Why Nick Reiner’s alleged double patricide is so rare
Nick Reiner, the son of filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Reiner, is accused of one of the most socially forbidden crimes imaginable – the alleged murder of both his parents – in a case that specialists say lies at the very fringes of criminal behavior and carries a cultural taboo as old as law.
If RadarOnline.com Prosecutors in Los Angeles reportedly allege that Nick repeatedly stabbed his parents to death at their home in Brentwood, California, in December.
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A crime condemned since ancient times
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Nick Reiner is accused of killing both his parents.
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Parricide – the killing of a parent – has long been considered a profound moral transgression, condemned in Biblical law and punished with exceptional cruelty in ancient Rome.
Although parricide accounts for only a small portion of murders, the murder of both parents, known as double parricide, is even rarer.
Nick, who has a documented history of drug addiction, had spoken about the pressures of growing up as the child of acclaimed director Rob, whose films include When Harry met Sally, The princess bride And Wrongand had clashed with his parents over attempts to force him into rehabilitation.
His famous father and mother were found dead hours after he and his father reportedly had an argument at a holiday party.
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Experts analyze the four parricide profiles
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Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were killed in the December attack.
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If the case goes to trial, prosecutors are expected to focus on motive.
Dr. Kathleen Heide, a leading professor of criminology at the University of South Florida, said parricides account for only about two percent of U.S. murders, while only eight percent involve the killings of both parents.
Heide, considered the leading U.S. authority on parricide, said offenders typically fall into four overlapping categories. According to her, the first group consists of long-term victims of serious abuse, often young and still living at home.
The second concerns the seriously mentally ill, including people with schizophrenia or depression with psychotic features.
“They may have delusions about their parents, or they may hear voices, you know, God is telling them to do this,” Heide warned.
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Anger, addiction and a very personal murder
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Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner died in their bed after their throats were slit.
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A third category includes what Heide called the “dangerously antisocial,” who kill for selfish reasons such as money or freedom.
“They want to get the money from their parents. Maybe they are cut out of their will, or their parents set financial limits,” she said.
The fourth group, she added, are the “furious people,” whose underlying anger can spiral into deadly violence, sometimes heightened by drugs or alcohol. Heide emphasized that these categories are not mutually exclusive.
“Sometimes a case looks like one type, and then you really start working on it and you realize there’s a lot more going on,” she said.
Heide, who described the Reiners as “very loving, devoted parents,” declined to comment directly on the case but noted that the alleged use of a knife instead of a gun was “significant.”
She called the stabbing a “more personal, expressive” method, often “fueled by anger or rage… especially if there were multiple stab wounds.”
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Why double parricide is so exceptionally rare
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The average age of a parricide perpetrator is 31 years.
Dr. Amanda Holt, a British criminologist at the University of Roehampton, said Nick fit many international patterns.
The average age of a parricide perpetrator is 31, she said, and the perpetrators are usually men who are single and live with their parents.
Mental illness, Holt added, is six times more common in parricide than in other homicides. Although most parent-child relationships involve conflict, she said parricides often hinge on a trigger point, such as a serious argument.
“It’s quite difficult to kill two people in quick succession, so there may be more practical than emotional reasons,” she said.
