Nick Reiner has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the deaths of his parents, the renowned actor-director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, according to the Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell.
Nick Reiner, 32, was taken into custody on Sunday night. Jail records initially showed that his bail had been set at $4m, but Nick Reiner was later ordered held without bail, the police said.
Those jail records initially accused Nick Reiner of “gang activity” but did not elaborate. On Monday, McDonnell confirmed at a news briefing that Nick Reiner had been “booked for murder” in connection with his parents’ killings.
McDonnell called the deaths “very tragic” and said investigators “worked throughout the night on this case” before arresting Reiner.
Nick Reiner was brought in for questioning shortly after the Los Angeles fire department responded to a call for medical aid to the couple’s house in Brentwood at 3.30pm local time. On arrival, they found a man, 78, and a woman, 68, dead, which were later confirmed to be Rob and Michele Reiner. It is understood their daughter, Romy, who lives opposite, discovered them.
The Los Angeles police department (LAPD) said that officers from the robbery homicide division initiated an investigation into their deaths, and “it was determined that the Reiners were the victims of homicide.” According to the police, Nick Reiner was arrested at around 9.15pm, and “remains in custody with no bail”.
Officials said the case would be presented on Tuesday to the Los Angeles county district attorney, which will consider charges.
A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed their deaths on Sunday evening.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
The deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner prompted an outpouring of grief. Among the many who issued condolences were former US president Barack Obama, who said in a statement: “Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen.”
Lawmakers and celebrities also condemned comments by Donald Trump – who seized on the moment to attack Reiner. The film-maker had been a vocal critic of the US president.
Trump baselessly wrote on Truth Social on Monday that Reiner’s death was “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”.
California governor Gavin Newsom said of Trump: “This is a sick man.” The governor also issued condolences, writing that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, were “heartbroken by the tragic loss of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner”.
Rob Reiner first gained acclaim acting in all nine seasons of the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, winning two Emmy awards for his performance.
He also made an indelible mark on Hollywood, directing films such as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Stand by Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Misery (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992), which earned an Oscar nomination for a best picture.
Nick Reiner is a screenwriter who previously collaborated with his father on Being Charlie (2015), based on his own experiences of addiction and homelessness. He first began treatment for drug addiction as an adolescent and has said that he had been in rehab more than 17 times by the time he was 22.
Being Charlie tells the story of an 18-year-old man who resents what he believes to be the overly harsh response of his parents (including a father who is a movie star running for Congress) over his addiction, including compulsory stints in rehab.
Promoting the film, Rob Reiner said much of the film was autobiographical.
“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” he told the LA Times. “We were desperate and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son.”
His wife added: “We were so influenced by these people. They would tell us he’s a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them.”
Nick Reiner added that he “got sick of” being an addict: “I come from a nice family. I’m not supposed to be out there on the streets and in homeless shelters doing all these … things.”
In 2016, he told People he had “been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in LA and being around my family”.
Rob and Nick Reiner argued at a Christmas party at comedian Conan O’Brien’s home, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing family friends. Sunday was also the first day of Hanukah. Michele’s sister is a rabbi, and their mother had lost most of her family in the Holocaust.
The couple met on the set of When Harry Met Sally in 1989. They were introduced by mutual friend Barry Sonnenfeld; their nascent relationship inspired Reiner to urge Nora Ephron to rewrite the ending of the film, so Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal’s characters end up together.
Michele Singer Reiner was a photographer whose work included the portrait of Trump that ran on the cover of his book The Art of the Deal. Reiner was later an outspoken critic of the president.
Speaking to the Guardian in February 2024, Rob Reiner appeared to make reference to two of his children, Jake and Romy, when discussing the difficulties of being the offspring of a famous industry player.
“My son is 32 and my daughter’s 26. They both want careers, they’re both talented. Should I lean into it? Should I back away from it? They’re confused. I said, once they find their own path, it won’t matter.”
Rob Reiner was also the adoptive father of actor Tracy Reiner, the daughter of his first wife, the actor and director Penny Marshall, who died in 2018.
