One day after a trio of developments in the stabbing deaths of beloved actor/director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele — allegedly by their troubled 32-year-old son Nick — Hollywood was still reeling Thursday, and still awaiting word on possible funeral or memorial services in the aftermath of the shocking tragedy.
On Wednesday, Nick Reiner, the couple’s youngest son, made his first court appearance on two murder charges — three days after his parents’ bodies were discovered in their Brentwood mansion.
Wearing a blue suicide vest as he appeared before Superior Court Judge Theresa R. McGonigle, Nick Reiner was ordered to remain jailed without bail and to return to the downtown L.A. courthouse on Jan. 7 for arraignment, which was postponed Wednesday at the defense’s request.
Also Wednesday:
— Rob and Michele Reiner’s daughter, Romy, and oldest son, Jake, issued their first public comments since the killings, thanking the public for its support following the “horrific and devastating” deaths, and
— the L.A. County medical examiner officially classified the couple’s deaths as homicides, with both dying from “multiple sharp force injuries.”
Nick Reiner’s court appearance came one day after he was charged with two counts of murder for the killings of his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother, Michele Singer Reiner. The couple were found dead around 3:30 p.m. Sunday in their home in the 200 block of Chadbourne Avenue, between Sunset and San Vicente boulevards.
The murder charges include a special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders, which could open Nick Reiner to a possible death sentence, if prosecutors opt to pursue capital punishment. That decision will be made later in the case, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
Nick Reiner is also facing a sentence-enhancing allegation of the personal use of a deadly weapon — a knife — during the crime.
“First of all, and most importantly, this is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family. … Our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family,” one of Nick Reiner’s attorneys, Alan Jackson, told a crowd of reporters outside the courthouse after Wednesday’s brief hearing.
Jackson said there are some “very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case” — explaining that they “need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with and examined and looked it and analyzed.”
“We ask that during this process you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to, not with a rush to judgment, not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and the family deserves,” Jackson added.
Rob Reiner was best known for his iconic role as Michael Stivic on the classic sitcom “All in the Family” — and as director of films such as “Stand By Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “A Few Good Men,” “Misery,” “This Is Spinal Tap” and “When Harry Met Sally.”
Nick Reiner was arrested without incident around 9:15 p.m. Sunday in the Exposition Park area near USC and was booked into jail early Monday morning.
Law-enforcement sources told TMZ that Nick Reiner was being held in administrative segregation at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles and has been on suicide watch.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell declined Tuesday to provide any details on what led to Nick Reiner being identified as the suspect in the case, and no information was provided on a possible motive for the killing.
Hochman did confirm that a knife was used in the killings. TMZ reported earlier that Rob Reiner and his wife suffered “lacerations consistent with a knife,” describing the victims as having their throats slit.
“Prosecuting these cases involving family members are some of the most challenging and most heart-wrenching cases that this office faces, because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved,” Hochman said.
“Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades. His wife, Michele Singer Reiner, was an equally iconic photographer and producer. Their loss is beyond tragic, and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice.”
According to multiple reports, the slain couple’s 28-year-old daughter, Romy, discovered her father’s body.
One report suggested that a massage therapist had shown up at the couple’s home for an appointment on Sunday but got no answer at the door and contacted their daughter, who went inside the home and found Rob Reiner slain. She contacted police, who subsequently found Michele Reiner’s body in the house as well.
Multiple outlets reported that Rob and Michele Reiner, along with Nick, had attended talk-show host Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on Saturday night, and that Rob got into a heated argument with Nick over his odd behavior at the event.
Rob and Michele Reiner wound up leaving the event, but it was unclear when Nick Reiner left. TMZ reported that Nick Reiner checked into a Santa Monica hotel around 4 a.m. Sunday, and that blood was later found in the room.
Nick Reiner has a documented history of drug addiction. In 2015, he worked with his father to write and produce a semi-autobiographical movie titled “Being Charlie,” based on Nick’s drug-addiction issues and the family’s struggles to cope. Nick Reiner was publicly open about his addiction struggles, discussing the issue in multiple interviews with media outlets and on podcasts.
Nick Reiner described being in and out of rehab programs throughout his teen years, and spending time homeless in various states, including Texas, New Jersey and Maine. He also described an instance when he was high on cocaine for multiple days and trashed his parents’ guest house.
According to TMZ, Michele Reiner had allegedly lamented to friends in recent weeks about Nick’s mental health and addiction issues, saying, “We’ve tried everything.”
A statement issued by the Reiner family was published Sunday by Variety, saying, “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.”
Reactions of grief and shock poured in — from a shrine of candles and flowers at Rob Reiner’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star, where fans mourned … to tributes from Hollywood A-Listers as well as from such luminaries as former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
On Wednesday, in a statement sent to multiple media outlets, Jake and Romy Reiner expressed gratitude for the outpouring — but also asked for privacy as they grieve.
“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,” the pair said. “The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life. We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
Rob Reiner, the son of legendary writer/producer/comedian Carl Reiner, began his career in 1968, writing for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” on a writing team that included a young Steve Martin. Reiner also had bit roles in various TV shows, including “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Batman.”
His big break came with his casting as Archie Bunker’s liberal son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” in the 1970s. The role won him two Primetime Emmy Awards.
But it was his work behind the camera that saw him achieve even more success. “A Few Good Men,” the 1992 courtroom thriller starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, was nominated for an Oscar for best picture. His other credits included “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Ghosts of Mississippi,” “The American President” and “Misery.”
Rob Reiner’s final film, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” was released in theatres Sept. 12.
Rob Reiner was married for 10 years to actress/director Penny Marshall, but they divorced in 1981.
He met photographer Michele Singer while he was directing “When Harry Met Sally.” Reiner often told the story about how his romance with Singer led him to change the ending to the movie — with the characters played by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan reuniting rather than going their separate ways.
Reiner and Singer married in 1989 and had three children — sons Nick and Jake, a former Los Angeles television reporter, and daughter Romy.
Rob Reiner was a vocal Democrat Party activist, helping spearhead efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in California and to pass a 1998 initiative that created the First 5 California childhood-development services program, funded by a tobacco tax.