A month after the slayings of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, on December 14th, an unlikely close friend of the couple has shared an update on their children, Romy and Jake.
Update on Rob Reiner and Michele’s children
Nanon Williams, who has been incarcerated for 34 years for a m*rder he maintains he did not commit, became “like family” to the Reiners after they attended a 2016 Los Angeles production of Lyrics From Lockdown, a show inspired by his story of incarceration.
It once included daily emails ending with “I love you,” weekly phone calls, and promises to help secure Williams’ freedom, but it has since turned to silence following the passing of Rob and Michele. Their son Nick, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with their deaths.
As Williams told PEOPLE, the Reiners’ children remain committed to the fight for his freedom, a cause their parents championed alongside the Georgetown University Making an Exoneree program.
“I got two emails, one from Jake and one from Romy, that were written on January 4th,” Williams, 51, tells PEOPLE.
“They’re their parents’ children. I know that they’re going through probably the toughest moment they’ll ever go through in their lives, but they’re still expressing that, ‘Hey, we’re family. We’re standing by you. We’re going to be here forever, and we love you very much.’”
Williams shared that over the years he has become “particularly close to Romy and Jake, but especially Romy.”
“They’re private in their life, but they explained to me about how they lost their parents,” he says of the siblings.
“And in some ways, they feel like they lost their brother as well. So they explained to me exactly how they’re feeling.”
Receiving the emails from Jake, 34, and Romy, 29, was bittersweet for Williams.
“It made me smile to hear from them, but at the same time, it made tears fall, because I know what they’re going through,” he explains. “I know the struggles they face, and I try to imagine the horror that particularly Romy saw. It’s heartbreaking.” (Per multiple sources, Rob and Michele’s bodies were discovered in their Los Angeles home by Romy.)
Williams said that the duo reflect their parents’ strength and compassion. “When I read Romy’s letter and Jake’s letter — I don’t think they realized that they’re being strong or vulnerable,” he tells PEOPLE.
“And what’s amazing is, despite what they’re going through and how they’re feeling, they’re also showing love. They’re doing exactly the same thing their parents did.”
He adds, “Rob was a leader, and Michele wasn’t his sidekick; she was his partner. I also know that Romy and Jake, too, they’ll be leaders. I think many people already know that.”
