Earlier than their tragic deaths, Rob Reiner and his spouse, Michele, had been in common contact with inmate Nanon Williams. Williams revealed to NBC Information that he had acquired an e mail from the Reiner household simply hours earlier than their homicide.
The couple noticed the one-man present “Lyrics from Lockdown,” simply the day earlier than their deaths. The present touches on Williams’ life and is predicated on his writings about injustice and mass incarceration within the US authorized system. In an e mail replace that was time-stamped at 8:26 p.m. EST on Dec. 13, 2025, Michele wrote an e mail to the inmate with the topic titled “Ugly Aspect of Stunning.” She raved in regards to the efficiency, writing, “I’m positive you could have heard from Tera,” referring to Williams’ spouse, “however the present final night time was superb.”
Michele additionally wrote about how they met his mom, how their pricey buddy Billy Crystal was moved by the efficiency, and the way they’re looking forward to Williams’ future. She signed off the e-mail, “All of us mentioned that we are able to’t wait to observe it with you. Love, Michele.”
Williams had acquired the e-mail after he discovered the information of his mates’ passing, since jail emails may take hours or days to be accredited as soon as they’re despatched. “Please, this may’t be true,” he wrote. “Please inform me the information is mendacity.”
The Reiners discovered about Nanon Williams after they noticed the one-man present in 2016 and requested artist Byronn Bain to get involved with the inmate. Williams was arrested and charged with homicide at 17 in 1991 after 19-year-old Adonius Collier was killed. He acknowledges he fired his gun within the melee; witnesses mentioned his pictures injured one other man, however he denies capturing Collier.
Williams is serving life in jail with out parole and is not on dying row, after the U.S. Supreme Court docket banned executions in 2005 for crimes dedicated by juveniles. “The extra they discovered,” Williams mentioned of his sentencing, “the extra pissed off Rob turned, and the extra loving Michele turned.” Rob had been a fierce opponent of the dying penalty, and Michele carried a lifelong sensitivity to dehumanization and state violence since her mom survived Auschwitz.
Since that preliminary interplay, their communication turned extra frequent, and so they had been involved nearly every single day. Williams advised NBC Information that the household was “an integral a part of my life. They turned part of me.” The Reiners had helped produce “Lyrics From Lockdown” throughout the nation. “Rob and Michele didn’t need credit score for attempting to assist me,” Williams mentioned. “It was simply because they liked me.”
The entire Reiner household had sung reward for Williams. “My dad and mom spoke about him with such love,” their daughter Romy wrote in an announcement to the outlet. “He has taught me extra about life and human compassion than anybody I’ve ever met. Jake mentioned in an announcement that his dad and mom “had been fierce in doing every part of their energy” to assist Williams get out at some point. “I do know wherever they’re,” he wrote, “they’re beaming with satisfaction for him.”
The replace comes proper after Rob and Michele’s son Nick was not on suicide watch after he was charged with the alleged homicide of his dad and mom. A Los Angeles County sheriff supply advised Individuals that Nick is presently being held in solitary confinement, the place he’s required to put on a yellow jail-issued shirt and blue pants.
Nick is charged with two counts of homicide with the particular circumstance allegation of a number of murders. He additionally faces a particular allegation that he personally used a harmful and lethal weapon, a knife. The designation that would make Nick eligible for the dying penalty or life in jail with out parole, based on particular circumstances round a first-degree homicide cost in California.
“I perceive being caged like an animal,” Williams mentioned of Nick’s upcoming sentence. “I perceive the ache that’s to come back. The reflection. Trying into the mirror, questioning if you happen to harmed your individual soul by the alternatives you’ve made.”
“I’ve a accountability to Nick,” Williams mentioned. “If I ever get out of right here, how may I not attempt to do one thing to assist him?”
