Rebecca Zahau Wrongful death trial begins. Trial coverage and discussion #3

[kathyn2]

My note to Mr. Greer would be: I already believe RZ was murdered. Not suicide. However I am not totally convinced AS did it since no direct evidence. The things that do bug me about him is his odd personality, but that doesn’t mean much. But the ridiculous comment he yelled at poor dead RZ, are you dead? Sounds so crass and ridiculous. Who says that? Also pretending not to know the knots. That he did cpr with her hands tied behind her back. That he was up wandering outside that time of day in the first place. These thinqs don’t add up. And to yap about masterbation. Why bring that up out of the blue? You would think he wouldn’t mention that unless he was accused of something. Also, who was the Asian *advertiser censored* watcher and how much did that occur. Was he obsessed with that?

Other things that stand out to me is even if she could tie up her hands like that how and why tie her legs up like that? What would be her point to make it so hard to walk and jump. It would be near impossible to catapult yourself over the railing. Her legs wouldnt save her. Who would do that if they are going to jump off a building. I would stress that part. And why write that odd note on the door. What does that do for her?

This is what I envision. He tried to rape her. She fought back. He strangled her. He staged this scene. Had to hide the strangulation so figured a hanging would hide that. Maybe he hog tied her due to his fantasy. And he gagged her to keep her quiet. He walked her a couple of steps after death and tossed her off the balcony OR he never tossed her off there. Just tied a piece of rope there and staged that and dumped her in the yard to lo and behold find her at 6:45am. Just waiting til dawn to find her. I am sure others know more details than I do to put this story together in a more cohesive fashion but basically I think he killed her and spent the night staging the scene to hide his crime. I hope this can be brought home to the jury. Why LE didn’t investigate this case the right way is beyond me. They could have checked his room and guest house thoroughly and redone that lie detector test. Was it even performed correctly? Sorry for the long spiel....

 

[Imp]

Wonder how Adam’s crew feels if they have heard that disaster of an emergency call for Rebecca?

The contradiction between the training and role of being a Captain, on the Mighty Mississippi River no less, and the way he bumbled around is huge.

Adam had required safety & first aid training to earn his Captains license.

He has a college degree that necessitates reading and comprehension skills.

He has to navigate with technology and instincts knowing his bearing and location constantly on the crowded and dangerous River.

So why did he play dumb on the 911 call?

As Captain he is expected to take charge and to jump into action in an emergency.

He knew that he had to have a location for Emergency Services to respond.

He could have given his GPS coordinates with that handy phone.

He could have described where he was “Spreckles -5 or so houses down from Hotel Del. Shacknai residence; ocean side”

Just a quick Google turns up:





http://www.annapolisschoolofseamanship.com/captainslicense.html#cpr

Jade: Great points! Not only does AS claim to know nothing about nautical knots, but to your point, why was he unable to remain calm and competent upon "discovering" "Becca's" body?

 

[Mica]

From the article (BBM):

"In my opinion, based on what we saw, you could say anything is possible, but at the end of the day what is reasonable and most likely to have happened?" Clark said.

"Then, there was that weird message on the bedroom door saying 'she saved him, can you save her?' None about that fits with a suicide. Why would she write in a third-person?" Clark said.


As an aside, Clark has some upcoming shows (perhaps on A&E) in which she re-investigates certain cases, Casey Anthony's being one.

I wonder if that message on the door was written by Adam prior to Rebecca being assaulted, strangled, and killed and used a a tool to taunt her?

 

[sandiegolawyer]

AZlawyer while you're here, do you know if Mr Greer can call defense witnesses that the defense doesn't call?

It doesn't seem like it, but do you know?

Hi Tortoise. First time poster and San Diego lawyer. Either side has the right to call experts designated by the opposing side. Now if the ME is out of the area, they would have to figure out travel etc. I always send trial subpoenas to witnesses I want to ensure are available for trial as a precaution but you don't have to.

I have enjoyed reading about the trial in this case as it is a case that always was of great interest to me. I am hoping to pop in to watch some of it live but not sure how hard it is to get a seat.

 

[Mica]

Hi Tortoise. First time poster and San Diego lawyer. Either side has the right to call experts designated by the opposing side. Now if the ME is out of the area, they would have to figure out travel etc. I always send trial subpoenas to witnesses I want to ensure are available for trial as a precaution but you don't have to.

