Medical Records in Rob and Michele Reiner Killings Sealed Under Court Order Sought By LAPD ‘Until Further Notice’

Medical examiner records tied to the investigation into the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner have been sealed under a court order requested by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

A court-ordered “security hold” now prevents the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office from releasing or posting any details about the case — including the medical examiner’s report — until further notice. Police said they wanted detectives to receive “important information” about the Reiners’ deaths “before the media and the public,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement to NBC 4, which first reported the development.

In a statement issued Monday, Dec. 29, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said it “received a court order, initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department, to place a security hold” on the Reiner case on the morning of Dec. 24.

“While the cause and manner of death were previously released on these cases, due to the court order, the information is no longer available,” the statement said. “No other case information or records, including the Medical Examiner report, can be released or posted on the website until further notice.”

The medical examiner’s announcement added, “The Department understands the public’s interest in these cases and remains committed to transparency when possible. Information will be made available once the court order is lifted.”

The court order, obtained by PEOPLE, limits “the public release of any investigative information, notes, reports, or photos” to anyone other than the “assigned investigators.”

The LAPD also confirmed to PEOPLE that it “sought to seal the records of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s investigation into Robert and Michele Reiner’s deaths.”

“The causes of death of Mr. and Mrs. Reiner have already been made public,” the department added. “The order was sought only to ensure detectives from Robbery-Homicide Division learned of important information surrounding their deaths before the media and the public. The order was not sought to undermine transparency.”

What’s known so far

Rob and Michele’s official death certificates, obtained by PEOPLE on Tuesday, Dec. 23, state that Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, died from “multiple sharp force injuries” inside their Los Angeles home on Sunday, Dec. 14, caused “with [a] knife, by another.” The time between the onset of injuries and death is listed as “minutes.”

The certificates also indicate Rob was found first, around 3:45 p.m. local time, and Michele — listed as “widowed” — was discovered one minute later at 3:46 p.m.

The Medical Examiner’s office previously released the Reiners’ cause of death on Dec. 17.

Their 32-year-old son, Nick, was arrested several hours after their bodies were discovered on Dec. 14. He is facing two counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bail.

Nick appeared briefly in court on Dec. 17 while shackled and wearing a blue anti-suicide smock. His attorney, Alan Jackson, declined to enter a plea, and an arraignment was scheduled for Jan. 7. Multiple reports have said Nick had been treated for schizophrenia before the killings.

Rob and Michele met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally and married in 1989. They had three children: Nick, Romy and Jake. Rob also adopted his daughter Tracy during his first marriage to Penny Marshall.

Information about a memorial service honoring Rob and Michele will be shared “at a later date,” a spokesperson for Romy and Jake said on Dec. 22.

In a statement shared Dec. 17, Jake and Romy said, “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”