A very sad and tragic story gets even worse, although perhaps not in a surprising way.
As many suspected, the murders of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were the result of a family dispute of some sort. Police have taken Nick Reiner, one of their sons, into custody but have not yet revealed the formal charges. The level set for his bail gives a pretty good indication of what the indictment alleges, however:
Police have arrested Nick Reiner, the son of Rob Reiner, following the death of the acclaimed Hollywood director and his wife, Michele Singer.
Nick Reiner, a 32-year-old screenwriter and the middle child of Rob Reiner and Singer, was taken into custody on Sunday, Dec. 14, and is being held on $4 million bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department records reviewed by USA TODAY.
The deaths of Rob Reiner and Singer are under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department after the couple were found dead in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Authorities confirmed that "many family members" will be interviewed in the course of their work and that they were obtaining a search warrant to conduct a full crime scene investigation. They did not comment on the injuries sustained by Reiner and Singer.
People Magazine reported that family members have pointed the finger at Nick, who has led a very troubled life with multiple visits to rehab since high school:
Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were killed by their son, Nick, according to multiple sources who have spoken with family members. Police have not yet confirmed the account. ...
In a 2016 interview with PEOPLE, Nick spoke about his years-long struggle with drug addiction, which began in his early teens and eventually left him living on the streets. He said he cycled in and out of rehab beginning around age 15, but as his addiction escalated, he drifted farther from home and spent significant stretches homeless in multiple states.
Nick told PEOPLE that the chaotic period of addiction — including nights and sometimes weeks sleeping outside — later became the basis for the semi-autobiographical film Being Charlie, which he co-wrote.
"Family friends" also pointed the finger at Nick, the Los Angeles Times reported, and suggested the conflict started at a party earlier in the evening:
Rob Reiner’s son Nick was booked into the Los Angeles County jail on suspicion of murder, records show, hours after the Hollywood legend and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead at their Brentwood home Sunday.
Jail records provide few details but say Nick Reiner was held on $4 million bail. The records do not give any details about the cause for the arrest but said he was taken into custody at 9:15 p.m. Sunday and booked at 5:04 a.m.
Family friends told The Times that Rob and Nick got into an argument on Saturday evening at a party at Conan O’Brien’s home and that many people noticed Nick acting strangely at the party.
It's not yet clear whether addiction had anything to do with the conflict that led to the homicides, or whether Nick Reiner had relapsed in recent times. The indictment might shed some light on that situation. NBC News reminds its readers of the real-life context that inspired Being Charlie, however:
"It was very, very hard going through it the first time, with these painful and difficult highs and lows," Rob Reiner said. "And then making the movie dredged it all up again."
The protagonist of "Being Charlie" struggles to find meaning or practical help through a rehab program, and Reiner and Singer told the LA Times that this was directly inspired by how ineffective such treatments were for their son.
"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," Rob Reiner said.
Expect some fresh scrutiny on this point in the days to come. A source connected to rehab in the celebrity/high-income community reached out to me indirectly in hopes of raising questions about the model employed by some rehab centers. This source decided to leave the industry after concluding that these centers aimed to create multiple-return client patterns in order to increase profit. Again, we do not know whether addiction had a direct connection to these homicides and Nick Reiner has not been convicted of anything yet, but this context may be worth considering as developments emerge.
This only intensifies the tragedy for the Reiner family, and all of the fans of both Reiner and his wife, who produced a number of his films. Regardless of their politics, their art will live forever and continue to delight millions of people around the world. His most recent film focused on his relationship with his longtime best friend in the documentary, Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. It revealed as much about Reiner as it did about Brooks, and is well worth watching at any time – but maybe especially now. I would also recommend Cary Elwes' book As You Wish, a memoir of the making of The Princess Bride. The audio version features Elwes himself reading the book, with spot-on impersonations of several people connected to the film, especially Reiner, for whom Elwes had and has great respect and affection.
Keep the Reiners in your prayers. May both Rob and Michele Reiner rest in peace.
Update: Pray especially for their daughter Romy, who found her parents' bodies. She let the police know about her brother, the New York Post reported:
The couple’s daughter Romy found Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Reiner, 68, with their throats slashed around 3:30 p.m. Sunday and told cops that she believed a family member “should be suspect,” TMZ reported.
Romy told cops she thought that the relative was “dangerous,” according to the report. ...
[Nick Reiner] said he first went to rehab at age 15, and ended up doing at least 17 stints in treatment.
Seventeen stints in rehab at 32 years of age. Again, the context of celebrity/high-income rehab will likely be an important part of this story.
Update: Police have announced that Nick Reiner has been charged with murder.
Police have charged Nick Reiner with murder in connection with the deaths of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, setting bail at $4 million, authorities said. pic.twitter.com/E6c9Ft36VW
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 15, 2025
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