LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rob Reiner’s son Nick Reiner will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday.
Rob Reiner, from left, Michele Singer Reiner, Romy Reiner, Nick Reiner, Maria Gilfillan, and Jake Reiner arrive at the premiere of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Nick Reiner, 32, will be charged in the death of the 78-year-old actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a news conference with LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
Prosecutors plan to file the charges, two counts of first-degree murder, special circumstances of multiple murders, later Tuesday. They will also include a special allegation that he used a dangerous weapon, a knife.
The announcement of the charges came two days after the couple was found dead from apparent stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Nick Reiner was arrested on suspicion of the killing and jailed hours later. Police haven’t said anything about a motive for the killings.
Investigators believe Rob and Michele Singer Reiner died from stab wounds, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official, who was briefed on the investigation, could not publicly discuss the details and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Nick Reiner had been expected to make an initial court appearance earlier Tuesday, but his attorney, Alan Jackson, said he was not brought from the jail to the courthouse for medical reasons and that the appearance would not come before Wednesday.
Jackson did not comment further on the case, and Nick Reiner has not yet entered a plea. Jackson is a high-profile lawyer who represented Harvey Weinstein at his Los Angeles trial and Karen Read at her Massachusetts trial. He was a central figure in the HBO documentary on the Read case.
Rob Reiner was the Emmy-winning star of the sitcom “All in the Family” who went on to direct films including “When Harry Met Sally…” and “The Princess Bride.” They had been married for 36 years. He met Michele Singer Reiner on the set of “When Harry Met Sally…,” and their meeting would inspire the film’s shift to a happy ending, with stars Billy Crystal — one of Reiner’s closest friends for decades — and Meg Ryan ending up together on New Year’s Eve.
Representatives for the Reiner family did not respond to requests for comment.
The killings were especially shocking given the warm comic legacy of the family. Rob Reiner was the son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 at age 98.
Three months ago, Nick Reiner was photographed with his parents and siblings at the premiere of his father’s film “Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues.”
He had spoken publicly of his struggles with addiction, cycling in and out of treatment facilities with bouts of homelessness in between through his teen years. Rob and Nick Reiner explored — and seemed to improve — their relationship while making the 2016 film “Being Charlie.”
Nick Reiner co-wrote, and Rob Reiner directed the film about the struggles of an addicted son and a famous father. It was not autobiographical but included several elements of their lives.
“It forced us to understand ourselves better than we had,” Rob Reiner told the AP in 2016. “I told Nick while we were making it, I said, ‘You know it doesn’t matter, whatever happens to this thing, we won already.'”
