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Rob Reiner's Son Arrested in Parents' Killing; LAPD: Rob & Michelle Reiner's Son Nick Jailed on Suspicion of Murder; Police Release New Video of Person of Interest in Brown University Shooting; Brian Walshe Found Guilty of 1st-Degree Murder in Wife's Death; Hollywood Mourns Deaths of Rob Reiner & Producer Wife Michelle; Brown University Shooter Still at Large; Detained Person Released. 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 15, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We're told Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be among those providing the update. Rubio and Hegseth will give a classified briefing to all senators tomorrow as well, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

Hollywood is mourning the loss of Rob Reiner. The legendary director and his wife were found dead in their home. Their 32-year-old son, Nick, now in custody on suspicion of murder.

Plus, an urgent manhunt underway for a third day in Rhode Island, where police are looking for a suspect in a deadly mass shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and nine others injured. We have the latest.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And later, after only about six hours of deliberating, a jury finding Brian Walshe guilty of murdering his wife.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We start this hour with the breaking news, a shocking arrest in the deaths of legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. L.A. Police say that they've booked the couple's own son, Nick Reiner, on suspicion of murder.

KEILAR: Rob and Michelle were found dead in their Brentwood mansion on Sunday. And at the time, police say they were investigating the deaths as an apparent homicide -- homicides, I should say. CNN's Stephanie Elam is at the scene in L.A.'s Brentwood neighborhood.

Stephanie, a prosecutor said when they could file official charges against Nick Reiner.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we do know is that they're going to be presented with the case, and that could happen as early as tomorrow, Brianna. We did learn a few more details as the Los Angeles Police Department has put out a press release. For one thing, no bail now. It was before we had heard that $4 million figure. Now we know that there's no bail for Nick Reiner.

Also, an interesting line in this press release as well, they said that the investigation further revealed that Nick Reiner, the 32-year- old son of Robert and Michelle Reiner, was responsible for their deaths. That's a direct quote from the press release. They also went on to say that Nick Reiner was located and arrested at approximately 9:15 P.M. yesterday.

We know that the first alerts about this murder were in the afternoon yesterday. We also know that Nick Reiner was booked into jail early this morning as we were out here before the sun came up, and the police activity was still ongoing. They had said that they needed to get a search warrant to find out more information, and then just before 6 A.M. they removed the police tape and opened up the street again, and everybody -- all of the law enforcement officials left at that time.

So, we have learned a little bit more here as people are trying to comprehend how two people who were so well-regarded in (INAUDIBLE) and their lives lost in such a tragic way.

SANCHEZ: Stephanie, how is the community in Hollywood reacting to this news?

ELAM: Yes, it's -- it is sending shockwaves throughout this community. I mean, first of all, here in Brentwood, this neighbor of Los -- neighborhood of Los Angeles where they live, they're not used to seeing this much commotion here. And then on top of it, you add in Hollywood, and there is a lot of goodwill for the Reiners in this town. I mean, for both Michelle and Rob, for their respective careers.

And you look at Rob Reiner and so many of the films that he made, those stars are coming out and talking about how they're heartbroken, how they're devastating, how they're still trying to comprehend a loss like this. It is much larger than just something happening here in this neighborhood. It really is a seismic impact, Boris and Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, it certainly is, understandably. Stephanie Elam, thank you very much for the report from Brentwood there in Los Angeles.

We turn now to the urgent manhunt for the Brown University shooter. Nearly 48 hours after the deadly attack, police are telling CNN they're sorting out several leads right now, but no longer do they have any persons of interest in custody.

SANCHEZ: And just moments ago, officials shared a brand-new video of a person of interest much further away than the first video that was shared, but you see a person walking down the street dressed all in black, this vantage point taken, obviously, from across that block.

We're joined now by criminologist and host of "Criminal Appeal" -- the "Criminal Appeal" podcast, Casey Jordan.

Casey, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. I wonder what you see in this video, what stands out to you.

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST & HOST, "CRIMINAL APPEAL" PODCAST: I think the most important thing is that getting that video out there is going to alert the public. You'd be surprised how many people can recognize someone, even if they can't see their face, by their gait, G-A-I-T, by the way they walk or their clothes, the way maybe this -- this particular person might be a little knee-knocked or the way that the pants pull around their shoes. Anything at all, when people see the video, can get some very good leads.

