EXCLUSIVE: Rob Reiner's Home Was an 'Oasis of Calm' and 'Totally Fear-Free' Before Hollywood Icon and Wife Were Butchered in Explosion of Brutality
Rob Reiner’s home was described as peaceful and fear-free before the shocking murders.
Dec. 18 2025, Published 1:55 p.m. ET
Rob Reiner was astonishingly living in what friends tell RadarOnline.com was an oasis of calm in a home that felt entirely fear-free in the weeks before the Hollywood director and his wife Michele were killed in a sudden explosion of brutality that has stunned the world.
There was not a sign of the violence to come, according to a source close to the family.
A Longtime Friend's Final Visit
Cinematographer Barry Markowitz stayed at the Reiners’ Brentwood mansion in early November.
An insider has shared details of the pair's quiet domestic setup, as cinematographer Barry Markowitz, a longtime friend of Rob, 78, revealed he stayed at the director and his partner of 36 years' $13.5million mansion in Brentwood, California, in early November.
Barry was visiting Los Angeles for the November 14 premiere of The Perfect Gamble.
Barry said Rob insisted he stay at the house rather than a hotel, folding him into the daily rhythms of family life just weeks before the killings that led to the arrest of the couple's son, Nick Reiner, 32.
For five nights, Barry lived alongside Rob and Michele Reiner and their son, sharing meals, watching movies and basketball, and playing with the dogs.
No Signs of Impending Danger
Barry said nothing inside the house suggested danger or tension.
The overwhelming impression, Barry said, was the absence of any anxiety about safety.
"I slept in the same house as Nick," Barry said. "He was just normal in that sense."
He recalled Nick washing dishes, taking out the garbage, and bringing him drinks, adding nothing suggested danger or tension inside the home.
Barry said the atmosphere made the killings that were to come harder to comprehend.
He added: "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."
Barry believes mental illness, rather than motive, sits at the center of the double murder tragedy.
A 'Refuge, Not a Fortress'
Friends described the house as a refuge rather than a fortress.
Other sources close to the family echoed the description of the house as calm and welcoming, saying Rob and his wife had spent years trying to support their son through addiction while maintaining a stable, open home.
One family friend said the residence felt like a "refuge, not a fortress," while another neighbor described it as "quiet, normal and totally unguarded."
Nick Reiner was formally charged on Tuesday, December 16, with two counts of first-degree murder.
If convicted, the self-confessed drug addict could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated: "He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous weapon, that being a knife."
The Discovery and Arrest
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Police say Rob and Michele Reiner, 68, were found with their throats slit in their mansion on Sunday, December 14.
Their daughter Romy Reiner, 28, who lives across the street, discovered the horrific scene.
Nick was arrested later that day at a downtown intersection near USC, about 15 miles away.
He was taken into custody without incident.
Bystander Kevin Cheatham, 34, said Nick appeared calm as officers moved in.
Barry, who is deep in grief over the slaughter, added: "I can't believe they're not here. [Rob] was like my family. Four, five days later, I'm here in this f------ nightmare."
