CA - Rebecca Zahau Wrongful Death Revisited 2019

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Reexamining the Rebecca Zahau case a decade after her death -

Part 2:

The family of Rebecca Zahau had her body exhumed in 2011. They hired Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist who worked on cases including J.F.K. and JonBenét Ramsey. Dr. Wecht performed another examination of the body and concluded her death was the result of homicide. This led to a wrongful death suit naming her boyfriend’s brother, Adam Shacknai, as the person responsible for her death.

During the trial, Dr. Wecht said the cause of death was trauma at the base of Rebecca’s neck, which he said is consistent with manual strangulation. He added he believed she was strangled, then hung to look like a suicide.

The jury also heard from a neighbor who, in a videotaped deposition, testified she heard Rebecca scream for help the night she died. Marsha Alison lived one door down from the Spreckels mansion and said that at 11:40 p.m. she heard a 20 or 30-something-year-old woman scream and say, “Help me help me!”

After more than six weeks, the jury ruled in favor of the family, awarding nearly 5.2 million dollars in damages. Shacknai appealed the verdict. However, before San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal could rule on the appeal, Rebecca’s family agreed to a settlement. The judge dismissed the case but said on the record that there was sufficient evidence to find Shacknai responsible for Rebecca’s death.
 
today I was wondering if the shower was forced and to remove DNA. or if she was ambushed in the shower. I say this because of the blood on the carpet which I don't believe she would have had an accident like that..

the crime scene is so extra, from the painting on the wall to the knife and the knots..it is quite the scene...it really defies logic

she takes a shower but is found filthy including her hair which looks unwashed and in a mess.

after her shower she bleeds all over the carpet and goes to get a knife
then in a frenzy she is leaving a suicide note on the wall with paint like something in a Charles Manson movie.. she ties a crappy shirt around her head as a gag
and then she creates this wild elaborate binding while she sits on the floor getting more blood and possibly urine on the carpet..at this time she possibly sexually assaults herself with the knife...she then pitches herself stark naked off the balcony, completely utterly disgraced.

I cant say this enough...this is the act of a psychopath. this is theater. Rebecca was for sure having the worst time in her whole life and would need to get away from the Shakli's for
sure..but she did not do this....no way. mOO
 
minazoe said:
today I was wondering if the shower was forced and to remove DNA. or if she was ambushed in the shower. I say this because of the blood on the carpet which I don't believe she would have had an accident like that..

the crime scene is so extra, from the painting on the wall to the knife and the knots..it is quite the scene...it really defies logic

she takes a shower but is found filthy including her hair which looks unwashed and in a mess.

after her shower she bleeds all over the carpet and goes to get a knife
then in a frenzy she is leaving a suicide note on the wall with paint like something in a Charles Manson movie.. she ties a crappy shirt around her head as a gag
and then she creates this wild elaborate binding while she sits on the floor getting more blood and possibly urine on the carpet..at this time she possibly sexually assaults herself with the knife...she then pitches herself stark naked off the balcony, completely utterly disgraced.

I cant say this enough...this is the act of a psychopath. this is theater. Rebecca was for sure having the worst time in her whole life and would need to get away from the Shakli's for
sure..but she did not do this....no way. mOO
Click to expand...

Good points. There's never been a satisfactory explanation for her having so much dirt on her feet. It had been theorized by some here that she tried to escape at some point by running into the back yard, possibly while nude, then dragged back inside. It might fit with the neighbor hearing her call for help.

Was there ever any explanation for the t-shirt gag? Did it belong to her? Where did it come from? Did someone take it out of her closet or a laundry hamper? The crime scene was never fully analyzed. So many questions left unanswered.

When it was revealed that Adam Shacknai had studied theater in college, it made sense. The scene was elaborately (or ridiculously) staged. LE selectively chose which items of evidence to analyze, while completely ignoring others.
 
I think he may have brought her down stairs and hoisted her up maybe using the table, her feet did not get like that from a layer of dust on the balcony where only one print was found. ..also both feet appear dirty as though the toes were dipping into soil around the perimeter of the building. I wonder when the last time was that they had watered the grass and flowers.

could he have used the table ?

seems to me something more fueled this murder. I really wonder what past experiences she had with Adam? I also would like to hear from people that have known him in his life.

this is a lot of sexual rage and I wonder if he resented Rebecca or wanted her or didn't like her presence in the family. I feel there is something racist in this murder in that it seems to be exploiting certain sexual practices with a nude victim in elaborate bindings.. At the same time it somehow it also feels like his staging is done in a way to blame the victim for her own death as it emulates sexual practices in asian fetish culture. this to me feels like hatred and even a further insult to Rebecca.

there are many layers to this case...and I wonder if there is any chance that she had trouble with Adam before or perhaps she rebuffed sexual advances from him at other times.