I have enjoyed reading about the trial in this case as it is a case that always was of great interest to me. I am hoping to pop in to watch some of it live but not sure how hard it is to get a seat.

Welcome sandiegolawyer. It is possible for somebody to testify via video conference if they are not in the area?

 

[sandiegolawyer]

Yes it is possible although not very common. More of the norm would be to show a video of his deposition testimony, assuming they video taped it.

 

[Imp]

I wonder if that message on the door was written by Adam prior to Rebecca being assaulted, strangled, and killed?

I've been assuming it's part of the staging he did during or after the assault, but I really have no feel for that message at all. I tend to ignore it, believe it or not, because I just can't get a feel for it.

 

[wyatt]

While administering cpr, why didn’t AS free RZ’s hand bindings? He had the knife readily available to cut her loose if he was having a problem untying the rope. I think most people have at least a tiny bit of knowledge about cpr, and the first thing you should do is make sure the victim is on a flat hard surface with hands by side. In testimony he said that he tried to feel for pulse but could barely get a finger under the rope bindings. I would think that right then he would say to himself “oh crap, let me get the knife to loosen these”.

My opinion

(IMO)
More than that! An experienced tugboat captain could tie and UNTIE knots easily. Using a knife to cut an extended, taut rope makes sense, but it would be natural for him to just loosen the knots to free her hands and legs, for that matter.

 

[sandiegolawyer]

Welcome sandiegolawyer. It is possible for somebody to testify via video conference if they are not in the area?

sorry replied before but not sure I did it correctly. #newbie Anyway video conferencing for live testimony is possible but not common. More common would be to play a video of his deposition testimony if it was in fact video taped.

 

[Brit]

(IMO)
More than that! An experienced tugboat captain could tie and UNTIE knots easily. Using a knife to cut an extended, taut rope makes sense, but it would be natural for him to just loosen the knots to free her hands and legs, for that matter.

It’s always bothered me how her body was positioned laying in the yard. Knees bent, torso leaning towards side with hands extended behind her. It’s just not the position I would expect to see her in if he had done cpr. I feel that at least her torso would be flat, not on its side. I also would expect some type of injury to her shoulder blades or elbows from the chest compressions since her hands were tied behind her. Maybe a dislocated shoulder.

IMO

 

[kathyn2]

I think it sounds like him. AS. Just plain weird like him. Nothing that Rebecca would say.

I wonder if that message on the door was written by Adam prior to Rebecca being assaulted, strangled, and killed and used a a tool to taunt her?

 

[clearskies1]

Do we know if LE photographed Adam's body (torso/arms)? In the video I see of him being questioned (video is dated July 13 -- the day he reported Rebecca hanging) he is wearing a long sleeve shirt.

 

[Tortoise]

Hi Tortoise. First time poster and San Diego lawyer. Either side has the right to call experts designated by the opposing side. Now if the ME is out of the area, they would have to figure out travel etc. I always send trial subpoenas to witnesses I want to ensure are available for trial as a precaution but you don't have to.

I have enjoyed reading about the trial in this case as it is a case that always was of great interest to me. I am hoping to pop in to watch some of it live but not sure how hard it is to get a seat.

Thank you sandiegolawyer.

Great to have you on board!

I can't get my head around the way they mucked Mr Greer about like that, I hope the judge ticked them off. I'm sure it was by design to give him extra preparation to do at short notice. I'm hearing that closing speeches are scheduled to begin Monday and court is closed on Thursday and Friday this week, so that only leaves tomorrow for further testimony.

 

[Brit]

It’s strange that AS got on a broken table, cut her down, her entire weight would completely collapse into him and the table stayed upright and he also didn’t stumble or fall coming off that table. 100 lbs of dead weight is a lot. And the fact that she was bound up the way she was would make the entire task just so awkward. I really think he made up the table story entirely. I think he may have already cut her down prior to calling 911, but regardless, I think he was standing on the ground when he cut her down. I just don’t know why he would make up the table story at all.

