Crime

Alan Jackson's down to jump back on the case as Nick Reiner's lawyer ... but there's a financial holdup ... and he tells us that's why Nick's petitioning for access to his trust fund money.

The famed defense lawyer joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday after Nick asked the court to give him the money he says he's owed from the trust fund Rob and Michele Reiner set up for him and his siblings.

Alan said it's "wildly unfair" that the money is being held back from Nick, because it's the trustee's duty to make sure Nick gets his payout. He noted ... "That is Nick's money."

The morning Christine Banfield was murdered was even more chilling than many realized ... with a new documentary laying out what investigators say was a carefully planned plot from start to finish.

Detective Thomas Gadell breaks down the case in FOX Nation's "The Au Pair Affair: Murder in Suburbia" ... detailing the actions of Brendan Banfield, who was recently sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the deaths of his wife, Christine, and a stranger, Joe Ryan.

According to investigators, Banfield orchestrated an elaborate BDMS-fueled scheme involving his family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, whom prosecutors said he was romantically involved with.

Karmelo Anthony's mom took the stand to plead with the jury set to determine her son's fate, TMZ has learned. 

Kala Hayes testified minutes after her son was found guilty of murdering Austin Metcalf. She told the 12-person jury she knows her son is very sorry for what he did. 

Prosecutors asked Kala if she still had love for her son. 

Nick Reiner wants the money he says he's owed from the trust his parents Rob and Michele Reiner set up for him ... as he awaits trial for their murders.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the 32-year-old filed a petition Monday, requesting the distribution of money he says was supposed to be paid out from the trust when he turned 30.

Nick said he tried to hire lawyer Alan Jackson to help him fight the murder charges, which he says his siblings Jake and Romy agreed to. He claims the trustee refused to pay Jackson which caused him to depart the case.

It's Lesley Groff's turn to testify in a Congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's crimes ... and it sounds like his former assistant said she never saw the late pedophile do anything illegal.

Groff appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Tuesday to begin her testimony, and a source familiar with the matter told MS NOW that Groff told the committee ... "I never saw anything improper."

The report said Groff's been answering questions, but sometimes responds by saying she doesn't know or doesn't remember.

OnlyFans model Michaela Rylaarsdam had a guilt-fueled meltdown in court as she was sentenced for killing a man in a BDSM act.

Rylaarsdam was sentenced Monday to four years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Dale, who suffocated to death after she put a plastic bag, Saran Wrap, and duct tape over his head during a kinky encounter gone wrong.

The adult entertainer, wife, and mother of three broke down on the stand in San Diego Superior Court as she profusely apologized to Dale's family.

Karmelo Anthony was defending himself when he fatally stabbed Austin Metcalf because Austin was using "deadly force" ... at least that's what Karmelo's defense is saying.

Closing arguments began in Karmelo's murder trial Tuesday, and the defense went first.

Defense attorney Mike Howard told the jury Austin "had no legal right" to put his hands on Karmelo, or use force to remove him from the tent they were under at a Texas high school track meet.

Howard described how it was raining during the event, and someone from Frisco Memorial High School allegedly told Karmelo he could come under their tent to stay dry.

Howard continued ... "Then all of the sudden Hunter Metcalf, or Austin, says 'Who are you? You need to leave.' ... These guys are much bigger than you. Do you turn your back and walk away and take a chance with these teenage boys with their raging hormones?"

Nick Reiner says he not only needs money to pay lawyers for his legal defense, but also to fund his commissary account ... and the accused double murderer claims his trustee isn't playing ball.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Nick says he's repeatedly asked the trustee controlling his money to replenish his jailhouse account to buy additional snacks and hygiene items ... but he says the trustee has yet to break him off a little bread.

The commissary gripe is included in a petition filed Monday by the 32-year-old, requesting the distribution of money he says was supposed to be paid out from the trust his parents Rob and Michele Reiner set up for him in 1992.

Nick claims he was supposed to get the money when he turned 30, and he wants the funds to hire back Alan Jackson as his lawyer ... and also to get some stuff from the commissary while he sits in jail.

Nick Reiner's former lawyer, Alan Jackson, is ready to take on the alleged murderer's case, but he says drama over how he and his firm would get paid led to him dropping the case several months ago.

Alan filed a declaration that was submitted with Reiner's motion seeking release of his trust funds ... in it, he describes what he says went down behind the scenes that led to his law firm withdrawing from Nick's criminal case.

