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Rob Reiner’s Son Nick Charged With Double Murder After Parents’ Deaths
Nick Reiner is in hot water with the law after a tragedy that’s hard to comprehend.
Just a few days after the father and mother of the family, Rob and Michele Reiner, were discovered deceased at their Brentwood, Calif., residence on Dec. 14, their 32-year-old son was arraigned of two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office made an announcement at a Dec. 16 press conference.
LA County D.A. Nathan J. Hochman said that the 32-year-old man is detained and hence the medical clearance he is undergoing is routine and “something that ‘everybody goes through’ when they are brought in under suspicion of murder,” which is what he referred to.
If the charges that were formally filed late on Dec. 16 are proven, they carry the heaviest penalty possible that consists of the death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
DA Stresses That Charges Are Not Evidence as More Detailed About Night Before Reiners’ Deaths Are Uncovered
The DA noted, “We are at a very early stage of the case, no decision with respect to the death penalty that we have requested has been made,” thereby indicating that the investigation is still ongoing. He also pointed out that the charge sheet is not a sign of guilt and said, “Charges are not evidence” in a quotation.
Rob and Michele — besides that, they were the parents of Jake Reiner, 34, and Romy Reiner, 28 — had been to Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party with Nick the night before they were murdered.
According to People and the Los Angeles Times, multiple sources who are acquainted with the situation, the writer of Being Charlie was reportedly very loud and an altercation escalated to “heated” in which he argued with his father. (E! News had previously contacted LAPD, O’Brien and Reiner family representatives for comments but there have been no responses.)
Nick Reiner Confined Without Bail as Loved Ones Rob and Michele Reiner Remember
The next day, in a press release, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that Nick Reiner was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder.
Records that E! News had access to reveal that his bail was initially set at $4 million. However, the LAPD later confirmed that he was being held without bail.
The family of the When Harry Met Sally director and the wife of 36 years, mourned the loss of the couple in an incredible outpouring of grief, which has been heard and seen also by the public.
Rob’s daughter Tracy Reiner — whom he shared with his late ex Penny Marshall — said in a statement to NBC News, “I don’t know what to say. I am in shock. I came from the greatest family ever.”
Jane Fonda, the longtime friend, grieving also, shared her condolences and mentioned that she had spent time with the couple just a few days before their passing.
Jane Fonda Remembers Rob and Michele Reiner as “Wonderful, Caring, Smart, Funny, Generous People”
“I saw them night before last looking healthy and happy,” Jane Fonda wrote on Instagram Dec. 15. “I am still shocked. I can’t believe it.”
The 87-year-old Barbarella star pointed out that the couple were “wonderful, caring, smart, funny, generous people, always coming up with ideas for how to make the world better, kinder.”
Rob had collaborated with his son Nick on Being Charlie, a largely autobiographical film depicting Nick’s addiction-related struggles, more than eight years before the tragic deaths of Rob and Michele.
“It was a very intense,” Rob stated in a 2016 Build Series interview. “It was a challenge at times. But it was also the most artistically and creatively rewarding experience I’ve ever had.”
Nick also concurred, saying, “It was a pretty nice experience for me.”
Read on to learn more about the tragic event.
Inside Nick Reiner’s Long Battle With Addiction
Before the sad deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, their son Nick Reiner was outwardly communicating his battle with drug abuse and even made art out of his experience with his dad. The two of them worked together on the 2015 film Being Charlie, which is a semi-autobiographical drama about addiction.
Nick disclosed that he had been to rehab 17 times before he turned 30.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” he told People in 2016. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”
After that, in 2018, he remembered an incident that scared him a lot where he “wrecked” his house while he was high.
“I went 10 rounds in my guest house,” he told the Dopey podcast in 2018. “I got totally spun out on uppers — I think it was coke and something else — and I was up for days on end. I started punching out some things in my guest house.”
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Rob and Nick Reiner Heatedly Disagreed at Conan O’Brien’s Holiday Party Night Before Deaths
It is alleged that Rob Reiner and his 32-year-old son Nick Reiner got into a heated argument at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on Dec. 13, the night before the house of Rob and wife Michele was found.
Several sources from the event informed People that the guests saw the director of When Harry Met Sally, Rob Reiner, and his son the Drew tension. The Los Angeles Times also reported that family friends told them that the couple fought at the holiday party and that the people present saw Nick acting bizarrely.
Moreover, two sources knowledgeable about the situation informed NBC News that Nick was being loud and disruptive at the party and that he was interrupting conversations, and doing so repeatedly.
The Brentwood home of director Rob Reiner and wife Michele was a crime scene following which LAPD initiated a homicide investigation
The day after Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party, the Los Angeles Police Department received a call regarding a death investigation at a residence in Brentwood, Calif. The response was around 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 14.
