Martin Scorsese has penned a heart-wrenching tribute to his lifelong friend Rob Reiner and his wife Michele after their brutal murders earlier this month.
The directing legend, who has known Reiner since the early 1970s, described what happened to the couple as ‘an obscenity’ and ‘an abyss in lived reality.’
Scorsese broke his silence on the Reiners’ tragic deaths in a highly-emotive first person piece published in the New York Times on Christmas Day.
It comes 11 days after Rob and Michele were found with their necks slit inside their bedroom at their multimillion-dollar mansion in Los Angeles.
Their son Nick Reiner was arrested and charged with their murders. He is expected to make a plea when he returns to court in California on January 7, 2026.
Scorsese said that only the ‘passing of time’ will help him cope with the tragic loss.
‘I have to be allowed to imagine them alive and well,’ he wrote, before sharing an idyllic daydream that will likely play on repeat in his head.
‘I’ll hear his laugh and see his beatific face and laugh at his stories and relish his natural comic timing, and feel lucky all over again to have him as a friend.’
The directing legend, who has known Reiner since the early 1970s, described what happened to the couple as ‘an obscenity’ and ‘an abyss in lived reality’
The LA County Medical Examiner’s office released Rob and Michele’s death certificates on Tuesday, revealing their bodies were cremated after their brutal murders.
Authorities previously said that the couple passed away after suffering ‘multiple sharp force injuries‘, and newly-released death certificates add that this was caused ‘with a knife, by another’.
Both of their deaths have been ruled homicides, with the place of death listed as their residence.
Their remains were given to their oldest son Jake, and they were cremated at Mount Sinai Mortuary, according to the New York Post.
Nick Reiner was arrested on December 14 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother.
Prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and use of a dangerous weapon, a knife, meaning, if he is convicted, Nick could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty.
He made a brief court appearance last week, wearing an anti-suicide vest. He did not enter a plea.
His defense attorney Alan Jackson asked the judge for a continuance, saying that he ‘needed more time’ to prepare his case.
When the judge asked a blank-faced Nick ‘if he agreed that his arraignment should be continued’, he answered, ‘Yes, your honor.’
His arraignment was pushed to January 7 and he was ordered to be held in jail without bail.
Jackson addressed the media after the hearing and asked people not to ‘rush to judgment’ about the case.
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