CA - Murder victims Identified as Rob Reiner and wife Michele - LA Dec 14 2025

[Dotta]

They had already had a family therapist working with the family to try and help them with the family dynamic and how to work with Nick on his behaviour.

With poor outcome I'm afraid
(To put it mildly)

JMO!!!

 

[MistyWaters]

I'm curious whether Nick planned to tell police that everything was fine when he left home ... that he left, got a drink at the gas station, had a long walk, checked into a hotel to cool off, and his parents must have been murdered while he was away.

Did his parents confront him when they returned from the party and tell him to get a hotel for the night? Did they tell him to get out, and that made Nick angrier?

I doubt the evening ended with Rob telling Nick to have a good sleep and they'll talk about it later. Based on what we know, it sounds like Rob and Michele knew Nick well enough to know that he was too wound up to be safe.

Good points. Often times people can silently cope with serious issues as long as it stays secreted within the family. But at the party NR’s behaviour had to be extremely embarrassing and humiliating to the Reiners, especially if they been telling friends and neighbours that NR was doing fine.

Considering they brought him along, he hadn’t been initially invited, I can imagine it made the Reiners feel NR was making fools out of them in front of their neighbours and longtime friends. Therefore I agree, I doubt they all went home and agreed to let it be and talk about it the next day. There was a confrontation and things were said, maybe a case of killing the messenger.
JMO

 

[katydid23]

Weren't Police called to the house several times??
Were they not "criminal acts"??

No, they were mental health welfare checks. I guess he was out of control, they needed help with him?

Maybe one of the times that he smashed up everything in his room? I'm not sure they would arrest him for breaking things in his own room though.

 

[SaraSmile]

Weren't Police called to the house several times??
Were they not "criminal acts"??

Probably, like most Rich people, they try to sheild their family from bad press, and a police record. My take, Because of Ron’s standing in the community, he had an “agreement” with police, to settle disputes with police help/ protection, but not to file charges.

 

[Sadi]

Probably, like most Rich people, they try to sheild their family from bad press, and a police record. My take, Because of Ron’s standing in the community, he had an “agreement” with police, to settle disputes with police help/ protection, but not to file charges.

Or his parents could have said no to arresting him and they’ll work it out themselves. Like you said, avoid the publicity and having something on his record. MOO

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

RSBM

I don't understand this way of thinking

I'm very suspicious of all kinds of "camps",
after following the thread on WS about a boy who died suffocating in his bed while being restrained.

We don't have such camps where I live.

Psychiatric hospital with doctors who are specialists is the right place to treat MH problems.

IMO
Using drugs was secondary to very serious MH issues.
How were they treated?
What exactly was his problem?
Was he properly diagnosed?

It was reported that NR has been diagnosed with schizophrenia only recently, and he is already 32.

JMO

Mental illness is extremely stigmatized in the US. An inpatient psych stay would automatically disqualify you from certain careers.

Also, you may believe the drug addiction was secondary to a psych illness, but we don't know that. In someone with longstanding drug issues, there is no way whatsoever to know if the addiction led to psych issues or if the psych issues led to addiction. I haven't kept up with the articles, but has he been diagnosed with schizophrenia or with psychosis? I would find any diagnosis of schizophrenia highly suspect if it was made recently in this case because of the longstanding drug issues. He could have substance-induced psychosis or just plain psychosis. And yes, he could have schizophrenia certainly, but in someone with extensive drug history, it would be very difficult to argue any organic psychotic illness, and given that there's no evidence of sustained sobriety, I'm not sure how anyone could confidently diagnose him with schizophrenia.

 

[MistyWaters]

No, they were mental health welfare checks. I guess he was out of control, they needed help with him?

Maybe one of the times that he smashed up everything in his room? I'm not sure they would arrest him for breaking things in his own room though.

A welfare check request to LE asks them to check on the well-being of an individual because nobody has heard from them and no one else is present in the residence. It could involve concerns of suicide, a drug overdose or mental health. LE enters the residence, talks to the individual or seeks emergency assistance if necessary and reports back to the caller.

It is not a call asking for LE to attend to a situation involving violence.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

He says "everything in the guest house got wrecked," as though it had nothing to do with him. He doesn't take ownership and say "I destroyed my parents property."

Crazy? No logic? I don't believe it. He has enough logic to avoid taking responsibility for the damage he caused.

Everyone experiences anger at some point during their lives. Most learn to manage that anger. People like Nick choose to use their anger to intimidate others. His choice.

Meh, it's not always a choice. There are certain medical and psychiatric conditions that could make it more complicated. In someone with years of drug use, I'd worry about how it impacts the brain, possibly damages the parts of the brain that allow us to process information and make choices. Picture someone with behavioral issues in dementia. They're not making a choice to be angry or impulsive. Their brain has degenerated to the point that they can't control it. Similar things can happen with traumatic brain injuries and drug use. That's not an excuse for murder, of course. I'm just saying that controlling temper is not always a choice.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

At this point they probably did not believe he was having Mental Health problems. Lots of teens abuse drugs. They thought it was just drug abuse, most likely.

