The latest on the investigation into the deaths of Rob and Michelle Reiner : NPR

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

According to NPR News, it’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. My name is Ailsa Chang and I live in Culver City, California.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

My name is Mary Louise Kelly in Washington. And it’s the kind of day where I’m half afraid to pick up the phone or make the headlines because they keep coming. This weekend saw a deadly shooting at Brown University. He saw American soldiers and an American interpreter killed in an attack in Syria. Then came news of a massacre at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Australia and disturbing news from Los Angeles that legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, had been found dead. You barely have time to process what happened in one place before the next thing happens.

Well, we’re here to try to figure it all out, in real time, with you. And because even on a day like today – perhaps especially on a day like today – it seems important to hold space for hope and maybe even joy, on today’s show we’re highlighting that this weekend also brought a new world record set here in Washington for most couples kissing under the mistletoe. Well done. With that, we’ll update you on developments in some of today’s big stories, and let’s start with the latest on the Reiner investigation.

CHANG: That’s right. Thank you Marie-Louise. Los Angeles police have arrested Nick Reiner. He is the son of Rob and Michele Reiner. He is being held without bail. And for more on this case, we will now turn to Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. Hi, Steve.

STEVE FUTTERMAN: Hi, Ailsa.

CHANG: So can you just tell us what the latest updates are at this point in the investigation?

FUTTERMAN: Well, the key development today was the announcement of the arrest of Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of Michele and Rob Reiner. Police said they believed he was responsible for their deaths. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell announced this during an appearance at an FBI event.

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JIM MCDONNELL: Our Robbery and Homicide Division is handling the investigation. They worked all night on this case and were able to arrest Nick Reiner. He was later convicted of murder.

FUTTERMAN: Now, later today, they changed that to no bail. Also today, the police concluded their investigation into the Reiner house. It had been sealed off. It is now open. And throughout the day, we saw friends and acquaintances appear. Sometimes we saw two people kissing, and sometimes we saw people in tears.

CHANG: It’s so horrible. OK, so the police have identified Nick Reiner as the suspect. What more do we know about Nick Reiner?

FUTTERMAN: Well, we know that Nick Reiner has had a long and sometimes difficult journey dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues. He was very open about it. For a time he even lived on the streets. Rob Reiner used his son’s experience to direct the 2015 film “Being Charlie.” It is loosely based on the struggles of Nick Reiner. In fact, it was co-written by father and son. During the film’s promotional tour, Rob Reiner spoke to Scott Simon about working with his son.

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ROB REINER: He was the heart and soul of the film, and any chance I got to work with him, I would. But I understand that he wants to forge his own path. I know what it is. I crossed it. And you know, he’s bright and talented, and he’s going to find his way.

FUTTERMAN: We obviously don’t know what pushed Nick Reiner to cross the line and kill his parents. However, investigators will definitely want to examine his cell phone and computers and talk to friends and acquaintances to see if they can discover anything.

CHANG: Yeah. Meanwhile, tributes are pouring in from everywhere, from actors and friends. Rob Reiner, of course, was also known not only for his filmmaking and acting skills, but also for his activism, which President Trump commented on earlier today. What exactly did Trump say?

FUTTERMAN: Well, let’s talk about positive tributes first. Author Stephen King said he was horrified by the killings. Reiner turned a King composition into the hit film “Stand By Me,” and King said: Rest in peace, Rob, you’re always by my side. Comedian Ben Stiller said: “Reiner has made some of the most formative films of my generation.

As for President Trump, his comments were far from complimentary. However, Reiner has been very critical of the president in recent years. President Trump called Rob Reiner a tortured and once very talented director. He said Reiner and his wife died, quote, “apparently because of the anger he provoked in others through his massive, inflexible, incurable affliction of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” It was a bit too much for some Republicans. Thomas Massey of Kentucky called the comments inappropriate and disrespectful to a man who was just brutally murdered.

CHANG: It’s Steve Futterman here in Los Angeles. Thank you very much, Steve.

FUTTERMAN: Thank you, Ailsa.

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