December 16, 2025 • 40 mins
The John Kobylt Show Hour 1 (12/16) - Nick Reiner has been charged in the murder of his parents Rob and Michele. LA County DA Nathan Hochman's press conference announcing the charges against Nick Reiner. More on Nick Reiner's background with drugs and mental health issues. No one has been arrested in the Brown University mass shooting.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can't. I am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to the John Cobelt Podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
John Cobelt Show. We're on every day from one until
four o'clock and then after four o'clock John Cobelt Show
on demand on the iHeart app. We are awaiting any
moment an official press conference in the Rob Reiner and
Michelle Reiner murders.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Just got a five minute warning.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Five minutes, okay, and Nathan Hakman, the district attorney, is
supposed to announce specific charges against against Nick Reiner the
Sun and so we'll bring that to you live coming up.
They've they've got television shots at the podium and we
(00:45):
should be rolling any minute now.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yesterday's news confidence never happened.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Everybody was waiting around for a couple hours before we
found out that they weren't going to have it. Also,
apparently Nick Reiner is being given a psychiatric evaluation right now.
He doesn't have medical clearance to go to a preliminary
(01:14):
arraignment or any any kind of legal hearing over this.
According to his attorney, Alan Jackson, He's being evaluated and
so we'll see that where that goes. I mean, you know,
I'll get to it later, but you know, there could
(01:35):
very well be mental illness. We may be getting a
signal of the kind of defense they may ultimately use
if this goes to a jury trial. Clearly, this kid
was in great mental upheaval for a long time. I
read a lot about his background today, and he started
(01:58):
doing drugs when he was fourteen years old. So we're
talking about eighteen solid years. And I've seen various numbers
for the amount of rehab he's gone through. I've seen
it as high as seventeen according to one story, eighteen
in another story. You know, you go through eighteen rehabs.
(02:20):
Maybe rehab for some people doesn't work. We talked about
this yesterday, that maybe some people can't be fixed. And
in very rare cases, you've got a choice between kicking
your kid out on the street where he's probably gonna
end up dead. And Nick Ryder was homeless frequently. He
(02:41):
has said he was homeless in various states around the country,
and or you know, there's a rare case of he
kills you, and at the end, those might be the
only two options. Now, killing a mother and a father
is very rare over the last ten years, from what
I've read today it's only happened sixty times in this
(03:02):
country where somebody, and it's almost always a guy, always
a man took out his mother and his father in
a double murder. Who were his parents, So it's it's
And obviously we have millions of drug addicts and millions
of people with mental illness, so this particular series of
(03:22):
events is highly unusual. But he was looking at photos.
You know, you look at candid photo shots and the
eyes can reveal a lot. There are many shots of
the family because you know, Rob Reiner was always appearing
(03:45):
at some Hollywood event and they have a red carpet
and you pose for the photographs, and Rob Reiner had
a very practiced smile for the cameras. He has another
son named Jake, who also got into the acting business
and has been a television news and he had the
smile right fixed, and as well as the daughter and
(04:07):
the wife a little less. So they're not they're not
television or movie professionals practice do with that look. But Nick,
the second son, his look from photo to photo is erratic,
to say the least, sometimes looking grim, grimacing eyes, looking
(04:27):
in the wrong direction, looking lost, looking kind of angry
rare is the photo that I've been looking through where
he's got the smile going, where it's it's locked in
on the camera and it looks authentic that he's that
it doesn't look strained pained, that he's trying to fake it.
I mean, I think he's extremely troubled all his life.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
And you know, it's it's.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Extremely difficult if somebody is not taking to the rehab,
if the rehab is not good enough, if I don't know,
the psychiatric medications are not good enough's that's really difficult
because obviously Reyner had all the money in the world
and all the connections in the world if he needed
to use them to get the help. And I think
(05:14):
once you've gone through eighteen tries and you missed eighteen times,
is there a point where nothing can be done? And
that's something that isn't talked about much in our culture.
Our culture likes to believe that if you throw enough
medication or enough counseling therapy at a person, eventually you
(05:35):
know it's going to work. He's going to fight his
way through it. Enough family support and all that, which
is all you know, nice nice thoughts, nice intentions, but
sometimes it doesn't work out that way, and I think
there are a lot of families who have that lost guy,
that lost soul who.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Sometimes it does not mean John have got La County DA.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Nathan Hawkman now lie with updates on the murders of
Rob and Michelle Reiner and.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
The distri Attorney Nathan Hoffman, just want to level expectations.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
We will allow some time for questions.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
But because of this is a preliminary investigation, still very active.
It's being filed as we speak, There's not a lot
we're going to be able to say right now. Also,
if you would please quote one question at a time
so that we can hear the question and answer appropriately,
so if we can have that decorum in here, DA
Nathan Homan, My.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
Name is Nathan Hoffman. I'm the District Attorney of Los
Angeles County. Today I'm here to announce that our office
will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who was accused
of killing his parents, actor director Rob Reiner and photographer
producer Michelle Singer Reiner.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
These charges will be two counts.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Of first degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders.
He also fest is 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 parole.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Or the death powerty.
Speaker 6 (07:18):
No decision at this point has been made with respect.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
To the death powerty we have requested, and currently Nick
Reiner is being held without bail.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
Now, before I in announcing these charges, I also want
to announce that they're just that they are charges.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
Charges are not evidence.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
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 towel twelve jurors who you will unanisately have to
find that we've met that standard to prove the charges
we bring to court.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Right now.
Speaker 6 (07:59):
With respect to the process, once the charges get filed
this afternoon, Nick Reiner will be then brought to court.
He is going through medical clearance, something that everybody who
gets arrested and gets held in a Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department jail goes through.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Once he is medically cleared, he will be brought to
court to be arraigned on these charges.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
At that point he will enter a plea of guilty
or not guilty now. Prosecuting these cases involving family members
are some of the most challenging and most heart wrenching
cases that this office faces because of the intimate and
often brutal nature of the crimes involved. Rob Reiner was
(08:45):
a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our
entertainment industry for decades. His wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, was
inequally iconic photographer and producer. Their loss is beyond tragic,
(09:05):
and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice.
I want to thank LAPD Chief McDonald, who is here
today along with Deputy Chief Allen Hamilton from the LAPD
and LAPD Captain Scott Williams, and the entire Robbery Homicide
(09:26):
Division who literally has been working around the clock to
gather the evidence that have led to the charges we're
going to be filing today. Also from my office, I
have Assistant District Attorney Maria Ramirez, I have Director of
Specialized Prosecutions, John McKinney.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
I have our head Deputy of.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
Major Crimes, Craig hum and I have the two prosecutors
who will be leading the prosecution in this case, Assistant
had Deputy of Major Crimes Habi Ballian and Deputy District
Attorney from Major Crimes Johnathan and Chung. They will bring
their decades of experience to holding this murderer.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Accountable for his actions.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
At this point, again, you will hear in the media rumors,
you will hear speculation, you will hear hearsay. 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 coroner's office, or from the courtroom itself, and
(10:29):
there's a good chance you are hearing misinformation because at
the appropriate time, the actual evidence involved in this case
will be presented in a court of law.
