THE NEW YORK TIMES – The source close to the family said that nothing in recent weeks suggested that Nick Reiner, 32, would be capable of such violence.
The person disputed accounts that suggested the family had been especially apprehensive in recent weeks about Nick Reiner’s behavior. Nick Reiner had struggled for more than half of his life with drug addiction [to cocaine and heroin], the family were accustomed to working through his problems together.
The night before, the family had attended a Christmas party. The gathering, at the home of the comedian Conan O’Brien, had been crowded with people in show business and neighborhood friends.
“After Nick Reiner entered his first drug treatment program around the age of 15, his turbulent life veered between rehab and homelessness, sobriety efforts and relapse. At times, it appeared as though he had achieved more stability in adulthood. But any semblance of equilibrium was shattered when Mr. Reiner’s parents, Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Nick behaved erratically that evening and had alarmed guests with his behavior, according to two people who attended the party. One of those guests said Rob rebuked his son, telling him that his behavior was inappropriate.
The person close to the family said that Rob and Nick did not have a heated argument and that the episode was being overblown.
The day after the party on Sunday afternoon, Romy, 28, fled the house in anguish upon encountering her father’s body inside the house. Her roommate, waiting outside, called 911.
When paramedics arrived, Romy told them that her brother lived on the property, but did not suggest that her brother might be a suspect, as some news outlets have reported.
Romy did not see her mother’s body and learned from the paramedics outside that she was dead, too, the person said.
Investigators did not find the son in the guest house. He was arrested without incident later that evening around 9:30 p.m. by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department Gang and Narcotics Unit who had located him about 15 miles southwest of downtown.
