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Years before Nick Reiner was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, several people in contact with the family recognized red flags in his behavior.
One of those people worked alongside Nick in the production of “Family Guy.” In 2014, Nick joined the crew as an intern fresh off of a stint in rehab. He interned for the long-running TV show for a few months, and a production assistant who also worked on the show around the same time spoke to Fox News Digital about his impression of Nick, who he remembers as “a dark, twisted, kind of rough kid.”
The man claimed that Rob was the one who got Nick the job, saying, “Really, the executive producers were like, ‘Just let him hang out. Like, he doesn’t need to have a lot of responsibility. Don’t let him touch anything. Just let this kid hang out, it’s a favor to his dad, who we adore, and he’s trying to get back on his feet.'”
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He said that he and Nick got “really close” because, as an intern, he was shadowing him around four hours every day.
“I was really compelled by Nick Reiner,” the man admitted. “He’s stuck in my brain for all these years.”
When he met Nick, he was just getting his life back on track. He was sober, though the man did say that he felt like Nick was “struggling” with his sobriety. He claimed that Nick had been homeless for a time before he started working on “Family Guy.”
“He felt like this really raw kid,” he recalled. “He had a very dark sense of humor … He was an introverted human, like he wasn’t very loud. But he was also funny, and he felt very human. I remember really liking him, like I thought he was a really nice kid.”
At the same time, he acknowledged that Nick was “dark” and “not in the best mental health space” when he knew him.
“He was a really troubled kid,” he told Fox News Digital.
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He said that he and some other crew members encouraged Nick to pursue stand-up comedy when he expressed an interest in it, telling them that with his sense of humor and his Hollywood connections, he’d easily be able to get his foot in the door. He recalled Nick landing sets at Los Angeles’ famed venue, The Comedy Store, but he said he never went to a show.
During the time they worked together on “Family Guy,” the man said Rob would drop Nick off and pick him up every day.
“It felt like the family wanted him to succeed, and it felt like they were constantly trying to set him up for success,” he remembered. “And he was just this dark, twisted, kind of rough kid.”
Although he and Nick worked closely together, the friendship wasn’t one that lasted beyond the job. When the internship was over, they didn’t stay in close contact, though they did remain friends on social media — enough that he nearly reached out when he read the news that two people were found dead in Rob’s home on Dec. 14.
“I went to send him a DM that was like, ‘Holy s—, man, if you need anything, hit me up,'” he revealed. “And then I kept reading, and it was like, ‘The son was apprehended at the scene.’ And I was just like, ‘This is crazy … I’m not going to send anyone a DM today.'”
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While Nick was ultimately arrested and charged with the murders of his parents, he was not apprehended at the scene.
On Sunday, Dec. 14, police discovered the bodies of Rob and Michele in the primary bedroom of their home in Brentwood, California. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiners’ office later said that they died due to multiple sharp force injuries.
Nick was quickly named a person of interest in the investigation, and hours later, around 9:15 p.m. local time that same day, he was arrested.
On Dec. 16, authorities charged Nick in the double homicide of his parents. He was hit with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders.
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“He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon that being a knife,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a press conference. “These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.”
No decision has been made on whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Nick made his first court appearance in the case on Dec. 17, where his lawyer, famed defense attorney Alan Jackson, requested a continuance. He only spoke once: when the judge asked if he agreed to delay his arraignment, he said, “Yes, Your Honor.”
His arraignment is now set for Jan. 7.
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz, Tracy Wright and Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.
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