Ohta asked Reiner directly if he understood and agreed with the delay in the hearings.

"Is that a 'yes'?" Ohta asked Reiner, who responded to the affirmative.

The judge set a new hearing for Sept. 15.

Rob Reiner autopsy not ready, court hears

Greene told the judge during the hearing that the defense was still waiting for full autopsy reports for the deceased. No reason was given for the prosecution delay on getting the reports to the defense, more than four months after the killings.

"It's a little surprising why those reports have not come yet," attorney Tre Lovell, who is not affiliated with the case, tells USA TODAY. "And there might be elements of these reports that [the prosecution] is not ready to release."

The Sept. 15 hearing will be a precursor to a still-unscheduled preliminary hearing, which will set any trial date. So this process will take a while, Lovell says.

"It was a surprise. They are really slow-walking this," Lovell says. "It leads me to believe that they're still evidence-gathering. This is a huge case. The prosecution needs to get it right."

Rob Reiner cause of death

The cause of death for Rob and Michele Reiner was listed as "multiple sharp force injuries" in Los Angeles County Medical Examiner online records. The manner of death was listed as homicide.

The acclaimed "Princess Bride" director and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Dec. 14. Days later, prosecutors filed criminal charges against their son, Nick Reiner, who is accused of "fatally stabbing" his parents.

Nick Reiner is facing charges on two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also faces a special allegation of using a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife. The 32-year-old pleaded not guilty in February, with Greene.

Jake Reiner remembers parents Rob Reiner, Michele Singer Reiner in emotional essay

In a deeply personal Substack essay published April 24 — just ahead of his first birthday without his parents — eldest son Jake Reiner described the aftermath of the murders as "horrendous."

"Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time. It’s too devastating to comprehend," Jake Reiner wrote in an essay titled "Mom and Dad." "I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare."

At the March 15 Academy Awards, Billy Crystal gathered a who's who of Hollywood A-listers to honor his friend Rob Reiner, including his "When Harry Met Sally" costar Meg Ryan, Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin ("The Princess Bride"), Kiefer Sutherland ("Stand by Me"), Demi Moore ("A Few Good Men"), Kathy Bates ("Misery"), Annette Bening ("The American President"), John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga ("The Sure Thing").

"My friend Rob's movies will last for lifetimes, because they were about what makes us laugh and cry and what we aspire to be: Far better in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier, and far more human," Crystal said on the Oscars stage. "To the millions who have enjoyed his films all these years, I want you to know here and around the world, how many times Rob told me that it meant everything to him that his work meant something to you.

"And for us who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, buddy, what fun we had storming the castle," he continued.

Contributing: Brendan Morrow, Edward Segarra, USA TODAY