[15:05:02]

And the key really is that the public is going to solve this. As you just pointed out., we're coming up on the first 48 hours, and it's not that we wasted time with the person of interest. They had to check out every single lead. But that person really didn't fit the profile, being from Wisconsin. It's most likely that this person, just based on statistics over the kinds of campus shootings, is a member of the community and lives in the community.

So, getting the video out there, getting people interested, and then asking, do you know somebody who not just fits this description, but maybe was acting oddly on Saturday afternoon or called out sick or didn't come home when they should have. This is what -- this public engagement is really going to be what solves this case.

KEILAR: What are you looking for right now, Casey? And also, it -- it is sort of strange, I will say, you know, I mean, Boris and I have covered a number of these mass shootings, unfortunately. America's been through so many of them. Often you don't just have someone walking out of them. And I wonder what that says to you, perhaps, about the shooting or the aim or -- or whatever you think about it.

JORDAN: Well, this -- campus shootings are different than school shootings, because they're almost invariably committed by people who are over the age of 18 and have access to guns. And about a third of them are committed by current students and another 10 percent committed by former students. But I mean, more than half are committed by perfect strangers. People who have no affiliation with the campus whatsoever. It's just the forum for their anger. It's not actually the target. They don't have a beef with the university.

So, you can be very certain that the campus and the police are going through everybody who might have had a conflict, recent or maybe years old, with Brown University. But at the same time, I can tell you that random -- more than half of them choose that campus as a random location, a theater for their anger. And maybe they're just angry at higher education in general or just having a really bad day and walking by the campus and walk into a building. They have to look at all of the angles.

But this person walks out with confidence. They're not running. They don't have a kind of standoff. There is no -- no engagement with police, no suicide by cop. And that's typical in about 50 percent of them. What's atypical is that we have two days go by without a suspect or a person of interest. You can be very sure the police are working on this very hard, but they need the public to think about anybody who was acting strangely on Saturday afternoon, called out sick, didn't come to work. And that's going to get those tips in that's going to get this solved.

SANCHEZ: Casey, I wonder about the unique challenge of now searching for this suspect on a campus that's basically emptied out. We've heard from folks on the ground there.

JORDAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Our own John Berman describing students fleeing the campus. That's got to be difficult for officials, no?

JORDAN: Of course, it is. But at the same time, if this person was affiliated with the campus, they may have gone home for the Christmas or winter break. And the -- the thing they have to be careful about, you know, by saying, okay, there's no more immediate threat to the community. That means that we don't have a gunman on the loose, you know, committing a -- a spree shooting.

But at the same time, if this person does have a beef with higher education, there are plenty of other universities that are still holding final exams for the next few days, you know, in -- in the Massachusetts, Boston, Rhode Island, Connecticut area. So, all campuses, if this has a campus connection, they all need to be hyper aware right now because there are still plenty of students, even on my own campus in Connecticut, that need to be aware and just hyper vigilant.

Remember, some of the students who survived this said the training they got in high school about active shooters ...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

JORDAN: ... is what may have saved their lives in this particular instance.

SANCHEZ: A sad reality, given the prevalence of gun violence. Casey Jordan, thanks for sharing your expertise.

JORDAN: Always good to be here.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, new details on a horrifying mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia, where at least 15 people were killed.

KEILAR: Plus, the Justice Department says it arrested four people for allegedly planning a New Year's Eve bomb plot. We'll have details on that.

And later, after two days of deliberations, a jury has convicted Brian Walshe of killing his wife.

We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:01]

SANCHEZ: Sentencing for convicted murderer Brian Walshe is set for Wednesday. After earlier today, a jury found him guilty of first- degree murder for killing his wife Ana in January of 2023.

KEILAR: And that conviction means a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. But Walshe will also be sentenced on additional charges. CNN's Jean Casarez is here with more on this verdict today.

Jean, this jury took only six hours to find Walshe guilty.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that is not very long, really, when you think about it. You know, there were over 200 exhibits in this case, and the jury had access to all of them. There were so many texts between Ana Walshe and -- and William Fastow, who she was having the affair with, and they could have read those. They only asked for one picture, actually, which is interesting.

