Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Autopsy reports into the deaths of US movie director Rob Reiner and his wife have not yet been completed, a Los Angeles court heard Wednesday, as the couple’s son made a brief appearance charged with their murders. Nick Reiner, who wore a yellow jail top and blue jail pants, faces two counts of first-degree murder over the double killing that sent shockwaves through Hollywood days before Christmas.
The 32-year-old 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 appeared Wednesday for a hearing that had been intended to determine if there was enough evidence for him to stand trial. However, attorneys said they were still gathering evidence, with a prosecutor telling the judge that autopsy reports were still pending. Reiner, who has a history of addiction, has previously pleaded “not guilty” to the charges. He was ordered to return to court on September 15 and remains in jail in the meantime.
If convicted as charged, Reiner could face life in prison without parole, or the death penalty, although California does not typically carry out capital punishment. Last week, his brother paid emotional tribute to the men’s parents, calling their deaths “almost too impossible to process.”
“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” Jake Reiner wrote in his first detailed public remarks about the gruesome killings. “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,” he wrote in a Substack post titled “Mom and Dad.”
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, he struck Hollywood gold. 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.” “A Few Good Men,” starring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
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