Nick Reiner set to appear in court on murder charges – NBC Los Angeles

Rob Reiner’s son Nick Reiner is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents.

Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested Monday on suspicion of murder in the killings of Rob, 78, and Michele Reiner, 68, whose bodies were found Sunday inside their home in Los Angeles’ Brentwood community. He was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a news conference with LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell.

“Their loss is beyond tragic and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice,” Hochman said.

Along with the two counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors include a special circumstances allegation of multiple murders and an additional allegation that Reiner used a knife in the killings, which took place sometime early Sunday morning, authorities said.

Nick Reiner was arrested hours later in Exposition Park, south of downtown LA and about 15 miles southeast of Brentwood.

Special circumstances elevate a murder charge to a more severe level. The charges carry the potential for a possible death sentence, if prosecutors pursue capital punishment.

That decision will be made later, Hochman said.

Details about a possible motive for the killings were not immediately available.

A source close to Reiner confirmed to NBC News that Reiner and his wife had apparent stab wounds. The medical examiner has not provided details about an official cause of death.

Nick Reiner was the second of the couple’s three children. 

The deaths of Rob Reiner, a celebrated director whose long list of successful films included “When Harry Met Sally…,” “A Few Good Men” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” and Michele Reiner, a talent photographer and producer, stunned the Hollywood community and led to an outpouring of tributes from entertainment industry colleagues, political figures and more. The family’s challenges Nick were well-documented, including battles with drug addiction.

Nick Reiner’s parents were upset and embarrassed about his behavior at Conan O’Brien’s party and expressed worries about their son’s health just hours before they were found dead. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.

In 2015, Rob and Nick Reiner worked on a coming-of-age film together called “Being Charlie.” Directed by Rob Reiner and co-written by Nick Reiner, the film explored the relationship between a son and father. In a 2016 interview with the Associated Press, they talked about the film.

“It forced us to understand ourselves better than we had,” Rob Reiner told the AP. “I told Nick while we were making it, I said, ‘You know it doesn’t matter, whatever happens to this thing, we won already. This has already been good.’ We’ve worked through a lot of stuff.”

Photos: Celebrated Hollywood film director Rob Reiner through the years

In September, the family appeared together at the Los Angeles premiere of “Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues.’

Nick Reiner has spoken publicly over the years about his struggles with drug addiction, which began in his teens. He told People in an interview in 2016 that he cycled in and out of treatment facilities with bouts of homelessness and relapses in between.

“I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun,” Nick Reiner told People, adding that, “If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless.”