Nick Reiner, Rob's Son, Battled Drugs Before Parents Were Allegedly Stabbed to Death
Nick Reiner, the son of famed Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, battled drug addiction and even lived on the streets for a time.
A 2016 article in People Magazinedescribed Nick Reiner's struggle with drugs and homelessness despite being born into one of the most acclaimed families in Hollywood (Nick's paternal grandfather, Carl Reiner, was also a beloved actor). At that time, Nick was trying to turn his recovery and past into a film project.
Tragedy unfolded in the family's Brentwood, CA, mansion on December 14, when the bodies of Rob Reiner and his wife were discovered around 3:30 p.m. Daily Variety reported that authorities are treating the deaths as an "apparent homicide." TMZ reported that "the two suffered lacerations consistent with a knife. The LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division is still investigating." ABC 7 reported that they were "stabbed" to death.
People Magazine Is Making Unconfirmed Claims About Nick Reiner
People Magazine alleged, citing multiple sources, that Nick Reiner may be accused of killing his parents, but police stressed in a news conference that the investigation was still in its early stages. People's story says that no arrest was made and clarified that its sources were "multiple sources who have spoken with family members." According to People, "Police have not yet confirmed the account." According to ABC News, authorities said Sunday night December 14, "that they have not identified a suspect and nobody is currently in custody."
The Los Angeles Times reported, through law enforcement sources, that a "family member was being interviewed in connection with the deaths." The Times did not name that person, but said there were no signs of forced entry to the couple's Brentwood mansion, where the deaths occurred.
“We are not looking for anyone as a suspect or in any other manner at this time,” LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said at a news conference, CNN reported. According to CNN, "Police detectives were interviewing a family member Sunday evening regarding the deaths." However, Hamilton said at the news conference "that no one had yet been detained nor was anyone being interviewed 'as a suspect,'" CNN added, quoting him as saying, “We’re going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation."
Nick Reiner Claimed He Was Recovered From Drug Addiction: 'I Met Crazy Great People There'
(Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)
In the 2016 article with People, Nick Reiner spoke about how drug addiction was something he could draw from in his art. Nick Reiner "was packed off to his first rehab facility around his 15th birthday," People reported at that time. "Now 22, he’s co-written a film loosely based on that experience – and the 17 rehab stays that followed – directed by his dad, Rob."
“That made me who I am now, having to deal with that stuff,” Nick said in the 2016 interview. “I met crazy great people there, so out of my element. 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. But there was a lot of dark years there.”
He also spoke about being homeless. “I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick told People in the interview, which was conducted in his dad's office in West Hollywood. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”
Nick told People that he became homeless when he didn't want to go back to rehab. “If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless,” he told the magazine.
The Reiner Family Declared Itself 'Heartbroken'
(Photo by Rommel Demano/Getty Images)
The Reiner family released a statement to Variety after news broke of the couple's deaths.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” a family spokesman said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Comedians Billy Crystal and Larry Davidwere seen arriving at the Reiner home after the deaths were discovered.
Rob Reiner and his wife had two other kids together named Romy and Jake. Rob Reiner also adopted daughter Tracy while married to his first wife, the late actress/director Penny Marshall. According to KTLA-TV, police were seeking a search warrant for the Reiner mansion as part of their investigation.