Rob and Michele Reiner's Son Charged with Murder
Nick Reiner, 32, son of American filmmaker Rob Reiner, has been arrested for the murders of his father and mother, Michele Singer, and is due to appear before a judge on Tuesday for formal charges, according to the Los Angeles police.
The young man, known for his struggles with addiction, is being held in a Los Angeles County jail without the possibility of bail.
Rob Reiner, 78, known for hit romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally" and the fairy tale parody "The Princess Bride", was found dead on Sunday alongside his wife, photographer Michele Singer, 68, at their home in Brentwood, a wealthy neighborhood of Los Angeles.
"It has been established that the Reiners were victims of homicide. The investigation also revealed that Nick Reiner was responsible for their deaths," the Los Angeles police stated in a press release.
The suspect, who was arrested Sunday evening, had disrupted a year-end party where he was invited with his parents the night before the murders, NBC News reported on Tuesday.
According to the network, citing "two people familiar with the situation", Nick Reiner "made other guests uncomfortable" due to his behavior. "Reiner's parents were upset and embarrassed by their son's actions and were concerned for his well-being," another witness told NBC News.
The New York Times reported that "Rob and Nick Reiner had a violent argument".
Nick, one of the couple's three children (Rob Reiner had another child from a previous marriage), lived intermittently with his parents. He openly spoke about his experience with substance abuse treatment, which he began at the age of 15.
In a podcast, he claimed to have undergone 18 rehab treatments during his teenage years.
Nick Reiner also recounted anecdotes about his unstable behavior. Once, he shared in another podcast in 2018 that after days without sleep due to cocaine, he started "hitting everything in sight" at his parents' home.
When he refused to stay in rehab as a teenager, he sometimes found himself homeless or in shelters. He told People magazine in 2016 that he had been homeless multiple times in Maine, New Jersey, and Texas.
In 2015, Rob and Nick Reiner collaborated on the film "Being Charlie", inspired by Nick's history with addiction.
"Anti-Trump Dementia"
Before the announcement of his arrest, Donald Trump lashed out on his Truth Social network against Rob Reiner, claiming that his death was a result of his "frenzied anti-Trumpism".
His death "would be due to the anger he provoked in others" with an "incurable anti-Trump dementia syndrome," the former president wrote, continuing in the third person: "He was known for driving people crazy with his frenzied obsession against President Donald J. Trump."
Criticized by members of his own party, Donald Trump later reiterated his comments at the White House. "He was a disturbed individual, according to Trump," he said, still in the third person. "I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way."
The couple's death has sent shockwaves across the United States, with reactions pouring in from Hollywood stars and political figures, including former President Barack Obama.
A long-time activist close to the Democrats, the filmmaker was a staunch advocate for marriage equality and a fierce critic of the Trump administration.