But they reached a unanimous verdict, and that's what it takes, right, beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused the death of Ana Walshe, the mother of his children. That he intended to cause the death of Ana Walshe, and he did it with deliberate premeditation.

[15:15:03]

So, that's what they focused in on.

And I think they used some of the texts that he sent before she passed away, which was business emergencies at Tishman Speyer, because when he told police she went missing, it was because of business emergency, right? And it was also the -- the -- they -- he threw out her clothes, her hunter boots, her jacket, her purse, her different things. And that also, I think, impacted the jury, because why throw all that out unless it's part of your story.

And I think that we may have the sound from the sentencing, I mean, from the -- when the jury reached the verdict that we want everyone to hear. We're not going to do that sound, because I'm telling you exactly what happened. But the interesting thing is the defense had agreed to him pleading guilty ahead of time to intentionally misleading a police investigation and conveyance of the body, which means conveyance of body parts, which means dismembering his wife.

And on Wednesday at 9 A.M. sharp, he's going to be sentenced to all three of those convictions. And, Brianna and Boris, there's going to be victim impact statements, we believe, from Ana's family. You know, they're in Serbia, but we believe that there will be victim impact statements from them and even be impounded, we may not hear it, but the children, we understand, are going to give some of their thoughts on what their father did to their mother.

SANCHEZ: So, what ultimately will happen with them, Jean, with the kids? CASAREZ: Well, this is -- this is the latest that we know. Of course,

children -- Department of Children and Families in Massachusetts, they have their privacy, but the -- the latest that we have heard is that they are still the three children in state custody, meaning they're with a foster family. And that is just -- foster families are wonderful and I'm sure they're getting so much love, but the whole situation is just so tragic.

Now, Ana has family in Canada, she has a sister there, the rest of the family is Serbia. So, it just must have happened that this was the best option. But those three children, who were two, four and six, they're still very young. The oldest one now is eight, maybe nine. These are young children that have to appreciate the reality of what their father did to their mother and the gruesome aspect of this. For the rest of their life, they will read about it.

KEILAR: Yes, it's horrible. It's terrible.

SANCHEZ: Jean Casarez, thank you so much for the update there.

Still ahead, more on Rob Reiner's legacy, both on and off screen. A look at the mark he left on Hollywood and as a political activist. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:20]

SANCHEZ: Returning to one of our big breaking stories, the apparent murder and tragic deaths of legendary Hollywood storyteller Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle. Reiner directed unforgettable movies like "When Harry Met Sally," "The Princess Bride" and the epic legal drama "A Few Good Men," which earned four Oscar nominations.

KEILAR: A short time ago, one of the stars of that film, Kevin Bacon, talked about his time with Rob Reiner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: I'm not sure how to do this, but Rob Reiner gave me a job in "A Few Good Men" sometime in the '90's I guess it was and I was over the moon to get that job, because I -- people may or may not know but This Is Spinal Tap, it's -- it's my all-time favorite movie. And when he called me I -- I was just so thrilled but the making of that movie was one of the best experiences that I've ever had on a set. He was so fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's turn now to entertainment journalist Brian Balthazar. That is -- that is something to say, he was so fun, you know, just sort of commemorating him in that way. This is just shocking what has happened here, Brian. A shocking development that his son has been booked for the murder in their deaths here. What do we know about Nick and his relationship with his parents? BRIAN BALTHAZAR, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Well, we do know that it

had its share of troubles and that he had struggled with substance addiction and that there were, you know, as -- as can often be the case, complications in how the family, you know, there's no real rule book on how to deal with that as a parent and they did their best. But he did adapt that with one of his colleagues in rehab into a book and later a movie. And, you know, as recently as -- in the past week or so, there was an argument at a party reportedly.

But -- but the -- the real thing here is that he -- he was -- he cared about his family. Other family members said they -- they were part of the happiest family in the world, you know? Families are complicated and there's still a lot of questions we don't have the answers to and all of us are, obviously, stunned. It was impossible to be a movie goer in this country, in this world to not be impacted by the work of Rob Reiner.

SANCHEZ: To that point, can you speak about his legacy, Brian, and the imprint that he's left on Hollywood?

It's really interesting. There are so many genres obviously, so many people remember his breakout role as an actor in "All in the Family," which really changed the way we talked about politics and social issues on television. And then, you know, as a director, it -- it knows no bounds, many genres.

