LAist reported in January that many of California’s universities are failing to make students aware that medication abortion pills are available on campus. Now a state agency wants to spend just under $2.2 million to do a better job of letting students know.
Why it matters: In January, LAist reported that more than a year after California became the first state to require its public universities to provide abortion pills to students, information on where or how students can obtain the medication is lacking and, often, nonexistent.
What happened?: The series of stories got the attention of state officials, who are now proposing digital and media campaigns, abortion doulas and informational resources for California’s 33 public universities.
What's next: Read more about how the grant money will be spent below.
To raise awareness about access to abortion pills at California’s public universities, a state agency is calling for nearly $2.2 million in spending to address gaps on campuses identified in an LAist investigation.
Listen
0:47
State Could Devote Millions To Student Abortion Pill Outreach After LAist Investigation
That investigation reported that more than a year after state law required public universities to provide the pills to students at campus health clinics, many were not letting the students know about them. LAist reporting identified numerous campuses that failed to provide information about medication abortions on their websites or list it anywhere as a service offered.
The reporting spurred the proposal to do better. At a meeting of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, a grant manager laid out details and the need to raise awareness.
“The LAist articles, a lot of folks have seen that, that's one of the examples where students just aren't even aware that they can go to their student health center and be provided medication abortion easily, quickly, painlessly,” said Jen DeGrossa at the April 3 meeting.
The proposal calls for spending millions on student outreach. It would require the commission to provide universities with social media and other marketing campaigns, as well as information on medication abortion for campus websites, though it’s up to the universities whether they use those resources. It also offers the option of paying for peer navigators to help students through the process at universities that want them.
“This is one of our huge goals to sort of improve awareness for students throughout the state that this service is offered for them,” DeGrossa said.
The commission will review the final proposal later this month.
The backstory
Medication abortion is a two-step process: One drug is taken to inhibit the pregnancy and another is taken a day later to induce cramping and bleeding and empty the uterus. It is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. and can be used up to about 10 weeks of pregnancy.
In January, LAist reported that more than a year after California became the first state to require its public universities to provide abortion pills to students, 11 of 23 California State University campus clinics did not provide any information about medication abortion on their clinic websites.
Of the University of California’s 10 campuses, eight mentioned medication abortion on their clinic websites. (Five CSU campuses and one UC campus added medication abortion as a service after LAist published the story.)
"We wanted to make sure that students, female students, had access to this right," Connie Leyva, the former Pomona-area state senator who authored the law, said late last year.
"Everything starts at the top,” Leyva added. “And if the president or chancellor of the university knows they have to offer it, but if they don't agree that women should have access to abortion services, then they might just think, 'We'll leave it off, we don't have to worry about it.'”
What is the law?
In 2019, California legislators passed a law requiring all 33 public university campuses to provide abortion pills. The law took effect in January 2023, after implementation was delayed by the pandemic.
The legislature created a $10.29-million fund of privately raised money to help universities implement the new law. Of that, each campus received $200,000 in one-time funding to pay for the medication and cover costs, such as facility upgrades, equipment, training, telehealth services, and security upgrades.
The funding did not include any requirement that campus clinics inform students the medication was available to them.
“We have learned, through reporting, through our engagement with student advocacy groups, with other state leadership, there's definitely room for opportunity to make medication abortion more accessible to students on the ground at all of the campuses,” DeGrossa told commissioners.
A card given to students at California State University-San Bernardino's Student Health Center does not list medication abortion as a service even though the center does provide it.
(
Jackie Fortiér/LAist
)
How will the money be spent?
DeGrossa said $8.1 million of the grant money has already been spent and proposed that the remaining money, which totals just under $2.2 million, focus on student outreach. The grant must be spent by the end of 2026.
Of the remaining funding, the majority — just under $1.6 million — would pay for commission staff, including the communications team, graphic design, outreach and social media campaigns, according to the proposal.
“We are also wanting to tap a good amount of our money into kind of providing oversight, engagement, coordination, assistance, support around this to make sure that this is getting done,” she said. “So, for example, if a [university] spent all their [grant] money and they don't have any money left for marketing or outreach, we have money. We're happy to help support that.”
DeGrossa did not say when the outreach materials or support will be available to campuses.
A proposed $300,000 would be spent on peer navigators.
