Nick Reiner is no longer on suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, PEOPLE can exclusively confirm. According to a Los Angeles County sheriff source, jail officials removed him from suicide monitoring after they evaluated his condition.
When Nick entered the jail system on the morning of December 15, authorities immediately placed him under heightened supervision. At that time, he had to wear a suicide-prevention smock around the clock.
Now, staff have taken off the smock. Instead, he wears a standard yellow jail-issued shirt and blue pants. However, he remains in solitary confinement.
He will stay in High Observation Housing (HOH) unless a judge decides otherwise. Deputies check on him every 15 minutes. Moreover, he eats all three meals alone in his cell and has no contact with other inmates.
Nick faces two counts of first-degree murder in connection with his parents’ deaths—director Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, 70. Prosecutors have also added a special allegation that he used a knife in the killings.
The couple died in their Brentwood home on December 14. Shortly afterward, their daughter Romy went to the house after a massage therapist reported she couldn’t get inside. Upon arrival, Romy discovered her father’s body and fled. Later, a paramedic told her that someone had also found her mother dead inside.
In the years before their deaths, police responded to multiple calls at the Reiners’ residence. Records show that in 2019—while Nick lived there—officers visited twice: once for a welfare check and once for a mental health concern.
Sources tell The Los Angeles Times and KNBC that Nick was receiving treatment for schizophrenia. Although schizophrenia is often misunderstood, psychiatrist Dr. Molly “Mary” Conlon (who has no connection to the case) emphasized that doctors can treat it effectively. She explained that psychosis can occur with the condition, but it does not automatically lead to violence.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner told PEOPLE the couple died from “multiple sharp force injuries.” Authorities ruled the deaths a homicide and released the bodies to the family on December 19. Full autopsy reports, however, may take up to 90 days.
Currently, Nick may only speak with his attorney and authorized jail staff. He leaves his cell solely for court appearances or medical appointments. Whenever he moves, a sergeant escorts him, and a body-worn camera records the entire time.
“This protocol protects the integrity of the case,” a police source told PEOPLE. “It ensures no civilian or inmate can question him about why he allegedly killed his parents.”
Medical and mental health teams have determined Nick has a “mental disability.” Nonetheless, the sheriff source said he shows no major problems with eating or sleeping. He continues to receive structured psychiatric monitoring in one of the jail’s two mental health towers.
Although Nick Reiner is now off suicide watch, authorities still consider him high-risk. Therefore, he remains under constant observation as legal proceedings move forward.
READ: Nick Reiner Jailed in Parents’ Murder Case in Los Angeles
