New details emerge about Rob and Michele Reiner’s death as children announce memorial service

New details have emerged about the deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, while their children have announced a memorial service.

• READ MORE: ‘Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues’ review: mock and roll granddads get the spoof on once more

The 78-year-old filmmaker and his wife, the 70-year-old photographer Michele Singer-Reiner, were found murdered in their home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles on December 14.

A day later, the couple’s 32-year-old son Nick Reiner was arrested in connection with their deaths, and he has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with “special circumstances”. His charges could carry a life sentence or the death penalty under California law.

The couple’s death certificates have now been released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and obtained by TMZ.

They record that Rob Reiner’s body was found at 15:45, and Singer Reiner’s at 15:46. The cause of death for both is given as “multiple sharp force injuries” with the circumstances described as “homicide” and “with knife, by another”.

The interval between the onset of the attack and death is given as “minutes”, while the time and date of death is recorded as “unknown”.

Under “type of disposition” the certificate records “cremate/residence”, but there is no confirmation that cremation has been carried out.

Two of the Reiners’ children released a new statement yesterday (December 23) saying that a memorial service is being planned. “Jake and Romy Reiner remain grateful for the outpouring of love and support they have received. They will share information about a memorial service honouring their parents at a later date.”

Nick Reiner appeared in court on 17 December but did not enter a plea. He is due to return to court for an arraignment hearing on 7 January.

Reiner was known for helming Hollywood classics such as Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Misery (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992).

1984’s This Is Spinal Tap was Reiner’s directorial debut, with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer playing the members of the fictional English heavy metal band Spinal Tap and Reiner himself playing Marty Di Bergi, the “documentarian” making a film about their attempted comeback.

The sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, was released as Reiner’s last film earlier this year. Paul McCartney had a cameo in it, and this week, the Beatle paid his own tribute to Reiner, writing: “Life can be so unfair and this tragedy proves it”.

Since news broke of their deaths, countless other tributes have poured in for Rob and Michele Reiner, including from Stephen King, who said that he was “horrified and saddened” by the news, and described the director as a “wonderful friend, political ally, and brilliant filmmaker”.

Yo La Tengo also paid tribute to Reiner with a cover of ‘Gimme Some Money’ from This Is Spinal Tap at their Hanukkah show on Monday. Vocalist Ira Kaplan told the crowd at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom: “Because we’re gonna salute a Jewish songwriter we were not expecting to be saluting this Hanukkah, and we certainly weren’t expecting to be memorialising him. So we’re gonna try to do a song and see how this goes.”

Others who have paid tribute include Barack and Michelle Obama, Jane Fonda, Meg Ryan and Jack Black.

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