Nick Reiner to enter plea in stabbing deaths of parents Rob and Michele Reiner
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner attend Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Los Angeles Dinner at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 22, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Human Rights Campaign)
(NEW YORK) — Nick Reiner is set to enter a plea to murder charges on Monday following his arrest late last year in the stabbing deaths of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner.
The 32-year-old faces two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders.
He was set to enter a plea last month at a hearing in Los Angeles, before his defense attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew from the case during the court appearance. Nick Reiner agreed to delay his arraignment and was assigned a public defender.
He remains in jail on no bail.
Jackson told reporters after court that he had to withdraw as Nick Reiner’s counsel due to “circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control.”
“Pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” he added. “We wish him the very best moving forward.”
A Reiner family spokesperson said at the time, “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings.”
Nick Reiner made a brief first court appearance on Dec. 17, during which he waived the right to a speedy arraignment.
Since then, sources told ABC News that law enforcement and defense attorneys had been working to piece together Nick Reiner’s psychiatric and substance abuse history.
He has a documented history of addiction and substance abuse treatment, and friends have told investigators that his mental health had been deteriorating prior to the fatal stabbings.
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025.
The night before, Nick Reiner — who had been living on his parents’ property — got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.
Nick Reiner was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles hours after the bodies were discovered.
Rob and Michele Reiners’ other children, Jake and Romy Reiner, said in a statement following their parents’ deaths, “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing.”
“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” they said.
Undated photos of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson who were killed in 1990. (Harris County District Attorney’s Office)
(HOUSTON) — A man has been arrested in a 1990 cold case double murder known as the “Lovers’ Lane” killings, Houston police said.
Floyd William Parrott, 64, is charged with capital murder for the killings of Cheryl Henry, 22, and Garland “Andy” Atkinson, 21, police said.
The victims were found in a car parked in a cul-de-sac on Aug. 23, 1990, police said. Both suffered injuries to their necks, police said.
Houston police, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the Texas Attorney General’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit worked together on the case, police said, but decades went by without answers.
Police have not revealed what led them to zero in on Parrott, but they said he was identified as the suspect this month.
Parrott was arrested in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Wednesday and is awaiting extradition to the Harris County, police said.
The DA’s office called the arrest a “significant step in the ongoing pursuit of justice for Cheryl Henry, Andy Atkinson, and their families.”
The DA’s office said authorities are working to coordinate a news conference.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced on Sunday that a woman missing in Arizona is the mother of “Today Show” host Savannah Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department)
(NEW YORK) — Investigations are continuing this morning after the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie disappeared over the weekend in what authorities believe was a possible abduction early Sunday morning from her Arizona home, police said.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen in the Catalina Foothills area on Saturday night, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Her family reported her missing on Sunday around noon local time, authorities said.
Investigators do not believe Nancy Guthrie left her home willingly and that she was abducted in her sleep early Sunday morning, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told ABC News.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators processed Nancy Guthrie’s home on Sunday and “saw some things at the home that were concerning to us,” and that it is considered a crime scene.
“She did not leave on her own, we know that,” Nanos said during a press briefing on Monday.
Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments and limited mobility, but does not have cognitive issues, her family said, according to the sheriff.
She takes medication that if she doesn’t have in 24 hours, “it could be fatal,” Nanos said Monday.
Authorities said they are reviewing the home’s security cameras and have Nancy Guthrie’s cell phone.
Sources briefed on the probe told ABC News that investigators are focusing on Nancy Guthrie’s electronic devices to see if there is data that could point to an assailant or a specific time when the abduction would have occurred.
Investigators are also paying careful attention to the condition of the home and whether things were moved or left out of place, which could suggest that someone with greater strength or agility would have been in the home and when, sources said.
“Right now, we don’t see this as a search mission, as much as we do a crime scene,” Nanos said.
Donna Massey, the mother of shooting victim Sonya Massey, is comforted during a press conference at New Mount Pilgrim Church on July 30, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison after he was convicted in October 2025 of second-degree murder for the July 2024 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 to report a possible intruder at her home in Springfield, Illinois.
Judge Ryan Cadagin said that Grayson will also have a two-year mandatory supervised release and will receive credit for time served, according to Springfield ABC affiliate WICS, which was in the courtroom. He had been facing to four to 20 years in prison or probation, according to prosecutors.
Summer Massey, Sonya Massey’s daughter who was 15 when her mother was fatally shot, told reporters that she was “grateful” that Grayson received the maximum sentence.
“I’m thankful for all the love and support that everybody has came out and shown and I’m grateful that we got the maximum sentence that we could,” she said. “Twenty years is not enough, but … they did what they could do.”
Grayson spoke ahead of his hearing and apologized to Massey’s family, WICS reported.
“I wish there was something I could do to bring her back. I wish this didn’t happen. I wish they [Massey’s family] didn’t have to go through this experience. I am very sorry,” he said, according to WICS.
Addressing the judge, Grayson acknowledged that he “made a lot of mistakes” on the night Massey died, WICS reported.
“There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t — I froze. I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry,” he reportedly said.
Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, and children delivered victim impact statements ahead of the sentencing, WICS noted.
“Today, I’m afraid to call the police in fear that I might end up like Sonya,” Donna Massey said, according to WICS.
She addressed Grayson with the same words that Sonya Massey said to the former deputy before she was fatally shot, WICS reported: “Sean Grayson, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Massey’s son Malachi also spoke.
“I had to step up at 17. I had nowhere to go or nothing. I was just lost. I’m figuring it out a little bit now, but I still need my mom … it’s like a part of me is dead,” Malachi Massey said during Thursday’s hearing, WICS reported.
Sontae Massey, Massey’s cousin, told WICS in an interview that aired ahead of the sentencing that her death “shattered” her family.
Family representatives for the Massey family told ABC News on Wednesday that the family will hold a press conference after Grayson’s sentencing hearing.
Ahead of sentencing Grayson, the judge denied on Thursday morning Grayson’s request for a new trial.
Grayson’s attorneys filed a motion for a new trial on Dec. 2, 2025, arguing that “several erroneous rulings” “resulted in prejudice to the defendant.”
The motion, which was reviewed by ABC News, cited alleged “errors” that include “incorrectly” focusing on Grayson’s “obligations as a police officer” when determining not to release him pre-trial, as opposed to “the danger he posed as a private citizen.”
Grayson’s attorneys also argued in the motion that the judge should not have admitted into evidence the body camera video that showed Grayson’s “statements and actions” after he fatally shot Massey.
Grayson’s attorneys did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, who prosecuted Grayson, told ABC News on Thursday that his office filed a motion asking the judge to deny Grayson’s request for a new trial.
Body camera footage of the July 6, 2024 incident shows Grayson, who was inside Massey’s home, pointing to a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “Walk away from your hot steaming water.”
Massey then appears to pour the water into the sink and repeats the deputy’s phrase before saying, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” according to the video.
Grayson threatens to shoot her and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt, the video shows. As she briefly rises, Grayson shoots her three times in the face, the footage shows.
During Grayson’s testimony, he told the jury he believed Massey was going to throw the scalding water on him and was scared.
The assistant state attorney said that Massey’s final words before being shot with her hands up were, “I’m sorry,” according to WICS.
Grayson was initially charged with three counts in connection to Massey’s death — first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Following the seven-day trial in October 2025, the jury was given the option of considering second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder.
ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