Speaker 5 (10:41):
So I asked for your patience until that is done.
Speaker 6 (10:44):
But again, please do not rely on rank, speculation, rumor
or hearsay to believe that you understand anything about what
went on in this case.
Speaker 5 (10:54):
I now like to turn over to Chief MacDonald.
Speaker 7 (10:57):
Thank you, good afternoon, and thank you all for being
here today.
Speaker 8 (11:02):
And it's with deep sadness today address the tragic loss
of Robert Michelle Reiner.
Speaker 7 (11:07):
On December fourteenth, twenty twenty five, LAPD.
Speaker 8 (11:10):
Officers from our West Los Angeles Division responded to a
death investigation at the two hundred block of South Chadbourne Avenue,
which is in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Upon
entering the residence, they discovered the bodies of mister and
Missus Reiner. Detectives from our Robbery Homicide Division Homicide Special
Section immediately initiated a comprehensive investigation. The evidence gathered led
(11:38):
to the arrest of their son, Nick Reiner, who was
taken into custody later that night without incident, and the
Exposition Park section of our city. Today, the Los Angeles
County District's Attorney's Office has formerly filed charges against mister.
Speaker 7 (11:52):
Reiner for the murder of his parents.
Speaker 8 (11:55):
This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for
the Reiner family and their love ones, but for our
entire city.
Speaker 7 (12:02):
We extend our deepest.
Speaker 8 (12:03):
Condolences to all of those who are affected by this tragedy.
I want to take a moment to recognize and thank
our criminal justice partners, the District Attorney's Office led by D. A. Hockman,
and everyone who worked tirelessly on this investigation. Their swift action, professionalism,
and commitment to justice have been instrumental bringing clarity and
accountability to this case. The LAPD remains steadfast in our
(12:27):
mission to protect life.
Speaker 7 (12:28):
And uphold justice. We will continue to support the.
Speaker 8 (12:31):
Ryner family ensure that every step forward is taken with care,
dignity and resolved.
Speaker 7 (12:37):
Thank you questions.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
I guess right here in the front it's brain.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
Could you talk about why you feel this case rises
to special circumstances? So special circumstances is a situation where
one of the enumerated factors that lead to elevating in
some ways a first degree murder case to a special
circumstance first degree murder case occurs. One of those special
(13:09):
circumstances is called multiple murders. Here we have to and
it qualifies under the definition of multiple murders to allege
the special circumstance in this particular case.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Jesus was Nick Runner found and was there any evidence
on him in particular bind that city?
Speaker 8 (13:29):
Yeah, he was found with good solid police work, investigative
tools used by Robberie, homicide and GET and Icotic Division
detectives with the US Marshal Service Task.
Speaker 7 (13:40):
Force involved as well. So we're thankful for the work
that was done.
Speaker 8 (13:45):
I won't go into talking about what was found or
anything that could potentially taint the investigation.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Given mixed history of drug use, was there any indication
that he was under the influence at the time of
his running?
Speaker 7 (13:59):
No, thank you again, that's another question. I can't touch you.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Illness background, I'm sorry, Please repeat the question.
Speaker 8 (14:08):
Is there any evidence of mental illnesses background beyond the addiction?
Speaker 6 (14:12):
The evidence of any evidence if there is any mental
illness for his background will be coming out in the
hearings to that will occur.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
We anticipate again.
Speaker 6 (14:22):
After the arrangement, the process will go through the normal
process a case like this goes through at the appropriate time.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
If there is evidence of mental illness, it will.
Speaker 6 (14:32):
Be presented in court and in whatever detail the defense
seeks to do that.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Yes, it would.
Speaker 9 (14:42):
Are you just maybe get any kind of significant delay
in bringing this case to trial on the basis perhaps
that they have to differ significant psychological evaluation, because would
also give your people what they need the way backgrounds,
but what might describe why as actions happens the way
they do.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
We don't anticipate any significant delay more than is involved
in a first degree murder case with special circumstances. These
are some of the most serious charges that a DA's
office can bring against anyone. And we anticipate that the
discovery that we will produce to the.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Defense will be robust. It will be very involved.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
They'll want adequate time to review it though again they'll
want to go through every single factor that they can
ascertain in the defense of mister Nick Reinder. So again,
this will proceed along the tracks that many of the
first degree murder cases to proceed. Do I anticipate it
being particularly fast, No, I anticipate it being very thorough. Yes,
(15:42):
right now, Charity, we are not at this time the.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
RHINE will help with your investigations so far?
Speaker 4 (15:54):
And did they provide any informational assistance which led to
being western?
Speaker 5 (15:59):
I mean defer to the chief of this.
Speaker 10 (16:03):
I have Deputy G. Fallon have Chief of Detectives. We
don't have any uh specific information. We're gonna release it
this time regarding UH the families information they provided and
as we move forward that that information UH will be
discussed in the appropriate venue, which would be the course.
Can you talk anything more about just not the condition
(16:25):
that was something arrested he a resident?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Was he walking around?
Speaker 5 (16:28):
Has he observed from them, but never than anything on
the consultation.
Speaker 10 (16:34):
So specifically, he was arrested in in in a public
area in the Exposition Park area near the University of
Southern California campus. He was approached by the officers and
he was arrested without incident. There were no indications that uh,
there was no indication that he was going to resist.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
Or anything like that.
Speaker 10 (16:53):
He didn't flee or anything like that. He was taken
into custody without UH issue and and he was transported
to are police.
Speaker 6 (17:00):
Records take a question back there, Yes, found. He has
been alleged. One of these special allegations is that the
murder was committed with a deadly weapon or a knife.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
As to where and how uh the weapon will be
was located or will be located.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
That will actually be evidence we're presenting court.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
Let me take a question over him.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You give us a timeline up when you think the
murders occurred, because now we know that there was an
altercation on Saturday night at a party.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Do we know that this happened Saturday night or maybe
Sunday morning. I'll defer to the chief one. We don't have.
We don't have.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
I'm Sorry, we don't have that kind of specificity yet.
Speaker 8 (17:46):
We're waiting the coroner to be able to try and
determine as best they can at this point in time
of death.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Chief Change Jeff McDonald, who called n Uh, let's we'll
take the question back the yes, can you tell us
who called nine to one one?
Speaker 7 (18:04):
Chief Radio?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Okay?
Speaker 10 (18:10):
So, in terms of how the Los Angeles Police Department
became aware, it was a request from the Los Angeles
Fire Department who responded to the scene. First, we responded
to their request for assistance at the scene of the incident.
Our initial Westly officers that responded determined that a crime
had occurred, and they immediately notified our Robert Homins Side division. Uh,
(18:30):
they've responded and they've taken over the investigations since that point.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I know you're always you're hesitant to talk about sensitive evidence,
but based on the evidence collected to support these charges
did then include an admission by the defendant to be
eleged crime.
Speaker 6 (18:50):
So any statements maybe by the defendant at any point
in time would be the type of evidence we will
be presenting in court.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
Let they take one. We'll take one question right here. Sorry,
I good question.
Speaker 6 (19:02):
Hold on one second, I just identified this, gentleman.
Speaker 9 (19:07):
We have an ultimated time for the preachure of the
auto information coming from the medliccignment, your alders and to
the techs and case.