[15:25:07]

You know, the -- the document -- the mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap," paved the way for other mockumentary shows like "The Office" or even "Modern Family." That was a genre that really wasn't in the -- the vernacular until Rob Reiner made that happen. Then, we have the romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally." You can't deny the impact of that romantic comedy. And interestingly, you know, the ending of that film was largely impacted by his relationship with his wife, Michelle. He was actually a little bit jaded about relationships and when he met Michelle, that impacted his decision to change the outcome of this movie.

I imagine a lot of people are going to be watching "When Harry Met Sally," so I don't want to spoil the ending for those people who may not remember. But keep in mind when you see that ending that it was largely due to his love affair with Michelle that impacted how that movie ended. And that's another genre.

Then, you have "A Few Good Men," you have "Misery," all these different genres, very different in tone, but the one thing they had in common is incredible characters, incredible human stories, and that's what he really tapped into. And I interviewed him personally once and he talked about he really wanted to tell human stories. You don't see superheroes in his films, you don't see incredible graphics, you see performances by real people.

KEILAR: Yes, we were talking about that mockumentary genre as this gift that keeps on giving and I don't know, I've never been able to flip through channels, see "A Few Good Men" and not stop and watch it, like commercials and all. I think it's just something, his -- his -- his work is just something that kind of lives with us year in, year out.

He was also, Brian, so outspoken as a political activist. That was such a key part of his life as well.

BALTHAZAR: He absolutely was. And he was a believer that it was the responsibility of people with public profiles in show business to be vocal. He actually, from the start, even with "All in the Family," he saw this as an opportunity because his character was quite liberal and "Meathead" back then meant a little bit more about his education than it did about -- about what we think about him as a "Meathead" today, his character's nickname.

But he -- he never separated the two. He always -- as Rob Reiner, was both a director, an actor, a performer, but also an activist. He believed in children's rights, women's rights, social -- fighting for social justice and he kept doing that until the end. So, this was something that he really very strongly about and he thought it was very important for people with a public profile. Even his movies, though he wasn't political in his movies, they were about fairness and honesty and in a way that's really what he was about as a person as well.

KEILAR: Yes, he was here on our show in September really sticking up for Jimmy Kimmel. That was an interview we did with him recently. Thank you so much, Brian, really appreciate it.

Let's go to Brian Todd who's there in Providence.

Brian, what's the latest there?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, this is a group of FBI Evidence Response Team members. They have been really scouring some buildings, houses here near the corner of Hope and Waterman Streets in Providence. We've been asking them repeatedly what they're looking for, what they're doing. They're not answering our questions, but they have been doing things like kicking snow aside, looking through the ground, looking through debris and things like that on the ground and they've been doing that for the last several minutes, not only here at this building here, but buildings down the street.

So, there has been some considerable activity and this comes just after they released a second piece of video of what we're told now is a -- is a person of interest. The same person we're told, as was in that first piece of video that they released shortly after the shooting, that person walking around the corner, they've released.

As I walk over here, I'll keep talking about it and we can show these guys, they released a second piece of video just a short time ago from the side along a street in Providence of a person walking. Really not too distinguishable in that second video, but it is a second piece of video and the Attorney General of Rhode Island, Peter Neronha, told me a short time ago that is a new piece of evidence that they've developed and that they're -- you know, again, they're seeking the public's help when they release those videos to try to find this person. So, this is the kind of thing that they've been doing here, guys. Just kind of, look, kicking -- sifting through the ground, sifting through snow, rocks, dirt.

And again -- and my photojournalist Effie (ph) and I can like point down the street, Effie (ph), they've been doing this with houses all the way down this street and they were -- there was one on the corner there that -- that -- that really went all over the yard in that house. This is the kind of -- this is a good look at what they're doing.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Brian. It looks like ...

TODD: Again, we're not sure if we know exactly what they're looking for. Yes, go ahead, Boris.

SANCHEZ: I was just saying it looks like they're doing a form of a grid search on the exterior of that building. Can you give us some context of -- of what that building is? Is it a residence hall? Is it part of the Brown University campus?

TODD: Boris, this particular building is a medical building.

[15:30:00]

It says there's a periodontics office here, there's a dentist office here, so this is a medical building. But right beyond here, there's an apartment building, just beyond those trees, and beyond that ...