In the days before Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead, workers at a Brentwood gas station say Nick Reiner appeared noticeably different from how they had known him over the years.
Reiner, 32, was arrested Monday and accused of fatally stabbing both of his parents.
Prosecutors allege the couple were found dead inside their Brentwood mansion, their throats slit in what authorities have described as a grisly scene.
On Tuesday, Reiner was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with his parents’ deaths, charges that could carry a potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.
Despite Reiner’s documented history of substance abuse disorder and periods of homelessness, his father had recently said his son was doing well and had been sober for six years.
However, employees at a Brentwood gas station the Reiner family reportedly frequented say Nick’s behavior shifted in the days leading up to the killings, per TMZ.
Several employees said Reiner’s demeanor stood out during his recent stops, describing him as ‘drained’ and ‘abnormal’ compared to how he normally behaved.
One worker recalled seeing him about two weeks before the killings and said he ‘looked tired’ and was ‘unusually standoffish’, a departure from his usual interactions.
During that visit, Reiner bought a pack of Marlboro Lights, a purchase employees said was consistent with his routine.
They emphasized that he did not appear impaired or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Staff members said the change was especially striking given that as recently as a few months earlier, Reiner had been sociable and engaging, often chatting with employees during his visits.
According to workers, the Reiner family were regulars at the location, with one employee saying they had known Nick for roughly 15 years.
Back in September, Rob Reiner sounded optimistic about Nick’s health.
In a resurfaced interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, the When Harry Met Sally director said, ‘He’s been great,’ claiming that his son hadn’t ‘been doing drugs for over six years.’
‘He’s in a really good place,’ Reiner added.
Nick is currently being held without bail on suicide watch in administrative segregation at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in LA.
Suspicion quickly turned to him after his parents’ bodies were discovered by his sister Romy Reiner, as she told investigators that her brother was ‘dangerous’ and ‘should be a suspect.’
On Tuesday, police sources revealed that Rob and Michele Reiner had likely been dead for several hours before their bodies were found in their home, as they were already in a state of rigor mortis.
The When Harry Met Sally filmmaker and his photographer wife had been stabbed to death, and their throats had been slit.
The two may have been asleep in bed together when they were killed, a source close to the investigation told the Daily Mail.
Nick had joined his parents the night before their bodies were discovered at a holiday party thrown by Conan O’Brien, but he reportedly stood out at the party because he was dressed in casual clothes while the other celebrity guests were dressed in fancier attire.
Nick was said to have left some of the guests concerned with his appearance and behavior, and he reportedly got into a clash with Bill Hader that led Rob and Michele to leave the party.
According to NBC News, a source alleged that Nick ‘interrupted Hader’ at O’Brien’s party.
When the former SNL star told him that he was ‘in the middle of a private conversation,’ Nick allegedly looked annoyed.
‘Nick just stood there and stared before storming off,’ they claimed, adding that the other guests were unnerved by the unusual display.
Nick was also reportedly seen arguing with his father loud enough for others to hear their conversation at the event.
A source close to the investigation told the Daily Mail that investigators were looking into whether Nick might have killed his parents on Saturday night, after they had left the party.
‘He could have done it not long after they all went home, meaning he went there and slit their throats in the middle of the night,’ they said. ‘They were in bed when that happened.’
A source with knowledge of the situation described the interior of the Reiner’s $13.5 million mansion as looking like a ‘Hollywood horror-scene nightmare,’ according to People.
Nick, whose dramatic arrest outside an LA Metro station was captured in photos released by the LAPD, had struggled for years with mental illness and drug addiction, including bouts of homelessness after he said he refused to go back to rehab and allegedly had nowhere else to go.
Prior to his arrest, he had checked in to the Pierside Santa Monica hotel, where staff subsequently found his shower ‘full of blood’ and saw a trail of blood leading toward his bed.
He had also allegedly covered his window with a bedsheet, according to TMZ.
In 2015, Nick collaborated with his father on the film Being Charlie. Nick was credited as co-writer and said the film was loosely based on his own experiences with drug abuse and rehab, while his father directed the film.