Speaker 5 (19:14):
We do not have the estimated time that it will take.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
We know that they're working on it expeditiously, but as
to when they delivered, we do not have that estimated time.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
I'll take that one last question. I was just wondering.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
I know these types of cases are especially difficult. How
much do you take into account what the family wants
when it comes to charges when you're dealing with a
domestic situation like that, and does that factor into whether
you will go after life parole or possibly.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Dead in these cases, like like any of these cases,
we will take the the thoughts and desires of the
family into consideration in making our decision.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
Thank you all very much.
Speaker 11 (19:55):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI A
six fording.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
All right.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
That was Nathan Hawkman in the La County District Attorney
announcing formal charges against Nick Reiner UH two charges of
first degree murder with special circumstances and on the table
is the death penalty yet to be determined, but you
can get life in prison without parole or the death
penalty when you have first degree murder convictions with special circumstances.
(20:25):
So uh, and first degree murder uh implies that there
was premeditation and the mystery uh surrounding this is the timeline.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, they you know, they supposedly had an argument Rob
and Nick Reiner at the Christmas party. Uh. But there's
no indication what time the argument was, what time they
left the party, if they all left together in the
same vehicle, if Nick came with them to the family
home or came later separately. We do know he checked
(21:04):
into this hotel near the Cinamonica Pier at four am
and then checked out early. And when the staff went
inside the room late morning, they found blood in the shower,
They found blood on the sheets. So the assumption is,
(21:26):
unless somehow he snuck out nobody noticed, is he committed
the murder before four am, before he arrived at the hotel. Now,
the bodies were not found until after three pm by
their daughter roaming, So somewhere in that eleven hour period
(21:47):
or you know, maybe eighteen hour period going all the
way back to the night before. So all that stuff
has to be filled out, all right, we got some
details here New York Post. Rob Reiner and his wife
Michelle were dead for at least several hours, and rigor
mortis already appeared to have set in. Uh and when
(22:12):
Romey found her parents' bodies, there remains were in a
state of rigor mortis. According to law enforcement sources talking
to TMZ stated decay generally begins two to six hours
after death. So if all that's true, and again this
is law enforcement sources talking to TMZ, then that would
(22:34):
indicate that.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
That they were dead.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Well, it doesn't doesn't really, it doesn't really answer the
question as to whether the stabbing happened in the middle
of the night or perhaps later. Now, Nick Reiner, we're
gonna We're gonna have the newscast in just a couple
of minutes, and we'll we'll flesh out Nick Reiner's background
some more.
Speaker 8 (22:58):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Nick had obviously a gigantic struggle with drugs going back
to the age of fourteen, and from age fourteen until
age thirty two he did go to rehab, according to
multiple reports eighteen times, which is just staggering. There's a
(23:24):
little anecdote in the LA Times story today, because in
twenty sixteen the experience was so traumatic and profound that
Nick and Rob Reiner made a film called Being Charlie,
and they went on a press tour. They were on
a video podcast promoting the film.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Again.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It was semi auto biographical of the famous father and
his drug addicted son, and Nick was asked why he
started taking drugs in the first place, and he blamed
the fame of his dad, Rob and his grandfather. Carl Reiner,
who older generations may remember, is a famous comedian going
(24:09):
back to the early days of television in the nineteen fifties,
and a famous director as well. He among his many accomplishments,
he created the Dick Van Dyke Show in the nineteen sixties.
So Nick, the son and the grandson of these two
entertainment giants, said, I had no identity and I had
no passions. And I think the reason I had no
(24:31):
identity because I have a famous dad and a famous grandpa,
and that fame sort of informs who you are. So
I wanted to adge out on my own identity with
a more rebellious, angry, drug addicted sort of persona. We'll
talk more about this when we come back.
Speaker 11 (24:46):
You're listening to John Cobels on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
We just carried Nathan Hoffman's press conference live and he
announced the charges against Nick Reiner for killing his parents,
Rob and Michelle Reiner. And it's two charges of first
degree murder with special circumstances related to the knife, and
that carries life in prison or the death penalty. You
(25:16):
know that's going to be decided down the road as
the prosecutors deliberate over the case. And not a whole
lot of new information has come out beyond that. Now,
a lot of media outlets did a story about Nick
Reiner's background because there was a lot of material to
(25:36):
write about. This is not something I was aware of.
But in twenty sixteen, Robin Nick made this movie called
Being Charlie, and it was about a famous dad and
his drug addicted son, and it was semi autobiographical, and
they did a round of media interviews, podcasts, and that
(25:58):
seems to be where most of the material is coming
about Nick. And I mentioned one of the one of
the quotes before the news. I'll just quickly read it
again if you're just joining us. Nick was asked by
the host why he started taking drugs and said, well,
(26:19):
in effect, my dad is Rob Reiner, extremely famous and accomplished,
and my grandfather is Carl Reiner, extremely famous and accomplished
in the previous generation. Actually they overlapped. They both had
movies at about the same time over the years. And
Nick shows up and quote, I had no identity, I
(26:39):
had no passions. And I think the reason I had
no identity because I have a famous dad and a
famous grandpa, and that sort of informs who you are.
So I want to edge out my own identity with
a more rebellious, angry, drug addicted sort of persona, and
that's out of the La Times. Wall Street Journal went
into his background and found that an interventionist got involved
(27:03):
for the first time when he was fourteen years old.
He was on this podcast called Dopey about substance use
and recovery, and over the years he was on the
podcast a number of times and described being in and
out of rehab at his parents, urging his parents, watching
him do cocaine and heroin, and at one time his
(27:27):
father tried to console his son after he woke his
parents up during an acid trip, and when Dick said
on the podcast in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
I've got a spit.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Polished older brother who looks like me but just does
everything right. And I have a sister who went off
to college. He didn't go to high school or college.
Nick instead went to a wilderness program in Utah. He
also went to all these rehabs, eighteen of them, which
I still stunned by. And he lived on the street.
(27:59):
He was homeless in you know, all these different states,
like bug Main And he says the question I love
to hear is you come from a background like this,
how could you ever get into drugs? This is he
said this when he was twenty two, ten years ago.
It's like, well, gee, I mean, I don't even know
(28:19):
where to start. And there's a lot of quotes from
a lot of people over the years who said he
was a good guy, and he probably was a good
guy when he wasn't whacked out on the drugs. Now,
how much mental illness led to the drugs? This is
always like a chicken and egg situation, and it reflects
what's going on the streets with all these crazy mental
(28:40):
patients and drug addicts running around. In some cases, their
mental illness led them to drugs because they're taking drugs
to quiet all the voices in their head, all the
demons in their mind. Or sometimes they get on drugs,
the drugs start doing brain damage and that creates the
mental illness that creates the demons. You know, it's it's
(29:02):
a it's a terrible cycle, and one feeds into the next.
