'Boy Interrupted' Article

*Lash* said:

Nina Romano's Phone Interview - 11-7-2011

CROSSTALK:
Can you tell, can you tell me, sorry to interrupt you, can you tell me, uh why she didn't arrive at the hospital with Max at 300pm if he fell down the stairs *at 1000am on Monday?

NINA:
yeah yeah because uh her house um has 3 levels, there's a top level that was converted into a big bedroom area I think and she wasn't feeling well, she had been sick she had the flu, and she went up to the third level tooo sleep. she wears earplugs- she sleeps with earplugs, and so she had gone up there because she didn't sleep well the night before because she was sick and she didn't get much sleep so she went up to the third level, she put her ear plugs in and she went to sleep. So when Jonah was calling her she didn't hear her phone, she had missed his calls, and then finally when the detectives came and they were I guess banging on her door and she finally heard that, that's how that's why there was a time delay.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/15982091/exclusive-max-shacknais-aunt-talks-about-coronado-mansion-deaths

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All I can say is there should be one basic and consistent explanation for all this. Where Dina was, what she was doing, when she first became aware the phone was ringing and Max was hurt, and why it took her so long to go to the hospital.

So, what is going on here since there are at least two drastically different versions. Why does Nina start answering such a question with, well, the house has three levels? Is she just trying to reiterate some strange explanation Dina gave her? Did they talk about changing the story? Is Dina unaware of Nina's account given months ago or does she just think no one will look back? I'd like to know what LE were told.

From Boy, Interrupted-

Over the following three months, Dina learned that Rebecca’s legal name was Rebecca Nalepa and that she was divorcing a Valley nursing student named Neil Nalepa. “As I later discovered, she had not used the name Zahau in this country,” Dina says. “She did not share the fact that she was currently married. That was a strange thing not to mention.” More incriminating, Dina discovered that Rebecca was arrested in 2009 for shoplifting approximately $1,000 in jewelry from a Valley Macy’s department store. She pled guilty to a misdemeanor and paid a $500 fine.

http://www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/valley-news/201208/boy--interrupted-full-version/2/

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In my opinion this article attempts to demean a dead woman that cannot defend herself. I do not condone shoplifting. However, I would like to have heard Rebecca's side of the story. Even though Rebecca pled guilty, maybe it was an accident and Macy's did not believe her. I know it is unlikely, but I would like to have heard Rebecca speak of the incident. A $1,000 is a lot. Rebecca returned the property and paid a $500 fine.

Did Rebecca complete a background check or a Google search on Dina? If she did, she would have found a 2010 civil suit against Dina for a $32,500 breach of contract for a delinquent payment on a rental property. In my opinion, breach of contract can also be considered thievery. One difference being criminal versus civil. I'm not posting this to demean Dina. Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes. When you don't pay your debts, it is considered irresponsible and can cause people to label your character. Just as Rebecca's shoplifting has been used to label her character. Should the Zahau's use Dina's record to judge her character? Would it be fair for the Zahau's to claim Dina is looking for money? I do not know the circumstances of this civil suit, I also do not know the circumstance of Rebecca's shoplifting charge.

Snip- The 10News I-Team obtained court records that detailed a delinquent payment on a La Jolla rental house involving Dina Shacknai. She rented the property for a month in 2009 for $32,500.

http://www.10news.com/news/28534601/detail.html

---->

Case Title: PHILIPPE FEUNE DE COLOMBI VS. DINA SHACKNAI
Case Number: 37-2010-00083182-CL-BC-CTL Case Location: San Diego
Case Type: Civil Date Filed: 01/05/2010
Category: CL-BCW Breach of Contract/Warranty

Plaintiff/Petitioner
Last Name or Business Name First Name Primary (P)
DE COLOMBI PHILIPPE FEUNE P

Defendant/Respondent
Last Name or Business Name First Name Primary (P)
SHACKNAI DINA P

http://courtindex.sdcourt.ca.gov/CISPublic/casedetail?casenum=201000083182&casesite=SD&applcode=C

Dina was fighting off the last remnants of bronchial infection on the morning of Monday, July 11, and had turned off her cell phone to ensure a good night’s sleep. A string of alarming text messages greeted her when she powered up her phone that morning. Her blood ran cold as her eyes ingested ominous words like “fall,” “ambulance” and “hospital.” The land-line phone rang, and she bounded down the stairs to answer it. Jonah was on the line, telling her a police car was on its way to take her to the hospital.

