Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 7 Bizarre Theories in Rob Reiner and Wife's Murders

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

Minutes after news broke that legendary Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, had been murdered in their home theories about the case began to crop up online. Some theories included linking the murders to Reiner's political activities and others to speculation about his family life. The quick arrest of the Reiners' 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, put some of the chatter to rest but some speculation remains. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy looks at some of the theories and what they could mean for the case in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Producer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Yeah, it really clicked for me because we didn't bond a lot as a kid. Like, you really like baseball. I like basketball. Nick Reiner is in jail charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, legendary Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. The DA says the evidence points to Nick. Not evidence.

Evidence is something that we will be presenting in a court of law to meet the standard of proof we meet in every criminal case, which is beyond a reasonable doubt. But corners of the internet are full of chatter about theories in the case, and some are questioning whether Nick Reiner actually killed his parents. I take a look at some of the bizarre theories in this horrific and tragic case and what we can expect moving forward. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy, and this is Crime Fix. You know, there's a reason that Morgan and Morgan is America's largest personal injury law firm. It's because they fight for their clients and they win a lot in court. The firm has more than a thousand lawyers that have recovered $25 billion from more than $500,000. In the last few months, a client in Florida got $12 million when the insurance company offered just $350,000.

In Pennsylvania, another client won $26,000. million dollars. That was 40 times the insurer's offer. Morgan and Morgan makes it really easy to fight for what you deserve. You can even start a claim from your phone. So if you are ever injured, you can start a claim at for the people.com slash crime fix. Click the link below or scan that QR code that you see right there on your screen. When words started to spread around Hollywood and across the internet that legendary Hollywood director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle had been murdered and their mansion in Brentwood, there was shock. Absolutely shock. That is not the kind of news that you expect to hear on a Sunday night or any time for that matter. The director

known for playing Meathead on All in the Family and directing when Harry met Sally, the Princess Bride, a few good men and misery, was dead. Why would anyone want to hurt Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle? The chatter began and there were whispers on the web about the Reiner's troubled 32-year-old son Nick. Nick Reiner had been to rehab at least 18 times through his teen years for drug abuse and he'd also battled mental illness. He and his famous father even produced a movie being Charlie about Nick's struggles with addiction in 2015. And I wasn't really that shy about including some of the bad stuff I did because a lot of people do things that are pretty unsavory when they're going through that. The fact that we were dealing with, you know, things that Nick had gone through and

how I had related to it and how his mother had related to it, it forced us to have to, it forced me to have to see more clearly and understand more deeply what Nick had gone through. But then there were other theories and ideas about the murders for Rob and Michelle Reiner that started to crop up online. We're going to talk about some of the more bizarre theories that I've seen discussed and the more straightforward ones too. But first, let's look at what we do know right now. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the Reiner's Brentwood Mansion sometime after 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 14th and then called for the LAPD. Upon arrival, officers located two deceased individuals inside the residence, later identified as Rob Reiner and Michelle Reiner.

Both victims were found in the master bedroom of the area of the home. Reports surfaced that Nick Reiner had attended Conan O'Brien's Christmas party the night before with his parents and that Nick, and Rob had argued there because Nick was making guests feel uncomfortable because his behavior was considered inappropriate. The father and son reportedly raised their voices at one another. NBC News reported that Nick interrupted a private conversation between comedian Bill Hader and another guest. Video from a gas station near the Reiner's home showed Nick Reiner walking past early Sunday morning. TMZ reported that Nick checked into the Pearside Hotel in Santa Monica at 4 a.m. and that the housekeeping staff found blood in the shower and the bedroom later that morning

that hotel is about four miles from the Reiner's home. Before his arrest Sunday evening, Nick Reiner was seen walking into a convenience store, going to a cooler and looking for something to drink. At times, he appeared to look around nervously. The LAPD took him into custody near the University of Southern California at 9.15 p.m. Today I'm here to announce that our office will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner, and photographer, producer Michelle Singer-Riner. These charges will be two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also fesses a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife. These charges

carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty. One of these special allegations is that the murder was committed with a deadly weapon or a knife. As to where and how the weapon was located or will be located, that will actually be evidence will present in court. Nathan Hockman knows how big of a case this is and how sensitive it is, a domestic violence homicide with drug abuse and mental health issues surrounding it. And it's ripe for gossip, rumors and even conspiracy theories. You will hear in the media rumors. You will hear speculation. You will hear say. What I'm asking everyone to do is to rely on trusted sources.