 

[Tortoise]

tweet

[FONT=&quot]Defense rested case in [/FONT]Rebecca[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Zahau[FONT=&quot] wrongul death lawsuit. Closing arguments Monday. Then, to jurors.
https://twitter.com/pdrepard
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[clearskies1]

It’s strange that AS got on a broken table, cut her down, her entire weight would completely collapse into him and the table stayed upright and he also didn’t stumble or fall coming off that table. 100 lbs of dead weight is a lot. And the fact that she was bound up the way she was would make the entire task just so awkward. I really think he made up the table story entirely. I think he may have already cut her down prior to calling 911, but regardless, I think he was standing on the ground when he cut her down. I just don’t know why he would make up the table story at all.

I don't know if he was lying but if he was -- standing on the table gives the appearance that she really was hanging (off the ground).

 

[Lezah]

Thanks to both justice be served and you for your responses.

I'm interested in how many women vs. men are on the jury. Imo, women are going to have a heck of a time believing another woman would do to herself what SDSO and the defense claim Rebecca did. I would imagine any woman (to clarify - any woman without an agenda or an ax to grind for some bizarre reason against RZ) by this point has called B.S. on the suicide ruling.

To the best of my recollection there were six ladies when I was last in attendance....one gentleman was excused as he was ill ( the judge excused him for the entire case)

 

[coastal]

tweet

[FONT="]Defense rested case in [/FONT][/COLOR][B]Rebecca[/B][COLOR=#14171A][FONT="] [/FONT]Zahau[FONT="] wrongul death lawsuit. Closing arguments Monday. Then, to jurors.
https://twitter.com/pdrepard
[/FONT]

 

[minorone]

It’s strange that AS got on a broken table, cut her down, her entire weight would completely collapse into him and the table stayed upright and he also didn’t stumble or fall coming off that table. 100 lbs of dead weight is a lot. And the fact that she was bound up the way she was would make the entire task just so awkward. I really think he made up the table story entirely. I think he may have already cut her down prior to calling 911, but regardless, I think he was standing on the ground when he cut her down. I just don’t know why he would make up the table story at all.

Agree with you.

She was on her back from 6:48 am until the ME showed up at 7:15pm. If she was laying on her arms/hands/ropes tied behind her back while livor mortis was becoming fixed, would lividity not show the imprints from the arms/hands/ropes where he was laying on them.. Also in the picture of her in the yard, she actually appears to be more angled on one side of her back. Perhaps pictures would show that how lividity set in on her back.

But I have to keep reminding myself that according to Davis the 40-page report by Dr. Jonathan Lucas, is “one of the finest I've come across in my career."

 

[usernamhere]

ME's office conducted onsite investigations on 1818 cases in 2011. San Diego County is huge, it's the 5th largest county in the country. This article is pretty old, http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-07/local/me-5863_1_medical-examiner-investigators, but it does describe how an ME investigator might be required to go to multiple scenes in one day. However, the delay does not mean that no evidence is gathered during the waiting period. It also does not mean that observations of those on the scene first is irrelevant. In 2011 there were, I believe, 18 ME investigators for entire county (and possibly some contract work from another county) That means many scenes take time to get to. Others might get priority due to safety issues (highways and car accidents).

Conclusions based on how one believes someone should react in a situation can be harmful to all involved. There is no, "right way," to act like a victim, and there is no, "right way," to react to a traumatic situation.


Generally speaking, expert witnesses are exchanged prior to trial. The subject of their testimony and what they base it on is also exchanged. If the parties do not agree that someone is an expert, then they can argue it and the judge can make the final call. With regard to testimony usually you would ask the witness a few questions to establish their credentials. I do find it odd that there were some missing pages from the experts report. Sure he moved offices, but he moved last March. There had already been one trial date set at that time, and he knew that not only was this case going to trial, but that it was a high profile case. While it probably does not amount to a conspiracy as to what was in those pages, it could speak to the general quality of work and attention to details of this expert.


Is it known who Paul Pfingst was representing? He really could have been representing anyone, even RZ.


I am somewhat confused by the adoration for Greer. I don't know, it could be because of some of the other cases he has taken on, like suing the FBI for wrongful death, based in part because a victim, did not, "act," like a victim.


With regard to changing witness lists, it could just be as simple as not needing the testimony because of what has already been presented.


I just don't see how they could find AS liable for RZ's death based upon the evidence presented.