Ella Scott
Jake Reiner has penned a new essay describing how he was ‘in a trance’ the moment he found his parents, director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, had died.
On December 14, beloved American filmmaker Rob, 78, and photographer and political activist Michele, 70, were found dead in their Brentwood home by members of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).
Days later, the medical examiner determined that the couple had each died by ‘multiple sharp force injuries’, with officials treating their deaths as a homicide.
Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son that the director of The Princess Bride and his second wife shared, was arrested, but pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder on February 23.
Advert
Prosecutors allege that the Being Charlie writer fatally stabbed his father and mother before fleeing the scene.
The creative remains in custody and is next due to appear in court on April 29.
In a raw 1,625-word Substack essay, Nick’s older brother, Jake, 34, claimed that ‘nothing’ can compare to losing both his parents at the same time and for his younger sibling to allegedly be ‘at the center of it’.
“My world, as I knew it, had collapsed,” the actor recalled of the moment his sister, Romy Reiner, 28, told him the news over the phone. “I was in a trance.”
“The only thing I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home. I needed to get to my sister. I needed to figure out what the hell just happened.”
Describing Rob as his ‘hero’ and his mom as the ‘backbone’ of the family, the Flipped star said in the lengthy post that he ‘understood’ that fans and critics alike have ‘questions’ over how the pair died.
“Some of those answers will come in time. But some parts of this belong only to our family, and keeping them private is the only way to protect what little remains of something that was taken from us,” he said in the lengthy blog post.
Jake also lamented that their deaths had ‘robbed’ him of milestone moments that ‘simultaneously breaks [his] heart and enrages [him]’.
“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," the former broadcaster wrote.
You can read Jake Reiner’s full Substack post here.
Immediately following the death of Rob and Michele, Jake and Romy released a statement to the press, detailing how they were experiencing ‘unimaginable pain’ after the ‘horrific and devastating loss’.
The pair, who also share a half-sister in 61-year-old Tracy Reiner, did not directly address the allegations against their brother.
They added that they were ‘grateful’ for the ‘outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support’ they had received from family, friends, and fans alike.