The death of Rob Reiner shocked both the public and the late filmmaker's loved ones, especially as it was ruled an apparent homicide... with his son Nick being the prime suspect. Rob and Nick had an argument shortly before the killing, and more details about their relationship have come out in the time since the news broke. And the son's alleged roommate from rehab recently issued some new statement about his anger issues and resentment towards his father.
Tributes for Rob Reiner arrived online shortly after his death, as well as reports about Nick's substance and mental health issues. In addition to claims he threw a rock through a window to get access to meds in rehab, an alleged roommate from one such fatality spoke to The Daily Mail about his experience with Nick. The individual's name is Danny Svilar and he claims:
He just had really oppressed anger towards the fame. I don't know how it is having a father with that level of fame, but regardless of that, Nick had no sense of gratitude, no sense of appreciation. He was just a f—ing pompous little punk... he just wanted to be out, smoking pot, doing pills, doing whatever, and his family just wanted him to get help.
Ouch. This person certainly didn't mince his words, and didn't have very nice things to say about his experience sharing a room with Nick Reiner. Svilar seemed to take umbrage with his attitude as a whole, especially in a setting like rehab where folks are trying to get healthy.
Nick Reiner is allegedly struggling mentally while in jail, and only time will tell how things will go down if/when he goes to court. Later in the same interview, Svilar revealed where things went south between the two: when he told Reiner that he looked like John Travolta's late son Jett. As he went on:
We had good rapport at first, but then I was like 'oh my god, that's who you remind me of'. It kind of turned ugly after that… He definitely tried to get aggressive with me. He tried to get physical, and then a tech had to step in… He was getting into my face and raising a fist.
Talk about a tense incident. It sounds like Nick Reiner didn't appreciate that comparison, and got violent with his roommate as a result. In the same interview he went on to share his perspective of Reiner's relationship with his late parents. In his words:
The parents of these children with money, they usually are not truly involved in wanting to help them, or do this or that. They have a hired hand, basically, being their handler, if you will. Lots of the kids in there had absent parents who relied on nannies. But Rob and Michele were there for every single family group. They were there for every therapy session. They didn't have to give me the time of day. I played frisbee with Rob. Rob Reiner, for God's sake. They just wanted to get him well.
While more stories about Nick Reiner continue coming out online, he's got a great (and expensive) defense lawyer representing him. Given his mental health issues, there are rumors that they might try to take an insanity plea. But all that remains to be seen.
Due to Rob Reiner's legacy in film and TV, smart money says the public will continue paying attention to this story as it develops. We'll just have to see how the legal system shakes out in this case.
