Rob Reiner’s son arrested as suspect in murder of parents at LA home

Nick Reiner, 32, held on $4 million bail after director-actor and wife found dead; son, who has experienced addiction, reportedly argued with parents at party on Saturday night

Rob Reiner’s younger son, Nick Reiner, was in police custody Monday for what investigators believe was the fatal stabbing of the director-actor and his wife at their Los Angeles home a day earlier, police said.

Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Nick Reiner, 32, was “booked for murder” and was being held on $4 million bail in connection with the deaths of his parents. McDonnell said the department’s robbery and homicide division is handling the investigation.

“They worked throughout the night on this case and were able to take into custody Nick Reiner, a suspect in this case,” McDonnell said.

He called the deaths “a very tragic incident.”

Representatives for Reiner’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it was not immediately clear whether Nick Reiner had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Nick Reiner has spoken publicly of his struggles with addiction. By 18, he had cycled in and out of treatment facilities with bouts of homelessness and relapses in between. Rob and Nick Reiner explored their difficult relationship and Nick Reiner’s struggles with drugs in a 2016 semi-autobiographical film, “Being Charlie.”

Nick Reiner had argued with his parents at a party on Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Rob and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead Sunday at their home in Los Angeles, and investigators believe they suffered stab wounds, the law enforcement official said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m. and found a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman dead inside. Reiner turned 78 in March.

Detectives with the Robbery Homicide Division were investigating an “apparent homicide” at Reiner’s home, said Capt. Mike Bland with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Los Angeles authorities have not confirmed the identities of the people found dead at the residence in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood on the city’s west side that is home to many celebrities.

As tributes poured in, US President Donald Trump unleashed an extraordinary broadside against Rob Reiner, appearing to blame the deaths on the director’s criticism his presidency.

Reiner was long one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, and his work included some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and ’90s, including “This is Spinal Tap,” “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and “The Princess Bride.”

His role as “Meathead” in Norman Lear’s 1970s TV classic “All in the Family,” as a liberal foil to O’Connor’s Archie Bunker, catapulted him to fame and won him two Emmy Awards.

The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner married photographer Michele Singer Reiner in 1989. The two met while he was directing “When Harry Met Sally” and had three children together: Nick, Jake, and Romy.

Relatives of Lear, the legendary producer who died in 2023, said their deaths left them bereft.

“Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world,” said a Lear family statement. “Norman would have wanted to remind us that Rob and Michele spent every breath trying to make this country a better place, and they pursued that through their art, their activism, their philanthropy, and their love for family and friends.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it a devastating loss for the city.

“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Bass said in a statement. “An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.”

Reiner was previously married to actor-director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981. He adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner. Carl Reiner died in 2020 at the age of 98, and Marshall died in 2018.

Killings are rare in the Brentwood neighborhood. The scene is about a mile from the home where O.J. Simpson’s wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in 1994.