A Texas death row inmate asserts he received three emails from the late Rob and Michele Reiner, which reached him behind bars after their untimely passing.

Nanon Williams shared with NBC News that he built a friendship with the Hollywood couple after first making contact in 2016.

Williams, 51, who is incarcerated at the W.F. Ramsey Unit in Brazoria County, Texas, explained that the Reiners became aware of him through his presentation, “Lyrics From Lockdown,” which delved into themes of race, the penal system, and incarceration.

Imprisoned since he was 17, Williams maintains his innocence regarding the crime that led to his death sentence.

According to NBC News, the couple had been in regular email correspondence with Williams, reportedly reaching out “almost daily,” and even extended an invitation for him to live with them if he were ever released from prison.

Romy Reiner, who discovered her dead parents in their Brentwood, Los Angeles home on December 14 confirmed that Williams ‘became like family’ in the years after famed director Rob Reiner and his photographer wife Michele Singer made contact with him.

A Texas death row inmate claims he received a total of three emails from the late Rob and Michele Reiner that reached him behind bars following their tragic deaths. Pictured in 2023 

Williams, 51, who is being held at the W.F. Ramsey Unit in Brazoria County, Texas, told NBC News he had forged a friendship with the Hollywood couple since first connecting with them in 2016

Williams said Michele sent him an email in the hours before she was killed – but he didn’t receive it until days after she had died.

According to NBC News, email delivery to inmates can lag due to security clearances, which can extend into hours or days. 

Williams described how he was looking on a tablet the prison provides when he saw news of their murders and sent an email to Michele.

It read, ‘Please, this can’t be true. Please tell me the news is lying.’ 

The couple’s son Nick Reiner, 32, has been charged with two counts of first-degree in connection with his parents deaths and is being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles

Following their deaths, William said he received a total of three emails from the couple on his tablet, the final one sent the night before their death. 

Williams said that the final email from Michele came after the couple, daughter Romy and family friends Billy and Janice Crystal took in a performance of Lyrics From Lockdown in Los Angeles two days prior to their killings.

Michele said that both she and Billy Crystal – who had collaborated with Rob Reiner on classic films, such as When Harry Met Sally… and The Princess Bride – were moved by the performance of Williams’ writings, as she said it was ‘amazing.’

The late couple emailed Williams ‘almost daily’ and ‘had invited him to live with them if he ever got out of prison,’ NBC News reported. Pictured in NYC in February 2025

Williams said Michele told him, ‘We all said that we can’t wait to watch it with you.’

Williams added that while the Reiners had tried to have his controversial conviction overturned, it wasn’t a move they made for social clout.

‘Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me,’ said Williams. ‘It was just because they loved me.’

Williams said his access to media had been limited in the 30+ years he had been behind bars, and he ‘didn’t really know who Rob was.’

Williams said that while he talked about his experiences to the couple on the phone, they both had emotional responses – in different ways.

‘The more they learned the more pissed off Rob became, and the more loving Michele became,’ Williams said. ‘Michele was my heart.’

Williams called Rob and Michele Reiner ‘an integral part of my life’ in a chat with NBC News, adding, ‘They became a part of me.’