“Officers entered the home and found two people who had died,” the LAPD said in their statement. “The deceased were later identified as Robert and Michele Reiner.”
The case has been handed over to the Robbery Homicide Division, Homicide Special Section (RHD/HSS), which has started an investigation concerning the causes of the Reiner couple’s deaths.
NBC News reported that Deputy Police Chief Alan Hamilton spoke to the press and said that the police intend to interview several relatives. Besides their son Nick, the couple are parents to a daughter Romy Reiner, a son Jake Reiner, and Rob is also the father by adoption of Tracy Reiner, the daughter of his late ex‑wife Penny Marshall.
Rob and Michele Reiner’s Deaths Were Homicide
It is confirmed that Rob and Michele Reiner were not killed by nature. A family insider informed NBC News that the two seemed to have died as a result of stab wounds.
The Los Angeles Police Department indicated in a statement, “The circumstances leading to the fatal incident have been carefully examined and it has been ascertained that the Reiners were killed intentionally.”
Nick Reiner Arrested and Held Without Bail on Suspicion of Murder
Rob and Michele Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, was identified by the LAPD detectives as the one who “caused their deaths,” a police press release states.
The Hollywood writer was a last man standing but not in a good way. He was not apprehended until several hours after his parents’ bodies were found.
“Nick Reiner was found and apprehended around 9:15 p.m.,” according to the police who also reported that as of Dec. 15, “He was charged with murder at his booking and is being held without bail.”
E! News attempted to contact an attorney for Nick to provide a comment, but no representative was found.
Rob Reiner’s Daughter Tracy Shares that She is “In Shock” After His Passing
The news of Rob Reiner’s passing was followed by a statement from his daughter Tracy Reiner expressing that she had a meeting with her father just the day before he passed away.
“I grew up with the most wonderful family,” she informed NBC News. “I really don’t know what to say. Shocked is the word that comes to my mind.”
Jane Fonda Shares Memory of Rob and Michele Reiner In Good Health and Spirits Before Passing Away
Jane Fonda disclosed that she was with Rob and Michele Reiner not long before they passed away in the most unfortunate way.
“I saw them the night before last, and they looked healthy and happy,” the actress shared on her Instagram account on December 15. “I am still very much overwhelmed with grief. I am shocked.”
Michelle Obama Reveals That She and Barack Had a Plan to See the Reiners on the Day They Passed Away
On her December 15 visit to the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, Michelle Obama disclosed that she and ex-President Barack Obama intended to visit Rob and Michele Reiner the exact day the pair were discovered dead.
Nick Reiner Enlists the Help of Veteran Defense Lawyer Alan Jackson
After Nick Reiner’s arrest for the killing of his parents, his sister Martha Reiner called the police and informed them about Nick’s behavior that was threatening. Shortly after that, on the 16th of December, Alan Jackson, a criminal defense attorney that has helped Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Karen Read, reassured E! News that he had been retained to represent the defendant.
Nick Reiner’s Lawyer Clarifies His Non-Appearance at Law Court
When the local authorities met at a Los Angeles courthouse on Dec. 16 to make public the formal charges against Nick Reiner, the lawyer of the writer-director informed the press that the screenwriter “has not been medically cleared” to make an appearance in front of a judge.
“As a rule, every inmate has to be medically cleared before they can be taken to court,” he told the reporters, according to MS NOW. “It would be good if he gets the clearance tomorrow so that we can bring him here.”
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Prosecutors Announce First-Degree Murder Charges Against Nick Reiner
On Dec. 16, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman made a public announcement that his office intends to file formal charges against Nick Reiner. The charges include “two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders.”
The D.A. stated that Nick would also be subjected to a “special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that is, a knife” in the murder of his parents.”
“The charges bring with them a maximum penalty of a life sentence without the possibility of parole or the death penalty,” Hochman said.
Nicholas was officially indicted later in the day on Dec. 16.
Officials Temporarily Place the Death of Couple Rob and Michele Reiner in the Early Morning
It was around 3 p.m. on Dec. 14 when the bodies of Rob and Michele Reiner were found, but the police think that the couple was killed about 12 hours before.
In the press release from the district attorney dated December 16, it says that the killings happened “in approximately the early morning hours of December 14.”
Murder Weapon Local Law Enforcement Explain in Reiner Case
As per the information given by the office of the district attorney in a release of Dec. 16, Nick Reiner is indicted for the act of “fatally stabbing” his parents. It is claimed by the prosecutors that he “intentionally employed a harmful and lethal instrument, that is a knife,” to commit the murders.”
