Los Angeles prosecutors have charged Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer-producer Michele Singer Reiner, with murdering his parents at their Brentwood home, after investigators said the couple were fatally stabbed in the early hours of 14 December.
In a statement announcing the filing of charges, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said the case involved “family violence” and described the killings as “shocking and tragic”, adding: “We owe it to their memory to pursue justice and accountability for the lives that were taken.”
The District Attorney’s Office said Nick Reiner was charged in case 25CJCF08098 with two counts of murder, with a special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders, as well as an allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife. Prosecutors said he is accused of fatally stabbing Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, at their home in the 200 block of South Chadbourne Avenue in Brentwood, before fleeing and being arrested later that evening in the Exposition Park area.
Court proceedings in the case have moved more slowly than is typical in a high-profile double-homicide, with Nick Reiner’s formal arraignment continued while he remained in custody. His defence lawyer, Alan Jackson, told reporters this week that the delay was procedural, saying: “Every inmate has to be medically cleared before they can be transferred to court, he has not been medically cleared. It’s just a procedural issue.” Jackson also urged restraint, telling reporters there were “very, very complex and serious issues” in the case and asking that the system be allowed to proceed “not with the rush to judgment”.
In the days since the couple were found dead, law-enforcement and court details have been accompanied by accounts of escalating concern within the family about Nick Reiner’s behaviour in the period leading up to the killings. Reporting carried by news.com.au, citing an account attributed to The Hollywood Reporter, said Nick Reiner was not originally invited to TV host Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on the night of 13 December, but that Rob and Michele Reiner asked whether their son could attend with them because they did not want to leave him alone.
According to the same reporting, the couple were “reluctant to leave him home alone in the guesthouse” on their property, amid allegations that his “often … extreme and stressful behaviour” had worsened in recent weeks and that he had been living under “watchful supervision”.
At the party, Nick Reiner allegedly unsettled other guests by repeatedly asking three questions: their first name, last name, and whether they were famous. The same account said the questioning led to an awkward exchange with comedian Bill Hader, after which Nick Reiner “stormed off”.
The account published by news.com.au said Rob Reiner confronted his son over what it described as “asocial and unsettling behaviour”, apologised to O’Brien, and left the party early with his wife. By the next day, Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead at their home, and Nick Reiner was later arrested.
Prosecutors have alleged the killings occurred in the early morning hours of 14 December, before Nick Reiner fled the area. The District Attorney’s Office said he was arrested hours later that night. It added that if convicted as charged, he faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole, with a decision on whether to seek the death penalty to be made later.
Public accounts of Nick Reiner’s movements after the alleged killings have included reports that he checked into a hotel in Santa Monica and left behind a bloodstained room. Those details were reported by Page Six and the New York Post, and have been widely repeated in US television coverage of the case, though authorities have not publicly provided a full timeline of his movements beyond the allegation that he fled and was arrested later the same day.
The case has drawn additional attention because of Rob Reiner’s prominence in American film and television. Reiner first became widely known as an actor before establishing a directing career that included films such as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me and A Few Good Men. Michele Singer Reiner worked in photography and production and was married to Reiner for more than three decades.
For investigators, the focus has remained on establishing evidence around what happened inside the home, and whether any additional factors may bear on charging decisions. The District Attorney’s statement said the case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division and is being prosecuted by members of the Major Crimes Division.
Outside court, the family’s past efforts to support Nick Reiner have become part of the broader public narrative, largely through comments and reporting referencing his history of addiction and recovery. The news.com.au report said Rob Reiner stated in September that his son was in a “really great place”, and that he had been clean for six years, remarks that the report said were made as Reiner spoke to NPR.
Friends and associates have also described fluctuations in Nick Reiner’s condition in the period before the alleged killings. In the news.com.au report, cinematographer Barry Markowitz, described as a friend of Rob Reiner, was quoted as saying Nick Reiner appeared “on the upswing” during a recent stay, adding: “He looked great,” while speculating that Nick had “a sickness”.
Meanwhile, Jackson, the defence attorney, said his focus was on the legal process and the issues he said would need to be carefully examined. “There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case,” he told reporters, adding: “These need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with and examined and looked at and analyzed.”
The District Attorney’s Office emphasised that the charges are allegations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. With the arraignment set for a later date, prosecutors and defence lawyers are expected to argue over evidence, mental health evaluations, and the precise timeline of events leading up to the deaths, issues that can determine whether the case proceeds as a special-circumstances murder trial and how it is ultimately presented to a jury.
