In the hours after police found the our bodies of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner inside their Brentwood, California, residence, hypothesis was rife over what might have led somebody to homicide the beloved Hollywood director and his different half, a charismatic photographer and producer.
That hypothesis reached a fever pitch when it grew to become clear authorities suspected the Reiners’ middle son, Nick, of killing his dad and mom – and was additional fueled by rampant curiosity in his previous struggles with habit.
On Wednesday, three days after his dad and mom have been discovered lifeless, Nick Reiner stood before a choose in a Los Angeles courtroom, accused of their murders.
The 32-year-old has been charged with fatally stabbing his parents in the early morning hours Sunday.
And his look in court docket, whereas transient, marked the first time Nick Reiner spoke publicly about the incident. He solely mentioned three phrases:
“Yes, your honor,” he mentioned, acknowledging he was keen to waive his proper to a speedy arraignment on the homicide costs.
If convicted, he might face life in jail with out the risk of parole or the demise penalty.
The Los Angeles Police Department and the metropolis’s district legal professional’s workplace have declined to share many particulars about the case as the investigation continues. But what sources have revealed to NCS paints a fragmented and fraught image of the hours before and instantly after the Reiners’ murders.
By all accounts, Conan O’Brien’s annual Christmas Party is attended by a veritable who’s who of comedy legends.
Adam Sandler – O’Brien’s neighbor – has joked he appears ahead to the gathering yearly because of the ham. Bill Hader as soon as regaled O’Brien’s TV viewers with a story of a Christmas “inferno” after a wayward flame ignited an outside sofa.
Tom Hanks has been identified to cease by, as has comic Martin Short.
Rob Reiner – who had lengthy cemented his place amongst Hollywood’s comedy set together with his affable nature and signature observational humor – match proper in at O’Brien’s festivities Saturday night time.
But, in line with a supply aware of the incident, the vacation cheer that sometimes kinds the soundtrack to the celebration was ruptured when an argument broke out between Rob Reiner and his son.
The supply didn’t share particulars of the argument, however they mentioned Rob Reiner’s spouse, Michele, had additionally attended the get together.
Nick Reiner drew the consideration of some partygoers earlier in the night due to his scruffy look and how little he engaged with the different attendees, one other supply advised NCS.
That partygoer recalled seeing Nick Reiner standing alone by the firepit, smoking a cigarette and chatting with nobody. At a celebration the place most company have been dressed up, the supply advised NCS, he was dressed casually in a hoodie, hat and denims.
Investigators at the moment are zeroing in on the vital hours between when the Reiners left the vacation gathering and when their our bodies have been found the following afternoon.
Romy Reiner lives throughout the road from her dad and mom’ residence. The 27-year-old went to verify on her mother and dad round 3 p.m. Sunday, in line with a person near the state of affairs.
That’s when she found their our bodies, the supply mentioned.
Romy Reiner fled the residence, discovered a good friend, and requested them to name 911, a supply aware of the incident advised NCS. LAPD officers arrived at the home in Brentwood around 3:40 p.m., the place the our bodies have been found in their bed room.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s workplace mentioned the Reiners have been fatally stabbed, and a report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s workplace cited their cause of death as “multiple sharp force injuries.”
Through interviews with the Reiners’ surviving members of the family, detectives discovered that Nick Reiner had been staying in the visitor home on his dad and mom’ property, a supply advised NCS.
Detectives have been additionally advised about Nick Reiner’s historical past of drug habit – a topic he’s been open about – and the argument at the Christmas get together the earlier night time, the supply mentioned.
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s deaths have been declared a murder, and investigators quickly started looking for their son.
According to a gasoline station worker, round 8:20 p.m. on Sunday night, surveillance video captured Nick Reiner ambling throughout an ARCO gasoline station car parking zone close to the University of Southern California – almost 15 miles from his household’s residence.
He seemed to be carrying a baseball cap, denims and a jacket, and as he entered the retailer, he was carrying a crimson backpack slung over one shoulder.
Inside, he begins to make his method towards the gasoline station’s fridges before pivoting and instantly strolling again out. About 12 seconds later, he re-enters once more, walks to the again to seize a drink from the cooler, and stands in line at the register.
Video obtained by NCS reveals him swaying and pacing barely and sometimes glancing over his shoulder as he waits for his flip in line. He seems to pay for the drink in money before exiting the retailer.
The cameras exterior the gasoline station captured Nick Reiner strolling throughout the car parking zone and into the night time.
Less than an hour later, the gasoline station’s cameras have been educated on the intersection of Exposition Blvd. and Vermont Ave. when an ambulance barrels by way of the intersection, intently adopted by a police automobile.
Then, as if synchronized, automobiles – that simply moments before gave the impression to be ready for the gentle to alter – activate their police lights and converge on a person standing throughout the road.
Bathed in the flashing lights of a number of unmarked police automobiles, Nick Reiner put his palms up in the air. Police took him into custody at 9:15 p.m., in line with a statement from the LAPD.
Two weeks before Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner have been killed, their daughter, Romy, posted a series of photos from a household trip.
The pictures seize the Reiners smiling and laughing as they swim in clear blue water throughout a day at the seashore. In the caption to the put up, Romy wrote that she was “thankful for family, health.”
But later that month, the household’s life could be turned the other way up.
In an announcement Wednesday, Jake and Romy, two of the Reiners’ surviving children, mentioned “words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day.”
“They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” the siblings mentioned.
“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.”
NCS’s John Miller, Jason Kravarik, Nick Watt and Josh Campbell contributed to this report.