The tragic killing of actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, a famous photographer and a film producer, shook Hollywood.
The couple were found dead in their Brentwood home on Sunday, December 14, by their daughter, Romy, who stumbled upon what officials describe as a “horror double murder.”
Paramedics and firefighters responded to a home on Chadbourne Avenue in Brentwood around 3:38 p.m. on Sunday after a man, 78, and a woman, 68, were found dead and later identified by police as the well-known couple. Authorities said there were no signs of forced entry, and sources told the Los Angeles Times the victims appeared to have suffered stab wounds.
At a Sunday night briefing, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton declined to provide details, saying the investigation into the deaths is ongoing. TMZ reported that the couple’s throats were allegedly slit after a dispute at the home. According to a neighbor who spoke with ABC7, Larry David and Billy Crystal, both close to Reiner, visited the scene at different times. Crystal appeared visibly upset as he was leaving Reiner’s home.
Authorities are treating the case as an “apparent homicide,” and have since arrested the couple’s son, Nick Reiner, 32. He is being held on $4 million bail.
A spokesperson for the family said: “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Rob Reiner rose to fame as Mike “Meathead” Stivic on All in the Family before becoming one of Hollywood’s most respected directors, helming classics such as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, and A Few Good Men. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, an Academy Award nomination, and became an influential political voice in Hollywood.
Rob and Michele met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally…; they wed in 1989 and welcomed three children together.
Mayor Karen Bass said she was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of Rob and his wife Michele.”
“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Bass said.
Former President Barack Obama also paid tribute to the couple, writing, “Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michelle. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action. Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose.”