Rob Reiner’s Friend Details Staying with Nick & the Family Weeks Before Director & Wife Were Killed

Rob Reiner’s friend cinematographer Barry Markowitz is speaking out about staying with the family at their L.A. home in November.

Weeks later, Rob and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were dead and their son Nick under arrest and facing first-degree murder charges.

Barry was in town around November 14 for the premiere of his new film “The Perfect Gamble.”

He told Page Six the Reiners insisted he stay with them, and said he spent time with Rob, Michele and their kids Nick and Romy. Their son Jake was not around at the time of the visit.

Markowitz called it “one big love fest” with lots of “family time.”

He had worked with Rob and Nick on the 2015 film “Being Charlie,” a semi-autobiographical project Nick had co-written about his past substance abuse issues. Rob had directed the movie.

Barry said during the visit Nick seemed “on the upswing,” adding, “He looked great. He was sitting and talking with the family. They eat dinner together, old-school, and a lot of love, always a lot of love.”

He said Nick would play tennis, shoot hoops, and do things around the house.

“He helped out, he took out the garbage, he watched TV, he washed dishes,” the filmmaker recalled. “He’d bring me something to drink. He was just normal in that sense.”

Barry had a “blast” with the family during his five night-stay. “I think what’s puzzling the most… is that there was so much love, that it doesn’t jibe,” he said.

Markowitz added, “I’m not here to judge anyone. L-o-v-e is the only thing I saw, and I don’t think it was fake. They had a real bond."

He said the couple never gave up on their son despite his drug issues and many trips to rehab.

As for their safety, Barry said, “[Rob] never had fears for his safety. I’m not in his head, but we talked. [Nick] wasn’t a violent type."

He went on, “I slept in the same house as Nick. There was never a thought, I believe, in Rob’s head [that Nick was a danger.] If he would have thought his life was in peril at any point, he would have handled the situation.”

​Barry doesn’t think there was a motive. “When somebody is mentally disturbed, you don’t need a reason. There’s no rhyme or reason,” he said. “Mental illness — that’s the reason.”