What we know about Nick Reiner, son charged with murder of director Rob Reiner

Nick Reiner, 32, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after the deaths of his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his producer wife Michele Reiner.

The bodies of the celebrated couple, who were 78 and 68 respectively, were found at their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles , on Sunday.

Their son was arrested in Los Angeles the same day. US media report that he could enter a plea as early as Wednesday.

Rob Reiner, who was known for directing movies such as This Is Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally, had two sons and a daughter with his wife of 36 years.

Here is what we know about Nick Reiner, their younger son, and the investigation so far.

The couple's youngest child, daughter Romy, found their bodies in their home in Brentwood, a celebrity enclave full of mansions, boutique shops and restaurants on the west side of Los Angeles, multiple sources confirmed to the BBC's US news partner CBS News.

The Reiners had suffered multiple stab wounds, CBS reported. Their cause of death has not officially been released.

The charges faced by Nick Reiner also include a "special allegation" that he "used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife".

US outlets reported that he and his father had attended a party the previous evening, and engaged in an argument of some kind. Reports vary as to the severity of the alleged row.

Nick Reiner is in custody without bail after being arrested on Sunday.

District attorney Nathan Hochman has said Mr Reiner is facing two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance alleging multiple murders. He could be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if convicted.

Unconfirmed speculation about a possible motive has appeared on social media. In comments that have spurred condemnation from both sides of the political aisle, President Donald Trump linked Rob Reiner's death to what he calls "Trump derangement syndrome", a term he often uses to describe his critics.

However, no motive for the killings has yet been alleged by prosecutors.

According to CBS, the defendant is being represented by celebrity defence lawyer Alan Jackson, who also represented disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in his Los Angeles rape case.

He was expected to appear in court on Tuesday, but Jackson told CBS that day that his client would not appear because he had not yet been "medically cleared" to do so.

US media report that he could enter a plea as early as Wednesday.

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The family openly discussed Nick Reiner's long struggles with substance abuse ahead of the release of his semi-autobiographical 2015 film Being Charlie. The father and son had teamed up to write and direct the film about a teenager addicted to drugs and his difficult road to recovery.

Rob and Michele Reiner said that they had felt desperate during their son's struggles, but when he would tell them that a rehab programme was not working, they did not always listen and took the word of the professionals treating their son. He was in and out of rehab centres for years and experienced homelessness as a teenager.

"We were so influenced by these people. They would tell us he's a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them," Michele told the Los Angeles Times in 2015.

Rob added: "We listened to them when we should have been listening to our son."

The film appeared to provide healing for the family. Rob said that by the time they started making the movie, their relationship "had gotten so much closer".

Likewise, Nick Reiner told Variety at the time that their relationship grew during the process. Although he loved working with his dad on the film, he added that he wanted to be independent and complete his own projects.

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Rob Reiner was previously married to late filmmaker Penny Marshall and adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner, now aged 61.

He met Michele Singer on the set of When Harry Met Sally. She was an actress, photographer and producer, and the founder of Reiner Light, a photography agency and production company.

A few years later they had their first son, Jake

In a 1998 interview with the BBC, before their daughter Romy was born, the director reflected on parenthood. He said his approach was changing, and through his experiences with his young sons, he was "learning about being a parent".

That same year, he helped pass an initiative to use revenue from cigarette taxes for prenatal and early childhood support programme called First Five California.

"I'm trying to improve the fabric of society by making an investment early on with children, so that we will have a reduction in crime and teen pregnancy and drug abuse and child abuse," he said.