Nick Reiner Charged With Two Counts of First-Degree Murder

Rob Reiner’s 32-year-old son Nick Reiner was charged in the death of his parents with two counts of first-degree murder along with a special allegation of using a dangerous weapon, a knife, on December 16 by Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan J. Hochman. Hochman, along with Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell, made the announcement today at the joint press conference held at the district attorney’s Downtown Los Angeles office. Hochman said that, if convicted, Nick would be facing a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. 

“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty,” Hochman said at the press conference. 

Rob, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead in their Brentwood home on December 14. The police have declined to comment on the manner of death, but CBS News reported the couple was found with multiple stab wounds. The Reiners were last seen together at the Christmas party at Conan O’Brien’s house the night before, where Nick reportedly argued with his father, according to published reports.

Rob and Michele’s 28-year-old daughter Romy reportedly found her parents’ bodies at home. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a 3:38 p.m. call from the house to provide medical aid. Both Reiners were later pronounced dead on the scene. The police have not yet determined a time of death and are waiting on the coroner’s report.

“Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades,” Hochman said at the press conference. “His wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, was an equally iconic photographer and producer. Their loss is beyond tragic, and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice.” 

Less than six hours later, Nick was arrested at 9:14 p.m. near the University of Southern California campus on Sunday, December 14 and was “booked for murder” and held without bail. Police said he was arrested without incident and gave them no indication of resisting or attempting to flee. He is described on the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department inmate website as six-foot-three and weighing 230 pounds, and is currently housed at the jail’s Twin Towers Correctional Facility, which holds maximum-security inmates. 

Nick has reportedly retained famed criminal-defense attorney Alan Jackson to represent him. Jackson is best known for securing an acquittal for Karen Read’s second murder trial in Massachusetts. He also previously served as the former assistant head deputy for the Major Crimes Division in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted and secured the murder conviction of legendary music producer Phil Spector.

Nick is currently undergoing medical clearance at the jail, a process Hochman said anyone who gets arrested and gets held in a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department must undergo. Once medically cleared, Nick will be brought to court to be arraigned on these charges and at that point will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, Hochman said. Nick has been outspoken in the past about his struggles with substance abuse. During press for the 2016 semi-autobiographical movie Being Charlie, he said he had gone to rehab between 17 or 18 times.

Reiner and Michele met when Rob was directing the film When Harry Met Sally and Michele served as the film’s photographer on set. They married seven months later. In addition to Nick, the couple had two children together, Romy, 27, and Jake, 34. Rob also has an adopted daughter, Tracy, 61, from Reiner’s first marriage to Penny Marshall.