So he's has a problem all all his life. I mean,
you know, if he's if he's taken drugs at fourteen,
if he needs an interventionist at fourteen, that means he's
been taking drugs for over twenty years, you know, going
(29:27):
back before maybe before puberty. Uh And and because you know,
there must have been a lot going on mentally in
his head that he was trying to quiet. None of
this is an excuse, uh there. I mean, it's the
most horrific crime. And you know, to repeatedly stab your
(29:49):
mother and father to death, the rage and the anger
in that, and it's it's premeditated to some extent, which
is why those first degree murder charges, even if if
it's just a few hours of premeditation. It wasn't having
an argument, suddenly pulling out a gun and firing a bullet.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
This is to do it twice to do it to
both of them.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
That's uh, yeah, he's got to be locked up forever,
there's no question about it. Although you've you've got to
believe that the attorneys are looking at some kind of
mental illness or or defective mind defense. What you know,
there's variations on this in every state. I don't know
(30:34):
exactly what California has, and they're usually really difficult to
prove and they're often not right. One of the let
me see one of the podcast host guy's name is Mannheim.
I'm just thumbing through these articles here. Yeah, Dave Mannheim
(30:57):
and Chris O'Connor. These are the hosts of Dopey and
like one of the two hosts died of an overdose
in twenty eighteen. They recorded four conversations and Mannheim said
he had probably ten total conversations over the years, and
(31:17):
he said Reiner was struggling with recovery one time they spoke,
and he wasn't interested in twelve step work. I know
he'd been to treatment, I knew he was involved in writing.
I knew he'd loved to play pickup basketball in New
York City. I believe he was interested in spirituality, but
he says, big picture, we're Europe against Rob Reiner and
Carl Reiner and you're a struggling drug addict. The pressure
(31:39):
is immense because how accomplished is anybody at the age
of twenty four. Now, he could write, and he did.
He did write Being Charlie, which is the movie he
made with his dad. He had once destroyed oh. Nick
Reiner said during another appearance on The Dope podcast that
(32:02):
he had destroyed his family's guesthouse while spun out on uppers,
and he once suffered what he called a cocaine heart attack.
So whether he took some bizarre set of drugs before
during after the party. They said at the party he
was acting weird. He was running around. There were a
(32:22):
lot of famous people at the party because it was
a Conan O'Brien's house. It was a Christmas party, and
he's running up to them and saying are you famous?
Are you famous? Repeatedly, and everybody's backing away. It's like,
what's this weirdo? And at one point he walked up
to Bill Hayter, the comic, and he interrupted him, and
(32:43):
Hayter looked at him and said, I'm in a private
conversation and Nick Reiner just stood there and stared and
then stormed off, and everybody was rattled because I guess
he gave them this angry, prolonged death stare. So there
must have been only one of two things. Are both
(33:08):
either had a total psychotic mental breakdown or the drugs
were both happening at the same time. And they took
him to the party because the mother had been very
worried about it. They didn't want to leave them alone,
it looks like, and so they took him to the party,
and then he freaked out at the party and he
and his dad got into a big argument, supposedly. I mean,
(33:28):
we'll find out what's true and what's not. It's really
hard to trust the early coverage stories like this. All right,
coming up after two o'clock, we are going to talk
with Royal Oaks about this, he's the ABC News legal analyst,
about the specific charges here and what could happen next. Again,
it's two first degree murder charges. And at three o'clock
(33:51):
we got Mark Garrago's coming on. Yes, not about this case,
but he is representing a Pacific Palisades homeowner who's filed
his own lawsuit. I guess separate from the thousands who
have filed a mass lawsuit. And we have Roger Bailey
on frequently eight. He's not part of that specific case,
but his own case. So we'll find out what Mark
(34:13):
Geragos thinks about LA's response to the fire.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI A
six forty.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Want to follow us to social media, It's at John
Cobelt Radio at John Cobelt Radio and Moistline eight seven
seven Moist eighty six from Friday eight seven seven Moist
eighty six are usually talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
If you're just joining us and.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
You wonder what's happened in the Robin Michelle Reiner murder case.
The son Nick has been charged well, charge has been
announced against him by the DA Nathan Hockman, and it's
two first degree murder chargers with special circumstances because he
used a knife and that carries life in prison without
(35:03):
parole or the death penalty that's going to be decided
later on Royal Oaks from ABC News is going to
come on with us right after Brigida's news and talk
about the legal aspect of this case in terms of
the of the charges, like what differentiates one degree of
murder from another, what the special circumstance indicates, what the
(35:24):
likelihood of the death penalty is. All that stuff we'll
talk about with Royal Oaks, ABC News legal analysts coming up.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
The brad University, you know, they had they had a
shooting and they haven't gotten a suspect yet. They rested
somebody and then let them go quickly. So it's been Saturday, Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday now and they don't know who it is and
they don't have much of a clue. This guy brought
(35:55):
a gun onto a college campus and his face was
caught and he was dressed in black, and they have
video and photos from security cameras, but you can't tell
who it is. And he walked into a classroom, rooms
one sixty six of the Barrison Holly Building. Students were
(36:16):
in there. It was a final exam review session for
ECON one ten, Principles of Economics, and they fired forty rounds,
killed two people, wounded nine more, one student still in
critical condition. There was no police. Now, Brown Ivy League,
God knows what that that. It's probably like eighty ninety
(36:40):
thousand dollars a year for tuition. They have a tremendous
amount of money, billions of dollars in an endowment. Apparently
it didn't spend enough money on security cameras and they
had no police or campus security to confront or follow
the shooter, so he got away. There is some video
(37:01):
of him walking off the campus. They have no clues
to his identity or his motive, and as far as
we know, he's still at large, and there's if you
if you look at the surveillance footage, there's nothing distinguishable
(37:23):
about him. But they they don't have cameras, or at
least not enough cameras, and the cameras are not are
not high resolution, which is really shocking because I don't know.
I think in this building, what is there a camera
about every every eight feet? There are you probably passed
(37:45):
through hundreds of security cameras a day. And the mayor
Providence on Sunday night says, at this time, we have
no actionable information from video. We're looking State Attorney General
(38:05):
Peter Naranha said, if there was a piece of video
where we could show you a face and say this
is our person of interest or a suspect, you'd have it.
It looks like it looks like that the building they
were in was an old building connected to a new building,
and somehow the video cameras quality video cameras didn't make
(38:28):
it to record the action at the old building. They
have eight hundred cameras at Brown University, but they didn't
have anything useful in this building, which everybody is stunned by.
We're just used to having seventeen different angles of a
(38:52):
crime being committed or somebody escaping and getting their identity
very quickly, like in the Charlie Kirk killing, and the
district attorney said there or as the Attorney General said,
there's wasn't a lot of cameras in at Brown building.
We're not holding back video that we'd think is useful.
(39:15):
With all the money they have and all the school
shootings that have went on and all the bayhemn that's
gone on on Ivy League campuses, with the protests and
the violence and the Palestindian nonsense. Wow, that's pretty stunning.
I didn't think that was possible. I would have thought
(39:36):
that it Brown, every square inch of land there would
be covered eight different ways with the highest resolution color
video slow motion that you could you could zoom in
and practically see a guy's DNA, but they didn't have it.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
And now they're sitting on their thumbs because they don't have.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
A clue to who this guy was, and they don't
know where he is, could be anywhere in the world.