“I think the LAist article referred to this as ‘abortion doulas,’” DeGrossa said. “Some subject matter experts on the ground who know the environment and the culture and can help students or student health centers sort of navigate some of these challenges that are popping up.”
The proposal calls for $40,000 for travel so commission employees can visit campus clinics around the state, and about $300,000 for outreach consultants to design social media and marketing campaigns.
A final impact report is estimated to cost $22,000 to produce, and the remaining $468,000 is taken up by the cost of the commission itself, under operations and expenditures.
The full commission is expected to consider the proposal for final approval at a meeting to be held the week of April 22.
Even if it passes, the patchwork of information on public campuses could continue. The commission lacks oversight authority and cannot compel the universities to post or disseminate the informational materials.
California universities are supposed to provide abortion medication to students who are need of it, thanks to a law that went into effect early in 2023. But a lot of students don't know this as many of these campuses fail to mention it.
LAist Investigates: The Unknown Mandate - Accessing Medication Abortion at California Universities
California universities are supposed to provide abortion medication to students who are need of it, thanks to a law that went into effect early in 2023. But a lot of students don't know this as many of these campuses fail to mention it.
Family members of victims of the Palisades Fire participated in memorial events Wednesday.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Topline:
In the Pacific Palisades and Altadena today, families of fire victims, survivors, elected officials and others gathered to mark the one-year anniversary of the fires that killed 31 people and reduced L.A. neighborhoods to ash and rubble.
Pacific Palisades: A memorial honored the 12 people who died. Then people gathered for a protest that directed anger at L.A. city leadership.
Altadena: Survivors called for more support — from SoCal Edison, from insurance companies and from the federal government — at a news conference.
Read on ... for details about the events and photos.
At American Legion Post 283 in the heart of the Palisades, more than 100 fire survivors gathered Wednesday morning for a private ceremony for the families who lost loved ones in the fire. After the memorial, Los Angeles police officers on horseback led a procession, followed by bagpipers, then families of those who lost their lives in the fire a year ago.
Then in a ceremony on the Palisades Village Green, a bell was rung 12 times for the 12 people who died in the fire.
“No community should have to endure this level of devastation and loss and trauma,” said Jessica Rogers, executive director of the Palisades Long Term Recovery Group, which organized the memorial. “This past year has tested us beyond measure — physically, emotionally and spiritually. And yet, here we stand together.”
Eaton Fire survivors call for support
Hundreds of people turned out for a news conference in Altadena on the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire.
(
Nick Gerda
/
LAist
)
Meanwhile, in Altadena, survivors and elected officials held a news conference to raise concerns about their recovery experience so far and to call for action.
They said survivors have been wrongfully denied the support they need to stay housed in the wake of losing their homes — by the utility company whose equipment is believed to have started the fire, by key insurance companies and by the federal government.
Southern California Edison has acknowledged that its equipment likely started the fire, speakers Wednesday said. But they added that the compensation offered by the utility is inadequate.
State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, who represents Altadena, said she had sent a letter to SoCal Edison leadership urging the company to provide urgent housing relief to the community.
“Part of them taking responsibility is providing the financial resources that this community needs to thrive,” Perez said to applause from the crowd. “We will not allow this community to fall into homelessness. Edison, you need to step it up.”
That was a worry for fire survivor Ada Hernandez, who said her family is at risk of having to live in their car when their housing support runs out next week.
Ada Hernandez, joined by her young daughter at Wednesday's news conference, says her family may have to live in their car.
Other speakers called out their home insurers, some of whom, they said, have illegally delayed and denied coverage. A particular focus was State Farm, which has not responded to LAist’s request for comment.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area, also called on President Donald Trump to approve California’s request for tens of billions in relief to help people rebuild.
The events were just two among many held or planned for this week and in coming weeks — marking the tragedy, honoring victims, creating art and building community.
L.A. mayor's role
A key figure missing from the Palisades event, which transitioned to a planned protest as the morning progressed, was L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. Her office told LAist the mayor was attending private vigils and directed flags at City Hall to fly at half-staff.
Anger about her role in the early days of the fire response remains fresh for many Palisades Fire survivors, as evidenced by a sign at the memorial calling on her to resign, as well as people wearing shirts that said, “They let us burn.”
At a protest after the vigil, dozens of Palisadians gathered to share their frustration and demand accountability and action, including officials taking responsibility for the cause of the fire, waiving rebuild permit fees and improving responses in the case of the next disaster.
