What happened
Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, was arrested Monday as a suspect in the murder of his parents. Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead with stab wounds in their Los Angeles home on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Police Department said its initial investigation found that Nick Reiner “was responsible for their deaths,” and he was “booked for murder and remains in custody with no bail.”
Who said what
Police “focused almost immediately” on Nick Reiner, The New York Times said, “in part because” of his openly discussed “struggles with drug abuse and bouts of homelessness” beginning at age 15. He and his father had “explored their difficult relationship” and Nick’s struggles with drugs in a “semi-autobiographical 2016 film, ‘Being Charlie,’” The Associated Press said.
Police have not disclosed a potential motive. President Donald Trump’s post claiming Reiner was murdered because his “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME” had “driven people CRAZY” drew widespread condemnation, including from “conservative influencers” and his own “MAGA base,” The Washington Post said. Nick Reiner and his father were seen arguing at a holiday party at Conan O’Brien’s house on Saturday night, witnesses told CNN. They “got into a shouting match,” with “Rob Reiner telling his son that his behavior was inappropriate,” the Times said, citing attendees. “Several people commented” that Nick Reiner “looked anxious and uncomfortable in a way that deeply unsettled them.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Latest Videos From
What next?
The LAPD said it would turn over the double-homicide case to prosecutors today. It will be “up to the DA’s office to charge” Reiner with “specific counts” by Wednesday night, said CNN.
