An allegedly intoxicated driver who hit and killed high school tennis star Braun Levi in Manhattan Beach was charged with murder Tuesday, authorities said.
Jenia Resha Belt, 33, of Los Angeles also faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license, said Pamela Johnson, a spokesperson for the L.A. County district attorney’s office.
Around 12:46 a.m. on May 4, Belt struck Braun, who was walking near Sepulveda Boulevard and 2nd Street, authorities said.
Belt, who was arrested at the scene, had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit and was driving on a suspended license from a prior DUI arrest, according to court records. Four passengers inside the car fled the area after the collision.
Belt was released in June and then apprehended again months later.
Braun’s parents, who lost their home in the Palisades fire and relocated to the South Bay, filed a $200-million wrongful death lawsuit against Belt in November.
Their son was a standout at Loyola High School and had been slated to play tennis at the University of Virginia. The Levis started the Live Like Braun Foundation in his memory.
Belt is in custody on $2 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, Johnson said.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman and Jennifer Levi, Braun’s mother, plan to discuss the charges at a news conference Monday.
Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
THE slashing deaths of Hollywood star Rob Reiner and his wife have sparked a raft of questions, many of which stem from their alleged killer son, Nick.
Here is a look at five mysteries that leave glaring holes in the murder investigation, from hazy information about Nick’s mental health to debates on his unconfirmed motivation.
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Nick Reiner, 32, has been accused of killing his parents Rob and Michele ReinerCredit: GettyRob, 78 and Michele, 68, were found dead with their throats slit on SundayCredit: GettyJake Reiner, Nick, Romy Reiner, Michele, and Rob are seen attending a Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse pop-up grand opening on September 14, 2024, in Las Vegas, NevadaCredit: Getty
Nick, 32, is accused of murdering his parents, filmmaker Rob, 78, and his wife Michele, 68, after a chaotic weekend that spiraled from a celebrity bash to a late-night arrest near the University of Southern California.
Nick was arrested later that night and is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, meaning he could face the death penalty if convicted.
However, his fate is still hanging in the balance, as his arrest is complicated by missing hours, unclear motives, and unanswered questions about what he did while his parents lay dead.
Here is what has been revealed about the case and what remains to be revealed.
WHAT HAPPENED AT CONAN O’BRIEN’S PARTY?
On Saturday night, Rob, Michele, and Nick were all said to have attended a star-studded holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien.
And according to several insiders, the night reportedly went sideways for the trio.
Guests present at the party claimed that Nick behaved erratically the entire night
According to the Wall Street Journal, there was one awkward moment where Nick interrupted Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader during a private conversation and was told to butt out.
Nick was said to have asked Hader odd questions like ” What’s your name? What’s your last name? Are you famous?”
One witness told the Daily Mail, “Nick just stood there and stared before storming off.”
Tensions escalated when multiple attendees saw Rob, Michele, and Nick locked in a heated argument.
At one point, a guest suggested calling the police, Daily Mail reported.
“They got into an argument, the father and son. It got so bad and loud someone wanted to call the police to report it,” an insider told the outlet.
Timeline of Rob and Michele Reiner’s death
Rob Reiner and his wife of Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home on December 14, 2025.
Timeline:
December 13, 2025: Reiner and his wife Michele attended a holiday party on the evening of December 13 with their son, Nick.
Sources conveyed to The U.S. Sun that the couple and their son were engaged in a heated public argument while at the event.
December 14, 2025: Reiner and Michele were found dead in their Brentwood home in Los Angeles at around 3:30 pm PST.
The couple’s daughter, Romy, reportedly discovered her parents’ bodies.
Online police records show Reiner and Michele’s 32-year-old son, Nick, was arrested at 9:15 pm PST on December 14.
December 15, 2025: Authorities in Los Angeles announce that Nick Reiner was arrested and charged with murder.
Nick was booked into a Los Angeles jail at 5:04 am and was being held on $4 million bail, which was later revoked.
December 16, 2025: Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman formally charged Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder.
Hochman said his office would consider the death penalty in Nick’s case.
