The District office in Los Angeles on Tuesday charged Nick Reiner, the son of movie director and actor Rob Reiner, and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, with two counts of first-degree murder in the brutal deaths of his parents, said Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles District attorney. 

A jury would decide whether Nick, who is 32, would remain in prison for the rest of his life or face the death penalty, Hochman said during a news conference in Los Angeles. He would also have to be medically cleared before being transferred to the county jail.

Nick is being held on $4 million bond after police arrested him near the University of Southern California. He is charged with the stabbing death of murders of his parents in their bedroom at their Brentwood home in Los Angeles.

Rob Reiner,78, and Michele Singer Reiner,68, were found dead on Sunday. They were repeatedly stabbed to death. Their daughter, Romy, discovered their bodies on December 14.

The Los Angeles Fire Department was called to the Reiner home around 3:30 p.m. local time on the 14th to provide medical aid. Police would not say if they found a knife used to kill them.

It was the second horrific stabbing in December, in which a son was accused of murdering his father.

Michah Sykes, 31, appeared before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge on December 11, charged with the murder of Jubilant Sykes, 71, at the family’s Santa Monica home on Monday, December 8. Jubilant Sykes was a Grammy-nominated opera singer.

Micah Sykes was ordered held without bond following his father’s murder. Micah and Nick have some aspects in common. Both were homeless for periods, and they both suffered from mental illness.

Jubilant died from multiple stab wounds following a domestic argument. Relatives, who attended the hearing, argued for no bail, citing the suspect’s apparent schizophrenia diagnosis, for which he was allegedly not taking medication.

Jubilant, a baritone, was nominated for a Grammy for his performance in a 2009 recording of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass and went on to perform at leading venues such as the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center.

He shares three sons with his wife, Cecelia. She witnessed her husband’s murder.

Jubilant also collaborated with a wide range of prominent artists, including Julie Andrews, Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.

Michele Singer first met Rob Reiner while he was directing “When Harry Met Sally.” They later married in 1989. Rob and Michele had two sons together: Jake, Nick. Reiner’s daughter, Romy, was adopted by Penny Marshall, his first wife.

Nick has previously spoken out about his struggles with addiction and homelessness, beginning in his teens. Reiner’s middle child told PEOPLE in 2016 that he cycled in and out of rehab beginning around age 15. As his addiction escalated, Nick said he drifted farther from home and spent significant stretches homeless in multiple states.

The story behind his and his father’s 2015 film together, “Being Charlie,” was partly inspired by Nick’s younger years. Father and son wrote the film together.

Rob was the director of several iconic films, including “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984), “Stand By Me,” “The Princess Bride”(1987), “A Few Good Men” (1992), and “Misery.” He has a podcast about naming the persons who killed President John F. Kennedy with Soledad O’Brien. He was best known as Mike, the “Meathead” Stivic in the popular sitcom “All in the Family.”

Rob was the son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, who died June 29, 2020