A guy who lived on the streets of Portland is the prime suspect in the murder Sunday of “All in the Family” actor Rob Reiner, police say.
Reiner, who made his name playing Meathead in the popular TV sitcom, and his longtime wife were found stabbed to death Sunday inside their Brentwood, California home.
The couple’s 32-year-old son and screenwriter Nick Reiner is the prime person of interest in the deadly stabbing, sources told the New York Post.
Nick Reiner is described by the outlet as the couple’s “troubled” son.
“I was homeless in Maine,” he told People in 2016. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”
People.com quoted sources Monday as saying he stabbed his parents to death.
In the 2016 interview with the magazine, Nick spoke about his years-long struggle with drug addiction, which began in his early teens and eventually left him living on the streets of Maine.
“He said he cycled in and out of rehab beginning around age 15, but as his addiction escalated, he drifted farther from home and spent significant stretches homeless,” People reports.
“He has been open about his issues battling drug addiction and homelessness in the past,” the Post reported Monday.
Ten years ago, Rob and Nick actually made a movie about the challenges the Reiners faced, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“The family’s 2015 film drama, Being Charlie, documented the resultant struggles, with Nick co-writing the script with a friend from rehab that was inspired by his experiences and Rob directing the movie, drawing off his experience as a parent,” THR says.
“Produced and sanctioned by the family, the movie offers an unusually authentic glimpse into what was happening in the Reiner household in those years as Nick’s challenges grew.”
The Reiner family issued a statement following the murders of his parents:
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” they said. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Reiner, 78, is best known for directing a slew of classic ’80s and ’90s hit films, including “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride,” “This is Spinal Tap” and “A Few Good Men.”
He first rose to fame for his role as Mike “Meathead” Stivic on the CBS sitcom “All in the Family,” which landed him two Emmy Awards.
Sally Struthers, who played the role of Gloria alongside Reiner in “All in the Family,” was arrested in Ogunquit in 2012 for drunk driving while performing in “9 To 5” at the Ogunquit Playhouse.
The charge was dropped after Struthers pleaded plead guilty to the lesser charge of driving to endanger, resulting in a one-month license suspension, a fine, and no jail time.