Nick’s scheduled court appearance on December 16 was postponed due to what his attorney said was a procedural issue.
But O’Brien reportedly intervened before anyone rang 911, the insider claimed.
“But Conan stepped in and said, ‘it’s my house, my party, I’m not calling the police.’ He talked them out of calling the police.”
“When the s**t was hitting the fan, somebody said we need to call the police. The conversation was about getting this kid put into a mental-health hold,” the source told the Mail.
Nick eventually stormed off the party.
An aerial view of Rob Reiner and Michele’s estate in Brentwood, Los AngelesCredit: EPA
Outlets have also reported that Rob confided to friends that he is scared of Nick.
“I’m petrified of him,” Rob told his friends.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I’m afraid of my own son. I think my own son can hurt me.”
WAS NICK HIGH ON DRUGS?
No official details have been released saying Nick was on drugs or drunk at the time of the alleged killings.
But questions are swirling because he has a documented history of substance abuse, and the hours after the party, and after he is believed to have fled the family home, are still largely unaccounted for.
According to a TMZ report, Nick was receiving care from a Los Angeles-based rehab facility that focuses on mental illness and substance abuse, and costs $70,000 a month.
Nick had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and a report claims his behavior became increasingly “alarming” as doctors worked to fine-tune his treatment.
Things got worse three to four weeks before the murders after doctors changed his medication, leaving him even more unstable.
“Nick was out of his head,” a source told TMZ, with the report also alleging his substance abuse made his condition worse.
Nick was described as quiet, introverted and darkly funnyCredit: Instagram/michelereinerRob and. Nick Reiner attend AOL Build Presents: “Being Charlie” at AOL Studios In New York on May 4, 2016Credit: Getty
One avenue his attorney, Alan Jackson, could explore is having him declare mentally unfit for trial, which would pause the proceedings while he is evaluated and treated.
That’s different from an insanity defense, which argues he wasn’t legally responsible at the time of the alleged killings.
Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer Daniel Rubin told Fox News the defense strategy will depend on “the weight and admissibility” of evidence, witness testimony, the events before the deaths, “the defendant’s mental health issues,” and any mitigating factors.
Rubin said if Reiner is found mentally incompetent, a judge can order a formal competency assessment by specialists.
“If he is found ‘incompetent,’ he will need to be medicated or treated to the point where he will be able to assist in his own defense and understand the proceedings,” Rubin added.
This process could take several weeks to several months.
If a judge finds him unfit, the case typically goes on ice while doctors work to restore competency, and it can restart if he stabilizes.
Even if he’s never restored, that doesn’t mean he goes home; he could still be held in a secure hospital setting rather than a prison.
And if he’s found fit and later convicted, prison is still very much on the table.
WILL HE GET HIS PARENTS’ FORTUNE?
If Nick already has cash or there is a trust that allows discretionary payouts, it’s possible funds could be used toward his legal bills while the criminal case is pending – because he’s presumed innocent and the inheritance question isn’t “final” yet.
Some reports say that, until there’s a conviction or a civil finding, he isn’t automatically treated as disqualified in every setting.
But any move to use estate or trust cash could trigger an immediate probate war, with other relatives or beneficiaries pushing to freeze payouts while the murder case is pending.
If Nick is convicted, California’s so-called “slayer statute” would likely kick in, a law that blocks someone from inheriting from a person they feloniously and intentionally killed.
In that scenario, he’d be treated as if he died before his parents for inheritance purposes, meaning he wouldn’t collect from their estate.
If he’s barred, the money would typically flow to other heirs or whoever is next in line under the will or trust.
Rob and Michele’s combined estate has been estimated at around $200 million, making the financial stakes enormous as the case heads toward court.
Nick had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and a report claims his behavior became increasingly “alarming”Credit: Instagram/michelereinerNick was receiving care from a Los Angeles-based rehab facility that focuses on mental illness and substance abuseCredit: Facebook/ Nick Reiner
Let the annals of this country show it was the murder of a Jewish couple on the first night of Hanukkah that showed how profoundly un-Christian Donald J. Trump is once and for all.
