Politics
JUST IN: Arrest Made In Murder Of Rob Reiner, Wife
Rob Reiner’s long troubled son, Nick, has been charged with murder after he allegedly stabbed the famed director and his wife, Michele, to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday afternoon.
Reiner, 32, was detained Sunday night and is currently being held on $4 million bond, according to a report from the New York Post. He was detained for questioning after police responded to reports of a medical emergency and found the bodies of Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Reiner, 68.
Both victims suffered stab wounds and had their throat slashed when they were discovered by the couple’s daughter, Romy, who told police that a family member “should be suspect,” TMZ reported. Romy further told police that the relative in question was “dangerous,” according to the report.
People had previously reported that Nick Reiner was a suspect in the brutal murders, though police had declined to confirm nor deny until charges were announced. Formal charges have not been filed as of this report, though he has been booked into jail on suspicion of felony murder and is being held on $4 million bail, according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department records.
Nick Reiner (right) discusses a joint project he worked on with his father in a 2016 BUILD series interview
Reiner has a documented history of mental illness and drug addiction that began in his childhood, which led to 17 rehab stints before his 22nd birthday.
He has in the past described becoming increasingly distant from his family during this period, culminating in homelessness at age 18 when he refused further structured treatment. “If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless,” he told People magazine in a 2016 interview.
By age 19, after his final rehab stay, he focused on sobriety, writing projects, and staying clean to avoid returning to the streets. This chapter inspired the 2016 semi-autobiographical film Being Charlie, which Nick co-wrote with Matt Elisofon, whom he met in rehab.
The film, directed by his father, follows an 18-year-old rich kid named Charlie Mills navigating repeated rehab cycles, homelessness, and tensions with his actor-politician father during a gubernatorial campaign. Rob Reiner described the project as a way to “make art” from the pain.
Rob Reiner participates in a discussion following a screening of the film LBJ at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas on Saturday October 22, 2016
Rob Reiner rose to prominence as an actor playing the liberal son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the groundbreaking CBS sitcom “All in the Family” (1971–1979), a role that earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The show was widely known for introducing discussion of political and social issues into television comedy.
He went on to direct a number of hit films starting in the mid 1980’s, including “Stand By Me” (1986), “The Princess Bride” (1987) and “When Harry Met Sally,” among others.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time,” the Reiner family announced in a statement confirming the deaths.