Anger was directed at L.A. city leaders at a protest in the Palisades on Wednesday.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Bass said on LAist’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle on Wednesday that the anniversary is a difficult day of remembrance and mourning, but she also said that it’s “a day to recommit and be hopeful and to forge on.” She added that she was encouraged to see so much rebuilding underway on recent trips to fire areas.
“I did not have a hand in writing the report, in editing the report, or, frankly, in reading the reports, the various versions,” Bass said on AirTalk. “I had no idea there were so many versions of the report.”
Bass said she requested that the City Administrative Officer review the report’s characterization of the Fire Department budget: “I just said, ‘Get accurate information,’ and that’s what I assume they did.”
Matt Szabo holds that role. LAist has reached out to him for comment.
In the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires, misinformation spread almost as fast as the flames. Some of these false narratives on social media, especially about water, have had a direct impact on California policy, legal and water experts tell NPR.
Why it matters: False narratives can distract from how best to respond to these kinds of disasters, says Max Boykoff, a University of Colorado Boulder environmental studies professor who studies media and climate change. " These are tactics to muddy the waters of public discussions," he says.
Misinformation derails a solution for misinformation: One example of false narratives having an impact was the fate of something called Senate Bill 549, says Julia Stein, deputy director for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law.
Read on... for more on the impact of state policy.
When Chad Comey's five-story condo building burned down in the Palisades Fire early last year, all that was left was the parking garage, a brick and stucco wall, and a few charred trees. Comey's street is now full of empty lots stretching up into the green hills.
Comey is a musician and caretaker for his two disabled parents. In the past year, they've moved five times, not wanting to overstay their welcome with friends and family, while looking for a wheelchair-accessible apartment to rent.
" I think we have a right to be angry," Comey says. "I am housed, but I am homeless."
He says some people on social media try to minimize the pain of fire survivors. "People who are trying to reduce our anger do not understand what it feels like to be homeless," he says.
Comey says some social media posts about the fire play to anger and rage, and they don't always contain accurate information. " In today's day and age on social media, one kernel of truth can be spun off into reels and rage bait," he says. "There's a lot of that."
In the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires, misinformation spread almost as fast as the flames. Some of these false narratives on social media, especially about water, have had a direct impact on California policy, legal and water experts tell NPR.
Comey, 32, got most of his news about the fires from traditional news sources like the Los Angeles Times and LAist, and he still relies on those outlets for information about the fires' aftermath. But more than half of Americans get at least some of their news from social media, according to Pew Research.
Thirty-one people died in the fires in the Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods. An area roughly three times the size of Manhattan burned.
False narratives can distract from how best to respond to these kinds of disasters, says Max Boykoff, a University of Colorado Boulder environmental studies professor who studies media and climate change. " These are tactics to muddy the waters of public discussions," he says.
A portion of the Palisades fire burned in the hills of Los Angeles last January. After the fires, misinformation on social media had an impact on state policy.
(
Ryan Kellman
/
NPR
)
Misinformation derails a solution for misinformation
One example of false narratives having an impact was the fate of something called Senate Bill 549, says Julia Stein, deputy director for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law.
Senate Bill 549 (SB 549), which was first introduced last February, would have done two things. It would have helped local governments get money to build transit-oriented development and low-income housing. And, it would have allowed for the creation of a central hub to manage LA's post-fire recovery. The hub was the recommendation of an independent panel of experts and local leaders.
Last summer, incorrect narratives about the bill spread quickly on social media. A key false narrative was that SB 549 would result in an influx of new, high-density affordable housing in areas impacted by the fires.
Spencer Pratt, a podcaster and former reality TV star who lost his home in the Palisades Fire, made a TikTok video about the bill, which he shared with his more than 2 million followers. In the video, Pratt says he consulted AI chatbots about the legislation. He says that the bill grants "LA County authority to purchase fire destroyed lots for minimal cost and convert them into low income housing."
Pratt also says the bill would "force low-income housing mandates." Pratt's TikTok video received over 286,000 views. Other influencers made videos and posts on X with similar messages.
The bill would not have led to more low-income housing in the Palisades, Stein says. It was designed to finance transit-oriented development for areas within half a mile of "major transit stop" as defined by California law. Those include a rail or bus rapid transit station, or a ferry terminal. The Palisades, a neighborhood near the ocean and in the Santa Monica mountains, is not near a "major transit stop."