So he's, uh, it's gonna well, we'll see, can't make
any predictions. Roy LAK's coming up next about the charges
being filed against Nick Reiner and Brigidia di Castinos live
in the CAFI twenty four our newsroom.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
You can always hear the show live on KFI AM
six forty from one to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course, anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Can't. I am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to the John Cobelt Podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
John Cobelt Show. We're on every day from one until
four o'clock and then after four o'clock John Cobelt Show
on demand on the iHeart app. We are awaiting any
moment an official press conference in the Rob Reiner and
Michelle Reiner murders.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Just got a five minute warning.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Five minutes, okay, and Nathan Hakman, the district attorney, is
supposed to announce specific charges against against Nick Reiner the
Sun and so we'll bring that to you live coming up.
They've they've got television shots at the podium and we
(00:45):
should be rolling any minute now.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yesterday's news confidence never happened.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Everybody was waiting around for a couple hours before we
found out that they weren't going to have it. Also,
apparently Nick Reiner is being given a psychiatric evaluation right now.
He doesn't have medical clearance to go to a preliminary
(01:14):
arraignment or any any kind of legal hearing over this.
According to his attorney, Alan Jackson, He's being evaluated and
so we'll see that where that goes. I mean, you know,
I'll get to it later, but you know, there could
(01:35):
very well be mental illness. We may be getting a
signal of the kind of defense they may ultimately use
if this goes to a jury trial. Clearly, this kid
was in great mental upheaval for a long time. I
read a lot about his background today, and he started
(01:58):
doing drugs when he was fourteen years old. So we're
talking about eighteen solid years. And I've seen various numbers
for the amount of rehab he's gone through. I've seen
it as high as seventeen according to one story, eighteen
in another story. You know, you go through eighteen rehabs.
(02:20):
Maybe rehab for some people doesn't work. We talked about
this yesterday, that maybe some people can't be fixed. And
in very rare cases, you've got a choice between kicking
your kid out on the street where he's probably gonna
end up dead. And Nick Ryder was homeless frequently. He
(02:41):
has said he was homeless in various states around the country,
and or you know, there's a rare case of he
kills you, and at the end, those might be the
only two options. Now, killing a mother and a father
is very rare over the last ten years, from what
I've read today it's only happened sixty times in this
(03:02):
country where somebody, and it's almost always a guy, always
a man took out his mother and his father in
a double murder. Who were his parents, So it's it's
And obviously we have millions of drug addicts and millions
of people with mental illness, so this particular series of
(03:22):
events is highly unusual. But he was looking at photos.
You know, you look at candid photo shots and the
eyes can reveal a lot. There are many shots of
the family because you know, Rob Reiner was always appearing
(03:45):
at some Hollywood event and they have a red carpet
and you pose for the photographs, and Rob Reiner had
a very practiced smile for the cameras. He has another
son named Jake, who also got into the acting business
and has been a television news and he had the
smile right fixed, and as well as the daughter and
(04:07):
the wife a little less. So they're not they're not
television or movie professionals practice do with that look. But Nick,
the second son, his look from photo to photo is erratic,
to say the least, sometimes looking grim, grimacing eyes, looking
(04:27):
in the wrong direction, looking lost, looking kind of angry
rare is the photo that I've been looking through where
he's got the smile going, where it's it's locked in
on the camera and it looks authentic that he's that
it doesn't look strained pained, that he's trying to fake it.
I mean, I think he's extremely troubled all his life.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
And you know, it's it's.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Extremely difficult if somebody is not taking to the rehab,
if the rehab is not good enough, if I don't know,
the psychiatric medications are not good enough's that's really difficult
because obviously Reyner had all the money in the world
and all the connections in the world if he needed
to use them to get the help. And I think
(05:14):
once you've gone through eighteen tries and you missed eighteen times,
is there a point where nothing can be done? And
that's something that isn't talked about much in our culture.
Our culture likes to believe that if you throw enough
medication or enough counseling therapy at a person, eventually you
(05:35):
know it's going to work. He's going to fight his
way through it. Enough family support and all that, which
is all you know, nice nice thoughts, nice intentions, but
sometimes it doesn't work out that way, and I think
there are a lot of families who have that lost guy,
that lost soul who.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Sometimes it does not mean John have got La County DA.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Nathan Hawkman now lie with updates on the murders of
Rob and Michelle Reiner and.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
The distri Attorney Nathan Hoffman, just want to level expectations.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
We will allow some time for questions.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
But because of this is a preliminary investigation, still very active.
It's being filed as we speak, There's not a lot
we're going to be able to say right now. Also,
if you would please quote one question at a time
so that we can hear the question and answer appropriately,
so if we can have that decorum in here, DA
Nathan Homan, My.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
Name is Nathan Hoffman. I'm the District Attorney of Los
Angeles County. Today I'm here to announce that our office
will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who was accused
of killing his parents, actor director Rob Reiner and photographer
producer Michelle Singer Reiner.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
These charges will be two counts.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Of first degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders.
He also fest is 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 parole.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Or the death powerty.
Speaker 6 (07:18):
No decision at this point has been made with respect.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
To the death powerty we have requested, and currently Nick
Reiner is being held without bail.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
Now, before I in announcing these charges, I also want
to announce that they're just that they are charges.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
Charges are not evidence.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
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 towel twelve jurors who you will unanisately have to
find that we've met that standard to prove the charges
we bring to court.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Right now.
Speaker 6 (07:59):
With respect to the process, once the charges get filed
this afternoon, Nick Reiner will be then brought to court.
He is going through medical clearance, something that everybody who
gets arrested and gets held in a Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department jail goes through.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Once he is medically cleared, he will be brought to
court to be arraigned on these charges.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
At that point he will enter a plea of guilty
or not guilty now. Prosecuting these cases involving family members
are some of the most challenging and most heart wrenching
cases that this office faces because of the intimate and
often brutal nature of the crimes involved. Rob Reiner was
(08:45):
a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our
entertainment industry for decades. His wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, was
inequally iconic photographer and producer. Their loss is beyond tragic,
(09:05):
and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice.
I want to thank LAPD Chief McDonald, who is here
today along with Deputy Chief Allen Hamilton from the LAPD
and LAPD Captain Scott Williams, and the entire Robbery Homicide
(09:26):
Division who literally has been working around the clock to
gather the evidence that have led to the charges we're
going to be filing today. Also from my office, I
have Assistant District Attorney Maria Ramirez, I have Director of
Specialized Prosecutions, John McKinney.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
I have our head Deputy of.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
Major Crimes, Craig hum and I have the two prosecutors
who will be leading the prosecution in this case, Assistant
had Deputy of Major Crimes Habi Ballian and Deputy District
Attorney from Major Crimes Johnathan and Chung. They will bring
their decades of experience to holding this murderer.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Accountable for his actions.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
At this point, again, you will hear in the media rumors,
you will hear speculation, you will hear hearsay. 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 coroner's office, or from the courtroom itself, and
(10:29):
there's a good chance you are hearing misinformation because at
the appropriate time, the actual evidence involved in this case
will be presented in a court of law.
Speaker 5 (10:41):
So I asked for your patience until that is done.
Speaker 6 (10:44):
But again, please do not rely on rank, speculation, rumor
or hearsay to believe that you understand anything about what
went on in this case.