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http://www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/...ull-version/2/

*Lash* said:

Nina Romano's Phone Interview - 11-7-2011

CROSSTALK:
Can you tell, can you tell me, sorry to interrupt you, can you tell me, uh why she didn't arrive at the hospital with Max at 300pm if he fell down the stairs *at 1000am on Monday?

NINA:
yeah yeah because uh her house um has 3 levels, there's a top level that was converted into a big bedroom area I think and she wasn't feeling well, she had been sick she had the flu, and she went up to the third level tooo sleep. she wears earplugs- she sleeps with earplugs, and so she had gone up there because she didn't sleep well the night before because she was sick and she didn't get much sleep so she went up to the third level, she put her ear plugs in and she went to sleep. So when Jonah was calling her she didn't hear her phone, she had missed his calls, and then finally when the detectives came and they were I guess banging on her door and she finally heard that, that's how that's why there was a time delay.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/15982091/exclusive-max-shacknais-aunt-talks-about-coronado-mansion-deaths

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Well, certainly there is no problem with Dina sleeping late, or even into the middle of the day. People do that from time to time. Who knows-- she may have had a very late evening out the night before, or was sleeping off the effects of some partying. That's perfectly ok. She may have been entertaining a gentleman caller-- no problem there, either-- she just was "unavailable" for several hours until she was "available" again. I've never held that as anything odd or unusual-- she was a single woman, with her child well cared for by his father during his custody time. That was her time to relax or socialize without childcare responsibilities, so I've never held that against her.

There were several reports that she was not the one who answered the door when the police came to her residence-- an unidentified male answered, according to some reports. And other reports of a long term BF visiting-- which is just fine by me.

[ame="http://www.cafepharma.com/boards/showthread.php?t=478009"]No Way!!! It can't be true. - Cafepharma Message Boards[/ame]


The thing that I see as very odd is that the story keeps changing just a bit-- as if sleeping late or entertaining a visitor was not "enough" excuse for being unavailable. Like she is embarrassed at what might be the truth, IMO-- even if the truth was perfectly okay and allowed.

As much as I dislike many of Dina's words and actions subsequent to Max's injury (including up to the present), I do cut her slack for not being immediately available at the time of the accident. She could not have forseen that an accident would happen. Even if she was supposed to take over custody of Max later in the day, the earlier part of the day was hers to do with as she pleased, IMO. What seems strange to me is the way the story keeps changing just a little bit, which goes along with my impressions of Dina as one who has a propensity to exaggerate anything related to her own image. There was no "need" to change up this story, except to change how Dina would be perceived. And sleeping off bronchitis with ear plugs in sounds more bland and wholesome, than sleeping late or entertaining a guest. Perhaps that is a consequence of some guilt she feels for not being immediately available.

But again-- not her fault, IMO, and she should not feel guilty in any way for not being immediately available. She could never have forseen an accident, and she was entitled to spend her time as she saw fit, especially without childcare responsibilities. Especially if that is the arrangement she had with Jonah.

(I don't defend Dina very often, so mark your calendars!)

The inconsistencies are the big problem here, having begun with SDSO. I understand at times it may appear Dina is being singled out. It is the inconsistencies that single people out. In my opinion it is no different in how Dina felt about the inconsistencies in the last name Rebecca gave that day at Starbucks. It created Dina to question the truth. The same thing that is happening here.

I wanted to comment on several points discussed here. Mods....if this is not the correct thread, please move and accept my apology.

I wanted to point it is not just the interviews and articles which seem to have the sole purpose of bashing Rebecca. The premise of the Dina's charitable foundation, Maxie's House, is her son's death was caused by Rebecca. The danger of the "blended" family....

I don't understand what information/knowledge Rebecca would posses which could assist doctor's in caring for Max. Nina may have been dispatched to "get answers" but I doubt it was because they thought the information would help the Doctors.