"You have injected this narrative that what this bill is trying to do is build dense, affordable housing and big apartment buildings in the Palisades," Stein says. "Even though the bill wouldn't have done those things."
In an emailed statement to NPR, Spencer Pratt wrote, "Pacific Palisades is a multi-generational family town with rich history and character. SB 549 would drastically change the Palisades and other wildfire disaster areas by allowing government to purchase fire damaged lots and bank them for affordable housing. In the aftermath of the greatest tragedy of our lives, we just want the Palisades to be what it once was."
While SB 549 did grant the proposed central hub the ability to purchase fire-affected land at a fair price, the bill imposed no requirement that such land be used for affordable housing.
Pratt's representative, Kyell Thomas, wrote in an email, "AI is not an ongoing source of information for him."
A sign in the Palisades marks a protest a year after the LA fires. There's a widespread lack of trust with state and local agencies amongst many fire survivors.
(
Julia Simon
/
NPR
)
Pratt posted his video on TikTok on July 15. On July 16, the bill's author, California state Sen. Ben Allen, paused the bill. Allen's office received hundreds of calls and emails. The office normally receives a few dozen calls for a hot-topic bill.
" I'm all for community engagement and public participation," Stein says, "but, in this case, folks were reacting to information that was factually incorrect."
Allen wrote in an email to NPR, "The absence of good journalism, along with misreads of the bill, allowed false narratives to spin around on the internet, which then impacted AI-generated descriptions of the bill, which people unfortunately turn to for information now. It hampered our ability to have a productive conversation on the matter."
He added, "I have no plans to move SB 549 forward."
The aftermath of the Palisades Fire is seen on an impacted stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway.
(
Ryan Kellman
/
NPR
)
Stein provided academic research to the expert panel that recommended LA make a central recovery hub after the fires, also called the "rebuilding authority." She says the delay in creating this centralized authority because of the pausing of the bill is unfortunate. The central hub was meant to be a "single point of accountability" and information for residents who lost their homes in the fires.
"Right now," Stein says, "folks don't know where to turn."
Better fact-checking is important
There's widespread lack of trust with state and local agencies among many fire survivors, says Jake Levine, whose mom lost her home in the Palisades Fire. Levine, a former climate and energy director at the National Security Council and former adviser to a fire rebuild nonprofit, is running for Congress in a district that includes the Palisades.
Some of that mistrust may be justified, Levine says. The Los Angeles Times recently published an investigation that found that the Los Angeles Fire Department deleted and revised drafts of a key report after the fires, changing words like "failures" to "primary challenges." The Los Angeles Fire Department did not respond to a request for comment.
"I think one of the reasons why people are looking for information from all sorts of sources is because the normal institutional sources that we rely on have allowed there to be a bit of a vacuum in terms of official and reliable information," Levine says.
Levine hopes that in the future, more state, local and federal government agencies can share information directly with residents about things like air quality after fires, so that residents don't have to rely on nonprofit or commercial apps that sometimes have inaccurate information.
Boykoff says another solution is for news organizations to maintain robust fact-checking. He says as more people use AI to get information, many people are "not really tracking back to what the original sourcing is," Boykoff wrote in an email. "And so, in that new environment, there is much higher potential for mis and disinformation."
Addressing misinformation is particularly important, he says, as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of disasters.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Home construction on Hartzell Street in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, on Aug. 30, 2025.
(
Myung J. Chun
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Topline:
While few victims of last year’s fires are back in their homes, that’s not unusual following natural disasters; permitting changes appear to be helping.
The backstory: As of this week, more than 2,600 residential permits have been issued between the Palisades and Altadena — roughly one for every five of the nearly 13,000 homes lost. Another 3,340 are under review. For many displaced and traumatized homeowners, that represents an intolerably slow return to what was. But by historic standards, the Los Angeles recovery has been on the speedy side so far.
A slow process: Rebuilding after disaster is almost always a grueling, slow process. Of the more than 22,500 homes destroyed in five of California’s most destructive fires between 2017 and 2020, fewer than four-in-ten had been rebuilt by 2025, a Los Angeles Times analysis from late last summer found.
Read on... for more on the progress of rebuilding after the fires.
