Conan O'Brien Breaks Silence on Reiner Killings

Conan O'Brien says he's still reeling from the fact that he said goodnight to Rob and Michele Reiner at his holiday party, then learned the next day they were dead. Speaking with the New Yorker, O'Brien described the filmmaker and his photographer-producer wife as "lovely people" and said he was "in shock for quite a while" after news broke that the couple had been found dead in their Los Angeles home on Dec. 14 and that their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. "It's just very—it's so awful. It's just so awful," O'Brien said.

O'Brien confirmed that he and his wife had grown close to the Reiners and reflected on Rob's influence, calling his run of classic movies "an almost impossible feat" and saying This Is Spinal Tap alone "influenced my generation enormously." People previously reported that Nick, 32, argued with his father and unnerved guests at O'Brien's Dec. 13 party; a source previously told Variety about a particularly awkward interaction with SNL star Bill Hader. Nick Reiner is being held without bail, initially on suicide watch in solitary confinement, and faces life without parole or the death penalty if found guilty. O'Brien also noted the recent "incomprehensible" death of Catherine O'Hara, calling her "perfection." O'Brien is set to return as host of the 98th Academy Awards on March 15.