The moment Nick Reiner was arrested on suspicion of killing his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, was captured by a surveillance camera at a Los Angeles gas station convenience store.
Nick Reiner was taken into custody Sunday night near the USC campus in downtown Los Angeles, hours after his mother and father were found dead inside their Brentwood mansion. In footage obtained by NBC Los Angeles, he can be seen arriving at an ampm mini-mart near the intersection of Exposition Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, about 15 miles from his parents’ home.
Reiner — wearing a baseball cap, green sweater, jeans and red backpack — then roams about the mart, at one point grabbing a bottled beverage in the convenience store and then calmly getting on line at the register. After paying, he can be seen walking across the street toward the nearby Metro station, where he is approached by four police vehicles around 9:15 p.m. He responds by putting his hands in the air and is placed in cuffs shortly thereafter.
Reiner was charged with two counts of murder on Tuesday in connection with his parents’ deaths. He is being held in jail without bail and is due to be arraigned in court later Wednesday.
The murders of Rob and Michele Reiner triggered an outpouring of tributes and homages, including a joint statement released Tuesday night by Rob’s longtime collaborators — including Billy Crystal, Larry David and Martin Short. They remembered him “not only was a great comic actor,” but a “master storyteller” too.
“From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game,” they said. “He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.”
Rob and Michele Reiner “were a special force together-dynamic, unselfish and inspiring,” the statement concluded. “We were their friends, and we will miss them forever.”
