As authorities continue to investigate the December 14 deaths of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, new insight has emerged from a former co-worker of their son Nick. A production assistant who worked with Nick Reiner in 2014, when he interned on the animated sitcom Family Guy, told Fox News Digital that the younger Reiner exhibited troubling signs back then.
Read More: Nick Reiner was diagnosed with schizophrenia weeks before Rob, Michele's murders
The man said that when he and Nick worked together on Family Guy, Rob would drop and pick Nick up every day. “It felt like the family wanted him to succeed, and it felt like they were constantly trying to set him up for success,” he recalled. “And he was just this dark, twisted, kind of rough kid.”
‘Dark sense of humor’, ‘introverted human’
According to the ex-colleague, Nick, then a young intern fresh off rehab, was given a low-responsibility position largely as a favor to his father. The co-worker said that executive producers of the show had advised letting him “just hang out”, telling everyone, “Don't let him touch anything.”
“He felt like this really raw kid,” he recalled. “He had a very dark sense of humor … He was an introverted human, like he wasn’t very loud. But he was also funny, and he felt very human. I remember really liking him, like I thought he was a really nice kid," the ex-colleague said of Nick.
{{/usCountry}}“He felt like this really raw kid,” he recalled. “He had a very dark sense of humor … He was an introverted human, like he wasn’t very loud. But he was also funny, and he felt very human. I remember really liking him, like I thought he was a really nice kid," the ex-colleague said of Nick.
{{/usCountry}}The source even encouraged him to pursue stand-up comedy based on his unique humor, but Nick reportedly never pursued it seriously. However, he performed in a few sets at local venues.
Despite acknowledging that he “felt very human” and occasionally funny, the co-worker said Nick did not appear to be in a stable place mentally and was “not in the best mental health space” even then. He also noted that Nick had experienced periods of homelessness before the internship and had struggled with addiction.
Read More: Rob Reiner’s kids issue statement after parents’ murder, Nick Reiner’s arrest
The ex-colleague revealed that the two of them were friends on social media but did not remain in close contact. After learning about Rob and Michele's death, he said he nearly reached out to Nick.
“I went to send him a DM that was like, ‘Holy s—, man, if you need anything, hit me up,'” he revealed. “And then I kept reading, and it was like, ‘The son was apprehended at the scene.’ And I was just like, ‘This is crazy … I’m not going to send anyone a DM today.'”
Nick Reiner charged with murder
Nick was arrested the evening of December 14 in connection with the brutal stabbing deaths of his parents at the couple’s Brentwood home. Both victims died of multiple sharp force injuries.
Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special allegations, making him eligible for severe penalties, including life in prison or possibly the death penalty.
The murders occurred shortly after tensions between father and son boiled over at a Christmas party hosted by Conan O’Brien the night before, where Nick’s erratic behaviour reportedly alarmed guests.