The prosecution rests, and there can no rebuttal: We are a nation led by President Meathead.
Except unlike the character of the same name famously played by Rob Reiner in “All In the Family,” our Meathead in chief lacks any sense of moral decency.
The weekend saw the tragic deaths of Hollywood legend Reiner and his wife, Michele. Their son, Nick Reiner, is currently in jail without bond and is facing murder charges. Normal people mourned the loss of a couple who delighted and improved the world with their creative and political work while trying to free Nick from the ravages of drug abuse and mental illness for most of his adult life.
Our president, of course, is not normal. He’s a weirdo who gets off on being mean. If there was a CruelHub, he’d be on it daily.
And so on the day after Romy Reiner found her parents’ bodies at their Brentwood home, Trump posted on social media that they died not due to stab wounds but “reportedly due to the anger [Rob] caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
The president doubled down on his crocodile tears to reporters at the Oval Office the day after, claiming Reiner “was very bad for our country” without offering any proof and describing the director of big-hearted film classics like “When Harry Met Sally…” and “The Princess Bride” as “deranged.”
We’re in the middle of the holiday season, a time when people traditionally slow down their lives to take stock of their blessings during the coldest and darkest time of the year and try to spread cheer to friends and strangers alike.
But goodwill is simply impossible for Trump. Where a moment calls for grace, he offers ethical filth. When tragedies inspire charity in the hearts of good people, the president makes it about himself.
While everyone is rightfully focusing on the ugly attacks Trump launched against Reiner and his wife, also telling about the president’s soul was the address he gave at a White House reception marking Christmas and the start of Hanukkah hours before news broke of the Reiners’ murder.
Trump offered lip service to those massacres before turning to the reason for the season:
Trump.
Actor, writer, director, producer and activist Rob Reiner photographed at his home in Brentwood in 2017.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
He insulted his predecessor, Joe Biden, and claimed his disastrous tariffs were paying off. He brought up Bryson DeChambeau so the U.S. Open golf champion could gush about how the president was a “great golfer [and] better human being.” The president plugged his planned arch for the nation’s capital that he claimed will “blow … away” the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. He bragged about winning over Latinos during the 2024 election — without mentioning that’s he’s already losing them, fast — and blasted the “fake news” for not appreciating the Christmas decorations of First Lady Melania Trump.
You would think Trump was running for president again instead of marking two important religious holidays. But Trump was being spiritual in a sense: he was practicing his true faith, which is smite.
The word and its conjugates appear hundreds of times in the Old Testament, spoken by an admittedly “jealous” God as he instructs the Israelites on how to treat their enemies, or used as a threat against the Israelites if they stray from his commands.
If Trump and his henchmen and henchwomen ever read the Bible, you might well bet they read only the parts that involved smiting.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — he of the medieval cross chest tattoo — continues to play Solomon as he authorizes the bombing of boats off the coasts of South America that he insists are carrying drugs while offering no justification other than his will that it be done. Immigration agents indiscriminately pick up citizens and noncitizens alike in pursuit of remigration, the far-right movement to make minority groups return to their ancestral countries in the name of white makes right.
Twice, the Department of Homeland Security has invoked the Book of Isaiah in social media campaigns to justify its scorched-earth approach to booting people from the country. Specifically, they have cited a verse where the prophet tells God “Here I am, send me” as Yahweh calls for a messenger to warn heretics of the hell he will rain down on them unless they repent. The most recent clip starred Border Patrol commander at large Gregory Bovino, he who has spread Trump’s fire-and-brimstone gospel of deportation.
Smiting and annihilation are the Gospel of Trump and they do play a big role in the Bible. But their ultimate redemption for Christians is what we’re gearing up to celebrate next week: the birth of Christ, the Son of God who came to the world to preach one should love thy enemy, bless the meek, renounce wealth and a whole bunch of other woke stuff.
Trump may not be the literal anti-Christ, but Trump sure is anti-Christian. He stands for and embodies everything that Jesus decried.
