Rob Reiner Death

Nick Reiner's mental breakdown in the weeks leading up to the murders of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is directly tied to a head-scratching decision by doctors to change the meds he was taking for his mental illness ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

TMZ has a new documentary -- "TMZ Investigates: The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened" -- airing Friday at 8 PM ET on FOX and dropping on HULU Saturday. We explain in the doc, Nick was diagnosed around 2020 with schizoaffective disorder ... a condition that manifests itself with schizophrenia symptoms -- including delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking -- and mood disorder symptoms, including mania and severe depression.

Our sources say a month before the murders, Nick was stable on his meds for schizoaffective disorder ... we're told the meds were working just fine. For some reason, his doctors decided to change the meds. Our sources would not say why doctors made that decision ... only that we would be shocked to learn the reason, which we're told makes no sense.

Dr. Drew says doctors prescribing medication to Nick Reiner for his mental illness royally screwed up by changing his meds in the weeks leading up to his parents' murders ... but hindsight is 20/20, and there are all sorts of reasons why the meds get changed.

The good doc joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and we asked him about something we uncovered in our new documentary, "TMZ Investigates: The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened" ... Nick was stable on his meds for schizoaffective disorder a month before the killings, but then doctors decided to change things up.

Dr. Drew says meds get changed all the time when patients stress about how they're feeling or how their side effects are affecting them ... but that doesn't always make it the right move.

The murders of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner rocked Hollywood ... and, while it seems clear their son Nick killed them, we've learned his conviction is anything but assured.

Our new documentary on the Reiner murders dives into the tragic killings ... including new information tying the murders to Nick's medication.

10:43 AM PT -- Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says prosecutors are confident a jury will find Nick Reiner guilty of murdering his parents, no matter who he has as a defense lawyer.

10:32 AM PT -- Alan Jackson just held a brief news conference where he said there's one thing everyone can take to the bank -- "Nick Reiner is NOT guilty of murder."

Jackson said the circumstances under which he had to withdraw from the case were beyond Nick's control. TMZ broke the story ... Nick was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and there are issues regarding his meds that could lead to a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

10:06 AM PT -- A spokesperson for the Reiner family released a statement on Nick's change of legal representation saying ... "They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings."

A source told The New York Times the change had nothing to do with Alan's "performance" and that he had been a pro.

9:52 AM PT -- Nick Reiner's new attorney is public defender Kimberly Greene, who has 19 years' experience.

The judge signed off on Nick's change of legal representation and set a new arraignment date for Feb. 23. Nick spoke up in court, saying, "Uh, yeah I agree with that."

Nick's leaving the courtroom and going back to jail -- he still has no bail -- and Alan is about to address the media ... tune into the live stream above.

Nick Reiner's lawyer is off the case, TMZ has learned, and Nick will -- at least for the time being -- be represented by a public defender.

Sources connected to the Reiner family, with direct knowledge, tell TMZ ... when attorney Alan Jackson appears in court Wednesday morning for Nick's arraignment, he will inform the judge he is no longer representing Nick.

Our sources say a public defender will step in for now, and the case will be continued. Nick will not enter a plea.

As for why Jackson is off the case, we're told the family will be releasing a statement as soon as the proceedings are over, and TMZ will post it.

Nick Reiner had an eventful day in court ... he's now being repped by a public defender and his outgoing defense attorney made it clear he thinks Nick is NOT guilty of murdering his parents ... but the way Alan Jackson made his statement has our antennas up.

We got into every angle of Nick's appearance in a Downtown Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday on "TMZ Live" ... the change of lawyer, an interesting statement from the D.A., a possible defense strategy, and we even had a reporter inside the courthouse who told us how Nick was acting.

The big thing here is Jackson is out, and a public defender is in ... but Jackson left some breadcrumbs that seem to indicate Nick's got a strategy ready and a new defense team may be coming in to take over.

Nanon Williams -- a death row inmate who was befriended by Rob and Michele Reiner -- received an uplifting email from Michele hours before she was killed ... only he didn't get it until days after her death, according to a new report.

Williams told NBC News he learned about the Reiners' murders while skimming news stories on his state-issued tablet at the W.F. Ramsey Unit -- a maximum-security prison about 40 miles south of Houston, Texas -- and immediately messaged Michele, "Please tell me the news is lying."

Locked up since he was 17, Williams has spent his adult life behind bars after being charged with a murder he says he didn't commit. He reportedly became like family to the Reiners over the last decade after they saw a live performance of "Lyrics From Lockdown" -- a spoken-word multimedia performance based partially on Williams' writings.

Romy and Jake Reiner are keeping their parents' tradition of doing good deeds ... by cleaning up the beach on New Year's Day with their friends.

The two siblings took to the shore in Malibu Thursday to get the New Year off to a positive start ... with Romy walking alongside Alex Siliberg, who had a trash bag at the ready to pick up any litter on the way.

The duo kept their eyes to the mud ... searching for any bits of scrap they could add to their quickly growing collection of garbage.

Romy Reiner's had a traumatic couple weeks ... and she's looking to the ocean to help her heal.

Rob and Michele Reiner's daughter was spotted Tuesday on a somber stroll along the coast in Malibu ... walking silently with her dog and her boyfriend, Alex Siliberg.

