Rob and Michele Reiner’s kids, Jake and Romy, have spoken out after their brother Nick was charged with murdering their parents.
“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,” Jake, 34, and Romy, 28, said in statement to Page Six on Wednesday. “The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience.”
“They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” the statement continued. “We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life. We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
Jake and Romy didn’t mention Nick, 32, in their statement.
Nick was arrested and charged with murdering Rob, 78, and Michele, 70.
He was hit with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance Tuesday, which could see him face the death penalty in the high-profile double slaying.
Romy reportedly stumbled on the gruesome crime scene when she went to check on her parents after a massage therapist received no response at the gate, the New York Times reported.
She found her dad’s body first, then fled the home and had her roommate call 911 while she reached out to Reiner’s best pal, Billy Crystal. After police and paramedics arrived, Romy learned her mother had also been murdered, per the NYT.
TMZ reported that Rob and Michele were dead for several hours after the stabbing before they were found.
Nick, who has long faced troubles with drug addiction, cycling in and out of rehab at least 17 times, allegedly got into a massive fight with his parents at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party the night before the murders.
He displayed erratic behavior that caught the attention of other guests at the party, and even got into a tiff with Bill Hader, sources told outlets, adding that the fight was possibly because Nick was back on drugs and refusing yet another go at treatment.
Over the years, Nick has had a complicated relationship with his famous father, with whom he made the 2015 film “Being Charlie” that was based on Nick’s experience with addiction.
An insider recently told Page Six that Nick “really resented his dad” and “hated himself for not being as talented, prolific or beloved as his dad or grandad.”
Nick has reportedly had issues with his siblings, as well.
A source told Us Weekly Monday that Nick “always” had a “volatile” relationship with Jake and Romy. The insider added that Romy “has been so traumatized by Nick’s behavior” over the years.
“She has always been so close with her parents, and watching their constant pain over Nick has impacted her and the whole family so much,” the insider said about Romy. “It’s been so much of their life. Rob and Michele were honest about their struggles with Nick, and those who spent time with the family saw it firsthand.”
The source also said that Rob and Michele “did everything a parent could possibly do” to help their troubled son.
During press for “Being Charlie,” Rob expressed regret at how he handled his son’s addiction battle.
“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen. We were desperate and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son,” the director said in September 2015 interview with the LA Times.
Rob was also the adoptive father of actress Tracy Reiner, whom he adopted during his marriage to late director Penny Marshall.
Tracy, 61, broke her silence on Rob and Michele’s brutal murders earlier this week.
“I came from the greatest family ever,” Tracy told NBC News. “I don’t know what to say. I’m in shock.”
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