Nick Reiner’s descent into addiction as a teenager may have been because his parents were too fixated on their own Hollywood careers rather than their middle son, Megyn Kelly has said.
The journalist and commentator, 55, has insisted she is not ‘blaming’ Rob and Michele Reiner – but believes that it was ‘not good enough’ that ‘demon’ drugs got ‘hold of him’ as a child.
Nick Reiner appeared in court yesterday charged with the murders of his parents on Sunday, having allegedly slashed their throats as they lay in bed.
He was first in rehab aged 15 – one of 17 visits in his life – due to an addiction to cocaine and heroin. He had been homeless but was most recently living in an annex in the grounds of the $13.5million LA mansion where his parents died.
‘I’m not blaming Michele and Rob, but I do think we have to be honest about the fact that this level of drug addiction at this young an age may, may involve parents who were focused on the wrong thing, like careers instead of their kid’, Megyn Kelly has said.
‘And while it looks like Michele and Rob did everything within their power once they realised their kid was an addict to try to help him, that’s not good enough.
‘You have to head it off at the pass. You have to be totally attuned to your child’s behaviours before that demon gets a hold of him’.
She added: ‘I’d like to believe that if any of these behaviours were happening in my home, I would know, because I am also a very busy professional, but I have a very close eye on my children’.
Ms Kelly also questioned the Reiner family’s lifestyle when Nick Reiner had bragged that he lost his virginity aged 14 to a prostitutes he called to his home using $200 he had borrowed from his parents.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show she said: ‘I’m sorry, how does a 14-year-old get so addicted to drugs that at least at 14 or 15, they already have to go into rehab, and they’re calling sex workers to come to the house in the middle of the night. He said he borrowed the money from his parents without telling them what it was for’.
Rob and Michele Reiner’s cause of death has been formally revealed after their son, Nick Reiner, made his first court appearance in the double murder case.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner said that the couple passed away after suffering from ‘multiple sharp force injuries’.
Online records show the Hollywood legend and his photographer wife died on Sunday, the same day they were discovered in their $13.5 million mansion.
Both of their deaths have been ruled homicides, with the place of death listed as their residence. Their bodies are ready for release.
Nick was arrested on Sunday and has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother.
Prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and use of a dangerous weapon, a knife, meaning, if he is convicted, Nick could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty.
The 32-year-old made a brief court appearance on Wednesday, wearing an anti-suicide vest, where he did not enter a plea.
Nick’s famous defense attorney, Alan Jackson, asked the judge for a continuance, saying that he ‘needed more time’ to prepare his case.
When the judge asked a blank-faced Nick ‘if he agreed that his arraignment should be continued’, he answered, ‘Yes, your honor.’
His arraignment was pushed to January 7 and he was ordered to be held in jail without bail.
Jackson addressed the media after the hearing and asked people not to ‘rush to judgment’ about the case.
‘This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family,’ Jackson said.
‘There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. These need to be thoroughly and very carefully dealt with.
‘We ask that throughout this process you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward, not with a rush to judgment.’
Shortly after the hearing, the couple’s other children, Romy and Jake, released a heart-wrenching statement on their deaths.
‘Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,’ the grieving siblings said.
‘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. 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.’
The pair asked people for ‘respect and privacy’ and urged the public to treat any speculation with ‘compassion and humanity’.
Jake and Romy said they wanted their father, a legend in Hollywood, and acclaimed photographer mother, to be remembered for the ‘incredible lives they lived and the love’ they gave.
The couple were found slain on Sunday afternoon after Romy was called over by a massage therapist who had arrived at the residence but could not get in.
A source close to the investigation told the Daily Mail that they had their throats slashed and were killed in their bed.
New photos obtained by the Daily Mail have revealed the hotel room Nick allegedly left covered in blood following his parents’ horrific murder.
The couple’s son checked into room 207 at The Pierside Santa Monica around 4am on Sunday.
It is a $400-a-night boutique hotel about 1,000ft away from the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, and a five-minute walk to the LA Metro line that goes directly to the Exposition Park area where Nick was eventually arrested by cops.
When hotel staff came into Nick’s room later on Sunday morning, the shower was said to be ‘full of blood’, with splatters across the bed.
The windows in the room were covered by bed sheets, detectives found when they arrived at the hotel on Monday to collect evidence.
The Hollywood director’s son had been living in the guesthouse of his parents’ $13.5million mansion in the LA suburb of Brentwood at the time of their deaths.
Reiner was increasingly worried about Nick, who had a history of drug addiction and mental breakdowns, and took him to a holiday party Saturday night to ‘keep an eye on him,’ sources have said.
Nick is said to have left A-list guests feeling unnerved at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas bash, getting into a tiff with comedian Bill Hader and prompting his parents to leave the event.
