Nick Reiner has tried to claim he’s “crazy” before.
The troubled son of Rob Reiner and Michelle Reiner, who were stabbed to death last weekend, previously admitted to concocting a plan to make himself appear mentally unstable so he could receive medication at a rehab facility.
Nick told the “really funny” story on his podcast Dopey while promoting his and Rob’s 2015 semi-autobiographical film Being Charlie.
“They refused to give me medication…because they said, ‘I don’t need medication,’ and I went crazy,” Nick, who has been to rehab about 20 times for drug addiction, told host Dave Manheim, later explaining that he tried to “prove[himself]crazy.”
Nick said medical staff at Arena Lodge in New Jersey thought his claims that he needed medication were “acting” and called his claims “bogus.”
“I thought, ‘How am I going to show these moms that I’m crazy?'” he recalled thinking. “So I thought, ‘Let’s throw a rock through the window.'”
The 32-year-old decided to target locations like his favorite “conference rooms” with “big glass windows.” He admitted he “hated” how special the room was to the staff.
“So I picked up a rock and started walking down the road and tried to climb this hill…and I went and threw a rock out the window. And a woman saw me and hit me, and then they put Wellbutrin on me,” he said with a laugh.
Wellbutrin is a prescription antidepressant.
On December 17, Rob, 78, and Michelle, 70, were found stabbed to death in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office found the couple’s cause of death to be “multiple sharp trauma,” and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
Nick, who was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia before the killing, was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstances of multiple murders.
Currently in solitary confinement at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, the 32-year-old faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
He is reportedly expected to plead not guilty by reason of insanity at his arraignment on January 7.
His lawyer, renowned criminal defense lawyer Alan Jackson, urged the public not to rush to judgment or conclusions in the “very complex and serious” case.
The night before the murder, Rob and Michelle take Nick to a Christmas party at Conan O’Brien’s house.
They were reportedly “reluctant to leave him home alone” as his “extreme and stressful behavior” had escalated and “became even more concerning in recent weeks.”
During the party, Nick was observed acting strangely and getting into arguments with his parents, and Rob said he was “terrified” that Nick might “hurt” him someday.
About a month ago, doctors changed Nick’s schizophrenia medication, which reportedly caused his behavior to become “erratic and dangerous.”
They were reportedly in the process of adjusting his medication to stabilize him when the tragedy occurred.
However, Nick reportedly “always” had a “hostile” and “volatile” relationship with his family, although his “anger” was primarily “directed at his parents.”
A source detailed to Page Six that Nick “really hated his father” and hated himself for not being “talented, prolific, or loved” as much as the award-winning actor and director.
Another source described Nick as Nepo’s baby who was “spoiled” and “ungrateful.”
Those who knew Nick as a child described him to Page Six as “intense” and “self-centered,” with “inexhaustible” energy and severe “behavioral issues.”
The Child Mind Institute said children and teens with ADHD are more likely to abuse drugs, which led the person to wonder if attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was involved.
If you or a loved one is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
