Nick Reiner's Defense Is Allegedly 'Leaking' Information to the Press to 'Set Up' Insanity Argument, Legal Expert Claims

Could Nick Reiner's lawyers be funneling details to the media to get the outcome they want? Fox News' Todd Piro and legal expert Josh Ritter sure think so.

Discussing the case ahead of Nick's arraignment on Wednesday, January 7, Piro referenced the report that Hollywood director Rob Reiner's troubled son, 32, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and that new medication was supposedly "making him erratic" before he allegedly murdered his parents.

"When I hear that, it sounds like the defense is leaking [information] to the media to set up an insanity defense," Todd declared, to which Josh responded, "I think you're absolutely right."

Josh, a criminal defense attorney himself, added, "It is kind of convenient that they have all this reporting about his mental state, and I think it's pretty obvious that's the way they're going with this."

He went on to explain how it won't be simple to convince the court that the drug addict charged with parricide was out of his mind when he allegedly fatally stabbed his mom and dad in December 2025.

"They're [the defense] going to have their hands full," Josh said of the insanity argument.

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

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

The Fox News contributor went on to point out that despite Nick's mental health diagnoses, he "fled the scene" — which suggests he had the presence of mind to know what he did was wrong.

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

Nick was arrested approximately five hours after his parents were found deceased at the family's Brentwood, Calif., home on December 14, 2025. He was detained near the University of Southern California campus in South Los Angeles after allegedly leaving a Santa Monica hotel room covered in blood.

The nepo baby was also caught 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.