LOS ANGELES — The son of legendary Hollywood director Rob Reiner has been charged with murder in the brutal stabbing deaths of his parents, sending shockwaves through the entertainment industry and triggering an unprecedented political controversy.
Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested Monday just hours after the bodies of his father, 78-year-old Rob Reiner, and stepmother, 70-year-old Michele Singer Reiner, were discovered in their upscale Brentwood home Sunday afternoon.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell confirmed the younger Reiner was taken into custody shortly after authorities responded to the scene.
“He was subsequently booked for murder and is being held,” McDonnell told reporters.
The couple was found with fatal stab wounds, with some reports indicating their throats had been slit. The bodies were discovered by the couple’s daughter, who immediately told police that another family member was responsible for the killings, according to entertainment outlet TMZ.
Nick Reiner, who has struggled with substance abuse since his teenage years, had reportedly argued with his parents at a Hollywood party Saturday evening, just hours before the murders.
As tributes poured in from across Hollywood and Washington, President Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm with extraordinary comments suggesting Reiner bore responsibility for his own death due to his vocal criticism of the administration.
Trump claimed the Reiners died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession,” Trump wrote, later telling reporters that Reiner was “very bad for our country.”
The remarks drew swift condemnation, including from Representative Thomas Massie, who called the comments “inappropriate and disrespectful.”
In an ironic twist, Michele Reiner had photographed the portrait that appeared on Trump’s memoir “The Art of the Deal.”
Rob Reiner built an extraordinary career that began with his iconic role as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom “All in the Family” before transitioning to become one of Hollywood’s most versatile directors.
The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner — an 11-time Emmy Award winner who worked alongside Mel Brooks and Neil Simon — Rob Reiner created an impressive filmography that included the influential rock mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap” in 1984, the beloved coming-of-age drama “Stand By Me” based on Stephen King’s novella, the fantasy classic “The Princess Bride” in 1987, “When Harry Met Sally” featuring the iconic restaurant scene with Meg Ryan, and the Tom Cruise-Jack Nicholson courtroom thriller “A Few Good Men” in 1992, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
In “When Harry Met Sally,” Reiner memorably cast his own mother as the fellow diner who delivers the legendary line “I’ll have what she’s having” following Meg Ryan’s famous fake orgasm scene.
Beyond entertainment, Reiner was a passionate political activist who championed progressive causes including marriage equality and California’s First 5 program, which funds child development through tobacco taxes. He had warned that Trump was mounting an authoritarian takeover of American democracy.
The entertainment world expressed profound grief over the loss of the beloved filmmaker.
Actor John Cusack said he was “at a loss for any words that make sense,” while horror novelist Stephen King, whose work inspired “Stand By Me,” called Reiner a “wonderful friend.”
Oscar winner Kathy Bates, who starred in Reiner’s “Misery,” remembered him as “brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist.”
Actor-director Ben Stiller praised “a kind caring person who was really really funny” who “made some of the most formative movies for my generation.”
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama said they were “heartbroken” by the news.
“Beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people,” Obama wrote on social media.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said Reiner had “made California a better place.”
The investigation continues as Hollywood mourns the loss of one of its most influential figures and grapples with the shocking circumstances surrounding his death.
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