More and more Christian thought leaders are starting to understand this about Trump the more he rages. In the wake of Trump’s selfish sliming of the Reiners, Christianity Today editor at large Russell Moore slammed his “vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior” while conservative commentator and longtime Trump apologist Rod Dreher wrote “something is very, very wrong with this man.”
That’s a start. But more evangelical Christians, 80% of whom voted for him in the 2024 election, need to finally repent of blindly supporting him. They, more than any other group, have excused Trump’s sins.
They often compare him to major figures from the Bible and Christian heroes from the past — King David, Cyrus the Great, Constantine — who were imperfect but still did God’s will.
That’s laughable. This man isn’t just imperfect. We’re all that.
No, Trump is more than imperfect. He is a throbbing mass of malevolence, turned up — to reference Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap” — to 11.
A post-mortem found the preliminary cause of Aria’s death was a single stab wound
A 15-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a nine-year-old girl.
Police have named the victim as Aria Thorpe, who was found dead at a house in Lime Close, Weston-super-Mare, on Monday evening.
A post-mortem examination found the preliminary cause of her death was a single stab wound, Avon and Somerset Police said.
The teenage suspect, who cannot be named due to his age, remains in custody and is due to appear at Bristol Magistrates’ Court later.
Floral tributes to Aria have been left close to the scene of the incident
Supt Jen Appleford said it was “impossible to adequately describe how traumatic the past 36 hours have been” for Aria’s family.
“The tragic loss of such a young girl has caused a huge amount of shock and upset, with there being a profound sense of loss felt throughout the community,” she added.
She said police officers were working with schools across the area to make sure those affected were being supported, adding: “We are grateful to local residents for the patience shown while we have been carrying out enquiries in the area.”
A police cordon has been in place around Lime Close since Monday, with forensics teams working at the scene as officers carry out house-to-house inquiries.
Officers are working with schools to make sure children are supported
Neighbours said they feel “shocked” and “horrified” by what has happened, as the usually quiet residential area has been taken over by emergency services.
Supt Appleford said work gathering evidence would continue in the coming days.
The town’s MP, Dan Aldridge, described Aria’s death as an “utterly heartbreaking tragedy for the family and her loved ones”.
“This is a moment that will understandably shock and sadden us all, and I know many in our town will be grieving, anxious, and seeking answers,” he said, adding that there was no indication of any wider threat to the public.
Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery filming locations including famous forest – The Mirror
Wake Up Dead Man is the third film in Rian Johnson’s famous murder mystery trilogy, Knives Out, and most of it was filmed in the UK.
12:49, 16 Dec 2025Updated 12:49, 16 Dec 2025
Knives Out 3 was filmed in various UK locations(Image: Netflix)
Everything you need to know about the Wake Up Dead Man filming locations
The third Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man, is now streaming on Netflix after previously hitting cinemas last month. The blockbuster stars former James Bond actor Daniel Craig, who reprises his role as Detective Benoit Blanc, and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor as Rev. Jud Duplenticy. While the murder mystery movie is set in upstate New York, most of its filming locations were actually in the UK.
Wake Up Dead Man takes place in the fictional small village of Chimney Rock in upstate New York, with many of the scenes unfolding in the local church, Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. In reality, much of the filming was carried out in a magnificent Neo-Gothic church in Essex, while the English countryside stood in for the Hudson Valley.
Last summer, production started in Epping Forest, where the Holy Innocents Church at High Beach was chosen for the exterior shots of the church. Vicar Reverend Jane Yeadon ensured her involvement on set was included in the contract, enabling her to safeguard the historic 19th-century building throughout the shoot.
Production Designer Rick Heinrichs previously revealed to journalists that it proved “devilishly hard to find a church [in England] that didn’t look at least several centuries too old for a U.S. church”. While Holy Innocents Church fit the bill with its “storybook-like charm”, its interior proved “too small for the job”, meaning this had to be constructed from scratch by the production team.
Essex wasn’t the only UK filming location used for Wake Up Dead Man, as a property on a Guildford estate in Surrey doubled as Vera Draven’s (Kerry Washington) residence. The Wicks mausoleum and groundskeeper’s cabin were also purpose-built within Surrey’s Winterfold Forest.
