Rob Reiner‘s traumatized daughter ran out of her parents’ Los Angeles house in anguish after she discovered her father’s slain body.
Romy Reiner was called to her family’s $13.5 million Los Angeles mansion on Sunday by a massage therapist who had arrived at the residence for a scheduled appointment.
The masseuse was unable to get inside and asked the 27-year-old, who lives across the street with a roommate, for help.
Romy opened the door and discovered the gruesome scene of her father’s lifeless body before fleeing from the home. She was so distressed that she did not notice her mother’s corpse was also in the house.
Her roommate called 911 while Romy reached out to her father’s longtime friend, Billy Crystal.
Romy only learned that her mother, Michele Singer Reiner, was also dead when paramedics arrived and broke the grim news, according to The New York Times.
Her older brother Nick was arrested in connection with the murders later that day. He has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and if convicted, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty.
The 32-year-old had ‘always been hostile and volatile’ toward his family members, insiders told US Weekly, and for years, Romy was ‘traumatized by Nick’s behavior.’
Romy Reiner, 27, (pictured with her brother Nick) found her father’s lifeless body but did not see her mother’s corpse in the house, and only learned from the paramedics outside that she was dead as well
Rob, Nick, Michele, Romy and Jake Reiner (pictured left to right) at Romy’s graduation in 2016. Insiders say Nick had ‘always been hostile and volatile’ toward his family members and that for years Romy was ‘traumatized by Nick’s behavior’
A motive for the grisly double homicide remains unclear, as authorities announced Tuesday that there was no indication that Nick was under the influence of any drugs at the time of his parents’ murders despite his history of substance abuse.
Nick had been to rehab 17 different times by the age of 22, after his family gave him the ultimatum of entering rehab or living on the streets, he once told People. At times, though, he said, he chose the latter option.
‘If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless,’ Nick said. ‘I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.’
Nick said that he had experienced homelessness in states including Texas, New Jersey and Maine.
A source close to the family said that he had struggled for many years, with much of his anger being directed at his parents.
‘They did everything a parent could possibly do to help him. Even in his younger years, they really tried to get him help,’ the insider told US Weekly.
‘And then it became a cycle of seeking treatment for him, kicking him out, or him leaving the house, him moving back in.’
Romy, who is understood to have been close with her parents, was heavily affected by ‘watching their constant pain over Nick.’
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LA police have released photos of Nick being arrested 15 miles from parents’ mansion
The 32-year-old was seen being placed in handcuffs outside a Los Angeles metro station
An aerial view shows the couple’s home in Brentwood, LA, where they were found dead
Another insider added that those who grew up around Nick were not surprised by his arrest and anticipated that ‘something catastrophic’ would eventually occur.
Nick has now been placed on suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where he is being held without bail, a law enforcement insider told the Daily Mail.
He is expected to make his first court appearance this week, after his lawyer said he was not medically cleared for an arraignment on Tuesday.
It has been said that Nick was once again struggling with drug abuse in recent weeks – and that Rob and Michele decided to bring him to Conan O’Brien’s holiday party on Saturday to ‘keep an eye on him’.
The festive gathering of Hollywood A-listers reportedly turned sour when Nick was asked to leave after badgering numerous guests with a series of inane queries.
‘What’s your name? What’s your last name? Are you famous?’ Nick quizzed partygoers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Nick was introduced to Bill Hader by his father and he proceeded to interrupt the SNL comedian. He then allegedly became irate when Hader responded that he was ‘in the middle of a private conversation.’
‘Nick just stood there and stared before storming off,’ an insider previously told NBC News.
Less than 24 hours later, Rob and Michele Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death inside their home, the Daily Mail previously revealed. Police believe they were killed in the ‘early morning hours’ on Sunday.
A source close to the investigation told the Daily Mail that they were found in bed Sunday afternoon with their throats cut and may have been asleep when they were murdered.
The Reiner family is pictured at a dinner in September 2024
The Reiners had already been dead for hours when they were discovered, with their bodies showing signs of rigor mortis – which usually sets in between two to six hours after death, sources told TMZ.
‘[Nick] could have done it not long after they all went home, meaning he went there and slit their throats in the middle of the night,’ the Daily Mail source said. ‘They were in bed when that happened.’
The Los Angeles Fire Department has said first responders were called to the Reiner home around 3.30pm on Sunday and tried to render aid to the stabbed couple, to no avail.
Romy then reportedly told authorities at the scene that her brother lived on the property as well, but investigators did not find Nick inside the guest house.
Instead, Nick had checked into The Pierside Santa Monica at 4am using his own credit card, when witnesses said he looked ‘tweaked out,’ TMZ reported.
There, staff are said to have discovered a shower ‘full of blood’ and a trail leading off of his bed, as well as a window covered up by bedsheets.
Nick had not yet checked out of the hotel by the time he was taken into custody at a Los Angeles subway station in Exposition Park, 15 miles from his parents’ mansion, at around 9.15pm.
Video exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail of the arrest shows how police cars with flashing lights descended on a busy intersection in downtown Los Angeles.
Nick could be seen in the footage walking slowly down the road before raising his arms in surrender as he was circled by cops.
Describing the scene, a witness told the Daily Mail how he saw five unmarked police cars surround Nick, who appeared to remain calm as armed homicide officers and US Marshals approached and slammed him to the ground.
Nick, 32, (pictured in September 2025) was arrested and booked for the murder of his parents
Nick (pictured in 2016 with his father Rob) was charged Tuesday with killing Rob and Michele. Along with the two counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and a special allegation that the defendant used a dangerous weapon, a knife
Nick was charged Tuesday with killing Rob and Michele, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced.
Along with the two counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and a special allegation that the defendant used a dangerous weapon, a knife.
The additions could mean a greater sentence.
Hochman said his office has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty in the case.
