Late US director Rob Reiner’s son Jake describes ‘living nightmare’ after parents’ murder
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Jake Reiner with his parents Rob and Michele Reiner in a photo posted on social media in 2017.
PHOTO: MICHELEREINER/INSTAGRAM
LOS ANGELES – American actor and former news reporter Jake Reiner, the elder son of Rob and Michele Reiner, published a tribute to his late parents on April 24, describing the “living nightmare” he has experienced since their murders in December 2025.
Nick Reiner, Jake’s younger brother, has been charged with killing the acclaimed Hollywood film-maker and his photographer-producer wife in their home in Brentwood, California. Nick has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and is set to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on April 29.
In an online essay published on Substack, Jake, 34, said he learnt of his parents’ deaths as he was attending a celebration of life for one of his best friends. He said he received a call from his sister, actress Romy Reiner, telling him their father was dead.
“Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead,” he wrote. “My world, as I knew it, had collapsed.”
The authorities said Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele, 70, were stabbed to death by Nick, 32, who had a history of mental illness.
“Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time,” Jake wrote. “It’s too devastating to comprehend. I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare.”
The actor recalled going to see musicals with his mother and attending baseball games of the Los Angeles Dodgers with his father. He called his father, maker of classic films including When Harry Met Sally...(1989) and A Few Good Men (1992), his “hero” and his mother “my confidant”.
With their deaths, Jake said he “was robbed of so many things”.
“My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t get to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t get to see me have the successful career I’m still seeking,” he said. “It simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.”
Jake added that he asked for “love and compassion – the same principles my parents lived by”.
“Any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the centre of it,” he added. “It’s almost too impossible to process.” REUTERS
