What evidence did prosecutors present to support the special allegation that a knife was used in the Reiners' deaths?
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Executive summary
Prosecutors in Los Angeles have added a "special allegation" that a knife was used in the killings of Rob and Michele Reiner, a claim announced publicly by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and repeated across multiple outlets [1] [2] [3]. Publicly available reporting shows prosecutors have stated a knife was the deadly weapon but have not yet detailed the specific forensic or physical evidence underlying that allegation, saying those facts "will be evidence" presented in court [2] [4].
1. Prosecutors’ public assertion: a knife was used
At a news conference announcing first‑degree murder charges with special circumstances, DA Nathan Hochman explicitly said the killings were committed with a knife and that Nick Reiner faces a special allegation he "personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife" [1] [5]. Local and national outlets — including ABC, CBS, NPR, The New York Times and The Guardian — have carried the DA's statement that a knife was the weapon alleged in the indictment [2] [6] [7] [8] [9].
2. What prosecutors have said they will (but have not yet) shown in court
While Hochman and other officials have affirmed the allegation, they have repeatedly said the manner in which the weapon was located, and other specifics about the weapon, are part of the evidence to be presented at trial and therefore have been withheld from public detail for now [2] [4]. The DA emphasized that charges are not evidence and that the prosecution will present its factual case to jurors in court [7].
3. Public reporting of scene indicators cited by media
Some reports and aggregations note "lacerations consistent with a knife" and the absence of forced entry at the Brentwood home, details that media credited to TMZ, ABC News and other coverage of investigators' preliminary observations [10]. Those descriptions, while consistent with a stabbing, are second‑hand reporting in the public record and have been presented as scene observations rather than as full forensic conclusions released by the coroner or the DA [10] [8].
4. Coroner and recovery details remain undisclosed in reporting
The New York Times and other outlets make clear the coroner was still determining exact timing of death and that authorities have not publicly supplied a full forensic report, including the chain of custody or the precise recovery location of a knife if one was recovered — matters prosecutors say will be introduced in evidence at court [8] [2]. When asked whether a murder weapon had been recovered, officials declined to provide specifics beyond confirming a knife was used, indicating that such details "will actually be evidence we'll present in court" [2].
5. Defense posture and prosecutorial caveats
Media reports note the DA's caution that charges do not equal proof and that any mental‑health evidence or other mitigating facts the defense wishes to present would be handled in court; the defense has not yet had occasion in public reporting to rebut or preview counter‑evidence to the knife allegation [7] [1]. Coverage also indicates standard arrest and booking details but does not record an admission by the accused about the weapon in published reports so far [3] [11].
6. Bottom line: allegation affirmed, supporting evidence not fully public
The factual record available to reporters establishes that prosecutors have formally alleged a knife was used and have told the public a knife was involved, but they have not publicly detailed the underlying forensic evidence, the recovery or custody of a weapon, or the full coroner’s findings; those elements, according to prosecutors, will be introduced as evidence at future court proceedings [5] [2] [8]. Given those limits, the public record supports the allegation as prosecutors’ assertion, while the specific evidentiary basis for the special‑allegation — physical weapon recovery, forensic linkage, or forensic pathology details — remains to be seen in court filings and testimony.