Finally, I know all families are different. However, when I was in ICU after an accident, my parents were never gone longer than to shower and eat. I doubt they ever spent more than 3 or 4 hours away.

When my husband's son was in ICU, neither my husband or his ex-wife spent more than 3 or 4 hours away from the hospital.

I think it is odd Rebecca did not spend time at the ICU, including being included in discussions with the Doctor's. When my husband's son was in ICU, I coordinated travel arrangements, airport pickups, and other logistics but I spent the rest of the time at the hospital with the family.

btw...I call him my husband now but we are not married. We have been together since 1989.

edited in an attempt to correct bad grammar.......

*Lash* said:

An article from 2008 before Rebecca entered the picture? Did Dina know about Jonah's healthy lifestyle habits in 2008? It doesn't appear Rebecca was the only person in the family who was health conscious.

Wmagazine.com - October 2008

After mastering the face and the body, will the spirit be next? Shacknai, who exercises daily and doesn’t eat meat, owns up to a fascination with feng shui. He enlisted feng shui practitioner Brayden Zeviar to help with Medicis’s new, 150,000-square-foot headquarters, which sits on the western edge of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community reservation. Zeviar did everything from surveying the land for the new office space (and placing replicas of ancient Chinese coins in the foundation to promote wealth) to installing streams, an aquarium and statues of Asian wise men around the property. “This was greeted with great skepticism when I first introduced it,” says Shacknai. “But now almost every employee has feng shui elements in their particular workstations.”

http://www.wmagazine.com/beauty/2008/10/restylane_filler?currentPage=3

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Just a comment that it seems even stranger to me that Jonah (non-meat eater), RZ (health food enthusiast), and Harold Luber would have settled on McDonalds to have a bite to eat. EVEN in the crisis situation of Max's accident.

That maybe explains to me why her stomach was empty at autopsy. There was nothing there she felt like eating, or was acceptable. And with the knowledge of Jonah avoiding meat, there isn't much there to eat. Maybe they just went for coffee or something. Anyway, just an observation that McD's is a very odd choice.Unless Harold Luber was starving, and they were just keeping him company.

And another observation. If McD's is on the hospital property, and IF the docs wanted to speak with Rebecca, there she was, with Jonah on the property. She wouldn't have even had to see Dina-- they would have made a conference room available. Even at 8pm-- if there was something Rebecca had to offer to the docs about the accident, they would have accomodated the evening hour. There is always an attending on call, residents, intensivists, etc. And this was still the early hours of Max's hsopitalization-- when Dina claims (in the Boy, Interrupted article) that the docs were so "mystified" as to Max's injuries.

Furthermore, if there were some piece of knowledge that Rebecca had that the docs wanted, they would have simply contacted LE to ask them to bring her to the hospital voluntarily.

Just like LE brought Dina to the hospital.

I think it's preposterous to suggest that the docs wanted some sort of information from Rebecca that she was unwilling to provide, and the only way to get it and help Max was for Dina to send her sister at the late hour to "beg" her to help Max. Pure fabrication by Dina-- either by her own delusions, or intentionally, IMO.

Agreeing again with all of you that there was no reason to send Nina to go talk to Rebecca (and late at night) to find out anything that would help the doctors - there doesn't appear to be anything she could have said to them. That leads me to it was a total fabrication for whatever reason or it was designed as a confrontation.

I apologize if this has already been addressed. I find it very odd that there are conflicting MSM references about why NR went to the mansion. NR has stated that it was her idea to go there, because she just "didn't get it" and needed answers. DS states that she begged her sister to go there. Which is it? Either it was NR's idea or DS's idea. Whose idea was it? Why the difference in public statements? This makes it even more confusing when there is an eye witness stating they saw DS at the mansion that night. The difference between a dark haired and fair haired woman, even in the dark is pretty evident...IMO

http://www.cbs8.com/story/15982091/exclusive-max-shacknais-aunt-talks-about-coronado-mansion-deaths
<snip>
Romano said she returned to her sister Dina's house on G Avenue in Coronado – less than a half mile from the Spreckels mansion – around 9:30 p.m. and she still didn't have the answers she was looking for. She decided to send Rebecca a text message.
"I was at my sister's house and I texted from my sister's kitchen. It was 9:41 p.m. and I have my phone recordshttp://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/kfmb/misc/nina_bill.pdf. I waited until 9:55 p.m. and I got no answer," Romano said.
<snip>
"I kept saying to myself, ‘I don't get it.' I thought I'm just going to go ask Rebecca, can you please show me where you found him? Show me how you found him. I just wanted to see. Show me where he was positioned. I just wanted to see for myself," Romano said. "That's why I went there. I just wanted her to show me how she found him because I didn't understand."

