Trigger Warning: The article mentions details about a homicide.
Hollywood director, actor and activist Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home on December 14, 2025. According to Fox News, the couple was brutally stabbed, and their throats were reportedly slit.
Rob and Michelle, along with their son, Nick Reiner, attended a holiday party the night before their deaths. Their daughter later discovered their bodies. Multiple sharp-force injuries led authorities to rule the deaths as homicides.
As the film fraternity mourned their tragic demise, California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that he is “heartbroken by the tragic loss of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.”
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The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a statement, “Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of Robert and Michele Reiner, was responsible for their deaths.”
Nick was arrested hours after his parents’ body were found, booked for murder and kept in custody without bail. If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty. However, officials said during the hearing that the autopsy reports are still incomplete.
During a court hearing on February 23, Nick pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in connection with his parents’ deaths.
Nick appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom in a brown jail-issued jumpsuit and shackles. He waived his right to a speedy trial and spoke only to enter his plea. He was kept in solitary confinement at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
At an earlier appearance, Nick wore a suicide prevention smock and looked unkept and worn out. Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene currently represents him.
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This happened after his previous attorney, criminal defense lawyer Alan Jackson, opted out of the case before a January hearing, saying his team had “no choice but to withdraw and ask to be relieved.”
According to Greene’s official LinkedIn page, she has been working as a public defender for 19 years. She studied at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and graduated in 2006. After being appointed to the case, she requested that Nick’s arraignment be delayed to February 23.
Cinematographer Barry Markowitz, an old friend of Rob, told Page Six that when he visited the family weeks before the killings, everything seemed normal. He said that Nick was involved in household chores as he cleared the trash, watched TV and also offered Markowitz a drink.
Nick seemed to be “on the upswing” and “looked great,” he added.
Nick has worked as a successful screenwriter. However, his long-standing struggles with substance addiction, mental health and family tensions reportedly made him dysfunctional.
He reportedly attended 18 rehabs between the ages of 15 and 19. He has been on medication for his alleged schizophrenia, which was diagnosed last year.
According to Variety, in an interview for Anna David’s recovery podcast, Nick opened up about his struggles and said, “‘I was insane,’ he said. And I said, ‘I’m insane.’ And they said, ‘No, you’re not.’ I was like, ‘Well, they’re not taking my word for it. I might as well demonstrate what crazy is’.”
Nick’s next court date is scheduled for April 29, 2026.
