Rob Reiner and wife Michele’s bodies finally released to grieving family five days after grisly murder

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Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, have been returned to their grieving family, who are now making final arrangements for their burial.

Reiner, 78, and Michele, 70, were found stabbed to death Sunday at their home in Brentwood, a wealthy neighborhood. Their 32-year-old son, Nick, who lived on the property, was arrested and charged with their murders.

Nick struggled with drug use and mental health for many years, first entering rehab at age 15. He experienced periods of homelessness repeatedly, and was recently staying with his parents, where he unfortunately damaged property while heavily under the influence of stimulants, causing him to stay awake for days.

Friends of the Reiners held a small, private memorial service for them on Monday, following Jewish custom which encourages funerals to take place within a day of passing.

The Reiners couldn’t be buried initially because autopsies were required. Those autopsies are now finished, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office has released its report, the New York Post reports.

The autopsy confirmed that the couple died from multiple stab wounds, which is consistent with the cause of death previously announced by authorities on Wednesday.

Family and friends will need to wait about 90 days for the complete report from the coroner, which will detail what happened.

Rob Reiner has four children: Nick, Romy (who lives nearby), Jake, age 34, and Tracy, age 61, whom he adopted with his former wife, Penny Marshall.

According to reports, Romy, a neighbor of the victims, discovered the bodies and informed the police, suggesting a family member was a possible suspect in the murders.

A memorial service was held Monday at the home of Albert Brooks. Guests included Conan O’Brien, Billy Crystal, Bill Hader, and Larry David.

In addition to their children, the couple is survived by Rob Reiner’s siblings, artist Lucas Reiner and writer Annie Reiner, and Michele’s sisters, Rabbi Suzanne Singer and Martine Singer, who leads a children’s charity.

According to a source familiar with Rob Reiner’s situation, Nick had been staying at Reiner’s guest house for years, though he’d damaged it repeatedly. The source described it as a pattern – Nick would come and go frequently throughout his adult life.

According to the source, his drug use – specifically methamphetamine – was escalating. He’d stay awake for days, and then experience violent episodes, damaging property and physically assaulting things like walls. People were worried he was becoming increasingly unstable, and his parents ultimately wanted him to leave.

According to his friend, Nick often boasted about being able to avoid consequences. He allegedly took money from his parents to buy drugs and pay for prostitutes.

According to a source familiar with the situation, he used to discuss these topics in meetings, but eventually stopped attending, describing the environment as overly zealous. He also joked on multiple occasions about damaging his parents’ property, seeming completely unconcerned about it.

As a lifestyle commentator, I’ve been following the news about Rob and Michele Reiner with great sadness. What’s particularly unsettling is a report from TMZ detailing an incident the night before their deaths. Apparently, their son, Nick, was seen having a very heated argument with his parents at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party. Sources described it as quite loud, and it’s understandably adding another layer of mystery to this tragic situation.

By then, people claimed Michele had been confiding in friends for months about struggling with Nick’s substance abuse and mental health issues, repeatedly saying they had exhausted all options.

I’ve been following Nick’s story for a while now, and it’s heartbreaking. He started struggling with addiction so young – he was just 15 when he went to rehab for the first time. It’s incredibly sad to say, but by the time he was 22, he’d been through treatment a total of seventeen times. It’s a constant battle for him, and I really hope he finds lasting recovery.

In 2015, director Rob Reiner made a film called Being Charlie, revealing the struggles his own family faced with his son Nick’s difficult journey through addiction.

Nick helped write the screenplay, which features Charlie, a character who clashes with his parents’ attempts to deal with his drug problem, like when they force him to go to rehab.

Towards the film’s conclusion, Charlie’s father offers an apology for being so strict, a scene director Rob Reiner described as reflecting real life.

When the movie came out, director Reiner said he wished he hadn’t taken so much advice from doctors when trying to help Nick.

He explained to the Los Angeles Times that they ignored their son’s concerns. ‘We didn’t heed Nick when he said things weren’t right,’ he said. ‘We were so focused on the credentials and advice of others that we failed to listen to what our son was telling us.’

Michele explained that they were strongly swayed by certain individuals who constantly claimed this person was dishonest and trying to control them. She admitted they readily believed these accusations.

Let me tell you, hearing Nick share his story was incredibly powerful. He opened up about his own struggles with addiction and revealed that, in the past, he actually experienced homelessness. It wasn’t a lack of resources, though – he explained he turned down recommended treatments, and that ultimately led to a really difficult period in his life. It just goes to show how important it is to accept help when you need it.

He explained in an interview with People that he would have become homeless if he hadn’t followed their recommended programs and chosen to do things his own way.

I experienced homelessness in Maine, New Jersey, and Texas. I lived on the streets for nights and even weeks at a time, and it was a very difficult experience.

He ultimately stopped using drugs, explaining he’d simply had enough. He added that he came from a good family and didn’t belong living on the streets or in shelters, engaging in such destructive behavior.

He later admitted in an interview that he had damaged his parents’ guesthouse when he was intoxicated.

Oh my god, you guys, he actually said this on the Dopey podcast in 2018! He confessed he completely lost it on some serious stuff – he said it was probably coke and something else, and he was up for days. Days! I’ve listened to that part like a million times, it’s just… devastating and fascinating all at once. You can just feel how intense it was.

He remembered angrily destroying things in his guesthouse, starting with the TV and then moving on to the lamp, ultimately wrecking everything inside.

In 2016, while discussing the film Being Charlie, Nick shared that he hadn’t been close to his father when he was growing up, but that working on the movie helped him feel more connected to him.

I just have to share this – it completely broke my heart. He was talking about staying sober, about not ending up back on the streets, and he said something that stuck with me. He basically admitted when he was homeless, it was a life-or-death situation. He said it was all just luck, like rolling the dice and praying you survive. It was so raw and honest, and it just makes me root for him even more. Honestly, hearing him talk about it like that… it’s just devastating and inspiring all at once.

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2025-12-20 05:34