Nick Reiner charged with murder in death of parents
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Dec. 16, 2025, 1:04 PM EST / Updated Dec. 16, 2025, 9:35 PM ESTBy Matt Lavietes and Tim Stelloh
Nick Reiner, the younger son of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, was charged Tuesday with killing his parents.
In addition to two counts of murder with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, Reiner, 32, also faces a special circumstance allegation of using a deadly weapon, according to court documents.
Nick Reiner, who is accused of fatally stabbing his parents, faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if convicted, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
"Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades," Hochman said. "His wife, Michelle 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," he said.
Nick Reiner's attorney, Alan Jackson, said his client was not medically cleared to appear in court Tuesday. Jackson would not specify what medical issue prevented Reiner from being cleared, saying only that it was "procedural."
Court records indicate Nick Reiner is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning, though the district attorney's office said Tuesday that the arraignment will be at an unspecified later date.
Nick Reiner was arrested Monday in Exposition Park near the University of Southern California and taken into custody without incident, Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters.
He is being held without bail.
Rob Reiner, 78, a legendary actor and filmmaker, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Los Angeles-area home Sunday. Their bodies were found with stab wounds, a source close to the family told NBC News.
The bodies were found in the master bedroom of their Brentwood home, Assistant Police Chief Dominic Choi said at the police department's weekly commission meeting Tuesday.
Nick Reiner has a history of battling addiction, which reportedly began when he was a teenager. In a 2016 interview with People magazine, he said he was in and out of rehab for addiction treatment that started when he was 15. He also told the magazine he spent weeks sleeping on the streets.
"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," he told People at the time.
His struggles with addiction to heroin and other hard drugs inspired the 2016 movie "Being Charlie," which he co-wrote and his father directed. The movie focuses on a young man who struggles to follow the advice of recovery professionals.
"The program works for some people, but it can't work for everybody," Rob Reiner told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. "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."
On Saturday, Nick Reiner and his parents attended a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O'Brien, where he was seen being disruptive, according to two people familiar with the situation.
His parents were upset and embarrassed about their son's behavior at the party and expressed worries about his health, according to another person.
He is alleged to have interrupted a conversation involving comedian Bill Hader. When Hader told him that the conversation was private, the source said, Nick Reiner appeared to pause and stare before "storming off." Hader did not reply to a request for comment.
News of Rob Reiner's death has rocked Hollywood.
He became a household name for his role as Michael "Meathead" Stivic in the landmark sitcom "All in the Family" in the 1970s. He later directed some of the most iconic films in modern history, including "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally..." and "A Few Good Men."
His death has also prompted an outpouring of grief from some of the country's most prominent Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former President Barack Obama and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker. The Reiners were longtime donors to the Democratic Party.
Former first lady Michelle Obama said in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday that she was supposed to see Rob and Michele Reiner on Sunday night.
"In a time when there's not a lot of courage going on, they were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about," she said. "And they cared about their family, they cared about this country, they cared about fairness and equity."
Friends of the Reiners, including Billy Crystal, Larry David, Albert Brooks and Martin Short, said Tuesday in a statement to The Associated Press: "We were their friends, and we will miss them forever."
Beyond Reiner's storied movie career, "Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife Michele, he had the perfect partner," they said.
"There is a line from one of Rob's favorite films, 'It's a Wonderful Life,' 'Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?' You have no idea," they said in the statement.
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I suspect an insanity plea or something like this. So far there has been no indication of motive and much evidence of factors which would lead to mental illness.
I dont think he had a motive in the traditional sense. Rob Reiner had a lot of money ($200 million) , but has treated his son with "tough love", which accounts for Nick's sporadic homelessness.
Nick most likely had had enough of it, from his distorted point of view.
I read somewhere yesterday , that he likely will not get any inheritance from his parents estate , most likely because of his actions if convicted .
It would make sense, otherwise more offspring might be incentivised to off those in the way of their inheritance. Is it so difficult to expect ones offspring to behave in an acceptable fashion ?
Drugs have fckd up a lot of people in this country.
He doesn't deserve anything
The reports about his attendance at that party where he got into a fight with his dad, people were saying he was walking around asking people if they were a celebrity. I think his lawyer can make a good case for the mental incapacity plea
Read a bit from a trial lawyer this morning to said that given he had the ability to have a fight with his father could make it harder to win a mental incapacity plea. We'll have to wait and see what the trial (and subsequent appeals) brings.
Ok. That makes sense actually
When did California re-instate the death penalty?
Of all states, one would think that California wouldn't have the death penalty, but voters have kept voting down the abolition of it and Newsom has put a moratorium on them for now.
I know the Manson family was given the death penalty and then CA abolished it 1978 (thanks, Snuffy). I believe I was 16 at the time and the whole case was batted round the media for a week.
1978.
History of Capital Punishment in California - Capital Punishment
Not that I'm hoping for the death penalty in this case. I would rather life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. I've made my argument against the death penalty before.
Yes you have and you have a compelling argument
it's purely an economic argument for me on capital punishment. if there's an eyewitness or indisputable evidence to heinous murders, after conviction the killer's choice should either be a syringe and an armful of confiscated drugs from the PD evidence locker or a 50 cent bullet into the brain and a hole in the desert. no point in wasting taxpayer money to feed and warehouse proven killers when it's cheaper and more efficient just to press their clear cache/reset buttons. either that or place them in a very difficult situation somewhere else and let nature take it's course.
I think the appeals process is too long and drawn out. One appeal and that's it. And then a short time to wrap up affairs, talk to family, etc. Then to the death chamber. But I really do reserve the DP for child rapists/murderers
I agree with Snuffy. The main reason I have always opposed the death penalty is that innocent people have been executed. Canada abolished the death penalty long ago. My preference for Nick Reiner is that he spend the rest of his life in violent offenders prison, no release for any reason whatsoever because he will always be a danger to the public since he has proven that he is entirely unable to control himself.