Nick Reiner’s arraignment on murder charges in connection with the stabbing deaths of his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, 70, has been delayed once again after his defense attorney, Alan Jackson, asked to be removed from the case on Wednesday. The hearing has been rescheduled for Feb. 23.

“This morning I had to withdraw as Nick Reiner’s counsel,” Jackson told reporters on Wednesday. “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. I’m legally, and I’m ethically prohibited from explaining all the reasons why.”

Jackson added that he and his team remain “deeply committed” to Nick Reiner and his best interests. “We have investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front. What we’ve learned is that … pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” Jackson said.

Kimberly Greene, Los Angeles County deputy public defender, has been assigned to represent Nick Reiner. Greene told reporters that she was only able to briefly speak with her client this morning and that it’s not uncommon for private counsel to turn over their clients to the public defender’s office.

Nick Reiner, 32, faces two counts of first-degree murder charges in the killings of the Reiners, who were found dead at home in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood on the afternoon of Dec. 14. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner had said the preliminary cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries.”

Nick Reiner did not resist when he was arrested outside of a gas station convenience store in south L.A. several hours after their deaths. He is being held without bail at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles.

The charges, which include a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty with no possibility of parole. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office hasn’t made a decision on whether to seek the death penalty.

Nick Reiner made his first court appearance in the case on Dec. 17, during which he wore a suicide prevention smock and shackles. His arraignment had initially been postponed until Jan. 7 at the request of Jackson. Nick Reiner had reportedly been removed from suicide watch ahead of Wednesday’s arraignment.

Jackson had issued a statement last month, reading: “We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed ... not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.”

Nick Reiner has spoken publicly in recent years about his struggles with mental illness and addiction. Nick and Rob had even collaborated on a semiautobiographical 2015 movie, Being Charlie, which is about Nick’s troubled life and the strain it put on their father-son relationship.

Family friends who spoke to the Los Angeles Times said Nick had been living in a guesthouse on his parents’ property and that his mother “had become increasingly concerned about his mental health in recent weeks.” On Dec. 13, Rob and Nick Reiner reportedly had an argument during a party hosted by Conan O’Brien, where Nick had been acting strangely, according to those same sources.

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer met on the set of the film When Harry Met Sally and married in 1989. They had three children together: Jake, Nick and Romy. Rob Reiner also had an adopted daughter, Tracy, from his previous marriage to Penny Marshall.

Jake and Romy released a statement last month expressing the “unimaginable pain” after the loss of their parents, saying, “They weren't just our parents; they were our best friends.”