What happened was this: After attending Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on the evening of Dec. 13 with son Nick Reiner, 32, the famed film director and his wife were murdered in their home. Hours after Rob and Michele’s bodies were found, Nick—and Jake and Romy’s middle brother—was arrested for their murders. He’s pleaded not guilty.  

For Jake, the act of violence “robbed” him of so many parts of his future, noting his parents would no longer be there at his wedding, they would never meet his future children nor the fruits of his professional labor. He wrote, “It simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.”

Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time,” he wrote. “It’s too devastating to comprehend. I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare.”

And indeed, Jake added that one element of the situation he keeps returning to his how “frightened they must have been.”

“They were the last people in the world to deserve what happened to them,” he continued. “They deserved to be loved, they deserved to be respected, and above all they deserved to be appreciated for how much they gave to all three of us and to the world.”

Further into the essay, Jake reflected on his relationship with his parents. With Michele, he highlighted their shared love of musicals, her bringing  the extended family together for every Thanksgiving and that she was never more than a phone call away.

As for his father, Jake wrote of their mutual love for baseball, and how they made sure to attend countless Dodgers games together over the years—a trait inherited from his grandfather Carl Reiner. And when Jake confessed he wanted to leave his career as a broadcaster to pursue acting, Rob’s support was boundless. 

“It’s not lost on me that I was able to have these incredible experiences, that most people don’t get to have, because of who my parents were,” he said. “But I would trade every Dodger game, every Broadway show, every vacation, if I could just spend just one more hour talking to them and to say goodbye.”

And on top of noting Romy, 28, would share her own thoughts in time, Jake asked for “love and compassion” as he and his younger sister navigate this unimaginable tragedy. 

“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” he said. “Sure, any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it.”

He continued, “I understand that people have questions about what happened. Some of those answers will come in time. But some parts of this belong only to our family, and keeping them private is the only way to protect what little remains of something that was taken from us.”

As Jake and Romy continue to live each day as best they can, their brother remains in police custody. Read on for more information on the tragic case.