As TMZ previously reported, Alan was hired in December 2025 to defend Nick in court after he was charged with the murder of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. Alan and his firm withdrew from the case weeks later, and a public defender was then assigned to Nick's case.

In his newly filed declaration, Alan says Nick told him he wants his firm back representing him. Alan said he is willing and ready to defend Nick if funding becomes available.

A woman is wanted by police in Arizona in connection with an alleged kidnapping, just miles from where Nancy Guthrie lived ... and only months after Nancy vanished from her Tucson home in the middle of the night.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department shared a wanted poster for a 40-year-old woman named Coral Michelle Smith Thursday ... saying she's connected to a May 29 kidnapping and aggravated assault case. The crime reportedly occurred about 7 miles from Nancy's residence in the Catalina Foothills.

According to court records, Smith has an extensive criminal history -- she was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of robbery in 2020 in a case that also involved kidnapping and drug charges, which were ultimately dropped.

Her rap sheet dates back to 2011, when she was found guilty of robbery. She has also been found guilty of criminal trespass, attempted vehicle theft, and disorderly conduct over the years ... per court records.

A traffic stop went off the rails when cops in Louisiana say a man tried to evade them by fleeing into a swamp ... and it sounds like he ended up running straight into an alligator's jaws!!!

According to Louisiana State Police, troopers began pursuing Victor M. Rivas Sunday after receiving reports of a Toyota Supra driving recklessly. When officers stopped the car, they say Rivas showed signs of impairment and fled on foot.

Police say 40-year-old Rivas jumped from an elevated section of Interstate 310 into the swamp below.

Troopers say they later spotted him walking along Highway 61 ... and when they approached, he fled into another swampy area ... where he was attacked by a gator.

Alaric Jackson, Los Angeles Rams' starting left tackle, was arrested for felony domestic battery Monday night ... and booked into an LAPD jail, where he remains behind bars.

Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a home in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley on Monday around 11 PM after cops were called to the scene.

Police determined, according to NBC L.A., which broke the story, Jackson was initially in a verbal argument with a woman over her allegedly filming him with her phone.

Anna Kepner's cell phone turned into a key piece of evidence that led to the arrest of her stepbrother, Timothy Hudson, after the 18-year-old was sexually assaulted and strangled aboard a Carnival Cruise ship in 2025, according to a new report.

People obtained a transcript of testimony given by FBI Agent Andrew del Valle, who told the court that Hudson, 16, tried to destroy and dispose of Kepner's phone, but he failed to do so.   

Del Valle testified that FBI agents started looking for the missing phone on November 8, 2025, after they launched an investigation into Kepner's sexual assault and murder aboard Carnival's Horizon cruise ship in Miami, Florida.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is cracking down on alleged unlawful behavior near Nancy Guthrie's upscale Arizona home ... and his department just arrested 3 streamers for allegedly causing problems in the area, including one who was caught urinating in public.

Alexander Zabel, who runs the true crime account "Criminal Network," was arrested and charged with 2 counts of obstructing a highway or thoroughfare and one count of public nuisance ... the sheriff's department tells TMZ.

Troy Bradshaw, who heads the "DAA JUICE" YouTube channel, was arrested and charged with public nuisance. He was livestreaming when authorities let him know he was being taken into custody. He and Zabel were booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex.

One of the doctors convicted in the Matthew Perry ketamine case is embracing a label most physicians would run from ... telling an appeals court he was functioning as a drug dealer, not a doctor, when he sold ketamine in this case.

According to new court documents, obtained by TMZ, Dr. Salvador Plasencia is asking the Ninth Circuit to toss his 30-month prison sentence and send his case back for resentencing ... arguing the judge wrongly punished him for abusing a physician's position of trust.

In the filing, Plasencia makes a stunning claim ... insisting Perry wasn't seeking him out for legitimate medical treatment, but was instead looking for a reliable source of ketamine. Because of that, his attorneys argue, he shouldn't have been treated as a doctor who betrayed a patient, but rather as a more common drug dealer.

Diddy’s longtime right-hand woman, Kristina Khorram, scored a huge win in court after a judge dismissed sex trafficking claims against her ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge sided with Kristina at a recent hearing in June. The judge ruled that the sexual battery, sex trafficking, and several other claims brought against Kristina by Diddy’s former employee, Phillip Pines, were to be thrown out of court.

The court found that Phillip failed to submit evidence to back up his claims Kristina could be held liable for any of the alleged crimes committed against him. The judge said Phillip did not show Kristina had knowledge of any alleged sexual battery or knew about or benefited from any alleged sexual trafficking.