Speaker 5 (10:54):
I now like to turn over to Chief MacDonald.
Speaker 7 (10:57):
Thank you, good afternoon, and thank you all for being
here today.
Speaker 8 (11:02):
And it's with deep sadness today address the tragic loss
of Robert Michelle Reiner.
Speaker 7 (11:07):
On December fourteenth, twenty twenty five, LAPD.
Speaker 8 (11:10):
Officers from our West Los Angeles Division responded to a
death investigation at the two hundred block of South Chadbourne Avenue,
which is in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Upon
entering the residence, they discovered the bodies of mister and
Missus Reiner. Detectives from our Robbery Homicide Division Homicide Special
Section immediately initiated a comprehensive investigation. The evidence gathered led
(11:38):
to the arrest of their son, Nick Reiner, who was
taken into custody later that night without incident, and the
Exposition Park section of our city. Today, the Los Angeles
County District's Attorney's Office has formerly filed charges against mister.
Speaker 7 (11:52):
Reiner for the murder of his parents.
Speaker 8 (11:55):
This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for
the Reiner family and their love ones, but for our
entire city.
Speaker 7 (12:02):
We extend our deepest.
Speaker 8 (12:03):
Condolences to all of those who are affected by this tragedy.
I want to take a moment to recognize and thank
our criminal justice partners, the District Attorney's Office led by D. A. Hockman,
and everyone who worked tirelessly on this investigation. Their swift action, professionalism,
and commitment to justice have been instrumental bringing clarity and
accountability to this case. The LAPD remains steadfast in our
(12:27):
mission to protect life.
Speaker 7 (12:28):
And uphold justice. We will continue to support the.
Speaker 8 (12:31):
Ryner family ensure that every step forward is taken with care,
dignity and resolved.
Speaker 7 (12:37):
Thank you questions.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
I guess right here in the front it's brain.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
Could you talk about why you feel this case rises
to special circumstances? So special circumstances is a situation where
one of the enumerated factors that lead to elevating in
some ways a first degree murder case to a special
circumstance first degree murder case occurs. One of those special
(13:09):
circumstances is called multiple murders. Here we have to and
it qualifies under the definition of multiple murders to allege
the special circumstance in this particular case.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Jesus was Nick Runner found and was there any evidence
on him in particular bind that city?
Speaker 8 (13:29):
Yeah, he was found with good solid police work, investigative
tools used by Robberie, homicide and GET and Icotic Division
detectives with the US Marshal Service Task.
Speaker 7 (13:40):
Force involved as well. So we're thankful for the work
that was done.
Speaker 8 (13:45):
I won't go into talking about what was found or
anything that could potentially taint the investigation.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Given mixed history of drug use, was there any indication
that he was under the influence at the time of
his running?
Speaker 7 (13:59):
No, thank you again, that's another question. I can't touch you.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Illness background, I'm sorry, Please repeat the question.
Speaker 8 (14:08):
Is there any evidence of mental illnesses background beyond the addiction?
Speaker 6 (14:12):
The evidence of any evidence if there is any mental
illness for his background will be coming out in the
hearings to that will occur.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
We anticipate again.
Speaker 6 (14:22):
After the arrangement, the process will go through the normal
process a case like this goes through at the appropriate time.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
If there is evidence of mental illness, it will.
Speaker 6 (14:32):
Be presented in court and in whatever detail the defense
seeks to do that.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Yes, it would.
Speaker 9 (14:42):
Are you just maybe get any kind of significant delay
in bringing this case to trial on the basis perhaps
that they have to differ significant psychological evaluation, because would
also give your people what they need the way backgrounds,
but what might describe why as actions happens the way
they do.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
We don't anticipate any significant delay more than is involved
in a first degree murder case with special circumstances. These
are some of the most serious charges that a DA's
office can bring against anyone. And we anticipate that the
discovery that we will produce to the.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Defense will be robust. It will be very involved.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
They'll want adequate time to review it though again they'll
want to go through every single factor that they can
ascertain in the defense of mister Nick Reinder. So again,
this will proceed along the tracks that many of the
first degree murder cases to proceed. Do I anticipate it
being particularly fast, No, I anticipate it being very thorough. Yes,
(15:42):
right now, Charity, we are not at this time the.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
RHINE will help with your investigations so far?
Speaker 4 (15:54):
And did they provide any informational assistance which led to
being western?
Speaker 5 (15:59):
I mean defer to the chief of this.
Speaker 10 (16:03):
I have Deputy G. Fallon have Chief of Detectives. We
don't have any uh specific information. We're gonna release it
this time regarding UH the families information they provided and
as we move forward that that information UH will be
discussed in the appropriate venue, which would be the course.
Can you talk anything more about just not the condition
(16:25):
that was something arrested he a resident?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Was he walking around?
Speaker 5 (16:28):
Has he observed from them, but never than anything on
the consultation.
Speaker 10 (16:34):
So specifically, he was arrested in in in a public
area in the Exposition Park area near the University of
Southern California campus. He was approached by the officers and
he was arrested without incident. There were no indications that uh,
there was no indication that he was going to resist.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
Or anything like that.
Speaker 10 (16:53):
He didn't flee or anything like that. He was taken
into custody without UH issue and and he was transported
to are police.
Speaker 6 (17:00):
Records take a question back there, Yes, found. He has
been alleged. One of these special allegations is that the
murder was committed with a deadly weapon or a knife.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
As to where and how uh the weapon will be
was located or will be located.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
That will actually be evidence we're presenting court.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
Let me take a question over him.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You give us a timeline up when you think the
murders occurred, because now we know that there was an
altercation on Saturday night at a party.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Do we know that this happened Saturday night or maybe
Sunday morning. I'll defer to the chief one. We don't have.
We don't have.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
I'm Sorry, we don't have that kind of specificity yet.
Speaker 8 (17:46):
We're waiting the coroner to be able to try and
determine as best they can at this point in time
of death.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Chief Change Jeff McDonald, who called n Uh, let's we'll
take the question back the yes, can you tell us
who called nine to one one?
Speaker 7 (18:04):
Chief Radio?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Okay?
Speaker 10 (18:10):
So, in terms of how the Los Angeles Police Department
became aware, it was a request from the Los Angeles
Fire Department who responded to the scene. First, we responded
to their request for assistance at the scene of the incident.
Our initial Westly officers that responded determined that a crime
had occurred, and they immediately notified our Robert Homins Side division. Uh,
(18:30):
they've responded and they've taken over the investigations since that point.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I know you're always you're hesitant to talk about sensitive evidence,
but based on the evidence collected to support these charges
did then include an admission by the defendant to be
eleged crime.
Speaker 6 (18:50):
So any statements maybe by the defendant at any point
in time would be the type of evidence we will
be presenting in court.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
Let they take one. We'll take one question right here. Sorry,
I good question.
Speaker 6 (19:02):
Hold on one second, I just identified this, gentleman.
Speaker 9 (19:07):
We have an ultimated time for the preachure of the
auto information coming from the medliccignment, your alders and to
the techs and case.