In the days immediately after last January’s Los Angeles firestorm, state lawmakers and civic leaders promised to turbocharge the rebuilding effort. For California, where the permitting and construction of homes is infamously slow and costly, the scale of destruction stood as a singular challenge.
A year later, the charred homes, the melted appliances and the toxic ash have mostly been removed, the dirt beneath scraped and then carted away. Many of the residents whose houses were spared have returned. Permits for reconstruction have been filed, architects and contractors hired. Battles with insurance companies, utilities and banks persist, vacant lots and blackened trees abound, but look around and — here and there — you’ll find new construction.
As of this week, more than 2,600 residential permits have been issued between the Palisades and Altadena — roughly one for every five of the nearly 13,000 homes lost. Another 3,340 are under review.
For many displaced and traumatized homeowners, that represents an intolerably slow return to what was. But by historic standards, the Los Angeles recovery has been on the speedy side so far.
In a press release commemorating the first anniversary of the disaster, Gov. Gavin Newsom lauded the permitting figures as “historic.”
Last year local governments — the City and County of Los Angeles, as well as Malibu and Pasadena — issued permits for single-family homes and accessory dwelling units “three times faster” than they were in the five years leading up to the fire, the administration noted.
Rebuilding after disaster is almost always a grueling, slow process. Of the more than 22,500 homes destroyed in five of California’s most destructive fires between 2017 and 2020, fewer than four-in-ten had been rebuilt by 2025, a Los Angeles Times analysis from late last summer found.
A year after major fires ripped through Maui, Paradise, Redding and the outskirts of Boulder, Colo., 2%, 3%, 15% and 30% of the destroyed homes, respectively, had been permitted for reconstruction, according to a separate Urban Institute analysis.
Based on the pace of permitting, Los Angeles’ reconstruction is on a relatively fast track. But freshly-pulled permits aren’t completed homes.
“People can pull permits, but you know, if they don't have their costs sorted out — we've had folks abandon their plans,” said Devang Shah with Genesis Builders, which is selling pre-approved, fixed-priced rebuilds in Altadena. Using permits as a metric of progress may be premature, he said.
Some of the speedy progress that Los Angeles has seen may be due to regulatory changes imposed by fiat in the aftermath of the fire. In early 2025, both Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass mandated speedier permitting of like-for-like rebuilds — construction that stuck to the rough dimensions and design specification of the home that was there before. Los Angeles county rolled out a self-certification building plan approval pilot program for certain simple projects. Newsom waived building code requirements intended to ease the cost of reconstruction.
“We’ve got planning approvals in three days that would have normally taken three months,” said Tim Vordtriede, an architect who also lost his home in Altadena. The county has “done a remarkable job at making things as efficient and streamlined as a bureaucratic entity can.”
In the weeks after the fire, Vordtriede co-founded the Altadena Collective, a network of designers and architects that provides discounted design services, permitting advice and contractor recommendations to local survivors. He and his co-founders Chris Driscoll and Chris Corbett have also launched a nonprofit called Collective OR that is meant to represent inexperienced and anxious homeowners in negotiations with builders and architects.
It's impossible to say, ‘they were here by this date so we should also be there.’ The data set is just too variable.
— Colette Curtis, recovery and economic development director, Paradise
The pace of reconstruction may simply benefit from the fact that it’s taking place in Los Angeles County: A mammoth economic hub flush with financial resources and political connections.
“We have access to a really good supply chain, there’s a lot of capital, there’s a lot of infrastructure,“ said Ben Stapleton, director of U.S. Green Building Council California.
That’s in contrast to a town like Paradise.
Since the majority of homes were destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, fewer than one-in-five have since been rebuilt, said Colette Curtis, the Butte County town’s recovery and economic development director.
She cautioned against comparing the pace of rebuilding efforts across communities struck by disaster.
“It's impossible to say, ‘they were here by this date so we should also be there,’” she said. “The data set is just too variable.”
Paradise, a remote town with relatively low income, lacked the local services and philanthropic draw of places like Lahaina and the Palisades, she said. But lower land values and the fact that displaced homeowners haven’t had to compete with investors setting aside new units for tourist rentals was a net positive.
Another thing that may give Los Angeles a leg up: It’s a region that’s also heavy on expertise.
