Just days after the tragic deaths of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, a former classmate of their son Nick Reiner is speaking publicly about the person he says he knew before the tragedy.
The former classmate, Brett Ferber, said the allegations now facing Nick are challenging to reconcile with his memories from school, where he remembers a friendly, ordinary presence rather than someone capable of violence, according to NewsNation.
‘The Man I Knew Was Definitely Not That‘
Asked to describe Nick during their school years, Ferber emphasized the contrast between his memories and the current allegations.
“The man I knew was definitely not that,” he told “On Balance” on Monday, December 22.
Ferber explained that while they were not close friends, they shared common spaces and activities at their prep school.
“You know, we weren’t buddy-buddy. We weren’t sharing secrets till 4 a.m. about life’s great mysteries or anything like that, but we were in the same building,” he said.
They spent time together through sports and everyday interactions, he told the outlet. “So we played basketball, we did different things together, and he was just like a dude, you know,” he continued.
Remembered as Chummy & Self-Deprecating
Ferber described Nick as approachable and good-natured, with a sense of humor that stood out.
“He had a good sense of humor, a little self-deprecating,” Ferber told “On Balance.”
Those recollections have made it hard for him to process the reports now emerging.
“I’m very, you know, perplexed by the disparity between who I knew, and the stories that I’m seeing,” he said. “I’m definitely having some trouble wrapping my head around that.”
Shock & Disbelief After the News Broke
GettyWhen Ferber first learned that police had accused Nick in the murder of his parents, he said the news felt unreal.
“I had to do a second take. I had to refresh the phone,” he said. “I thought maybe it was like a weird Babylon Bee article or something preposterous, but no, it was real.”
The moment left him stunned. “I kind of froze for a second, and I was like, what?” he said.
Ferber noted that his experience with Nick came before any reported struggles with substance use or mental health issues.
“I didn’t know Nick at all when he was doing drugs,” he said. “So the guy I knew was stone cold sober because they were running that program at Knox.”
GettyLooking back, he recalls no red flags. “He seemed just like a dude that just played basketball, competitive,” Ferber said. “There are no signs of anything leading to something even remotely close to this.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that Nick had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was being treated by a psychiatrist in the weeks leading up to his parents’ deaths.
On December 14, Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, were found stabbed to death inside their Brentwood, California, home.
Their bodies were reportedly discovered by their daughter in the master bedroom around 3:40 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Times.
Following an investigation, Nick, 32, was charged on December 16 with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents.
