$900m pay day: Reg Grundy's "long-lost son" reveals DNA test results
A man who claims to be the long-lost son of Reg Grundy has appeared in court for the first time to claim a part of the late TV mogul’s $900 million fortune.
Simon Russell, a former mayor of Bayside in Victoria, has joined the legal battle with Grundy’s widow Joy Chambers-Grundy and estranged daughter Viola La Valette over the division of the estate.
The three were present at Sydney’s Supreme Court on Wednesday as Russell’s barrister Nicolas Kirby revealed that the result of the DNA test to prove Grundy’s paternity was “inconclusive”.
“Sadly, the fortuitously found biological sample... once tested, yielded insufficient DNA to construct a completed profile,” said Kirby.
“So those results came back inconclusive.”
Justice Geoff Lindsay asked Kirby why he would not do a test with a biological sample from La Valette. “If they are half brother and sister won’t that not show?”
Kirby said they had received expert advice that full or half siblings would provide a “statistical likelihood” that they share a parent, but it would be “a poor substitute” and “not conclusive”.
He also said testing La Valette could expose her to the possibility that she is not Grundy’s biological daughter.
However, Justice Lindsay said this should not be a reason to rule out having the potential sibling tested. “It may be if there is a positive sibling test that comes up, everyone may agree that Mr Russell is technically a child of the deceased,” he said.
Grundy, who created popular TV shows such as Wheel of Fortune, Scrabble and Neighbours, died in 2016 at the age of 92.
La Valette, previously Kim Grundy, commenced legal proceedings the following year disputing her father’s will which made Chambers-Grundy the main beneficiary of his estate.
La Valette’s lawyers argued that the will was created when Grundy was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
This year, Russell became the second plaintiff against Chambers-Grundy. Despite the striking resemblance to the late TV icon, Russell has remained silent about what led him to believe he could be Grundy’s son. “We’ll get some DNA then will go from there, but there’s no story until the DNA turns up,” he told 10 News First outside the court.