http://www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/valley-news/201208/boy--interrupted-full-version/2/
<snip>
Max’s physicians were still looking for clues to explain his cardiac arrest. “I felt like my life was collapsing like a card table,” Dina says. “The doctors said, ‘If you have any information, that would be helpful.’ So I asked Nina to go talk to Rebecca. Beg her on your hands and knees, if you have to. Ask her if there’s anything, anything, that might help Max. Some detail or something she left out [of the police report].”

Always, MOO

When we put several times and other discrepancies together, now that we have the BI article, phone records, and Nina's interview, we can see nothing is clear about the time period late Tuesday night with Nina and Dina's stories.

From the links above (inthedark's post)

Nina Interview:

Romano said she returned to her sister Dina's house on G Avenue in Coronado &#8211; less than a half mile from the Spreckels mansion &#8211; around 9:30 p.m. and she still didn't have the answers she was looking for. She decided to send Rebecca a text message.

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Dina Boy Interrupted:

Max&#8217;s physicians were still looking for clues to explain his cardiac arrest....So I asked Nina to go talk to Rebecca. Beg her on your hands and knees, if you have to. Ask her if there&#8217;s anything, anything, that might help Max.

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But we know that Dina's whereabouts were not verified.

I just posted this on the Timeline thread


Timeline

10:41 PM - text message in from Nina asking if she can drop by to talk about &#8220;what happened&#8221; to Max. Rebecca never responds
​

I just want to reiterate that it appears 10:41 is the correct time that Nina called Rebecca even though she claims it was 9:41. In another thread the phone records were posted. Bremner, I believe, provided Rebecca's entire phone record (verifed by SDSD? IDK). All we seem to know about Nina's phone record is from Nina - a copy she gave the news of only texts that was downloaded online.

Maybe we talked about this before, but if Nina changed the time on her phone record, what would be the reason? I guess she did not want to be placed near the mansion around 11 and after.

11:30 PM - anonymous &#8220;sources&#8221; claim to hear someone scream &#8220;help&#8221; from or near the mansion.

12:00 AM-1:00 AM &#8211; anonymous source hears loud music coming from Spreckels Mansion, reports it to LE​

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What time was "Dina" spotted by the witness? Another question... when did Nina come up with her 9:41 time? Was it after the reportings above were made public? [/quote]

time said:

When we put several times and other discrepancies together, now that we have the BI article, phone records, and Nina's interview, we can see nothing is clear about the time period late Tuesday night with Nina and Dina's stories.

From the links above (inthedark's post)

Nina Interview:


Dina Boy Interrupted:
But we know that Dina's whereabouts were not verified.

I just posted this on the Timeline thread


Timeline
What time was "Dina" spotted by the witness? Another question... when did Nina come up with her 9:41 time? Was it after the reportings above were made public?

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[/QUOTE]


IIRC, Nina came up with her time after it was reported that someone had been seen around 10:45.........

And IIRC, it was determined on the Hinky Meter that the 9:41 time was the correct time due the difference in Nina and Rebecca's time settings.

InParadise, do you have a link for your information?

I believe that it was discovered here and at THM that AZ and CA time zones were/are the same during July so the time shown on Rebecca's phone was the correct and actual time the call was made. I read that here too so if you scroll around you may find it.

freespeech said:

I believe that it was discovered here and at THM that AZ and CA time zones were/are the same during July so the time shown on Rebecca's phone was the correct and actual time the call was made. I read that here too so if you scroll around you may find it.

Click to expand...

I just posted it on the timeline. They ARE the same time zone.

