Nick Reiner's Family Speaks Out After Attorney Withdraws From Murder Case

Nick was charged Dec. 16, with the L.A. County District Attorney's Office announcing at the time that the screenwriter would also face a "special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife" on the couple.

The death of the When Harry Met Sally director and his wife of 36 years has sent shockwaves through Hollywood, with Jane Fonda sharing that she had seen the pair the night before their bodies were found.

"I saw them night before last looking healthy and happy," Jane wrote on Instagram Dec. 15. "I am reeling with grief. Stunned."

Likewise, Rob's daughter Tracy Reiner—who he adopted during his marriage to late ex-wife Penny Marshall—was also left speechless by the tragedy.

“I came from the greatest family ever,” she told NBC News. “I don’t know what to say. I’m in shock.”

Rob and Michele are also survived by their kids Jake Reiner, 34, and Romy Reiner, 27.

In the weeks leading up to Rob and Michele's deaths, the couple had a loving relationship with Nick, according to cinematographer Barry Markowitz, a friend who stayed with the family at their Brentwood, Calif., residence in November.

“We watched a movie and a basketball game. Played with the dogs. Family time. One big love fest," Barry told Page Six in an interview published Dec. 16, adding that Nick appeared to be "on the upswing" following his yearslong battle with drug addiction.

“He looked great," the filmmaker said. "He helped out, he took out the garbage, he watched TV, he washed dishes."

As Barry noted, "He was just normal in that sense."

But Nick has been candid about his challenging past, including—by his estimation—18 stints in rehab from the ages of 14 and 19. He explained that the pressure of being in a famous family contributed to the "noise" that led him down the path of substance abuse.

"For everyone, it's different. For me, the noise was basically living in the family that I live in and catching heat for that sort of stuff," Nick told Entertainment Tonight in 2016. "I was an emotional kid who had problems and I just was not so fond of myself."

He eventually got clean after feeling "bored" with his time in rehab.

"I got just sick of it," he continued. "I was like, 'I'm sick of this cycle, this using drugs, it being so temporary the fix, then going back into a place for months on end, then getting out and just, rinse, wash, repeat.'"

Nick—who recruited his dad to direct his 2015 movie Being Charlie, inspired by his own addiction battle—later relapsed, sharing that he had a "cocaine heart attack" around 2017 after going “back on dope."

"I linked up with this old dealer," he shared on the Dopey podcast in 2018. "And that turned into me hanging out with him for like three weeks doing heroin."

For a closer look at the investigation into Rob and Michele's murders, read on.

Years before Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s tragic deaths, their son Nick Reiner shared that he struggled with addiction, even collaborating with his father on the 2015 film Being Charlie about substance abuse.

Nick explained that he had been to rehab 17 times before turning 30.

“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” he told People in 2016. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”

Two years later, Nick recalled an instance when he “wrecked” his home while high on drugs.

“I went 10 rounds in my guest house,” he shared on the Dopey podcast in 2018. “I got totally spun out on uppers—I think it was coke and something else—and I was up for days on end. I started punching out some things in my guest house.”

The When Harry Met Sally director and his 32-year-old son got into a heated argument at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on Dec. 13, multiple sources at the event told People. Family friends also confirmed to the L.A. Times that Rob and Nick fought at the holiday celebration, saying that guests noticed Nick acting strangely.

Two sources with knowledge of the situation told NBC News that Nick was being disruptive at the party and interrupting conversations.

"I saw them night before last looking healthy and happy," the actress wrote on Instagram Dec. 15. "I am reeling with grief. Stunned."

The day after the Christmas party, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call of a death investigation at a home in Brentwood, Calif., at about 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 14.

“Once inside the residence, officers discovered two victims,” the LAPD said in a press release, “who were subsequently identified as Robert and Michele Reiner.”

The Robbery Homicide Division, Homicide Special Section (RHD/HSS) started an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.

Deputy Police Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that many family members would be interviewed, per NBC News. In addition to Nick, the couple are parents to daughter Romy Reiner and son Jake Reiner, and Rob also adopted late ex-wife Penny Marshall's daughter Tracy Reiner.

It was determined that Rob and Michele did not die of natural causes, with a source close to the Reiner family telling NBC News that the couple appeared to have died from stab wounds.

“As a result of the initial investigation,” the LAPD said in a press release, “it was determined that the Reiners were the victims of homicide.”

While police investigated the case, Nick was filmed buying a Gatorade at an ARCO gas station in downtown Los Angeles near USC around 9 p.m. Dec. 14. He was wearing a green jacket, jeans and a ballcap while carrying a red backpack, as seen in footage obtained by MS NOW.

Minutes later, the screenwriter was taken into custody near USC.

The LAPD said their investigation determined that Rob and Michele's son was "responsible for their deaths.”

“Nick Reiner was located and arrested at approximately 9:15 p.m.,” police said in a press release, adding as of Dec. 15, “He was booked for murder and remains in custody with no bail.”

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live Dec. 15, Michelle Obama revealed that she and husband Barack Obama were supposed to see Rob and Michele on the day they were found dead.

Two days after Nick was arrested in connection to the murder of his parents, criminal defense attorney Alan Jackson—who previously represented Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Karen Read—confirmed to E! News Dec. 16 that he had been hire as Nick's attorney in the case.

As officials gathered at a Los Angeles courthouse Dec. 16 to announce formal charges against Nick, his attorney told reporters that the screenwriter "has not been medically cleared" to appear in front of a judge.

“Every inmate has to be medically cleared before they can be transported to court," he explained to reporters, per MS NOW. “Hopefully, he’ll be cleared tomorrow and we can get him here.”

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Dec. 16 that his office plans to formally charge Nick with "two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders."

The D.A. also confirmed Nick will also face a "special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife" on his parents.

He added, "These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty."

Nick was formally charged Dec. 16.

Though Rob and Michele's bodies were discovered around 3 p.m. on Dec. 14, they were likely killed around 12 hours prior, according to authorities.

The district attorney said in a Dec. 16 press release that the murders took place "in approximately the early morning hours of December 14."

Nick is accused of "fatally stabbing" his parents, per the D.A. press release on Dec. 16. He allegedly "personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife" in the murders.

On Dec. 17, Nick appeared in court for the first time, arriving to the Los Angeles Supreme Court in a blue anti-suicide smock and shackles. He did not enter a plea to his charges during the appearance, instead agreeing to a date of Jan. 7 for the arraignment.

The medical examiner determined Dec. 17 Rob and Michele each died by "multiple sharp force injuries," meaning several cuts or stabs from a sharp object.