I say this because once he had the chance to kill her ,he seems to have done so with great relish and abandon....almost as though he had been a bomb ready to go off long before Max fell off that landing on Ocean Drive.

I would like to know what a shrink would say about this crime scene and the murder of a brother's live in girlfriend by a very rich and successful man's brother.

mOO
 
Last edited:
Betty P said:
Good points. There's never been a satisfactory explanation for her having so much dirt on her feet. It had been theorized by some here that she tried to escape at some point by running into the back yard, possibly while nude, then dragged back inside. It might fit with the neighbor hearing her call for help.

Was there ever any explanation for the t-shirt gag? Did it belong to her? Where did it come from? Did someone take it out of her closet or a laundry hamper? The crime scene was never fully analyzed. So many questions left unanswered.

When it was revealed that Adam Shacknai had studied theater in college, it made sense. The scene was elaborately (or ridiculously) staged. LE selectively chose which items of evidence to analyze, while completely ignoring others.
Click to expand...
Yes the gag was Rebecca's XS t-shirt. I think the it was the shirt she had been wearing that day or in was in the master bedroom. We were told Rebecca placed the gag in her mouth so no one would hear her scream. That is the only explanation we were given.
 
I mean which is it...? she has the forethought to gag herself after the paint and the blood and attacking herself with a knife? she is able to come up with this entire scenario in a state of total devastation...tying ropes all over the place, totally frenzied she has the acuity to do the mental math on the length of rope..everything, how much length she will have left after she ties off the bed and all of the knots...she has this all figured out..

gagged herself so no one would come to rescue her? the way she killed herself would instantly snap her neck..which is why there is some discussion of how she actually died. so she hangs herself in silence and yet neighbors heard her screaming. so she was supposedly concerned with being heard , but not concerned with her stark naked spectacle..I really don't think she would have screamed for more than a split second in a hanging like this.

I think it was to silence other screaming
as she was manually strangled... I don't think she used the shirt she wore that day as a gag..I think this was done by her killer. I really am looking forward to learning more about her killer, his life, his reputation, his history.

mOO and I respect all other opinions.
 
Betty P said:
An important point about the knots is that Girl Scouts don't teach knot tying, so its very unlikely that a woman who grew up in the US would know these knots. The main exceptions would be related to hobbies, eg. camping, rock climbing, crafts, sailing, etc. I've always thought that from the beginning. Experts may claim the several different knots and bindings used on RZ were not unusual, but they're very unusual for a woman of RZ's age, background, etc. The average US woman isn't familiar with knot tying outside of basic stuff like tying shoes or wearing a scarf. It's not a something we need or care to know.
Click to expand...

I do know a fair number of knots. I know the particular knot that was used. It's not easy to tie, especially with that many loops. In my opinion, it's impossible to tie it behind one's back, especially with that many loops. I think it's absurd that LE bought that she tied that herself. Additionally, the knot is very neatly tied. That doesn't happen unless someone has considerable practice, and behind the back is just beyond belief. AMOO
 
GoBuckeyes said:
I do know a fair number of knots. I know the particular knot that was used. It's not easy to tie, especially with that many loops. In my opinion, it's impossible to tie it behind one's back, especially with that many loops. I think it's absurd that LE bought that she tied that herself. Additionally, the knot is very neatly tied. That doesn't happen unless someone has considerable practice, and behind the back is just beyond belief. AMOO
Click to expand...

The Attorney General of California believed it.

jmho ymmv lrr lrr lrr lrr
 
proudfootz said:
It also seems odd she'd wear bracelets and nothing else.
Click to expand...

She normally wouldn't wear bracelets and nothing else, but it wasn't her choice. I don't recall any report that mentioned data from her Fitbit. It was difficult enough to get the San Diego Sheriff's office to get her phone records and attempt to retrieve the voicemail message that Jonah allegedly left on her phone shortly before her death.

As information, the full investigative files relating to her death have never been released to her family, the public or any other agency.
 
Ten long years. At least there has been some progress in recent years towards holding Adam Shacknai and others accountable for her murder and the cover up.

Tonight I'm thinking of Rebecca and her family. They've done so much to find justice for her and have honored her memory. They're wonderful, caring people who deserve so much respect and kindness.
 
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