Nick Reiner’s hotel room was found covered in blood on the same day his mother and father were reportedly found with their throats slit, according to TMZ.
Rob, 78, and Michele Reiner, 70, were discovered by their daughter Romy Reiner at their $13.5 million home in the upmarket Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Hollywood director had been spotted arguing with Nick at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party just hours earlier on Saturday night, according to sources cited by TMZ. Nick, 32, is now in police custody and suspected of killing his parents, though he has yet to be formally charged.
Nick is reported to have checked into a Santa Monica hotel in the early hours of Sunday morning, long before the grisly discovery of his parents’ bodies. TMZ cited eyewitnesses who said he appeared “tweaked out” after checking in at The Pierside around 4 a.m., but they said there were no signs of blood or injuries on him when he arrived.
He reportedly booked the room for a single day and was later found by police in Exposition Park, 20 miles away, having never checked out.
TMZ added that when hotel staff went to clean the room, they found the shower “full of blood,” with a bed sheet over the window and blood on the bed.
At the time of writing, the bloodied room is understood to have been discovered before the bodies of his parents.
According to The Daily Mail, Romy, 28, may have told police to arrest her brother after she found the bodies of her parents, telling them he was “dangerous,” and allegedly telling cops he “should be a suspect.”
The famous couple had failed to answer the door to their masseuse at 2 p.m. on Sunday, immediately sparking concern. The Los Angeles Police Department then confirmed Nick had been arrested on Monday.
Tributes have poured in from all over Hollywood, with stars flocking to pay their respects to the slain pair.
Lord of the Rings Star Elijah Wood, who starred in Reiner’s 1994 film North, said, “Horrified to hear of the passing of Rob Reiner and his wonderful wife Michelle [sic]. So much love to their kids and family.”
Reiner’s New Girl co-star Zooey Deschanel said her heart was “broken,” describing him as the “warmest, funniest, most generous of spirits.” She added, “I cherish the time we spent working together and the many films he made that have shaped who I am.”
Meanwhile, Ben Stiller described him as “a kind caring person who was really really funny.”
The warm sentiment, however, was less forthcoming from President Donald Trump.
In a jaw-dropping post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
The When Harry Met Sally director had been an outspoken critic of Trump, saying in October that Trump was ushering in an age of “full-on autocracy.”
Trump’s remarks have been widely condemned, even by his one-time MAGA ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said, “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.”
Rep. Thomas Massie had a similar message, saying, “Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.”
Still, Trump later doubled down on his claim, saying on Tuesday that Reiner was “very bad for our country.”
In a striking contrast, former first lady Michelle Obama said on Jimmy Kimmel Live that Michele and Rob were “passionate” people who cared about their country.
“Let me just say this, unlike some people, Rob and Michelle Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know. They’re not deranged or crazed,” the 61-year-old said.
She added, “What they have always been are passionate people, in a time when there are not... there’s not a lot of courage going on. They were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about, and they cared about their family, and they cared about this country, and they cared about fairness and equity.”
The family had reportedly been battling to cope with Nick’s substance abuse problems for some time. He is being held without bail on suspicion of murder at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, TMZ reports.
