Hollywood was rocked after Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found brutally murdered inside their $13.5 million Brentwood home on Sunday, December 14.
According to newly released death certificates obtained by TMZ, both died from “multiple sharp force injuries,” and the manner of death was listed as “homicide” caused “with knife, by another”.
The 78-year-old director was found at 3:45 p.m., followed by Michele at 3:46 p.m., though the exact time and date of death are still “unknown".
Their son Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested, and he is currently being held without bail at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where a police source told PEOPLE he’s been placed on suicide watch in solitary confinement.
He has yet to enter a plea and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 7.
Vacation snaps posted weeks before the killings
Just weeks before the tragedy, daughter Romy Reiner had posted pictures of her family on vacation.
One of the posts, shared on November 29, showed Rob and Romy in the water together - Rob wearing a baseball cap and smiling.
In a follow-up post, Romy wrote, “Thankful for family, health, and followers of any age. Not thankful for the president and the state of our country.”
Fans have since flooded the comments with condolences.
This week, Romy and her brother Jake released a statement saying a memorial service for their parents 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," it read.
Experts say insanity plea would be a long shot
As speculation swirls around Nick's defense, legal experts agree that an insanity plea in California is rarely successful.
“To be found not guilty by reason of insanity, that is a very difficult legal hurdle to overcome,” Neama Rahmani of West Coast Trial Lawyers told PEOPLE. “Essentially, you have to show that the defendant doesn't know right from wrong.”
Rahmani said jurors often reject this defense, especially when the accused first claims innocence or self-defense, then shifts to an insanity claim. “They gotta turn around and say, ‘Oh, you know what? He actually did it, but he was insane.’ So jurors don't like it, and it's rarely, if ever, effective.”
New York criminal defense attorney Randy Zelin pointed out that Nick’s actions after the murders - including reportedly checking into The Pierside hotel in Santa Monica - indicate a “level of awareness and reality.”
Nick and Rob allegedly argued the night before the murders at Conan O’Brien’s holiday party on December 13, which could complicate any attempt to claim legal insanity.
“If you are coherent and capable enough to have an argument with your parents, that's not legal insanity,” Rahmani said.
Still, Nick’s reported treatment for schizophrenia at the time of the killings may be used by his defense team to challenge the charge of premeditation. That could potentially lower the charges from first- to second-degree murder.
Zelin added that Nick’s “history of mental disease and addiction” might also be used in an attempt to reduce sentencing to manslaughter, removing the death penalty from the equation.