Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner’s troubled son, Nick Reiner, is officially in custody and has been charged for his parents’ double homicide.
The 78-year-old director and his 68-year-old wife were found stabbed to death inside their Los Angeles on Sunday. They were discovered by their daughter Romy, 28.
According to TMZ, Rob and Michele had their throats slit by a family member during a heated argument.
Law enforcement sources confirmed Monday that Nick — who has a problematic history that involves drug addiction and homelessness — is in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and has been charged with murder. He was detained on Sunday night after police discovered his parents’ bodies and is being held on $4 million bail.
Nick, 32, Rob and Michele’s middle child, was born Sept. 14, 1993.
In addition to Nick, Rob and Michele shared daughter Romy and son Jake, 34. Rob was also the adoptive father of actress Tracy Reiner, whom he shared with director Penny Marshall. The couple were married from 1971 to 1981.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m in shock,” Tracy, 61, told NBC News after the murders.
Due to his personal struggles, Nick had a complicated relationship with his father leading up to the famed director’s death. Nick even said in 2016 that the duo “didn’t bond a lot” when he was growing up.
Here’s everything you need to know about Nick Reiner.
Was Nick Reiner adopted?
No, Nick Reiner was not adopted. He was born on September 14, 1993.
Nick’s parents met during the filming of “When Harry Met Sally.” Rob directed the beloved film while Michele was working as a photographer. They got married in 1989.
Nick’s older brother Jake was born 1991 and his younger sister Romy was born in 1997.
Nick Reiner’s battle with addiction
Nick’s struggle with addiction and homelessness began when he was a teenager.
In 2016, Nick shared that he entered rehab for the first time around his 15th birthday. He went to multiple rehab facilities over the years, but after he refused to get more treatment, he ended up on the streets.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” he recalled to People in 2016. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”
“If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless,” he added.
Nick, who was sober at the time of the interview, also stated that his addiction “made me who I am now.”
“I met crazy great people there, so out of my element,” he shared. “Now, I’ve been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in L.A. and being around my family. But there was a lot of dark years there.”
Nick Reiner’s relationship with his dad Rob Reiner
Nick and Rob put their relationship in the spotlight when they teamed up on the 2015 semi-autobiographical movie “Being Charlie,” which centers on an 18-year-old addict son of a movie star running for Congress.
Nick and a friend from rehab co-wrote the script, which was inspired by their experiences with addiction. Rob directed the film.
Nick Robinson and Carey Elwes played the Nick and Rob characters, respectively, in the movie.
The father-son duo talked about their dynamic while they promoted the film.
“It really clicked for me because we didn’t bond a lot as a kid,” Nick said in an interview with BUILD Series in May 2016. “He really liked baseball, I liked basketball, and he could watch that with my brother — baseball — but I just, when I saw him do that, it was something that I’m interested in, I was like, ‘Wow, he really knows a lot’ and it made me feel closer to him.”
Rob added, “It’s interesting that Nick would talk about it in that way, because, we did share that experience. You know, even though I’ve had a lot of experience making movies, and I said this to him many, many times, that he was the heart and soul of the film.”
“So, when it came to making the film deeper and better, I would have to really defer to him,” the famous filmmaker continued. “I mean, even though I have had all this experience in making films, the core of this film, I really had to look to him. I relied on him for giving it the honesty and the truth that it has.”
During a Sept. 2015 interview with the LA Times, Rob expressed regret at how he handled his son’s addiction battle.
“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen. 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,” said Rob, as Michele 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.”
Rob also said during a Q&A for the film at the time that “there were disagreements” and “at times it was really rough” in regards to figuring out how to depict his and Nick’s relationship in the movie.
“Sometimes it would get overwhelming for me,” Nick admitted.
But Rob confirmed that “by the time we got to the point of making the movie…our relationship had gotten so much closer.”
Two months before his death, Rob mentioned having “bad” children when asked which of his films he would most like to be remembered for.
“People have their favorites. They, you know, and the cliché, we love all our children, even the bad ones,” he said during an interview with Piers Morgan.
Nick Reiner’s social media activity
Nick does not currently have any active social media accounts.
Nick’s last public sighting
Nick walked the red carpet with his parents three months before he allegedly stabbed them to death.
On September 9, Rob and Michele brought their kids Nick, Jake and Romy to the “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.
Nick wore a black Nike zip-up jacket and brown jeans to the event. He did not smile in the group photos.
