A matter of trust: new twist in Hollywood murder case

Rob Reiner’s son Nick has been charged with murdering his parents: now he wants his $1.5m trust fund to fund his legal case. Katie Rosseinsky explores the fallout of this tragedy

- Katie Rosseinsky

It’s the latest grim chapter in a truly harrowing Hollywood saga.

In December last year, actor and director Rob Reiner, the man behind beloved films such as When Harry Met Sally, Stand By Me and The Princess Bride, and his wife Michele, a respected photographer and producer, were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home. Soon after, the couple’s youngest son Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He has since pleaded not guilty and could face either life in prison without parole or the death penalty should he be convicted, although the District Attorney’s office has not yet decided whether to seek this.

Now the 32-year-old, who co-wrote his father’s 2015 film Being Charlie based on his experiences of drug addiction, rehab stints and mental health struggles, is vying to gain access to the estimated $1.5m trust fund set up by his parents — in order to pay for a defence lawyer to argue against the charges that he killed them.

The Nick Reiner Children’s Trust was established in 1993 and is separate to the larger family trust that controls the Reiner estate; it’s thought that Rob and Michele’s other children, Jake, 35, and Romy, 28, have similar trusts, too.

On Monday, Nick’s lawyers filed a petition seeking to gain access to the trust so that he can fund his defence and pay for basic expenses while he remains in custody at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, where he has been held since his arrest last year.