Jake, son of Rob and Michele Reiner, remembers the moment he learned of his parents' death
Through an article on the Substack platform, Jake Reiner expressed what it meant for him to lose his parents
Jake Reiner spoke about the tragic death of his parents, the renowned filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, which occurred on December 14, 2015, at their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
In an emotional essay published through his account From Substack, Jake recounted the exact moment he received the devastating news while attending a memorial service for his best friend.
“I was at Union Station at a memorial service for one of my best friends, Christian Anderson, who passed away in October,” Jake wrote.
“It was at that moment that I received a call from my sister Romy telling me that our father had died. Minutes later, she called me again to tell me that our mother had also passed away.” Jake Reiner
The ride back to the family home, he described, was unbearable. "The 45-minute Lyft ride from downtown to the west side was agony. My world, as I knew it, had collapsed. I was in a trance. All I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home. I needed to get to my sister. I needed to figure out what the hell had just happened."
“My worst nightmare”
Jake, 34, confessed that every morning he wakes up having to convince himself that what happened wasn't a dream.
In his post, the Reiner's eldest son asserted that his parents “were the last people in the world who deserved what happened to them.”
“Nothing prepares you for what it feels like to lose both parents at the same time. It's too devastating to comprehend. This is truly my worst nightmare.”
Jake Reiner
And he added: “I can't stop thinking about how scared they must have been when they were killed. They should be enjoying the rest of their lives in peace, growing old together. Instead, that was taken from them, from me, from Romy, and we couldn't do anything about it.”
Rob and Michele Reiner, who had been married since 1989,They were 78 and 70 years old respectively at the time of their deaths.
Nick Reiner's Role in the Tragedy
Jake also addressed his younger brother, Nick Reiner, 32, who was arrested as the prime suspect in the murders and is currently facing two counts of first-degree murder. At a court hearing in February, Nick pleaded not guilty and remains incarcerated at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles.
“That night we lost more than half of our family in the most violent way imaginable,” Jake wrote. "It's almost impossible to process. Nick is at the center of this tragedy."
Jake's essay didn't go into detail about the motivation for the crimes, but acknowledged that "people have questions" and promised that "some of those answers will come with time."
Jake explained that he decided to publish his testimony a week before what will be "his first birthday without my parents." “I consider myself fortunate to have had them by my side for the past 34 years,” he added.

