Conan O’Brien breaks silence over killing of Rob and Michele Reiner

Hours earlier than filmmaking legend Rob Reiner and his spouse Michele have been discovered stabbed to dying of their Brentwood dwelling, they attended a vacation social gathering at Conan O’Brien’s home.

Now, two months after the tragedy, the comic has damaged his silence in regards to the dying of his good pals.

“To have that have of claiming good evening to any individual and having them depart after which discover out the following day that they’re gone … I believe I used to be in shock for fairly some time afterward,” O’Brien mentioned in an interview for “The New Yorker Radio Hour” podcast. “I imply, there’s no different phrase for it. It’s simply very — it’s so terrible. It’s simply so terrible.”

As host of the Dec. 13 social gathering, O’Brien was among the many final folks to see the Reiners alive. Their 32-year-old son, Nick, was arrested the next evening and charged with murdering his mother and father. Two sources who attended the social gathering described witnessing a loud verbal trade between Nick Reiner and his mother and father.

In an interview printed Friday, O’Brien mentioned he and his spouse have been very shut with the couple, describing them as “simply such beautiful folks.”

O’Brien praised Rob Reiner’s expertise as a director and his tireless advocacy efforts. The “When Harry Met Sally …” director was a outstanding Democratic donor, famous critic of President Trump and a champion for causes equivalent to early childhood schooling and homosexual marriage.

“I take into consideration how Rob felt about issues which are taking place within the nation, how concerned he was, how a lot he put himself on the market — and to have that voice go quiet immediately remains to be laborious for me to understand,” O’Brien informed The New Yorker.

O’Brien mentioned he considers Reiner “one of many greats” given his spectacular monitor document of directing a collection of blockbuster films.

“To make seven — in, like, a nine-year, 10-year, 11-year interval — is madness,” O’Brien mentioned. “With ‘Spinal Faucet’ alone, if that’d been the one factor he ever did, he influenced my technology enormously.”

O’Brien fondly recalled first watching the rock mockumentary “That is Spinal Faucet” in faculty, calling it a “splitting-the-atom second.”

The pair weren’t solely pals, but in addition collaborators. Reiner was a visitor on a 1999 episode of “Late Evening with Conan O’Brien,” and in addition appeared on episodes of O’Brien’s podcast, “Conan O’Brien Wants a Buddy,” in 2023 and 2025.

Authorities allege Nick Reiner fatally stabbed his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mom at their Brentwood dwelling someday within the early morning hours of Dec. 14. The couple’s our bodies have been found in the master suite by their daughter round 12 hours later, and Nick Reiner was arrested that evening in South L.A. by Los Angeles police.

Nick Reiner was charged with two counts of first-degree homicide on Dec. 16 and has but to enter a plea. In January, his arraignment was postponed to Monday after his lawyer, famed protection legal professional Alan Jackson, stepped down and was changed by a public defender.

Nick Reiner has a historical past of struggles with psychological well being and substance use. It’s unclear how prominently these struggles will characteristic in prison proceedings.

Instances workers writers James Queally and Richard Winton contributed to this report.