Nick Reiner's Defense Team Has 'Their Hands Full' With Insanity Plea Despite Schizophrenia Diagnosis, Legal Expert Claims

It won't be easy to prove Nick Reiner was out of his mind when he murdered his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.

According to legal expert Josh Ritter, who appeared on Fox News ahead of Nick's arraignment on Wednesday, January 7, the troubled former screenwriter's defense team is "going to have their hands full" with an insanity plea.

"I don't think it's going to be as easy a path as they might imagine," he told Fox and Friends First's Todd Piro.

"For the purposes of the law, and what is considered insane criminally, you have to prove that someone what not just suffering from some sort of mental illness or defect," Josh explained. "But that caused them to not be able to appreciate the consequences of their actions."

He went on to note that Nick's defense will have to prove that the drug addict was "literally so untethered to reality" that he wasn't aware of what he was doing and didn't understand the "ramifications."

Josh pointed out that though the beloved When Harry Met Sally director's 32-year-old son was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and new medications were allegedly making him act "erratic," he "fled the scene."

"He also went to a second location and it looks like he washed up," he added. "The attempting to try to evade capture...All of those are signs of a person who appreciates the consequences of their actions."

The alleged double murderer has hired renowned defense attorney Alan Jackson, who's famously represented Karen Read, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein.

In a recent interview, attorney Matt Murphy described Alan as "an immensely talented trial lawyer" who is "in his prime right now."

Matt told an outlet, "He's famous, of course, for the Karen Read case, which, in my opinion, evidence against her was overwhelming. And Alan put his talents on full display for the whole country to see."

Alan was seen visiting the Reiners' Los Angeles mansion just days after the grisly murders took place on December 14, 2025.

Nick was arrested about five hours after his mom and dad were found deceased at the family's Brentwood, Calif., home.

The addict was picked up near the University of Southern California campus in South Los Angeles after allegedly leaving a Santa Monica hotel room covered in blood.

He was also seen on CCTV footage calmly walking near his parents' home within hours of the murderers.

Rob and Michele were reportedly discovered with their throats slit. The late couple's official cause of death was listed as "multiple sharp force injuries," according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Nick made his first court appearance on December 17, 2025, donning shackles, a suicide prevent smock and a vacant expression.