Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday. The police and investigators believe the couple suffered fatal stab wounds.
On Monday, police arrested the legendary director’s 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, in connection with the deaths.
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Rob Reiner directed several United States movie classics, including When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride. He was also a devoted activist for liberal causes and a frequent critic of US President Donald Trump.
So, what do we know about Nick Reiner, and what was his alleged involvement in his parents’ killing?
Who killed Rob Reiner and his wife?
Nick was revealed to be in Los Angeles police custody on Monday after the bodies of his parents were discovered inside their home in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30pm on Sunday [02:30 GMT Monday], and found a man and woman dead inside.
Rob Reiner’s daughter was the first to find the bodies of her parents and called the authorities, according to multiple reports.
In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department said it was treating the deaths as homicides. Police have not released a full official timeline of how the killings occurred or the motivation behind them.
Nick Reiner remains in custody without bail. On Monday, Los Angeles Police chief Jim McDonnell said Nick Reiner was “booked for murder”.
Prosecutors will receive the case on Tuesday as they weigh whether to file formal charges against him.
Who is Nick Reiner?
Nick Reiner is the middle child of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner. They have two other children, Jake and Romy.
Nick’s struggles with substance abuse were longstanding, about which he had publicly spoken.
Rob Reiner, in a 2016 interview, said his son’s heroin addiction began about age 15, leading him into a cycle of dependency that persisted for years.
He underwent multiple rehabilitation stays, at least 17, by some accounts, and experienced periods of homelessness as a result of his addiction and the difficulties he faced in recovery.
His addiction issues inspired the 2015 semi-autobiographical movie Being Charlie, co-written by the father and son duo, and directed by Rob Reiner, about the struggles of a famous father and an addicted son.
The film was seen as an attempt to explore and heal aspects of their relationship, reflecting how deeply addiction had affected their family.
“It forced us to understand ourselves better than we had,” Rob Reiner told the AP news agency in 2016. During a YouTube interview series when the film was released, Nick Reiner reflected on his upbringing with his father, stating, “We didn’t bond a lot,” and acknowledged that collaborating on the film helped them “feel closer”.
Who was Rob Reiner?
Rob Reiner was a highly influential figure in US film and television. He was the son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 at the age 98.
The Emmy-winning actor first gained fame as Michael “Meathead” Stivic in the 1970s TV sitcom, All in the Family. Rob Reiner went on to become a celebrated director, responsible for such classics as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, and A Few Good Men.
Legendary actress and Oscar winner Kathy Bates, who won the coveted award as the star of Rob Reiner’s 1990 film, Misery, said she “loved Rob”.
“He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist,” she said in a statement. “He changed the course of my life. Michele was a gifted photographer.”
Beyond filmmaking, Rob Reiner was an active political and social voice, often engaging in public debates on issues ranging from civil rights to public policy. He was a fierce critic of US President Trump.
During Trump’s first term, Reiner repeatedly described the president as “mentally unfit” and “unqualified” to serve in office.
What was Trump’s reaction?
On Monday, Trump made a social media post in which he described Reiner as “tortured and struggling” and claimed that both he and his wife had died, “reportedly due to the anger he caused” by opposing Trump during his presidency.
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump, who is known for aggressively targeting critics and commending allies, did not present any proof that Rob Reiner’s political stance was linked to the couple’s deaths.
The post was met with sharp condemnation from politicians across the political spectrum, including both Democrats and Republicans.