Nick Reiner has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the deaths of his parents, the renowned actor-director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, according to the Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell.
Nick Reiner, 32, was taken into custody on Sunday night, and his bail was set at $4m, jail records show.
Those records initially accused Nick Reiner of “gang activity” but did not elaborate. On Monday, McDonnell confirmed at a news briefing that Nick Reiner had been “booked for murder” in connection with his parents’ killings.
McDonnell called the deaths “very tragic” and said investigators “worked throughout the night on this case” before arresting Reiner.
Nick Reiner was brought in for questioning shortly after the Los Angeles fire department responded to a call for medical aid to the couple’s house in Brentwood at 3.30pm local time. On arrival, they found a man, 78, and a woman, 68, dead, which were later confirmed to be Rob and Michele Reiner. It is understood their daughter, Romy, who lives opposite, discovered them.
The LAPD later confirmed detectives from the robbery homicide division were investigating the deaths as an “apparent homicide”. TMZ and People reported that the two had suffered wounds consistent with a knife attack.
Law enforcement sources told the LA Times that a family member was being interviewed in connection with the deaths. This followed a press conference on Sunday night, at which LAPD chief detective Alan Hamilton said the investigation was ongoing and that “at this time, the LAPD is not seeking anyone as a suspect or as a person of interest”.
A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed their deaths on Sunday evening.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
The deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner prompted an outpouring of grief. Among the many who issued condolences were former US president Barack Obama, , who said in a statement: “Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen.”
Rob Reiner first gained acclaim acting in all nine seasons of the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, winning two Emmy awards for his performance.
He also made an indelible mark on Hollywood, directing films such as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Stand by Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Misery (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992), which earned an Oscar nomination for a best picture.
Nick Reiner is a screenwriter who previously collaborated with his father on Being Charlie (2015), based on his own experiences of addiction and homelessness. He first began treatment for drug addiction as an adolescent and has said that he had been in rehab more than 17 times by the time he was 22.
Being Charlie tells the story of an 18-year-old man who resents what he believes to be the over-harsh response of his parents (including a father who is a movie star running for Congress) over his addiction, including compulsory stints in rehab.
Promoting the film, Rob Reiner said much of the film was based in autobiography.
“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” he told the LA Times. “We were desperate and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son.”
His wife added: “We were so influenced by these people. They would tell us he’s a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them.”
Nick Reiner added that he “got sick of” being an addict: “I come from a nice family. I’m not supposed to be out there on the streets and in homeless shelters doing all these … things.”
In 2016, he told People he had “been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in LA and being around my family”.
Rob and Nick Reiner argued at a Christmas party at comedian Conan O’Brien’s home, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing family friends. Sunday was also the first day of Hanukah. Michele’s sister is a rabbi, and their mother had lost most of her family in the Holocaust.
The couple met on the set of When Harry Met Sally in 1989. They were introduced by mutual friend Barry Sonnenfeld; their nascent relationship inspired Reiner to urge Nora Ephron to rewrite the ending of the film, so Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal’s characters end up together.
Michele Singer Reiner was a photographer whose work included the portrait of Donald Trump that ran on the cover of his book The Art of the Deal. Reiner was later an outspoken critic of the president.
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