Rob Reiner’s son arrested after couple found dead in home

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rob Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, was in police custody Monday after deaths of the director-actor and his wife Michele, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Online jail records show Nick Reiner, 32, was booked by Los Angeles police and remained in jail on Monday. It was not immediately clear what charges he would face. The online records showed a $4 million bail had been set.

The law enforcement official, who was briefed on the investigation, confirmed that he was being held, but could not publicly discuss the details and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Representatives for Reiner’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment and it wasn’t immediately clear if Nick Reiner had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

FILE – Honoree Rob Reiner, second left, poses with his wife Michele, left, and children Jake, center, Romy, and Nick at the 41st annual Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall, April 28, 2014, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)(Evan Agostini | Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead Sunday at their home in Los Angeles, and investigators believe they suffered stab wounds, the law enforcement official said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m. and found a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman dead inside. Reiner turned 78 in March.

Detectives with the Robbery Homicide Division were investigating an “apparent homicide” at Reiner’s home, said Capt. Mike Bland with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Los Angeles authorities have not confirmed the identities of the people found dead at the residence in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood on the city’s west side that’s home to many celebrities.

Reiner was long one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, and his work included some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and ’90s, including “This is Spinal Tap,” “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “The Princess Bride.”

His role as Meathead in Norman Lear’s 1970s TV classic “All in the Family,” alongside Carol O’Connor’s Archie Bunker, catapulted him to fame and won him two Emmy Awards.

The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner was married to photographer Michele Singer Reiner since 1989. The two met while he was directing “When Harry Met Sally” and had three children together: Nick, Jake and Romy.

Relatives of Lear, the legendary producer who died in 2023, said they were bereft by the news.

“Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world,” said a Lear family statement. “Norman would have wanted to remind us that Rob and Michele spent every breath trying to make this country a better place, and they pursued that through their art, their activism, their philanthropy, and their love for family and friends.”

Messages to Reiner’s representatives were not immediately returned Sunday night.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Reiner’s death a devastating loss for the city.

“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 in a statement. “An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.”

Reiner was previously married to actor-director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981. He adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner. Carl Reiner died in 2020 at age 98 and Marshall died in 2018.

Killings are rare in the Brentwood neighborhood. The scene is about a mile from the home where O.J. Simpson’s wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in 1994.

Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed.