Police in Los Angeles are investigating the deaths of Hollywood director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, after the couple were found dead inside their home in the city’s Brentwood neighbourhood, with investigators treating the case as an “apparent homicide” and a family member questioned as part of the early inquiry.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical aid request at the property shortly after 3.30pm on Sunday and found a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman dead inside, according to officials and reports citing law enforcement briefings. Authorities have not publicly confirmed the victims’ identities through the coroner’s formal process, but a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told the Associated Press they were Reiner and his wife, speaking on condition of anonymity. Euronews, citing AP reporting, said investigators believe the couple suffered stab wounds and that a family member was being questioned.
In a press conference, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said the investigation was being handled by the department’s robbery homicide division and would continue through the night and over the coming days. He said official identification of the two people found dead would come later from the Los Angeles County coroner and declined to confirm the victims’ identities at that stage.
Hamilton told reporters investigators were still awaiting the legal authority to conduct a full search of the property. “We’re waiting for the legal process to move forward. We have to obtain a search warrant for the residence. Once that is complied with, we will be conducting a full crime scene investigation on the interior and exterior of the residence and the surrounding neighborhood,” he said, according to The Independent’s account of the briefing.
He also cautioned against premature assumptions about suspects while detectives worked to establish a timeline, assess the scene and interview those connected to the victims. Hamilton said police were not seeking anyone as a suspect or a person of interest until the investigation had progressed further, The Independent reported. There have been no arrests.
A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed the deaths in a statement carried by multiple outlets. “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the family spokesperson said. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was “heartbroken” by the deaths, calling them “a devastating loss for our city and our country”. “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,” she said, according to remarks reported by The Independent via ABC7 Los Angeles.
The deaths have triggered an outpouring of reaction across the entertainment industry, reflecting Reiner’s long career in television and film and his high public profile beyond Hollywood. Reiner first became a household name in the 1970s on the landmark US sitcom All in the Family, where he played Michael “Meathead” Stivic opposite Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker. He later reinvented himself as one of the defining directors of the 1980s and 1990s, with credits spanning comedy, drama and adaptations.
Reiner’s directing career included the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, which became a cult classic and influenced generations of comedy and music satire. He followed it with a run of widely known films including Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, Misery, A Few Good Men and When Harry Met Sally, works that helped shape mainstream American cinema for more than two decades. He also continued acting throughout his career, appearing in supporting roles and cameos, while remaining active as a producer and public commentator.
Reiner was the son of comedian, actor and filmmaker Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 aged 98. Rob Reiner was previously married to actress and director Penny Marshall, who died in 2018 aged 75. He and Michele Singer Reiner married in 1989 after meeting while he was directing When Harry Met Sally, and they had three children together.
As police worked behind the scenes on Monday, media gathered near the Brentwood residence and neighbours described a heavy emergency presence in the area in the hours after the discovery. Officers cordoned off the scene while detectives and forensic teams prepared for further examination once the required legal process had been completed.
Reiner’s public life extended beyond film and television. He became known in later decades as an outspoken political figure, frequently commenting on US elections and policy debates. In the wake of the news, messages of condolence included tributes to both his creative legacy and his public advocacy.
Actor and filmmaker Ben Stiller, who has previously described Reiner as a major influence, said the deaths were “a huge loss”. “Rob Reiner was one of my favorite directors. He made some of the most formative movies for my generation,” Stiller said. He added that “Spinal Tap is one of the best comedies ever made”.
Eric Idle, the Monty Python member and actor, wrote that he had spoken to Reiner shortly before his death. “Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour,” Idle said in a post on X quoted in reports. “This is so awful. I shall miss him.” He described Reiner as “a clever, talented and very thoughtful man”.
The circumstances of the deaths remain unclear, and investigators have not described a motive, nor publicly detailed the sequence of events that led emergency responders to the home. The early focus of detectives is expected to include interviews with family members and anyone who had contact with the couple in the hours before they were found, along with analysis of forensic evidence recovered from the property and surrounding area.
Hamilton said detectives aimed to speak to the family as part of the work to establish facts. “We’re going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation,” he said, as quoted by The Independent.
For now, officials have emphasised that the investigation is at a preliminary stage. The coroner’s formal identification process and the results of any post-mortem examinations are expected to be central to the next phase of the inquiry, alongside any findings from the crime scene search once detectives secure the necessary warrant.
Reiner’s death, together with that of his wife, marks the loss of a figure whose work spanned some of the most recognisable titles in modern American film, from coming-of-age drama and courtroom thrillers to romantic comedy and parody. Police, meanwhile, continue to treat the case as a homicide inquiry, with detectives working to clarify who was involved, how the couple died, and what events unfolded inside the Brentwood home before they were discovered.