If it doesn't come from the district attorney's office, from LAPD, from the court, coroner's office or from the courtroom itself. And there's a good chance you are hearing misinformation. Rob Reiner was a fame director, but also active politically on the Democratic side. And he was an outspoken critic of President Trump. And some internet forums mentioned that possibility in the murders. Before Nick Reiner's arrest, an account for a man named Ryan Sheed posted on Sunday night. In 2021, Rob Reiner publicly said he was developing a 10 to 13, episode television project about the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. He described the concept as tracing both men from their childhoods up to the point where their

lives intersect with an eye toward exploring the broader effects of that convergence on democracy. He also said that he was working with writer Ward Parry on the project, which he was calling the spy and the asset. Did Maga have Epstein and Reiner snuffed? Now, that's really quite the suggestion. There was another website that suggested there were internet searches for the Reiner's home and Nick Reiner originating from Washington, D.C., before the murders. On another message board, one user suggested that Romy Reiner, Nick's younger sister, actually pointed the finger at her brother to cover up her own involvement in the brutal murders. There is zero evidence to suggest that Romy Riner was involved in this at all. On the criminally obsessed podcast, former federal

prosecutor Nima Romani suggested one defense could be that Nick Reiner was actually drugged at Conan O'Brien's party, leading him to his murderous behavior. Other internet users have actually suggested that Nick Reiner could have been a victim of abuse or might use the so-called Menendez Brothers defense, claiming that he was a victim. Now again, there's no evidence that has been presented to suggest that Rob and Michelle Reiner did anything, but support their son and try to get him the help that he needed. Let's be clear about that. far, Nick Reiner has appeared in court just once, and we didn't even see him. Your Honor, if we could, I would like to ask for a continuance of the arraignment.

I want to leave this juncture, it's too early. We've coordinated with counsel from the DA's office and January 7th, with the court's permission will be a convenient date for us to come back for potential arraignment. Thank you. This time I'll take a waiver, speedy arraignment from your client. Mr. Reiner, do you have a constitutional and statutory right? speedy arraignment. Your counsel is requesting that your arraignment be continued to January 7, 2026. Do you waive your right to a speeding arraignment so that your arraignment can't be heard on January 7,

2026? And is counsel joining the waiver? I join the court finds that the defendant has made a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to a speedy arraignment and that is counsel plans in that waiver. Nick Reiner is now being represented by Alan Jackson, the same lawyer who helped win an acquittal for Karen Reed. He's also represented Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. I just have a couple of quick words. First of all, and most importantly, this is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family. We all recognize that. Our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family. There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. things need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with and examined and looked at and analyzed.

We ask that the process you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward, not with the rush to judgment, not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves. So with that, we are set for January 7th for an arraignment. That's the next court date. And that's all I have to say at this point. There may be more at some other point, but today we're going to rest on where we stand, stand procedurally, which is this was a continuance of arraignment. Nothing happened today substantively. We'll be back for an arraignment in the same department on the 7th of January. We'll see you then.

It's also been reported that Rob and Michelle Reiner were simply tiring of their son's behavior and wanted him to move out. One straightforward theory, Nick Reiner may have been using drugs and became angered for some reason. And in a drug-induced rage or psychosis, stabbed his parents. The ME ruled the Reiner's died from multiple sharp force injuries. So to discuss all of this in the very latest, I want to bring in Matt Murphy. He is a former prosecutor from California. has prosecuted serial killers. He's done a lot in his time. So, Matt, thank you so much for coming on. The very latest is that TMZ is reporting that Nick Reiner had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. I don't think that's much of a shock, but that his meds had been kind of adjusted

and that his behavior had been erratic and he had been viewed as dangerous because of the changes in medication coupled with maybe the illicit drug use. And that a not guilty by reason of insanity plea may be coming. What are your thoughts on that? Well, I think we're going to see a mental health defense in one form or another. I think that's virtually guaranteed, as has been reported, and it's not confirmed yet. There's blood on the sheets in the hotel. We have an argument right before. There's no evidence we've heard that there's any sign of a break-in indicating whoever did it had a key. So I don't think this is a who-done-it, which means the next most logical and likely effective strategy for the defense is going to be to argue what's known as an NGRI or not guilty

by reason of insanity. And, you know, they've, those are tough cases. I had a very similar case out of Newport Beach, my Nicholson case, which involved a very wealthy young man who had organic mental illness, schizophrenia that he developed and that he mixed with plenty of drug use and in and out of rehab and very similar story. And you get mad at his parents and he killed his mom and dad in their home, very beautiful home in Newport Beach with a knife. Only in that case, he waited for the housekeeper and also killed her. And it was similar.

