What we know about the fatal stabbings of Rob and Michele Reiner and the case against their son
Nick Reiner is seen inside a gas station. He was arrested near that location shorty after.
(CNN) — Two days after Hollywood director Rob Reiner and producer Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their home, their grown son, Nick Reiner, was charged with the first-degree murder of his parents.
Many aspects of the case are still uncertain as authorities keep details close in an active investigation. But the deaths of the two Hollywood fixtures have upended the entertainment industry as colleagues, friends and fans pay tribute to their legacy.
Here’s what we know about the case against Nick Reiner and what comes next.
Son faces first-degree murder charges
Prosecutors charged Reiner, 32, with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of his parents.
The charges include a special allegation for allegedly using a knife, and the case rises to a “special circumstance first-degree murder case” as there were multiple murders, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday at a news conference.
Conviction on the charges carries a penalty of life in prison without parole or the death penalty, Hochman said. His office hasn’t decided if it would seek the death penalty and would take the “thoughts and desires of the family into consideration,” he said. Executions in California have essentially been halted since 2006, with a moratorium on the death penalty since 2019.
Cases that involve family members are among “the most challenging and the most heart-wrenching” due to the “intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved,” Hochman said.
Reiner is being held without bail ahead of an arraignment, the district attorney’s office said. He is going through medical screening, a standard procedure, Hochman said.
It’s not clear when Reiner will make his first court appearance, said his lawyer, prominent defense attorney Alan Jackson, who has represented Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein and Karen Read.
More information about the day of the incident
Officials allege Nick Reiner fatally stabbed his parents in the “early morning hours of December 14” in their Brentwood home before fleeing, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.
When the Reiners’ daughter, Romy – who lives across the street from her parents – checked on them around 3 p.m. Sunday, she discovered their bodies, a source said. She left the house, found a friend who was staying with her and told her to call 911, the source said.
Detectives spoke with family members and learned Nick Reiner had been staying at a guest house on his parent’s property. He was not present when they arrived. Authorities also learned of his history with drug addiction, as well as an argument between him and his parents the prior night, the source said.
Reiner was arrested later that evening in the Exposition Park area near the University of Southern California campus, Los Angeles Police Department’s Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said, adding Reiner didn’t resist.
Nick Reiner’s mental health could come up in court
Reiner’s mental health could come up in court hearings in the case, Hochman said. After he is arraigned, if there is evidence of mental illness, it will be “presented in court and in whatever detail the defense seeks to do that,” he said.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell declined to say whether Reiner was under the influence at the time of his arrest. Reiner has spoken about his past struggles with drug addiction, including stints in rehab and, at times, being homeless.
In 2015, he co-wrote the film, “Being Charlie,” loosely inspired by his experiences with addiction and directed by his father. During its promotional tour, Reiner often appeared alongside his father to discuss how his personal experiences shaped the story.
During a joint appearance on AOL’s speaker series, “Build,” Rob Reiner called the project “the most personal thing I’ve ever done.”
“You don’t set out to have a cathartic experience or be therapeutic in some way,” the elder Reiner said, detailing how working on the film pushed him and his son to confront and better understand each other’s perspectives.
“The fact that we were dealing with things that Nick had gone through … it forced me to have to see more clearly and understand more deeply what Nick had gone through, and I think it forced him to see things that I had experienced during this process,” he said.
Nick Reiner’s recovery has never been linear. He has often talked about his rehab and homelessness, as well as arguments he had with his parents while in the throes of addiction.
But Reiner had been doing well, his father said in a September NPR interview.
“You know, he’s been great. He hasn’t been doing drugs for over six years. I mean, he’s in a really good place, much better place,” Rob Reiner said. “He’s a good place now.”
CNN’s Andy Rose, Norma Galeana, John Miller, Cindy Von Quednow and Elise Hammond contributed to the report.
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