Romy and Jake Reiner have issued a public statement about the grisly deaths of their parents, late Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner.
The couple were found slain Dec. 14 in their Los Angeles home, police said Dec. 16. They had been fatally stabbed in the early morning hours, according to the district attorney’s office.
The couple’s son Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested and charged Dec. 16 with killing his parents.
“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience,” Romy and Jake Reiner said in a joint statement Dec. 17. “They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”
“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life.
“We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave,” their statement concluded.
Rob Reiner, 78, who was the son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, shot to his own stardom in the 1970s playing Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the sitcom “All in the Family.” He went on to become one of Hollywood’s most respected directors, helming “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “The Princess Bride,” When Harry Met Sally,” “Misery” and “A Few Good Men,” among others.
He also collaborated with Nick Reiner on a semi-autobiographical movie, “Being Charlie,” released in 2016, about a troubled young man who struggles with recovery from substance abuse.
Nick Reiner reportedly struggled with addiction and had been in and out of rehab since he was a teenager, NBC News reported.
On Dec. 13, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner attended a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien, where the younger Reiner was reportedly disruptive, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Nick Reiner was charged Dec. 16 with two counts of first degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.
Nick Reiner appeared Dec. 17 in a Los Angeles courtroom where a judge decided to push his arraignment back until Jan. 7, marking the second time it was delayed since his Dec. 14 arrest. His arraignment was initially postponed on Dec. 16 because he was not medically cleared in time for the hearing, according to his lawyer, Alan Jackson.
If convicted of his parents’ murders, Nick Reiner faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, officials said Dec. 16.
Rob Reiner’s oldest child, Tracy Reiner, whom he shared with his late ex-wife, actor and director Penny Marshall, reacted with horror to the deaths of her father and his wife.
“I came from the greatest family ever,” she told NBC News. “I don’t know what to say, I’m in shock.