Speaker 5 (19:14):
We do not have the estimated time that it will take.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
We know that they're working on it expeditiously, but as
to when they delivered, we do not have that estimated time.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
I'll take that one last question. I was just wondering.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
I know these types of cases are especially difficult. How
much do you take into account what the family wants
when it comes to charges when you're dealing with a
domestic situation like that, and does that factor into whether
you will go after life parole or possibly.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Dead in these cases, like like any of these cases,
we will take the the thoughts and desires of the
family into consideration in making our decision.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
Thank you all very much.
Speaker 11 (19:55):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI A
six fording.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
All right.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
That was Nathan Hawkman in the La County District Attorney
announcing formal charges against Nick Reiner UH two charges of
first degree murder with special circumstances and on the table
is the death penalty yet to be determined, but you
can get life in prison without parole or the death
penalty when you have first degree murder convictions with special circumstances.
(20:25):
So uh, and first degree murder uh implies that there
was premeditation and the mystery uh surrounding this is the timeline.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, they you know, they supposedly had an argument Rob
and Nick Reiner at the Christmas party. Uh. But there's
no indication what time the argument was, what time they
left the party, if they all left together in the
same vehicle, if Nick came with them to the family
home or came later separately. We do know he checked
(21:04):
into this hotel near the Cinamonica Pier at four am
and then checked out early. And when the staff went
inside the room late morning, they found blood in the shower,
They found blood on the sheets. So the assumption is,
(21:26):
unless somehow he snuck out nobody noticed, is he committed
the murder before four am, before he arrived at the hotel. Now,
the bodies were not found until after three pm by
their daughter roaming, So somewhere in that eleven hour period
(21:47):
or you know, maybe eighteen hour period going all the
way back to the night before. So all that stuff
has to be filled out, all right, we got some
details here New York Post. Rob Reiner and his wife
Michelle were dead for at least several hours, and rigor
mortis already appeared to have set in. Uh and when
(22:12):
Romey found her parents' bodies, there remains were in a
state of rigor mortis. According to law enforcement sources talking
to TMZ stated decay generally begins two to six hours
after death. So if all that's true, and again this
is law enforcement sources talking to TMZ, then that would
(22:34):
indicate that.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
That they were dead.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Well, it doesn't doesn't really, it doesn't really answer the
question as to whether the stabbing happened in the middle
of the night or perhaps later. Now, Nick Reiner, we're
gonna We're gonna have the newscast in just a couple
of minutes, and we'll we'll flesh out Nick Reiner's background
some more.
Speaker 8 (22:58):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Nick had obviously a gigantic struggle with drugs going back
to the age of fourteen, and from age fourteen until
age thirty two he did go to rehab, according to
multiple reports eighteen times, which is just staggering. There's a
(23:24):
little anecdote in the LA Times story today, because in
twenty sixteen the experience was so traumatic and profound that
Nick and Rob Reiner made a film called Being Charlie,
and they went on a press tour. They were on
a video podcast promoting the film.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Again.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It was semi auto biographical of the famous father and
his drug addicted son, and Nick was asked why he
started taking drugs in the first place, and he blamed
the fame of his dad, Rob and his grandfather. Carl Reiner,
who older generations may remember, is a famous comedian going
(24:09):
back to the early days of television in the nineteen fifties,
and a famous director as well. He among his many accomplishments,
he created the Dick Van Dyke Show in the nineteen sixties.
So Nick, the son and the grandson of these two
entertainment giants, said, I had no identity and I had
no passions. And I think the reason I had no
(24:31):
identity because I have a famous dad and a famous grandpa,
and that fame sort of informs who you are. So
I wanted to adge out on my own identity with
a more rebellious, angry, drug addicted sort of persona. We'll
talk more about this when we come back.
Speaker 11 (24:46):
You're listening to John Cobels on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
We just carried Nathan Hoffman's press conference live and he
announced the charges against Nick Reiner for killing his parents,
Rob and Michelle Reiner. And it's two charges of first
degree murder with special circumstances related to the knife, and
that carries life in prison or the death penalty. You
(25:16):
know that's going to be decided down the road as
the prosecutors deliberate over the case. And not a whole
lot of new information has come out beyond that. Now,
a lot of media outlets did a story about Nick
Reiner's background because there was a lot of material to
(25:36):
write about. This is not something I was aware of.
But in twenty sixteen, Robin Nick made this movie called
Being Charlie, and it was about a famous dad and
his drug addicted son, and it was semi autobiographical, and
they did a round of media interviews, podcasts, and that
(25:58):
seems to be where most of the material is coming
about Nick. And I mentioned one of the one of
the quotes before the news. I'll just quickly read it
again if you're just joining us. Nick was asked by
the host why he started taking drugs and said, well,
(26:19):
in effect, my dad is Rob Reiner, extremely famous and accomplished,
and my grandfather is Carl Reiner, extremely famous and accomplished
in the previous generation. Actually they overlapped. They both had
movies at about the same time over the years. And
Nick shows up and quote, I had no identity, I
(26:39):
had no passions. And I think the reason I had
no identity because I have a famous dad and a
famous grandpa, and that sort of informs who you are.
So I want to edge out my own identity with
a more rebellious, angry, drug addicted sort of persona, and
that's out of the La Times. Wall Street Journal went
into his background and found that an interventionist got involved
(27:03):
for the first time when he was fourteen years old.
He was on this podcast called Dopey about substance use
and recovery, and over the years he was on the
podcast a number of times and described being in and
out of rehab at his parents, urging his parents, watching
him do cocaine and heroin, and at one time his
(27:27):
father tried to console his son after he woke his
parents up during an acid trip, and when Dick said
on the podcast in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
I've got a spit.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Polished older brother who looks like me but just does
everything right. And I have a sister who went off
to college. He didn't go to high school or college.
Nick instead went to a wilderness program in Utah. He
also went to all these rehabs, eighteen of them, which
I still stunned by. And he lived on the street.
(27:59):
He was homeless in you know, all these different states,
like bug Main And he says the question I love
to hear is you come from a background like this,
how could you ever get into drugs? This is he
said this when he was twenty two, ten years ago.
It's like, well, gee, I mean, I don't even know
(28:19):
where to start. And there's a lot of quotes from
a lot of people over the years who said he
was a good guy, and he probably was a good
guy when he wasn't whacked out on the drugs. Now,
how much mental illness led to the drugs? This is
always like a chicken and egg situation, and it reflects
what's going on the streets with all these crazy mental
(28:40):
patients and drug addicts running around. In some cases, their
mental illness led them to drugs because they're taking drugs
to quiet all the voices in their head, all the
demons in their mind. Or sometimes they get on drugs,
the drugs start doing brain damage and that creates the
mental illness that creates the demons. You know, it's it's
(29:02):
a it's a terrible cycle, and one feeds into the next.
