Rob and Michele Reiner’s bodies were cremated after their brutal murders, it has emerged.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner previously said that the couple died after suffering ‘multiple sharp force injuries’, and newly-released death certificates add that this was caused ‘with a knife, by another’.
Their remains were given to their oldest son, Jake, and they were cremated at Mount Sinai Mortuary, according to the New York Post.
Online records reveal the Hollywood legend and his photographer wife died on December 14, the same day they were found in their $13.5 million mansion.
Both of their deaths have been ruled homicides, with the place of death recorded as their home.
Nick was arrested on December 14 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother.
Prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and use of a dangerous weapon, a knife, meaning if convicted, Nick could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty.
The 32-year-old made a brief court appearance on Wednesday, wearing an anti-suicide vest, where he did not enter a plea.
Nick’s famous defence attorney, Alan Jackson, asked the judge for a continuance, saying that he ‘needed more time’ to prepare his case.
When the judge asked a blank-faced Nick ‘if he agreed that his arraignment should be continued’, he answered, ‘Yes, your honour.’
His arraignment was rescheduled for January 7, and he was ordered to be held in jail without bail.
Jackson addressed the media after the hearing and asked people not to ‘rush to judgment’ about the case.
‘This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family,’ Jackson said.
‘There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. These need to be thoroughly and very carefully dealt with.
‘We ask that throughout this process you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward, not with a rush to judgment.’
Soon after the hearing, the couple’s other children, Romy and Jake, released a heart-wrenching statement on their deaths.
‘Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,’ the grieving siblings said.
‘The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience.
‘They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends. We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life.’
The pair asked people for ‘respect and privacy’ and urged the public to treat any speculation with ‘compassion and humanity’.
Jake and Romy said they wanted their parents to be remembered for the ‘incredible lives they lived and the love’ they gave.
The couple were discovered slaughtered on Sunday afternoon after Romy was called over by a massage therapist who had arrived at the residence but could not get in.
A source close to the investigation told the Daily Mail that they had their throats slashed and were killed in their bed.
Images obtained by the Daily Mail revealed the exact hotel room Nick allegedly left covered in blood following his parents’ horrific slaying.
The couple’s son checked into room 207 at The Pierside Santa Monica about 4 am on Sunday.
It is a $400-a-night boutique hotel located about 1,000 feet away from the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, and a five-minute walk to the LA Metro line that goes directly to the Exposition Park area, where Nick was ultimately arrested by the police.
When hotel staff came into Nick’s room later on Sunday morning, the shower was said to be ‘full of blood’, with splatters across the bed.
The windows in the room were covered by bed sheets, detectives found when they arrived at the hotel on Monday to gather evidence.
The director’s son had been living in the guesthouse of his parents’ mansion in the LA suburb of Brentwood at the time of their deaths.
Reiner was increasingly worried about Nick, who had a history of drug addiction and mental breakdowns, and took him to a holiday party Saturday night to ‘keep an eye on him,’ sources have said.
At Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party, Nick allegedly caused anxiety among A-list attendees by arguing with comedian Bill Hader and forcing his parents to leave.
Before his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, were killed, Nick Reiner was reportedly receiving treatment for schizophrenia. However, schizophrenia doesn’t necessarily make someone more prone to violence.
The Los Angeles Times and KNBC both reported, quoting sources, that Nick was being treated with medication for the mental illness. According to NBC, Nick was first diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago.
Schizophrenia is a widely misunderstood—but treatable—condition.
Psychosis is a term that actually encompasses a wide range of experiences.
This can result in symptoms including delusions, hallucinations, suspicion, and social disengagement and usually involves changes in a person’s thoughts, perceptions, or beliefs.
People may have disorganised speech and thought patterns, as well as altered movement patterns. Lack of motivation, social disengagement, and cognitive abnormalities, such as difficulties with memory, focus, and attention, can also occur in them.
During a bout of psychosis, “a person’s thoughts and perceptions are disrupted, and they may have difficulty recognising what is real and what is not.
Schizophrenia, which affects about 1 per cent of the U.S. population, is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, and environmental factors, and is typically diagnosed in someone’s late teens or early twenties.
Nick Reiner, who is facing murder charges in the slayings of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, was being treated for mental illness before the couple’s deaths, according to reports.
Nick Reiner had publicly discussed his years-long battle with drug dependence, which included periods of homelessness. The screenwriter told People magazine in a 2016 interview that he made his first visit to rehab at 15 and would return 17 times. He said he became homeless due to his refusal to return to rehab.
Reiner was taken into police custody on Dec 14 and booked for murder by the Los Angeles Police Department after Rob and Michele Reiner were discovered dead in their Brentwood residence.
Two days after Rob and Michele Reiner’s deaths, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. Nick also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, i.e. a knife.
The special circumstance of multiple murders can entail a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. However, district attorney Nathan J. Hochman said, “No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty.”
However, I don’t believe that his parents would have ever wanted him to receive the death penalty.
If you have ever known somebody who is schizophrenic, one would comprehend what a malignant disease it actually is, and it can take over your life without even realising it, and clearly, medical professionals had let him down. Perhaps he should have been put in a mental facility where he could not harm others or himself.
I’m not talking about rehab, I’m talking about a secure unit where he would not have been able to get out until they deemed it was safe for him to do so. If that had happened, then his parents might still be alive.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 