Rob Reiner’s son Nick Reiner to be charged with murdering his parents

Nick Reiner will be charged with murdering his parents, Hollywood director Rob and his photographer wife Michele, Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said.

The pair were found dead from apparent stab wounds in their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on Sunday.

Their son Nick, 32, was arrested on suspicion of the killing and taken into custody later that night.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Hochman said: “Today, I’m here to announce that our office will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, actor director Rob Reiner and photographer producer Michele Singer Reiner.

“These charges will be two counts of first degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders.

“He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife.

“These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility parole or the death penalty.

“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty.”

He added: “Currently, Nick Reiner is being held without bail.”

Mr Hochman said once the charges are filed on Tuesday afternoon and after he has gone through medical clearance, Nick Reiner will be brought to court where he will be arraigned and will enter his pleas.

He added: “Now, prosecuting these cases involving family members are some of the most challenging and most heart-wrenching cases that this office faces because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved.”

Paying tribute to the victims, Mr Hochman said: “Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades.

“His wife, Michele Singer Reiner was an equally iconic photographer and producer.

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

Reiner, who turned 78 in March, has long been one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood and his work includes some of the most memorable films of the 1980s and 1990s, including This Is Spinal Tap, A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride.

Nick worked with his father on the 2016 film Being Charlie, which was loosely inspired on Nick’s experience of addiction and attending rehab.

The film, which he co-wrote, was directed by Rob and follows the son of a US governor, Charlie, played by Nick Robinson, as he battles with drug abuse.

In an interview with US publication People Magazine, Nick explained that the film was not about him, however parts of the story he had experienced himself including going to rehab throughout his teenage years and his own experiences of homelessness and spending “weeks” on the streets for refusing to return to a rehab facility.

Tributes have poured in for the couple including from former US president Barack Obama, former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, and singer Sir Elton John, who featured in the sequel to his 1984 mockumentary film Spinal Tap, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, released in September this year.

Former US first lady Michelle Obama has said she and her husband Barack were meant to see the couple the night they were killed.

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ms Obama said: “We’ve known them for many, many years, and we were supposed to be seeing them that night.

“Let me just say this, unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.”

She added: “They were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about, and they cared about their family, and they cared about this country, and they cared about fairness and equity, and that is the truth. I do know them.”

Her comments come after US President Donald Trump criticised the Reiners and alleged that their deaths were politically motivated.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump suggested Rob and Michele Reiner 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”.

Mr Trump added: “He was known to have driven people crazy by his raging obsession of President Donald J Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.

“May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”