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Police in L.A. investigating double homicide at the home of director Rob Reiner

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Thanks for sticking with us on an extremely hard day of news, a day when it is hard to hear the news. We have more now on the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, the director and his wife in Southern California. Police have made an arrest in this case, and it is the Reiner's son - one of their sons. Reporter Steve Futterman is on the line. Steve, good morning, sir.

STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: I know you've had a long night. What have you learned about Nick Reiner?

FUTTERMAN: Well, this is the 32-year-old son of Rob Reiner. He was apparently, according to records we have seen, he was arrested actually last night - around 9:15 last night. We've only learned about this this morning here in Los Angeles. He is being held in the county jail. He's been arrested. He's being held in custody. We don't know the exact charges. All we know right now is that he's being held for a felony. And he's also being held with a $4 million bail set. That suggests a very, very serious crime. Now, obviously, there'll be suspicion that he's being held on suspicion of killing Rob Reiner and his wife. That's a logical assumption, but we don't know that officially yet. We're trying to get information from the police. I have called them in the last half hour. They are not able to tell me that right now, but he is in custody being held on $4 million bail.

INSKEEP: I am thinking about the intimacy of this crime, and I hate to use that word. But we're talking here now about a son attacking parents, or at least that's the plausible scenario here. And was this not a knife attack, something that was intensely personal to begin with?

FUTTERMAN: That's what it appears to be. We've heard from numerous news sources and our own sources that it does appear to have been a knife attack, possibly repeated stabbings of Rob Reiner and his wife. Now, today, we do expect to get back the coroner's report, at least the preliminary autopsies on both Rob Reiner and his wife. And at that we will learn officially about that. But that has been the suggestion from the very start that that's how they were killed. And again, we will learn more about that likely later today. The LAPD has indicated that they expect the - at least the preliminary autopsy report to be released sometime today.

INSKEEP: People who've been listening through the morning know that you spent the night outside the Reiner's home. What's the scene there?

FUTTERMAN: Well, it's been cleared up. You know, throughout the night, there was a cordoned off area. We weren't able to get close to the home. The police were there. They put up that yellow crime tape and everything like that. But in the last few hours, the crime tape has come down, and the reporters, myself included, have sort of made a pilgrimage to the street where Rob Reiner's home is. And on that street, right now, you have the TV cameras. Our news vehicles are there right now, probably disturbing the neighbors, but we have been able to go inside. It does suggest that the police investigation, at least at the home, has come to an end. Again, today, we expect the medical examiner to issue his report, and that will likely tell us the way Rob Reiner and his wife died and possibly give us more additional clues.

INSKEEP: OK. We've been listening to reporter Steve Futterman about news that Nick Reiner, 32 years old, the son of Rob and Michele Reiner, has been arrested, and it would appear to be in connection with their deaths in a knife attack over the weekend. Steve Futterman, thanks so much.

FUTTERMAN: Thank you, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Steve Futterman
A Martínez
A Martínez is one of the hosts of Morning Edition and Up First. He came to NPR in 2021 and is based out of NPR West.