Rob Reiner and Wife Found Dead in Brentwood Home; Police Probe “Apparent Homicide” as Reports Swirl Around Son

By WPS.News Staff
Publication Date: 15 December 2025

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead Sunday inside a Los Angeles home owned by Reiner, as detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division opened an investigation into what the department has described as an “apparent homicide.”

A law enforcement official briefed on the case told The Associated Press that investigators believe the couple suffered stab wounds and that a family member was being questioned. Authorities had not publicly confirmed the identities of the deceased as of Monday, though AP reported Reiner and his wife were the two people found dead at the residence.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m. Sunday and discovered a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman deceased inside the home. Reuters separately reported the same ages at an address tied to Reiner through public records, while noting that LAPD has not officially released the victims’ names.

In its most direct public statement, LAPD confirmed that Robbery-Homicide Division detectives were investigating an “apparent homicide” at a residence identified as Reiner’s home. Officials said no additional details were being released due to the active investigation.

Public speculation intensified rapidly following the initial reports. People magazine and several entertainment outlets cited unnamed sources alleging that the Reiners’ son, Nick Reiner, is being treated as a suspect or person of interest, and reported that his whereabouts were unknown at the time of publication. Law enforcement authorities, however, have not publicly identified Nick Reiner or any family member as a suspect, nor have they announced an arrest. AP’s reporting is limited to confirmation that a family member was being questioned, a distinction that remains legally and journalistically significant.

Timeline of known events

• Sunday, Dec. 14 (approx. 3:30 p.m. local): Los Angeles Fire Department responds to a medical aid request and finds two adults deceased inside the residence.
• Sunday evening: LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division assumes control of the scene, describing it as an apparent homicide.
• Monday, Dec. 15: AP reports investigators believe stab wounds were involved and that a family member is being questioned.
• Monday: Entertainment outlets cite unnamed sources naming Nick Reiner; police do not confirm those claims.

Rob Reiner was one of Hollywood’s most influential creative figures, rising to prominence as Mike “Meathead” Stivic on All in the Family before directing landmark films including This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, and A Few Good Men. He was also a prominent political activist and advocate for social justice causes. The son of comedian Carl Reiner, he married photographer Michele Singer Reiner in 1989; the couple had three children together.

The killings occurred in Brentwood, an affluent West Los Angeles neighborhood where homicides are rare. The area remains historically associated with the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, though authorities have suggested no connection to the current case.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Reiner’s death “a devastating loss for the city,” citing his cultural influence and public advocacy. “Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society,” Bass said in a statement. “He always used his gifts in service of others.”

At present, motive remains unknown. Criminologists caution that early assumptions in domestic or family-adjacent homicide cases often collapse under later evidence. Broad analytical frameworks sometimes applied in similar cases include strain-based models involving acute crisis, routine-activity theory emphasizing opportunity within private spaces, and social learning dynamics within family systems. Experts stress that such frameworks explain patterns, not individual guilt, and should not be used to infer responsibility absent confirmed evidence.

Investigators are expected to focus next on autopsy findings, confirmation of identities, and any court filings that would formally place allegations on the public record. Until then, officials emphasize that the case remains active and unresolved.

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