A pal of the Reiners who lived with the family just weeks before the murders told Page Six on Tuesday that Nick portrayed himself as the picture-perfect son, doing his chores and participating in meals.
The 32-year-old — who is now being held on murder charges over the grim slayings of his famed director dad Rob Reiner, 78, and wife Michele, 70 — displayed zero signs of what was to come and likely suffered a sudden mental breakdown, according to the close family friend, Hollywood cinematographer Barry Markowitz.
Markowitz said it was just “one big love fest” under the Reiner roof.
Nick Reiner displayed zero signs of what was to come and likely suffered a sudden mental breakdown, close family friend, Hollywood cinematographer Barry Markowitz, told Page Six. Instagram/@bmcine
Romy, Nick, Rob, Michele and Jake Reiner. michelereiner/Instagram“L. O. V. E. is the only thing I saw — and I don’t think it was fake. They had a real bond,” said Markowitz, Rob’s longtime collaborator.
The behind-the-camera ace, who was in town for the Nov. 14 premiere of his latest film, described his stay with the Reiner clan as a “blast.
Nick Reiner, 32, is now being held without bail for the murder of his director dad, Rob Reiner, 78, and mother, Michele Singer Reiner, 70. @michelereiner/Instagram
“They eat dinner together, old school, and a lot of love, always a lot of love,” Markowitz said of the Reiners. Instagram/@bmcine“[We would] scream at the TV, we watched a movie and a basketball game. Played with the dogs. Family time,” he said, adding that he didn’t notice “anything strange” with the family dynamics.
He noted that Nick — who has been in and out of rehab scores of times since he was a teen — seemed to be “on the upswing.
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“He looked great. He was sitting and talking with the family,” Markowitz said of the accused killer, adding, “They eat dinner together, old school, and a lot of love, always a lot of love.
“He helped out, he took out the garbage, he watched TV, he washed dishes, he’d bring me something to drink, he was just normal in that sense.”
Markowitz speculated that Nick must have simply snapped at some point over this past weekend, because he didn’t want to believe he planned the murders.
Markowitz said the Reiner family “had a real bond.” / SplashNews.com“I think what’s puzzling the most, the 360, is that there was so much love, that it doesn’t jive,” Markowitz said.
“It was just somebody flipping.
“When somebody is mentally disturbed, you don’t need a reason,” he said.
Reiner’s son Nick has struggled with substance abuse problems and was arrested on Sunday night for his role in the murder of his parents. Getty Images for Wynn Las Vegas“There’s no rhyme or reason … Mental illness. That’s the reason.”
Markowitz — who worked on three films with Rob and viewed him “like a brother” — said the Hollywood legend and Michele had no reason to believe their son could potentially hurt them.
“[Nick] wasn’t a violent type,” he said.
“I slept in the same house as Nick. There was never a thought, I believe, in Rob’s head [that Nick was a danger.] If he would have thought his life was in peril at any point, he would have handled the situation.”
The beloved Hollywood director and his wife were found slain at their home in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
Their son, who has struggled with substance abuse, was taken into custody Sunday night on suspicion of butchering them.