So he's has a problem all all his life. I mean,
you know, if he's if he's taken drugs at fourteen,
if he needs an interventionist at fourteen, that means he's
been taking drugs for over twenty years, you know, going
(29:27):
back before maybe before puberty. Uh And and because you know,
there must have been a lot going on mentally in
his head that he was trying to quiet. None of
this is an excuse, uh there. I mean, it's the
most horrific crime. And you know, to repeatedly stab your
(29:49):
mother and father to death, the rage and the anger
in that, and it's it's premeditated to some extent, which
is why those first degree murder charges, even if if
it's just a few hours of premeditation. It wasn't having
an argument, suddenly pulling out a gun and firing a bullet.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
This is to do it twice to do it to
both of them.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
That's uh, yeah, he's got to be locked up forever,
there's no question about it. Although you've you've got to
believe that the attorneys are looking at some kind of
mental illness or or defective mind defense. What you know,
there's variations on this in every state. I don't know
(30:34):
exactly what California has, and they're usually really difficult to
prove and they're often not right. One of the let
me see one of the podcast host guy's name is Mannheim.
I'm just thumbing through these articles here. Yeah, Dave Mannheim
(30:57):
and Chris O'Connor. These are the hosts of Dopey and
like one of the two hosts died of an overdose
in twenty eighteen. They recorded four conversations and Mannheim said
he had probably ten total conversations over the years, and
(31:17):
he said Reiner was struggling with recovery one time they spoke,
and he wasn't interested in twelve step work. I know
he'd been to treatment, I knew he was involved in writing.
I knew he'd loved to play pickup basketball in New
York City. I believe he was interested in spirituality, but
he says, big picture, we're Europe against Rob Reiner and
Carl Reiner and you're a struggling drug addict. The pressure
(31:39):
is immense because how accomplished is anybody at the age
of twenty four. Now, he could write, and he did.
He did write Being Charlie, which is the movie he
made with his dad. He had once destroyed oh. Nick
Reiner said during another appearance on The Dope podcast that
(32:02):
he had destroyed his family's guesthouse while spun out on uppers,
and he once suffered what he called a cocaine heart attack.
So whether he took some bizarre set of drugs before
during after the party. They said at the party he
was acting weird. He was running around. There were a
(32:22):
lot of famous people at the party because it was
a Conan O'Brien's house. It was a Christmas party, and
he's running up to them and saying are you famous?
Are you famous? Repeatedly, and everybody's backing away. It's like,
what's this weirdo? And at one point he walked up
to Bill Hayter, the comic, and he interrupted him, and
(32:43):
Hayter looked at him and said, I'm in a private
conversation and Nick Reiner just stood there and stared and
then stormed off, and everybody was rattled because I guess
he gave them this angry, prolonged death stare. So there
must have been only one of two things. Are both
(33:08):
either had a total psychotic mental breakdown or the drugs
were both happening at the same time. And they took
him to the party because the mother had been very
worried about it. They didn't want to leave them alone,
it looks like, and so they took him to the party,
and then he freaked out at the party and he
and his dad got into a big argument, supposedly. I mean,
(33:28):
we'll find out what's true and what's not. It's really
hard to trust the early coverage stories like this. All right,
coming up after two o'clock, we are going to talk
with Royal Oaks about this, he's the ABC News legal analyst,
about the specific charges here and what could happen next. Again,
it's two first degree murder charges. And at three o'clock
(33:51):
we got Mark Garrago's coming on. Yes, not about this case,
but he is representing a Pacific Palisades homeowner who's filed
his own lawsuit. I guess separate from the thousands who
have filed a mass lawsuit. And we have Roger Bailey
on frequently eight. He's not part of that specific case,
but his own case. So we'll find out what Mark
(34:13):
Geragos thinks about LA's response to the fire.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI A
six forty.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Want to follow us to social media, It's at John
Cobelt Radio at John Cobelt Radio and Moistline eight seven
seven Moist eighty six from Friday eight seven seven Moist
eighty six are usually talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
If you're just joining us and.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
You wonder what's happened in the Robin Michelle Reiner murder case.
The son Nick has been charged well, charge has been
announced against him by the DA Nathan Hockman, and it's
two first degree murder chargers with special circumstances because he
used a knife and that carries life in prison without
(35:03):
parole or the death penalty that's going to be decided
later on Royal Oaks from ABC News is going to
come on with us right after Brigida's news and talk
about the legal aspect of this case in terms of
the of the charges, like what differentiates one degree of
murder from another, what the special circumstance indicates, what the
(35:24):
likelihood of the death penalty is. All that stuff we'll
talk about with Royal Oaks, ABC News legal analysts coming up.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
The brad University, you know, they had they had a
shooting and they haven't gotten a suspect yet. They rested
somebody and then let them go quickly. So it's been Saturday, Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday now and they don't know who it is and
they don't have much of a clue. This guy brought
(35:55):
a gun onto a college campus and his face was
caught and he was dressed in black, and they have
video and photos from security cameras, but you can't tell
who it is. And he walked into a classroom, rooms
one sixty six of the Barrison Holly Building. Students were
(36:16):
in there. It was a final exam review session for
ECON one ten, Principles of Economics, and they fired forty rounds,
killed two people, wounded nine more, one student still in
critical condition. There was no police. Now, Brown Ivy League,
God knows what that that. It's probably like eighty ninety
(36:40):
thousand dollars a year for tuition. They have a tremendous
amount of money, billions of dollars in an endowment. Apparently
it didn't spend enough money on security cameras and they
had no police or campus security to confront or follow
the shooter, so he got away. There is some video
(37:01):
of him walking off the campus. They have no clues
to his identity or his motive, and as far as
we know, he's still at large, and there's if you
if you look at the surveillance footage, there's nothing distinguishable
(37:23):
about him. But they they don't have cameras, or at
least not enough cameras, and the cameras are not are
not high resolution, which is really shocking because I don't know.
I think in this building, what is there a camera
about every every eight feet? There are you probably passed
(37:45):
through hundreds of security cameras a day. And the mayor
Providence on Sunday night says, at this time, we have
no actionable information from video. We're looking State Attorney General
(38:05):
Peter Naranha said, if there was a piece of video
where we could show you a face and say this
is our person of interest or a suspect, you'd have it.
It looks like it looks like that the building they
were in was an old building connected to a new building,
and somehow the video cameras quality video cameras didn't make
(38:28):
it to record the action at the old building. They
have eight hundred cameras at Brown University, but they didn't
have anything useful in this building, which everybody is stunned by.
We're just used to having seventeen different angles of a
(38:52):
crime being committed or somebody escaping and getting their identity
very quickly, like in the Charlie Kirk killing, and the
district attorney said there or as the Attorney General said,
there's wasn't a lot of cameras in at Brown building.
We're not holding back video that we'd think is useful.
(39:15):
With all the money they have and all the school
shootings that have went on and all the bayhemn that's
gone on on Ivy League campuses, with the protests and
the violence and the Palestindian nonsense. Wow, that's pretty stunning.
I didn't think that was possible. I would have thought
(39:36):
that it Brown, every square inch of land there would
be covered eight different ways with the highest resolution color
video slow motion that you could you could zoom in
and practically see a guy's DNA, but they didn't have it.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
And now they're sitting on their thumbs because they don't have.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
A clue to who this guy was, and they don't
know where he is, could be anywhere in the world.
So he's, uh, it's gonna well, we'll see, can't make
any predictions. Roy LAK's coming up next about the charges
being filed against Nick Reiner and Brigidia di Castinos live
in the CAFI twenty four our newsroom.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
You can always hear the show live on KFI AM
six forty from one to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course, anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
The John Kobylt Show News
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John Kobylt
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