Rob Reiner’s Friend and Houseguest Shares How Nick Reiner Acted When He Stayed With the Family
Fans of his work and those who knew Rob Reiner were both saddened and horrified when they learned that the beloved director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead and their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and charged with their murders.
Authorities were called to the Reiners’ Brentwood home on Dec. 14 after their daughter, Romy Reiner, who went to the property to check on them, found her father stabbed to death. When Paramedics arrived on the scene they discovered her mother’s body and informed Romy that she had been killed as well.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, announced at a news conference that Nick (the couple’s middle child) was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and a special allegation that the defendant used a dangerous weapon, a knife. Those additions could mean a lengthier sentence.
Nick had been living with his parents at the time of their murders, and now another person who stayed at the residence and interacted with the family every day is sharing what they witnessed.
Cinematographer and one of Rob’s closest friends, Barry Markowitz, spoke to Page Six about his recent five-day stay with the Reiners.
Markowitz shared that Rob and Michele had invited him to stay at their home while he was in town for the Nov. 14 premiere of his film The Perfect Gamble.
“They would say, ‘You’re staying here. You’re not going to no hotel,” Markowitz recalled.
While he was there, Nick and Romy were as well. Their oldest, Jake, was busy elsewhere with work.
“Romy was in and out [of the house] and at dinner time she comes over and we all bulls*** together,” Markowitz remembered. “[We would] scream at the TV, we watched a movie and a basketball game. Played with the dogs. Family time. One big love fest.”
When speaking specifically about Nick, Markowitz noted that “He looked great. He was sitting and talking with the family. They eat dinner together, old school, and a lot of love, always a lot of love. He helped out. He took out the garbage. He watched TV. He washed dishes. He’d bring me something to drink. He was just normal in that sense.”
Lookig back, Markowitz didn’t see anything out of the ordinary with the family and their relationship.
“I think what’s puzzling the most, the 360, is that there was so much love, that it doesn’t jive,” he said. “I’m not here to judge anyone. L. O. V. E. is the only thing I saw, and I don’t think it was fake. They had a real bond.”
Marlowitz added that he knew about Nick’s struggles and insisted that Rob and Michele “never ever ever” gave up on trying to help him.
“They gave him everything, they tried a million things with him … Not giving him money but sending him to top of the line places (rehabs),” he explained. “Rob never gave up. He tried everything. If you knew Rob, he was just a bundle of love.”
Prosecutors have not yet decided if they will seek the death penalty in this case.
