Theories
Nicolas was said to be a problematic child that was getting into a lot of trouble at school. At home, he was unruly and caused a lot of stress for his family, which was already going through a financially hard time. Months before he vanished, his behavior was reported to have gotten worse.
Domestic abuse and other things were going on behind closed doors, which made investigators point the finger at Barclays for perhaps killing their own son. Whether this was an accident or not, they definitely had a motive and were desperate for the attention to get off of them at all costs.