Romy and her brother, Jake Reiner, have reportedly been staying in Malibu since their famous parents were found murdered in their Brentwood home earlier this month ... and Jake hung back at the beach house while Romy hit the sand.

As you know ... Romy is the one who found her parents' dead bodies in rigor mortis after being killed by "multiple sharp force injuries" ... and she told police her other brother, Nick Reiner, was "dangerous" and should be considered a suspect.

Sally Struthers was seen in public on Monday ... weeks after her "All in the Family" costar Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were brutally murdered in their Brentwood home.

Sally was snapped out and about in Los Angeles ... and her mood appeared to be glum ... understandable given the recent double killings that rocked Hollywood.

TMZ broke the news ... Rob and Michele were butchered in their home on Dec. 14 ... and their son Nick has since been arrested and charged with their murders.

Jake Reiner was spotted easing back into everyday life ... going shopping with his girlfriend just weeks after his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, were murdered by his brother.

Jake and Maria Gilfillan were photographed Saturday in Malibu, keeping things low-key as they visited several stores and stayed close while walking between shops.

The outing comes just two weeks after Rob and Michele were found dead inside their Los Angeles-area home. Their deaths were later ruled homicides with the medical examiner saying they suffered "multiple sharp force injuries," described as occurring "with knife, by another."

The couple's bodies were discovered by their daughter, Romy, who told police she believed her brother Nick Reiner was "dangerous" and should be considered a suspect.

Nick has since been charged with his parents' murders, and sources told us he will most likely enter an insanity plea.

The surviving loved ones of Rob and Michele Reiner have a little more closure today ... the couple's death certificates have been released.

TMZ obtained the late couple's certificates from the Los Angeles County Public Health Dept. ... while they list some information already publicly known -- multiple sharp force injuries as their causes of death -- the gravity of the documents is still heavy.

They were both cremated at Mount Sinai Mortuary. Their final resting place is the home of their son, Jake.

Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman -- formerly the president of the American Psychiatric Association -- stopped by "TMZ Live," sharing some disturbing insight into the multiple rehab facilities ... which ultimately failed Rob and Michele Reiner's son Nick.

Before his parents' tragic murders, Nick was in and out of rehab at least 18 times. While Nick struggled with substance abuse, Dr. Lieberman suggested the care he received was palliative at best ... and after-care at rehabilitation programs is generally inadequate, resulting in a revolving-door repetition of treatment and release.

Lieberman said, "[Rehab centers] don't necessarily provide mental healthcare for a primary diagnosis such as schizophrenia, which may have been the reason that impelled Nick to use illegal medications, which he became addicted to."

Nick Reiner is expected to claim insanity in his parents' murder case ... and we have a resurfaced interview where he admitted to using the same tactic in the past as a ploy to get drugs.

While promoting his 2015 film "Being Charlie," Nick spoke on the addiction and recovery podcast "Dopey," spilling about how he got prescribed the antidepressant Wellbutrin.

Nick told host Dave Manheim that while he was a patient at Alina Lodge -- an addiction treatment center in New Jersey -- the staff refused to give him drugs. This is, of course, standard procedure for a sober clinic, but Nick wasn't taking "no" for an answer.

During its final episode of the year, "Saturday Night Live" paused to pay tribute to late producer Rob Reiner ... flashing a title card with an old photo of Rob before the show's "goodnight" segment.

The in memoriam gesture comes less than a week after Reiner and his wife -- Michele Singer Reiner -- were found dead in their Los Angeles home. Their son -- Nick Reiner -- is now facing first-degree murder charges after being arrested in connection with their deaths.

Reiner hosted SNL’s third episode back in 1975 during the show’s early days ... and unlike hosts George Carlin and Paul Simon at the time, he fully joined in the sketches ... helping set the style that would forever define the series.

As we reported, the couple's daughter, Romy, is the one who discovered Rob and Michele's bodies and called 911. She told police her brother Nick was "dangerous" and should be considered a suspect.

Nick was arrested about 6 hours after police responded to the call. He's currently held on suicide watch at Men's Central Jail in L.A. without bond and awaits his January 7th hearing.

LAPD searched the hotel room where Nick Reiner checked in around the time his parents were murdered, and TMZ has been told the police did not have a search warrant.

Harvey explains during the latest episode of the "2 Angry Men" podcast what happened at around 1 AM Monday ... when an LAPD detective showed up at the Pierside Santa Monica hotel.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the detective told the front desk clerk he was looking for a guest named Nick Reiner. The detective told the clerk he was there for a "welfare check." But he also told the clerk he was concerned Reiner "disposed of a weapon and used the room to clean and dispose of evidence in a violent crime."

Nick Reiner is spending his days in an L.A. jail, dealing with the aftermath of the violent murders of his parents, and he's not been able to fully process it ... TMZ has learned.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Nick is not reeling in grief. Rather, he's "in a fog"  ... in no small part due to his medical condition and the meds he's taking.

Our source goes on to characterize Nick as "calm," "cognizant," and "dazed" -- adding Nick isn't even close to processing what happened.

TMZ broke the story ... Nick had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the weeks leading up to the murders, we're told he was out of control. Our sources characterized Nick as "erratic" and "dangerous." As we reported, he was recently treated at an L.A.-based rehab facility that specializes in mental health and substance abuse and was under the care of a psychiatrist.