EXCLUSIVE: Wild Charles Manson Murder Cult Conspiracy Theories Erupt Over Reiner Family Deaths — As Slaughtered Director's Son's Admissions About Falling in With 'Crazies' Amid 'Dark Years' Resurface

RadarOnline.com can reveal the double-murder of Rob Reiner and his wife has sparked a mass of fevered conspiracy theory speculation – alongside renewed attention falling on past admissions by the filmmaking icon's son about drifting among what he once called "crazy" during his years marked by drug addiction and homelessness.

When Harry Met Sally director Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 68, were discovered dead on Sunday, December 14, inside their $13.5million Los Angeles residence, authorities confirmed.

The couple was found stabbed to death by their daughter, Romy Reiner, 28, and the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the deaths as an apparent homicide. According to sources, in the hours after the horror, Reiner's son Nick, 32, was being questioned as a "person of interest" in the case.

LAPD records now show he was arrested on a felony charge on Sunday night, with his bail set at $4million.

In a statement, the Reiner family said, "It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time."

As investigators work, the case has sparked intense online conjecture. One law enforcement source familiar with the discussion around the deaths said: "There is wild speculation out there, including talk of a Charles Manson family-style scenario, but right now that is just speculation and not grounded in confirmed evidence."

Another industry insider echoed the comparison, saying: "People are drawing parallels to the late 1960s because of the brutality and the family proximity, but those comparisons can easily run ahead of the facts."

The renewed scrutiny has also revived a 2016 interview in which Nick spoke candidly about his long struggle with drug addiction and a period when he refused rehab and lived on the streets.

Nick said he entered his first rehab facility around his 15th birthday and had been through 17 treatment programs by age 22, experiences that later informed Being Charlie, the semi-autobiographical film he co-wrote and which his revered dad Rob directed.

"It's not my life," Nick said of the film, "but I went to a lot of these places, so I had a lot of these stories."

In the same interview, Nick described rejecting further treatment. "If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless," he said.

That choice led to months of instability across several states. "I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas," Nick recalled. "I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun."

He said the experience followed his refusal to return to rehab, cutting him off from family support and forcing him into shelters and onto the streets.

Despite the hardship, Nick said the period shaped him. "That made me who I am now, having to deal with that stuff," he admitted. "I met crazy great people there, so out of my element."

Nick added returning home later was difficult. "Now, I've been home for a really long time, and I've sort of gotten acclimated back to being in L.A. and being around my family," he said. "But there was a lot of dark years there."

Nick also reflected on the danger of that time.

"When I was out there, I could've died," he said. "It's all luck. You roll the dice, and you hope you make it."

In the summer of 1969, followers of the cult leader Manson committed a series of brutal murders in Los Angeles that shocked the nation. On the night of August 8-9, 1969, four Manson Family members went to the home of actress Sharon Tate in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles.

Acting under Manson's direction to kill everyone there as brutally as possible. They murdered five people – Steven Parent, Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger. Before leaving, the word 'PIG' was written on the front door in Tate's blood.

A source said: "The Internet and other forums are full of crazy theories linking Manson inspiration to any big Hollywood death, but most of it is just that – wild, unsubstantiated speculation."

But the specter of the Manson murders looms so large over the American psyche that when a Hollywood double murder happens, it is bound to be brought up.

As yet, there is no sign the Reiner killings are related to any sort of murderous cult.