Jake Reiner writes about parents’ murder: ‘My world, as I knew it, was shattered’

The eldest son of Rob and Michele Reiner has published a heartbreaking story of learning from his sister that their parents had died and that his troubled brother had been arrested for murdering people at their Los Angeles home.

In a personal story published Friday on Substack, 34-year-old Jake Reiner described the “nightmare” of suddenly losing his parents last December. His younger brother Nick, 32, was arrested for murdering two people within 24 hours of his parents’ bodies being found in their bedroom.

He wrote: “We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable.

“It’s almost impossible to process. I understand that people have questions about what happened. Some of those answers will come in time. But some parts of this are just for our families, and keeping them private is the only way to protect what little remains of what was taken from us.

“What do you say to a person who lives with this truth?” reads the story. “The truth is, I have nothing to say.”

Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 70, were found by their daughter Romy when she went to their home on the afternoon of December 14. Police believe Nick Reiner was the killer and searched for him in Los Angeles and arrested him that afternoon near Exposition Park.

Reiner pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. The LA County district attorney is also pursuing a charge of “special circumstances,” a designation that would make him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

In his story, Jake Reiner recalled being at Union Station celebrating the life of one of his best friends who had recently died when he received a call from Romy. He first said that his father had died and then they revealed that their mother had also died.

“The 45-minute Lyft ride from downtown to the west side was unbearable. My world, as I knew it, was shattered. I was still stuck,” she wrote. “The thing I was focused on was I needed to get to my childhood home. I needed to get to my sister. I needed to find out what the hell just happened.”

She reflected on those who helped her siblings through the horrific events, her mother’s role as the leader of the family and what was taken from her personally.

“Whenever I was facing a difficult time or had a difficult problem that I needed to solve quickly, I relied on her wise opinion. I always felt like she was in my corner,” he wrote about his mother. “My intolerance for bulls–it comes from him, and I love it. He wasn’t afraid to tell the truth. He was compassionate and always thought of everyone else before he thought of himself.”

“My dad is my hero,” she said, revealing that their strong relationship began with a shared love of baseball. I love the way he interpreted my dreams or the way I felt that I could come and talk to him about anything.

He was also sad about the times he would not be able to share with his parents in the future.

“My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t be able to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t see me have the successful career I’m still looking for,” he wrote. “It simultaneously breaks my heart and makes me angry.”

“Nothing can prepare you for how it feels to lose both parents at the same time,” Reiner continued. “It’s so painful that I don’t understand it. I still wake up every morning and have to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream. This is really my nightmare.”

Reiner said he is reminded of his parents’ death every day, in meetings, in decisions that need to be made and in paperwork that needs to be filled out.

“My goal in writing this piece is to provide some insight.” Not only for what I have lost but also to celebrate what my parents said to me,” he wrote, then concluded, “I just ask for love and compassion – the same values ​​my parents lived by.”