Jake and Romy Reiner have issued a statement regarding the deaths of their parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
Rob and Michele Reiner were found deceased in their Los Angeles-area home on Sunday (Dec. 14) after being stabbed to death. Their youngest daughter, Romy, was reportedly called to her parents’ home by a massage therapist who showed up for an appointment and was unable to get in.
Romy discovered her father, acclaimed director Rob Reiner, deceased in his bedroom, and called authorities. After authorities arrived, they found Michele Reiner also deceased.
Hours after the gruesome discovery, the Reiners’ other son, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, was taken into custody on suspicion of murder. Nick was formally charged with their deaths on Tuesday and is being held in a Los Angeles-area jail without bail.
He faces charges for two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. “He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a press conference. “These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole or the death penalty.”
Jake and Romy Reiner issued a statement on Wednesday.
Rob and Michele Reiner were the parents of three children: Jake, Romy, and Nick. Rob also shared a daughter with his ex-wife, actress Penny Marshall. Reiner adopted Marshall’s daughter Tracy when they married and raised her as his own.
Tracy issued a statement the day after the murders, telling NBC News, “I came from the greatest family ever. I don’t know what to say. I’m in shock,” she said.
Romy and Jake broke their silence in a statement issued on Wednesday. The siblings told PEOPLE that they cannot describe the “unimaginable pain” they are experiencing “every moment of the day.”
“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” they wrote.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life. We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
Rob and Michele Reiner will reportedly be laid to rest in a private, intimate memorial service. An unnamed source told OK! that the service will be small and focus on the Reiner family and those who were a part of their lives every day.
“They cannot handle a public spectacle right now. This is about dignity, safety, and grief,” the source said.