You cannot get a mental health clinic to accept a child who is smoking pot and taking pills. Not unless they are suicidal or doing criminal acts, etc.

SBMFF. Well, you actually can hospitalize them, even if they're not suicidal. There are dual diagnosis units all over the country who will treat people with substance use, including teens. But there has to be some other diagnosable psych condition, whether anxiety or depression or bipolar disorder or psychosis, etc. The question is, can they do it against their will? And that depends on the age of the child and on the state and their involuntary commitment laws.

As for a mental health clinic, they'll take him easily. Clinics are outpatient care, not inpatient. I suspect he was being seen outpatient as a kid/teen.

If a child is committing criminal acts, that isn't a qualification for a psych unit unless it's due to a mental health condition. Otherwise, it's a law enforcement issue, not psych.

 

[katydid23]

A welfare check request to LE asks them to check on the well-being of an individual because nobody has heard from them and no one else is present in the residence. It could involve concerns of suicide, a drug overdose or mental health. LE enters the residence, talks to the individual or seeks emergency assistance if necessary and reports back to the caller.

It is not a call asking for LE to attend to a situation involving violence.

Maybe when he was living there, and parents were out of town, they needed to check on him because he was not responding?

The only call that was specifically designated as mental health check was in 2019.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

A welfare check request to LE asks them to check on the well-being of an individual because nobody has heard from them and no one else is present in the residence. It could involve concerns of suicide, a drug overdose or mental health. LE enters the residence, talks to the individual or seeks emergency assistance if necessary and reports back to the caller.

It is not a call asking for LE to attend to a situation involving violence.

It actually can be a call asking for LE to attend to a situation involving violence. I've made these calls. In one case, it was DV incident in which I was on the phone with my patient as their spouse (who I knew had previously beaten my patient) was yelling in the background and then the line was cut. Police did a welfare check.

If someone suspected there was a safety issue, they could call for a welfare check, even if others are in the home. In some cases, the safety check would be for the other individuals and not necessarily the person having the crisis.

MOO.

 

[ttjo]

RSBM

I don't understand this way of thinking

I'm very suspicious of all kinds of "camps",
after following the thread on WS about a boy who died suffocating in his bed while being restrained.

We don't have such camps where I live.

I dont think we have those camps in Canada either, ( at least not that I am aware of) but we also have “ no restraint “ policies in group care , specifically no face down restraints b/c there have been similar incidents like this. Face down restraints are considered a restrictive practise. Any type of restraints and/or seclusion have pretty strict laws around it now.

 

[ttjo]

Do you think that Nick just called all his placements “rehab” when some of them were the camps, maybe for behavioural reasons not necessarily addiction?

 

[JDG]

I dont think we have those camps in Canada either, ( at least not that I am aware of) but we also have “ no restraint “ policies in group care , specifically no face down restraints b/c there have been similar incidents like this. Face down restraints are considered a restrictive practise. Any type of restraints and/or seclusion have pretty strict laws around it now.

We do have ‘military schools’ though with pretty severe consequences for boys who do not toe the line.

I think we are less likely to have the camps due to our weather conditions, ie snow etc.

 

[otto]

Do you think that Nick just called all his placements “rehab” when some of them were the camps, maybe for behavioural reasons not necessarily addiction?

I do. I think Nick's initial stint in rehabilitation was related to anger problems. Maybe he was smoking pot, maybe he claimed that he was using hard drugs.

Regardless, he was a 15 year old who was throwing tantrums, destroying family property, and probably posing a danger to his siblings. He had angry outbursts throughout his life, from early childhood to his 20s. That is the root of his problem.

 

[ttjo]

We do have ‘military schools’ though with pretty severe consequences for boys who do not toe the line.

I think we are less likely to have the camps due to our weather conditions, ie snow etc.

Very true, that is torture enough to be outside when its -25-30C

 

[otto]

We do have ‘military schools’ though with pretty severe consequences for boys who do not toe the line.

I think we are less likely to have the camps due to our weather conditions, ie snow etc.

I've been wondering why Nick wasn't sent to military school.

 

[Dotta]

I've been wondering why Nick wasn't sent to military school.

Military don't need recruits with MH problems.
There are very strict psychological tests as these people have access to weapons.
As far as I remember Bryan K. was declined entry to such a school.
Or was he expelled?
I'm not sure now.

JMO

 

[JDG]

We do have ‘military schools’ though with pretty severe consequences for boys who do not toe the line.

I think we are less likely to have the camps due to our weather conditions, ie snow etc.

Forget it, the school I was thinking of has closed and is being sued by many, many ex- students.

It closed in June of 2025.

It was a brutal place, not at all related to Canadian Forces.

 

[JDG]

Military don't need recruits with MH problems.
There are very strict psychological tests as these people have access to weapons.
As far as I remember Bryan K. was declined entry to such a school.
Or was he expelled?
I'm not sure now.

JMO

The types of ‘schools’ Im referring to are more like private reform schools.

Not related to the Canadian Military.