US police investigating deaths of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Dec 14.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LOS ANGELES – American actor-director and political activist Rob Reiner and his photographer-producer wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Dec 14, and police detectives are investigating the circumstances as an apparent homicide, city officials said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom each released statements confirming that Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer, 68, had died.
“This is a devastating loss for our city and our country,” Ms Bass wrote. “Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice.”
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) deputy chief Alan Hamilton on Dec 14 evening told reporters that LAPD patrol officers, who were called to the home late afternoon on Dec 14, discovered two bodies inside the residence.
Reiner was discovered alongside Singer, both of whom appeared to have died from stab wounds, NBC News and other American outlets reported, citing sources close to the family.
Detectives of the LAPD’s robbery-homicide unit were waiting for a search warrant before entering the home to conduct a thorough search and investigation of the premises, Mr Hamilton said.
The LAPD issued a statement on social media earlier in the evening, calling the case an investigation of an apparent homicide, although Mr Hamilton said the police had not identified a suspect as at Dec 14 night.
“No one has been detained. No one is being interviewed as a suspect,” he said. “I’m not going to confirm whether someone’s being interviewed at this time or not. We’re going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation.”
Multiple sources told American magazine People that the couple were allegedly killed by their son Nick Reiner, 32, who has previously opened up about his years-long struggle with drug addiction and is currently being questioned by the authorities.
A cause of death will be made public by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, Mr Hamilton said.
As an actor, Reiner was best remembered for his role on the TV comedy All In The Family (1971 to 1979) as Mike “Meathead” Stivic, the son-in-law and liberal foil of the lead character, working-class bigot Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O’Connor.
Reiner went on to have a prolific Hollywood career as a director, helming popular movies such as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), A Few Good Men (1992) and The American President (1995).
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, a sequel to the 1984 mockumentary, was released in September and also directed by Reiner.
Singer was, at one time, a photographer who took the photo of United States President Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book Trump: The Art Of The Deal (1987).
Reiner, a native of New York City and son of the late comedy writer and actor Carl Reiner, was also well known for his political activism.
In the 2004 US presidential election, he backed Democratic candidate John Kerry and featured in advertisements taking aim at then incumbent President George W. Bush. Rob Reiner also supported Democratic presidential hopefuls Al Gore and Hillary Clinton in 2000 and 2016 respectively.
Reiner was first married to American actress-director Penny Marshall, who played Laverne in the sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976 to 1983) and died in 2018 at the age of 75. He later married Singer, with whom he has three children. REUTERS, AFP, BLOOMBERG
