Rob Reiner Dreamed of Buying His Brentwood Home Years Before it Became a Reality

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death inside their Brentwood home a week ago. Their son, Nick Reiner, is in custody, accused of murdering his parents after an argument at a holiday party. The Brentwood home sits as a quiet reminder of a family destroyed. In an even more heartbreaking twist, the house where the couple died was actually Rob Reiner’s dream realized. He opened up about visiting the expansive property years before he purchased it and marveling at it. Reiner recalled thinking that if he ever had a lot of money, he’d purchase a home just like it.

Rob Reiner talked about loving his Brentwood home a decade before his gruesome murder

Decades before Rob and Michele Reiner’s home on South Chadbourne Avenue became the scene of a gruesome double murder, it was a family home filled with love. Before that, it belonged to several of Hollywood’s elite. Rob Reiner actually visited the property in the 1970s, while he was working on All in the Family, and marveled at the property. Then, it belonged to Norman Lear.

In a 2015 PBS documentary, Reiner opened up about his Brentwood home, noting that he fell in love with the property years before he could afford it. He recalled thinking that if he ever had enough money, he’d buy a house just like the house. Reiner revealed that he thought the house had a New England charm that is hard to find on the West Coast. The home’s style clearly brought him back to his East Coast childhood. He spent many of his early years in New Rochelle, New York.

It took more than a decade after his initial visit to the home for Reiner to have the funds to purchase a similar property. As luck would have it, he was able to buy the house of his dreams after Michele Reiner stumbled across the listing. According to The Los Angeles Times, Reiner purchased the house from his mentor for almost $5 million in 1991. The purchase came two years after he married Michele Singer Reiner. Their first child together was born the same year. Their second son, the man accused of killing them, was brought home to the same home in 1993. The family’s youngest child, Romy Reiner, was born in 1997.

What events led up to Michele and Rob Reiner’s deaths?

While no one knows what led to Rob and Michele Reiner’s tragic deaths inside their Brentwood home, what transpired in the hours before the horrifying discovery has been the subject of scrutiny since the couple’s death was announced.

According to the Daily Mail, Rob and Michele Reiner dined with Maria Shriver on December 12. According to the owner of the eatery they patronized that evening, nothing seemed amiss. On December 13, they attended Conan O’Brien’s holiday party, with Nick Reiner in tow. That is where things apparently got tense. According to several reports, an argument between Rob Reiner and his 32-year-old son drew attention before the family left the party early. The younger Reiner was not originally invited to the event, but he asked if he could bring him along. Guests reported odd behavior from the aspiring screenwriter.

What happened following the party is unknown, but no one knew anything was amiss until the afternoon of December 14. Romy Reiner reportedly found her parents inside the home after being alerted that they had missed a scheduled massage appointment. Police were called and began investigating immediately.