Tragic new details about the murders of Rob and Michelle Reiner have emerged after the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released the couple’s death certificates.
The actor-director and his wife died on Sunday, Dec. 14, “within minutes” of sustaining “multiple sharp force injuries” from “another person’s knife,” according to documents obtained by Page Six on Tuesday.
Their bodies were cremated and their ashes returned to their son Jake Reiner, 34.
TMZ first reported on the death certificate.
Rob, 78, and Michelle, 70, were found stabbed to death in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles late on the afternoon of December 14th by their 28-year-old daughter Romy Reiner, with authorities claiming her throat had been slit.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office ruled the cause of death a homicide.
Rob and Michelle’s troubled son Nick Reiner, who was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia before the murder and had a long history of drug addiction, was arrested hours later near Exposition Park in downtown Los Angeles after allegedly leaving bloody evidence at a Santa Monica hotel.
He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders and will be confined in a cell at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility until his arraignment on January 7th.
The 32-year-old is reportedly expected to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
Nick could be sentenced to up to life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
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.
Rob and Michelle are also survived by their adopted son Tracy Reiner, 61, from his first marriage to Penny Marshall.
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).