CuriousGeorgia said:

And IIRC, it was determined on the Hinky Meter that the 9:41 time was the correct time due the difference in Nina and Rebecca's time settings.

InParadise, do you have a link for your information?

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Here it is.....from 9/22/2011. Besides, I know the person who saw the woman

More Questions Than Answers –Justice Requires That Rebecca Zahau Case Be Reopened
http://womenincrimeink.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-questions-than-answers-justice.html

Okay Everybody - this has been said a hundred times, I'm sure. But I'm giving it one more shot and then I'm just going to issue TOs to EVERYBODY.

Dina is a victim of Max's death. As his mother, she has every right to want his death re-investigated. DO NOT BASH HER. You may talk about her media presence but you cannot keep accusing her of nefarious activity or thoughts - even if it is your opinion. She doesn't warrant that and neither LE or MSM have given any reason to indicate she is suspect in the death of RZ. So... you can talk about her actions, her media presence, and the timeline, but stop the bashing.

RZ is a victim here also. DO NOT BASH HER. You may talk about MSM, LE and timeline information but you cannot keep accusing her of nefarious activity or thoughts - even if it is your opinion. She doesn't warrant that and neither LE or MSM have given any reason to indicate she is suspect in the death of Max.

Both women are victims. Like it or not, that is the way it is and you are expected to post accordingly. If you fail to do so, you will lose posting privileges for a period of time.

Salem

Posting in every thread.

Salem said:

Okay Everybody - this has been said a hundred times, I'm sure. But I'm giving it one more shot and then I'm just going to issue TOs to EVERYBODY.

Dina is a victim of Max's death. As his mother, she has every right to want his death re-investigated. DO NOT BASH HER. You may talk about her media presence but you cannot keep accusing her of nefarious activity or thoughts - even if it is your opinion. She doesn't warrant that and neither LE or MSM have given any reason to indicate she is suspect in the death of RZ. So... you can talk about her actions, her media presence, and the timeline, but stop the bashing.

RZ is a victim here also. DO NOT BASH HER. You may talk about MSM, LE and timeline information but you cannot keep accusing her of nefarious activity or thoughts - even if it is your opinion. She doesn't warrant that and neither LE or MSM have given any reason to indicate she is suspect in the death of Max.

Both women are victims. Like it or not, that is the way it is and you are expected to post accordingly. If you fail to do so, you will lose posting privileges for a period of time.

Salem

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According to the article it was stated "Dina was fighting off the last remnants of bronchial infection on the morning of Monday, July 11, and had turned off her cell phone to ensure a good night’s sleep. A string of alarming text messages greeted her when she powered up her phone that morning. Her blood ran cold as her eyes ingested ominous words like “fall,” “ambulance” and “hospital.” The land-line phone rang, and she bounded down the stairs to answer it. Jonah was on the line, telling her a police car was on its way to take her to the hospital. "

OK I'm trying to figure this out. It was very cleverly twisted so as to confuse me about many things especially why Dina didn't answer the phone and what time she actually learned of Max's accident.

*Dina could hear the land line ring all the way down stairs but could not hear the cell phone because she turned it off. According to Nina's interview she could not hear any phone ring because she wore ear plugs and slept on the third level. According to Nina the detectives banging on the door woke her up.
I believe that was after 2PM but I don't remember exactly.

*Dina powered up her cell phone in the morning and read Jonah's dreadful text (and took out the ear plugs?) when she heard the land line ring downstairs. She bounded down the stairs and Jonah was calling to tell her the police were on their way.

*The police picked her up around 2PM. So what happened from morning (11:59AM) until 2PM? Did she wake up because the police banged on the door or was she already awake?

Does anyone have an idea of what Dina is saying or is this purposefully confusing to the reader?

*Lash* said:

In my opinion this article attempts to demean a dead woman that cannot defend herself. I do not condone shoplifting. However, I would like to have heard Rebecca's side of the story. Even though Rebecca pled guilty, maybe it was an accident and Macy's did not believe her. I know it is unlikely, but I would like to have heard Rebecca speak of the incident. A $1,000 is a lot. Rebecca returned the property and paid a $500 fine.

