Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell confirmed that Nick Reiner, the younger son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, is being held on suspicion of murder following their deaths.
Reiner, 32, was as booked at the LAPD jail and was originally being held on $4 million bail; however an update later in the day from the LAPD said he was being held without bail. At a press conference on Monday morning, LAPD Chief McDonnell confirmed that Nick Reiner had been “booked for murder.. a very, very tragic incident.” Police arrested Nick Reiner on Sunday for the stabbing deaths of his parents, online records from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department indicated. The arrest came just hours after the Los Angeles Fire Department was called to the Reiner home around 3:30 p.m. PST Sunday after a family member discovered the couple, who were found dead from multiple stab wounds. Sources told ABC News that it was the Reiners’ daughter Romy who found her parents’ bodies on Sunday.
Nick Reiner, 32, has a long history with drug addiction, beginning his teens. In an interview with People in 2016, Nick shared that he spent weeks homeless and was in and out of rehab for addiction treatment that began when he was 15. Reiner’s struggles with addiction led him to co-write the 2016 film “Being Charlie,” directed by Rob Reiner and featuring actor Cary Elwes (who appeared in Reiner’s classic “The Princess Bride.”). The plot focuses on a young man struggling with addiction who has been in and out of rehab.
The Reiner family said in a statement after news broke of the couple’s death: “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Rob Reiner, the son of director/comedian Carl Reiner, was first know for his role as Michael “Meathead” Stivic, on the CBS sitcom ‘All in the Family,’ where he won Emmys as best supporting actor in a comedy in 1974 and 1978. Reiner went on to become an acclaimed director, with some of his most notable work including “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “A Few Good Men,” “Misery,” and “When Harry Met Sally…”.
Rob and Michele met when Rob directed When Harry Met Sally… , and the couple married in 1989. They are survived by two other children, son Jake Reiner and daughter Romy. Rob Reiner also adopted his daughter, Tracy Reiner, during his marriage to late actress/director Penny Marshall.
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