New York (AFP) – Slain Hollywood director Rob Reiner’s son Jake paid an emotional tribute Friday to his parents, allegedly slain by his brother Nick, calling it “almost too impossible to process.”
“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” Nick Reiner wrote in his first detailed public remarks about the gruesome killings. His brother Nick faces two counts of first-degree murder over the double killing that sent shockwaves through Hollywood days before Christmas.
“Any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it,” Jake wrote in a Substack post titled “Mom and Dad.”
Nick Reiner was arrested on December 14 after the bodies of his filmmaker father and his mother, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, were discovered at their home in the upmarket Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Prosecutors said 79-year-old Rob Reiner — who helmed huge hits including “When Harry Met Sally” and “A Few Good Men” — and his wife, 70, were stabbed to death.
Nick Reiner, who remains in jail and has not been granted bail, was ordered to return to court on April 29. If convicted as charged, Nick Reiner could face life in prison without parole, or the death penalty, although California does not routinely carry out capital punishment.
Nick Reiner, who lived in a guest house on his parents’ property, had attended a party at the home of comedian Conan O’Brien on December 13 with his parents, where some attendees reportedly said he had behaved erratically.
Rob Reiner, the son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, started his showbiz career in acting. He won fame as the oafish son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic on groundbreaking 1970s sitcom “All in the Family,” before transitioning to directing. As a director, his output included classic films like 1984’s rock music mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap,” fantasy gem “The Princess Bride” from 1987, and seminal coming-of-age movie “Stand By Me.”
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