Did Rebecca complete a background check or a Google search on Dina? If she did, she would have found a 2010 civil suit against Dina for a $32,500 breach of contract for a delinquent payment on a rental property. In my opinion, breach of contract can also be considered thievery. One difference being criminal versus civil. I'm not posting this to demean Dina. Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes. When you don't pay your debts, it is considered irresponsible and can cause people to label your character. Just as Rebecca's shoplifting has been used to label her character. Should the Zahau's use Dina's record to judge her character? Would it be fair for the Zahau's to claim Dina is looking for money? I do not know the circumstances of this civil suit, I also do not know the circumstance of Rebecca's shoplifting charge.

Snip- The 10News I-Team obtained court records that detailed a delinquent payment on a La Jolla rental house involving Dina Shacknai. She rented the property for a month in 2009 for $32,500.

http://www.10news.com/news/28534601/detail.html

---->

Case Title: PHILIPPE FEUNE DE COLOMBI VS. DINA SHACKNAI
Case Number: 37-2010-00083182-CL-BC-CTL Case Location: San Diego
Case Type: Civil Date Filed: 01/05/2010
Category: CL-BCW Breach of Contract/Warranty

Plaintiff/Petitioner
Last Name or Business Name First Name Primary (P)
DE COLOMBI PHILIPPE FEUNE P

Defendant/Respondent
Last Name or Business Name First Name Primary (P)
SHACKNAI DINA P

http://courtindex.sdcourt.ca.gov/CISPublic/casedetail?casenum=201000083182&casesite=SD&applcode=C

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BBM

I saw that on the internet also. When I saw it I thought this is ridiculous. Dina goes on and on about Rebecca's shoplifting episode. Rebecca paid the fine and took the diversion class. Her shoplifting was for 1,000 dollars of merchandise when Dina stiffed some poor schmuck out of 32,500 dollars.

Also Dina blasted Rebecca for using her maiden name rather than her married name. Another case of utterly ridiculous. Dina went by her maiden name of Romano rather than her married name of Flores also. So why did she make it a big deal? I don't know. The whole thing sounds a little crazy to me, imo.

According to the article, "Though a passerby would later claim to have seen Dina, not her similarly-built twin sister, at the Spreckels mansion that night, investigators concluded that the woman was Nina. It would be an academic point if not for the following morning&#8217;s grisly discovery. Dina says she got the news at the hospital. &#8220;Jonah was sobbing. He said &#8216;Rebecca killed herself,&#8217;&#8221; Dina recalls. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know what to say. I was like, &#8216;I&#8217;m so sorry.&#8217; My next thought was &#8216;Why would she do that? Max is going to be fine.&#8217; I still believed he would be OK.&#8221;

A witness clearly and specifically identified the woman he saw as Dina. The information was reported to the Zahau family after the police blew the witness off. Nina was never confirmed at the mansion that night. No one ever reported seeing her there that night.

Also the police had not ruled that Rebecca committed suicide. They initially thought it was a homicide. So why did Dina, Jonah, Adam and Nina immediately accept and spread the meme that Rebecca hung herself? No one supposedly knew what happened at that time except for Adam who was there on the property. Apparently Adam didn't even need to ponder or wonder but automatically told the 9-1-1 operator that she hung herself. I find that very, very unusual.

From the article" As Dina was leaving the hospital, a Coronado police detective paid her a visit. &#8220;Are you aware what happened?&#8221; he asked.

&#8220;Yes, it&#8217;s awful,&#8221; Dina answered. Later, at her home, two more detectives asked Dina what she thought about Rebecca&#8217;s death. She was in a hurry to return to the hospital to view the results of Max&#8217;s MRI. &#8220;They said something like &#8216;Is this related to what happened to Max?&#8217;&#8221; she recalls. &#8220;And my first thought was: &#8216;What are you suggesting? That somebody hurt Max on purpose? That somebody harmed Rebecca?&#8217;&#8230; They were intimating [foul play].&#8221;

I don't see that the police were suggesting that Max was the victim of foul play here. To me it seems more like they were feeling Dina out to see what she would say and her reaction to their question?

Actually, to me it sounds like they tried to investigate. I suspect they were stymied by some unnamed force and their efforts became impotent. I'm just giving my impression/opinion.