If the reports are true that Rob Runner and his wife had their throats cut, that's exactly what this guy did in the Nicholson case when he killed his parents. This is called a parasite. Murdering your parents is not as parricide. And in that case, despite a very lengthy and well-documented history of actual mental illness, the jury still found that he was legally sane. That was actually on Halloween of this year. And his sentencing is actually, I think, just next week coming up.

So California uses what's known as the McNaughton rule. And that means that in order for the defensive sanity to or insanity to prevail, you've got to establish that the person did not know the nature. and quality of their actions. And the burden is on the defense to prove that by a preponderance. It's a bifurcated system or a bifurcated trial, which means much like a death penalty case. First, you have the guilt phase, and then you have a second phase, a second trial with the same jury to determine sanity. And so first was he the killer, and then the next is, did he do this? Was he responsible for it? And it's a tough defense, but I think that, I don't know where the

information would come from if it wasn't the defense. Nathan Hockman runs a very tight ship. That's the District Attorney of Los Angeles. So it's going to be interesting to see. The next thing procedurally, they continue the arraignment. So the defense is going to have to come in with a plea at some point. If I had to guess, I would say it's not guilty by reason I'm insanity. And then we begin down the mental health track. Simultaneously, Nathan Hockman, the District Attorney of L.A. is going to have to make a decision about the death penalty, and they will do what they call in L.A. a lives of a hearing where Alan Jackson will come in and make a presentation to Nathan Hockman himself and his staff about mitigating factors or why he believes

the evidence should indicate something less than the death penalty. And in the state of California, with a special circumstance, that means a lifetile possibility of parole. You know, there's a lot to impact there. I mean, obviously, Nick Reiner has a long history of drug abuse. It's my understanding, though, that say he does have a mental illness such as schizophrenia and he had been recently diagnosed, if you're using illicit drugs, I mean, you can't say, you know, I lost it. I'm schizophrenic and I lost it. And I had been using illicit drugs coupled with. my psychotropic drugs and so I'm NGRI that that doesn't that doesn't fit the bill well list of drug use right yeah look there that I think that's exactly what they're going to do the question is will it work and that's that's really the that's the $20,000 a question but we are we're going to I think you just hit the nail on the head I think that's exactly what the defense is going to do I think they're going to come in and say this is a combination of you know

organic mental illness that isn't his fault and look at this diagnosis and And this is only exacerbated by drugs, and they'll call in experts to talk about how he was out of his mind when he did it, and et cetera, et cetera. And we've all seen that before. The question is, is a jury going to buy off on it? And that's going to be really interesting to watch. I have friends in the LEDA's office. Nathan Hockman, for those who don't know, we, the voters of Los Angeles County got rid of a guy named George Gascon to assist last year, who was, in my opinion, the worst thing that ever happened in public safety, literally. in the history of Los Angeles where I grew up.

And the voters got serious and put in Hockman to clean up the mess that was left by George Gascone. So we have a no-nonsense, very experienced, very good district attorney who is assigned an excellent team to this. And they all know Alan Jackson. Alan Jackson, of course, was the, he was a DA in, in L.A., they all know him. Alan Jackson is a uniquely talented trial lawyer. I've known him for years. And he's the both sides have their work cut out for him on this case. Yeah, I would think so.

I mean, we missed recently saw Alan Jackson represent Karen Reed successfully. And obviously, in that case, they took the frame up. You know, that was what they took advantage of in that case for a defense. They said she was framed. And it wasn't just by one person. And it sounded like everybody in the city of Canton was involved in it, according to Alan Jackson. I think the entire state. Yes, exactly.

Yes, yes. You're right about that. So I feel like, you know, you hired Alan Jackson and you pay him a lot of money to get you out of a big jam. Is there any way under the sun? You see him, I mean, because I've looked into the, you know, on the internet, you see a lot of chatter about obviously, wow, Nick Reiner. you know the drug use this that and the other but then you see people saying i think he's going to go for the menendez brother's defense i think he's going to blame his siblings i think he's going to do this i think i mean is there any way that you see alan jackson trying to do something like that

a conspiracy type defense obviously it's a much different case i don't think he has to i think that he's got enough to work with with all the the addiction problems drugs and i think that's the road he's going to go down. But everything's on the table right now. And remember, this is a very fresh investigation. And a lot of people, you know, if we watch Law and Order, which isn't bad, by the way, but we're used to resolution in 42 minutes plus commercial, that's not going to happen in this case. The mental health road in the criminal process in the state of California is long and windy. And we're looking at a trial, I would say, if I had to guess, we're talking about a minimum of two years. If I had to make some predictions, Alan Jackson is going to enter an

