Detectives in Los Angeles are investigating the stabbing deaths of film director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, after their son, Nick Reiner, was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of murder, according to police and multiple US media reports.

Firefighters were called to a home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon after what the Los Angeles Fire Department described as a medical aid call, with emergency responders arriving shortly before 3:40 p.m. local time. Police later said the couple, aged 78 and 68, were found dead inside the property with injuries consistent with stab wounds.

Authorities said Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested later that day and has since been held without bail, as investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division continue to examine the circumstances leading up to the deaths. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell told the Los Angeles Times that detectives “worked throughout the night” as the investigation moved quickly in the hours after the bodies were discovered.

A timeline reported by ABC-owned stations said Nick Reiner was taken into custody several hours after the discovery, with reports indicating he was booked on the murder charge early Monday. ABC News similarly reported that he was arrested on Sunday night, hours after the deaths were discovered.

Public reporting has also indicated that family members, including the couple’s daughter, Romy, were among those interviewed and that she was the person who discovered the bodies. ABC7 reported that sources said the couple’s daughter found them, and People magazine likewise reported that their daughter found them after emergency services responded.

In the days surrounding the killings, Page Six published an account quoting an unnamed source who alleged that Nick Reiner had lived in a guesthouse on his parents’ property and had long struggled with addiction and volatile behaviour. “Nick had been living in their guesthouse, the same one he destroyed more than once, but it had been like a revolving door all his adult life,” the source was quoted as saying.

The same Page Six report attributed further claims to the source, describing episodes of drug use and property damage. “He would do meth and not sleep for days and then have outbursts, breaking things, punching walls,” the source was quoted as saying, adding: “He was a ticking time bomb.”

The report said the source alleged Nick Reiner’s parents had presented an ultimatum and had sought to remove him from the home. “His drug use was getting worse and his parents wanted him out,” the source was quoted as saying.

The same report said the source alleged Nick Reiner had threatened his sister during a confrontation, and that his parents had considered contacting authorities in the past but did not. Page Six reported those claims as allegations from an unnamed source, and investigators have not publicly detailed any prior incidents or calls for service connected to the family.

In addition to the insider claims, Page Six cited comments Nick Reiner previously made about a destructive episode during an interview on the “Dopey” podcast in 2018. The outlet reported that he recalled being “up for days” and “punching out some things in [the] guest house,” including a television and lamp, and said: “Everything in the guest house got wrecked.”

Other accounts of Nick Reiner’s history have focused on his public discussion of addiction and instability, including reports that his experiences informed the 2015 film “Being Charlie,” which he co-wrote and which Rob Reiner directed. People magazine reported that Nick Reiner had a history of substance abuse and homelessness, which he had discussed publicly, and that the film drew on those experiences.

Investigators have also been examining the family’s movements in the hours before the killings. ABC7 reported that sources said Rob Reiner and his son argued at a holiday party on Saturday night, and that Nick Reiner was seen acting strangely. People similarly reported that witnesses described Nick Reiner as acting erratically at a party hosted by Conan O’Brien, and that a loud argument took place before Rob and Michele Reiner left the event.

The ABC7 report quoted Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman discussing standard investigative procedure, saying authorities “make sure that you get the search warrant ahead of time because they don’t want to have any problems later in the case if there’s some allegation that they illegally got the evidence at the get-go of an investigation.”

The deaths have prompted an outpouring of tributes for Rob Reiner, whose career spans decades in American film and television. He first became widely known as an actor on the sitcom “All in the Family,” before establishing himself as a director behind films including “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “The Princess Bride,” and “A Few Good Men,” according to reporting by People and Entertainment Weekly.

Michele Singer Reiner, who was married to Rob Reiner for decades, was described by the Associated Press as a photographer, producer and advocate involved in social and political causes. The AP report said she and her husband were active in LGBTQ+ rights efforts, including opposition to California’s Proposition 8, and noted tributes from public figures following her death.

As the criminal case proceeds, key questions remain unanswered in public, including investigators’ account of how the couple were killed, any potential motive, and what forensic or digital evidence has been collected from the home. Police have said the investigation is being handled by the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, and media reports indicate detectives have been interviewing members of the immediate family while also executing search warrants connected to the scene.

Nick Reiner’s custody status has also drawn attention. Several outlets reported he was being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, with some reporting that he had been placed on suicide watch. ABC News and ABC7 reported he was being held without bail, while other reports described additional precautions in custody that have not been confirmed by authorities in public statements.