At around the same time that Vordtriede was setting up the Altadena Collective, nearby architect couple Cynthia Sigler and Alex Athenson launched the Foothill Catalog, a packet of ready-made architectural and structural plans that have been pre-approved by L.A. County.
With roughly 15 projects either under construction or gearing up to break ground, Athenson said the pre-approval process can shave at least 10% off the total development cost of a custom single-family home.
That’s in part by trimming the approval process. But that's also because prior to the fire, a "custom single-family home" in ALtadena was a luxury product.
The local industry is “set up to serve that client who is building their dream home from scratch, with a very large if not unlimited budget,” said Athenson. Long-time homeowners displaced by fire, many of them on fixed incomes, represent a very different kind of buyer.
As builders, designers and policymakers scramble to rebuild in faster, cheaper and more fire-resilient ways, they may stumble upon a solution that could be of use long after the last home is rebuilt in Altadena, he added.
“Ultimately, we're providing a system for more efficient, affordable housing development,” said Athenson. “I'm excited about proving it in Altadena, and then seeing where it goes beyond.”
So far the county has approved more than two dozen of the catalog’s plans. Athenson said they are now discussing rolling out a similar batch for the Palisades with the City of Los Angeles.
Frank Stoltze
is a veteran reporter who covers local politics and examines how democracy is and, at times, is not working.
Published January 7, 2026 10:31 AM
Actor/Producer/Director Rob Reiner (center) and wife Michele Singer (L) and son Nick Reiner (R) attend Teen Vogue's Back-to-School Saturday kick-off event at The Grove in 2013.
(
Michael Buckner
/
Getty Images for Teen Vogue
)
Topline:
A high-profile defense attorney for Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his famous parents in their Brentwood home, has stepped down from the case and arraignment has been pushed to next month.
Why now: Reiner, 32, was expected to be arraigned Wednesday morning in Los Angeles County Superior Court in connection with the deaths of his parents, Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, last month. Instead, Nick Reiner’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, revealed in court that he was withdrawing from the case.
What's next: The L.A. County Public Defender’s Office is expected to take over Reiner’s defense. Arraignment is now set for Feb. 23.
A high-profile defense attorney for Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his famous parents in their Brentwood home, has stepped down from the case and arraignment has been pushed to next month.
Reiner, 32, was expected to be arraigned Wednesday morning in Los Angeles County Superior Court in connection with the deaths of his parents, Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, last month.
Instead, Nick Reiner’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, revealed to Judge Theresa McGonigle that he was withdrawing from the case.
"Circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control have dictated that sadly it's made it impossible for us to continue our representation of Nick,” Jackson told reporters after Reiner's brief court appearance.
The attorney said he is "legally and ethically" prohibited from explaining why he would no longer represent Reiner.
“We know the legal process will reveal the true facts of the circumstances surrounding this case,” Jackson continued. "We’ve investigated this matter top to bottom and front to back.“
He also said, "pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” and, “We wish him the very best.”
The L.A. County Public Defender’s Office will to take over Reiner’s defense.
“This is a challenging time for the entire legal process,” said L.A. County Public Defender Ricardo Garcia. “We ask for your patience, your understanding as we navigate this process through the legal system”
Nick Reiner has admitted in the past to struggles with drug addiction and mental illness. It remains unclear how much of that will factor into the case.
Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene, who will represent Reiner in court, said she had only spoken to her client briefly Wednesday morning.
“We’ve had no contact with the family," she said outside court. "I don’t think they were aware this was going on until this morning.”
Reiner, the youngest of the famous couple’s four children, two counts of murder and special-circumstance allegations — multiple murders and use of a deadly weapon — that would make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said his office has not yet determined whether it would seek death or life without the possibility of parole. Such decisions are usually made after a preliminary hearing where a judge hears evidence from prosecutors.
Hochman has said he would consider the family’s wishes when making his decision.
On Wednesday, he told reporters the charges would lead to conviction.
“We are fully confident that a jury will convict Nick Reiner beyond a reasonable doubt of the brutal murders of his parents,” he said.
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead Dec. 14 after police were called to their home on South Chadbourne Avenue.
Detectives with the Police Department’s elite Robbery Homicide Division, Homicide Special Section began an investigation and identified Reiner as the suspect, according to police.
The younger Reiner was located and arrested near Exposition Park close to USC at approximately 9:15 p.m., according to police. He remains in jail on a no-bail status.