NGRI plea or at some point change a generic not guilty plea to a not guilty by reason of insanity plea. I think we're going to see a lot of leaked reports from wherever trying to change the public narrative on this through TMZ and other outlets. I think that he'll make a very persuasive pitch to Nathan Hockman not to seek the death penalty. I predict that Nathan Hockman, as he will very conscientiously consider all that. I don't think that he will seek death in this just based on the merits of the case because this intra-family, because of all the various issues, these aren't strangers. They're innocent, but it's not the same as killing two strangers on the street. We're in a home depot parking lot. So all of the factors aggravating versus mitigating,

I sat on the Orange County Committee for 15 years that made the recommendations to the DA, and we sought death in less than 4% of the cases that were eligible for the death penalty case or death penalty. So it's very rare that it's sought, especially in California. In California, there's a moratorium, and I wouldn't see him being executed anyway. So my prediction is Nathan Hockman will very properly not seek it. They'll pursue LWOP. And we're going to go into what's known as Battle of the Experts regarding the Mental Health of Nick Reiner. and look, this is going to be very, very interesting to watch

because we're going to have excellent attorneys on both sides. I know the judge that this has been assigned to. Excellent jurist, and this is going to be, it's going to be interesting. Also, look, this is addiction hits every American family in one form or another these days, especially. We all know some version of this kid, you know. I grew up in West L.A., you know, wealthy, rich kids that get into drugs is almost a trope. it's so common. So it'll be it'll be very interesting to see what a jury thinks of all this. But I think, again, we're going to have a really good judge and really good lawyers on both

sides. And it's going to be it's going to be quite a case to watch. But it's going to take a while. Do you think there's any way though? And obviously we're so early on in this. I'm still not, you know, I'm still waiting for Alan Jackson to question the investigation or something to that effect. I mean, I think from everything we're hearing that is not confirmed, it sounds very open and shot, but we know how things can unfold. I mean, look what happened with the OJ case. Another famous double homicide in Brentwood, different factors in that case, though, of course, especially with the race factors. But I guess I'm just looking at this and I'm thinking to myself, you know, Alan Jackson, he's a fighter. You hire him to fight, but is there any way that

Alan Jackson with his history in the L.A. DA's office, the Reiner family goes to him and they're like, just please keep him out of prison forever, get him into a mental institution. That's what he needs and that he tries to just settle this case somehow. There's no way the case is going to settle. It's not going to settle. This is going to trial. And if he is successful and gets an NGRI verdict or not guilty by reason of an insanity verdict, then Nick Reiner will be sent to a mental health facility where he will be evaluated for dangerousness to the community and he'll get out. He will get out. Whether it's a year, two years, 10 years, he would get out again. And, you know, how much of a danger would somebody like that pose? He's run out of parents, not to be glib, but we'll have to see. And look, there was a famous case at UCSB.

my old alma mater were the same thing a very a young the son of a very wealthy person in the movie business drove his car down one of the one of the streets as a bunch of students were on it and killed multiple people was defended by somebody named jack early in santa barbara county and jack early i've tried murder cases against him he's an excellent lawyer and he got the jury to buy off on that and that guy was released and he was he went to a mental health facility for a few years and got out. And that certainly is what Nick Reiner is going to be hoping for. And we'll have to see. But there's, like, we've seen these cases before in California. And there's been very mixed results. Traditionally, it's like my Nicholson case at a Newport. It's a,

it's a very high bar. But look, that's, that's Orange County. And that's run, that's a very different DA's office where the, the prosecutors are, it's a different jury pool. It's a different trial philosophy. I think Nathan Hockman is very good. So I'll be watching this with interest to see how his team performs. But they're going to know what they're doing. They're going to be career prosecutors who know Alan Jackson. The judge is going to know Alan Jackson.

He's a known quantity. They're going to know what to expect. And we'll see where it goes. Well, we will all be watching. It's just a really horrifically sad case. Matt, thank you so much for joining me. Anytime. So again, Nick Reiner remains in custody at the L.A. County Jail. He will be back in court on January 7th. So stay tuned. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Janette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.