Rob Reiner’s son to face two murder charges over parents’ killings

Los Angeles prosecutors said on Tuesday that Rob Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, a case that has stunned communities in Hollywood and Democratic politics, where both were widely beloved.

Nick Reiner, 32, is suspected in the deaths of the 78-year-old actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a news conference with Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.

“Their loss is beyond tragic and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice,” Hochman said.

Prosecutors plan to file the charges later on Tuesday: two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. They will also include a special allegation that a dangerous weapon, a knife, was used.

“This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones but for our entire city,” McDonnell said. “We will continue to support the Reiner family and ensure that every step forward is taken with care, dignity and resolve.”

The announcement came two days after the couple were found dead from apparent stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood on the west side of Los Angeles. Nick Reiner did not resist when he was arrested hours later in the Exposition Park area near the University of Southern California, about 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) from the crime scene, police said.

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

Accept Manage my choices

One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.

Try again

Reiner had been expected to make an initial court appearance earlier on Tuesday, but his attorney, Alan Jackson, said he was not brought from jail to the courthouse for medical reasons and the appearance would not take place before Wednesday.

An email sent to his attorney after the charges were announced was not immediately answered, and Nick Reiner has not yet entered a plea.

Rob Reiner was the Emmy-winning star of the sitcom All in the Family, who went on to direct films including When Harry Met Sally… and The Princess Bride. He was an outspoken liberal activist for decades. Michele Singer Reiner was a photographer, film producer and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. They had been married for 36 years.

Representatives for the Reiner family did not respond to requests for comment. Police have not disclosed a motive for the killings.

Nick Reiner is being held in jail without bail. He was arrested several hours after his parents were found dead in their Brentwood home on Sunday, police said.

Jackson, the defendant’s attorney, is a high-profile lawyer who represented Harvey Weinstein at his Los Angeles trial and Karen Read at her trial in Massachusetts. He was a central figure in the HBO documentary about the Read case.

Investigators believe Rob and Michele Singer Reiner died from stab wounds, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official, who was briefed on the investigation, could not publicly discuss details and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The killings were especially shocking given the family’s warm comic legacy. Rob Reiner was the son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 at the age of 98.

Kathy Bates, who won an Oscar for her role in Rob Reiner’s 1990 film Misery, was among those paying tribute to the couple.

“I loved Rob,” Bates said in a statement. “He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist. He also fought courageously for his political beliefs. He changed the course of my life. Michele was a gifted photographer.”

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

Accept Manage my choices

One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.

Try again

Bill Clinton called the couple “good, generous people who made everyone who knew them better”.

“Hillary and I are heartbroken by the tragic deaths of our friends Rob and Michele Reiner,” he said. “They inspired and uplifted millions through their work in film and television.”

Three months ago, Nick Reiner was photographed with his parents and siblings at the premiere of his father’s film Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues.

He had spoken publicly about his struggles with addiction, cycling in and out of treatment facilities with periods of homelessness in between during his teenage years. Rob and Nick Reiner explored — and appeared to improve — their relationship during the making of the 2016 film Being Charlie.

Nick Reiner co-wrote the film, which Rob Reiner directed, about the struggles of an addicted son and a famous father. While not autobiographical, it included several elements drawn from their lives.

“It forced us to understand ourselves better than we had,” Rob Reiner told the AP in 2016. “I told Nick while we were making it, ‘Whatever happens to this thing, we’ve already won.’”

Rob Reiner was one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, with work that included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable films of the 1980s and ’90s, such as This Is Spinal Tap and A Few Good Men.

He met Michele Singer Reiner on the set of When Harry Met Sally…, and their meeting inspired the film’s shift to a happy ending, with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan’s characters ending up together on New Year’s Eve.

The Reiners were outspoken advocates for liberal causes and major Democratic donors.

President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Rob Reiner’s outspoken opposition to the president for the killings, making an unsubstantiated claim in a social media post that drew criticism for politicising the tragedy.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)