Nick Reiner movements detailed in days leading up to his parents' deaths as police build timeline

Los Angeles — The investigation into the deaths of film director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner progressed Friday as authorities connected their son, Nick Reiner, to a sequence of sightings across the city in the hours surrounding the killings. Investigators have said they are building a timeline of events that centers on Nick’s movements in the late Saturday night into Sunday morning period and his subsequent arrest nearby Exposition Park.

Witnesses who attended Conan O’Brien’s holiday party Saturday night described Nick Reiner as appearing out of place, sometimes disruptive and isolated from the group. Accounts differ on whether he left the party with his parents or wandered off separately, but several sources said he engaged in a tense exchange with his father and mother, and that he asked party guests whether they were famous. One account described a loud disagreement with comedian Bill Hader after his father introduced them, with onlookers saying Nick stormed off afterward. The Reiners and their son are members of a prominent Hollywood family, and the event drew other high-profile attendees.

Police have said Nick Reiner was last seen in the forecourt of Sinclair gas station after leaving the party, walking westbound before turning through to a nearby area. Around five miles from the Brentwood estate where the family lived, he was later connected to a stay at a Santa Monica hotel. At the Pierside Santa Monica, he reserved room 207 for a short stay beginning around 4 a.m. Sunday. Hotel staff later inspected the room and found what reports described as a shower stained with blood, a bed with blood spatters and windows covered by bed sheets. The circumstances in the room prompted authorities to consider the possibility he had been present during or shortly after the time the killings occurred, though investigators have not stated a definitive location for Nick at the moment the murders happened.

Over the next roughly 16 hours, Nick Reiner remained out of public sight. Surveillance and eyewitness accounts place him at a gas station near Exposition Park around the early evening hours, as police were following leads that had begun to converge. A gas station attendant who knew the family described seeing a man matching Nick’s description, wearing a hooded jacket and a backpack, moving through the area. Footage from a nearby Arco station later showed him approaching the convenience store, purchasing a beverage and then appearing to scan the surroundings before leaving. Investigators later confirmed that Nick traveled toward Exposition Park, a common campus-adjacent area near the University of Southern California, as night fell.

The victims, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, were found at their Brentwood home after a masseuse called to report concern when the couple failed to answer a scheduled appointment. Romy Reiner, the couple’s daughter, opened the door to discover her parents beaten and knifed to death; she then contacted emergency services and alerted friends. Responders arrived around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Romy told investigators that her brother could be a suspect, describing him as dangerous. Police also noted Nick’s absence at that time and pursued leads that mapped his movements in the city, including the Exposition Park area and nearby transit routes.

Authorities tracked Nick Reiner down several hours after the 911 call, arresting him without incident in the Exposition Park vicinity. He was taken into custody around six hours after the call was first placed, according to police logs, and transported to a Los Angeles police station for questioning. He was later housed at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. During his first court appearance, he wore an anti-suicide smock and was held in custody; prosecutors set bail at $4 million, but the figure was rescinded later as the case progressed. The hearing lasted only a few minutes, and Nick waived his right to enter a plea. His next appearance was scheduled for January 7.

Investigators say there is no public evidence indicating where Nick was at the time the killings themselves occurred, and they are reviewing his movements in a bid to determine whether he posed a threat to the public or to his family. Police have stressed that the timeline remains under active review as they examine surveillance video, transit records and other corroborating material. They have not released new details that would establish a motive or a clear sequence of events linking Nick directly to the killings, but the case has drawn intensified scrutiny given the family’s prominence in the entertainment industry.

Rob Reiner, a renowned director and actor, and Michele Singer Reiner had long been part of the Los Angeles cultural scene. The Brentwood home where the bodies were found sits in a quiet, upscale neighborhood, and the investigation has drawn attention from across the city as officials work to fill in gaps in the timeline and determine what happened in those hours between the party and the discovery of the deaths.

As the case moves forward, prosecutors will determine whether to pursue additional charges or seek a continuing investigation into Nick Reiner’s conduct and whereabouts in the days surrounding the incident. The court schedule, including the next appearance, will hinge on the evidence collected and any new information that surfaces during witness interviews, surveillance reviews and forensic analysis.