Martin Scorsese has penned a heart-wrenching tribute to his lifelong friend Rob Reiner and his wife Michele after their brutal murders earlier this month.
The directing legend, who has known Reiner since the early 1970s, described what happened to the couple as ‘an obscenity’ and ‘an abyss in lived reality.’
Scorsese broke his silence on the Reiners’ tragic deaths in a highly-emotive first person piece published in the New York Times on Christmas Day.
It comes 11 days after Rob and Michele were found with their necks slit inside their bedroom at their multimillion-dollar mansion in Los Angeles.
Their son Nick Reiner was arrested and charged with their murders. He is expected to make a plea when he returns to court in California on January 7, 2026.
Scorsese said that only the ‘passing of time’ will help him cope with the tragic loss.
‘I have to be allowed to imagine them alive and well,’ he wrote, before sharing an idyllic daydream that will likely play on repeat in his head.
‘I’ll hear his laugh and see his beatific face and laugh at his stories and relish his natural comic timing, and feel lucky all over again to have him as a friend.’
The directing legend, who has known Reiner since the early 1970s, described what happened to the couple as ‘an obscenity’ and ‘an abyss in lived reality’
Nick Reiner (pictured in court on December 17) was arrested and charged with his parents’ murders. He is expected to make a plea when he returns to court on January 7, 2026
Scorsese shared how he ‘loved hanging out’ with Reiner and claimed that they had a ‘natural affinity’ for one another.
He hailed Reiner as being hilarious and ‘bitingly funny,’ but not one to overshadow others around him.
The LA County Medical Examiner’s office released Rob and Michele’s death certificates on Tuesday, revealing their bodies were cremated after their brutal murders.
Authorities previously said that the couple passed away after suffering ‘multiple sharp force injuries‘, and newly-released death certificates add that this was caused ‘with a knife, by another’.
Both of their deaths have been ruled homicides, with the place of death listed as their residence.
Their remains were given to their oldest son Jake, and they were cremated at Mount Sinai Mortuary, according to the New York Post.
Nick Reiner was arrested on December 14 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother.
Prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and use of a dangerous weapon, a knife, meaning, if he is convicted, Nick could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty.
He made a brief court appearance last week, wearing an anti-suicide vest. He did not enter a plea.
The LA County Medical Examiner’s office released Rob and Michele’s (pictured together in 2019) death certificates, revealing their bodies were cremated after their brutal murders
Rob and Michele Reiner were found with their necks slit inside their bedroom at their multimillion-dollar mansion in Los Angeles (pictured)
Nick Reiner was arrested roughly 15 miles away from his parents’ Brentwood mansion
His defense attorney Alan Jackson asked the judge for a continuance, saying that he ‘needed more time’ to prepare his case.
When the judge asked a blank-faced Nick ‘if he agreed that his arraignment should be continued’, he answered, ‘Yes, your honor.’
His arraignment was pushed to January 7 and he was ordered to be held in jail without bail.
Jackson addressed the media after the hearing and asked people not to ‘rush to judgment’ about the case.
The couple’s deaths have been hard felt across the entertainment industry, with Hollywood A-listers and prominent figures alike expressing their heartbreak.
Meg Ryan, who worked with Reiner on When Harry Met Sally, described the coiple’s deaths were an ‘impossible tragedy’.
In an Instagram post, she said: ‘Oh how we will miss this man…
‘Thank you, Rob and Michele, for the way you believe in true love, in fairy tales, and in laughter. Thank you for your faith in the best in people, and for your profound love of our country.’
A group of the Reiners’ friends, including actors Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks, Martin Short and Larry David, as well as director Barry Levinson, released a statement describing them as ‘a special force together – dynamic, unselfish and inspiring’.
‘Rob was a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife Michele, he had the perfect partner,’ the statement said.
Other tributes have poured in for the couple, including from former president Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and singer Sir Elton John, who featured in the sequel to his 1984 mockumentary film Spinal Tap, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, released in September this year.
President Donald Trump faced backlash over a Truth Social post where he said Reiner and his wife died ‘reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome’.
This is a breaking news story.
