Re: Rebecca Zahau Found Dead at Historic Mansion 7/13/11 #2

by Alessandra_Deux Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:56 am

Dina Shacknai Asks to Reopen Mansion Death

Max Shacknai was fatally injured in July 2011 when he fell from a railing in the home's front stairwell

By Sarah Grieco and Paul Krueger | Monday, Aug 6, 2012 | Updated 4:59 PM PDT

The mother of the 6-year-old boy who died last summer in the Spreckels Mansion is now asking the case of her son’s death be reopened.

Max Shacknai was gravely injured on July 11, 2011 when he fell from a railing in the home's front stairwell and struck the carpeted floor face first, fracturing his forehead. He died a week later.

On July 14, Rebecca Zahau, the girlfriend of Max’s father Jonah, was found hanging nude from a second-story balcony at the home. In September 2011, the San Diego Sheriff's Department ruled Zahau's death a suicide.

Read more:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Dina-Jonah-Shacknai-Max-Shacknai-Rebecca-Zahau-165197206.html

by Lash Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:59 pm

Has anyone seen Dina's statement in its entirety? I have not been able to find her on video making this statement nor a direct quote. Anyone?

Snip- Though Zahau was not named as a suspect in Max's death, Dina Shacknai has made it clear that she believes Zahau was involved. She said Zahau was not to be left with Max if his father was not home.

http://www.10news.com/news/31335409/detail.html?taf=sand

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:01 pm

Inparadise wrote:Does any one else wonder why Nina made it sound like her child was either very young, or had special needs that he couldn't be left alone? The truth is, he graduated from high school (with honors), has a driver's license, goes to college...........her interview was all a set-up, IMO.

Yes, I've wondered about that a lot. After listening to Nina's interview, I thought that her son was young, maybe close to Max's age. She said her son couldn't be left alone and that is why she couldn't go to LE to have them take her DNA and fingerprints - so, they came to her. Now we know that he has a driver's license: he can't be left alone, but he can drive around?

Wonder what LE would think about that?

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:03 pm

Inparadise wrote:He wasn't at the gym, and the step-sibs were on a flight that departed just after noon. And conveniently no mention as to what time JS arrived at Rady.........

There's "more" to this...I wonder if Dina has any knowledge about "when" the teens left the mansion.

by Tamta Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:10 pm

Puzzler wrote:
Inparadise wrote:He wasn't at the gym, and the step-sibs were on a flight that departed just after noon. And conveniently no mention as to what time JS arrived at Rady.........

There's "more" to this...I wonder if Dina has any knowledge about "when" the teens left the mansion.

Of course she does.
I bet one of hallier's 'weapons' is a subpoena for all 3 minors who were in the home that morning.

by Freckles Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:28 pm

Inparadise wrote:He wasn't at the gym, and the step-sibs were on a flight that departed just after noon. And conveniently no mention as to what time JS arrived at Rady.........

Hmmm. I always thought it was very peculiar when everyone was asking which flight the kids had been on and JS buttoned his lips. Do we know for a fact they left that afternoon? Is this why CPD was unable to contact DS? Was she called upon to take them to the airport as Rebecca was getting her sister stitched up and JS was with Max at the hospital?

It is good to see you! Missed your postings.

by Inparadise Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:13 pm

Freckles wrote:
Inparadise wrote:He wasn't at the gym, and the step-sibs were on a flight that departed just after noon. And conveniently no mention as to what time JS arrived at Rady.........
Hmmm. I always thought it was very peculiar when everyone was asking which flight the kids had been on and JS buttoned his lips. Do we know for a fact they left that afternoon? Is this why CPD was unable to contact DS? Was she called upon to take them to the airport as Rebecca was getting her sister stitched up and JS was with Max at the hospital?

It is good to see you! Missed your postings.

Dina did not take the kids to the airport that day. Dina was "under the weather" and asleep......

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:16 pm

JVM on HLN "just said" that tonight they're going to talk to little Max's mother!!! And find out exactly why she feels her son was "killed"!!!

by Inparadise Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:17 pm

Puzzler wrote:
Inparadise wrote:Does any one else wonder why Nina made it sound like her child was either very young, or had special needs that he couldn't be left alone? The truth is, he graduated from high school (with honors), has a driver's license, goes to college...........her interview was all a set-up, IMO.

Yes, I've wondered about that a lot. After listening to Nina's interview, I thought that her son was young, maybe close to Max's age. She said her son couldn't be left alone and that is why she couldn't go to LE to have them take her DNA and fingerprints - so, they came to her. Now we know that he has a driver's license: he can't be left alone, but he can drive around?

Wonder what LE would think about that?

Well, they should think that they are not the sharpest tools in the shed for starters........they were played!!!!!!!

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:32 pm

JVM on HLN "just said" that tonight they're going to talk to little Max's mother!!! And find out exactly why she feels her son was "killed"!!!

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:32 pm

More JVM: Going to ask Dina if son was killed who do you think did it and why?

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:33 pm

Inparadise wrote:
Puzzler wrote:

Yes, I've wondered about that a lot. After listening to Nina's interview, I thought that her son was young, maybe close to Max's age. She said her son couldn't be left alone and that is why she couldn't go to LE to have them take her DNA and fingerprints - so, they came to her. Now we know that he has a driver's license: he can't be left alone, but he can drive around?

Wonder what LE would think about that?

Well, they should think that they are not the sharpest tools in the shed for starters........they were played!!!!!!!

That, of course, would only be "if" they knew how Nina played them. ha

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:24 pm

Just watched Dina on JVM and Dina said that she had access to Max's case file, the coroner's file and that Jonah had given them access to the mansion.

I wondered how Dina's engineer could make any valid calculations without actual measurements - now we know - Jonah allowed them into the mansion; even though he wouldn't allow Bremener access without SDSO and SDSO wouldn't agree to accompany.

Dina said experts have concluded Max was kille and she's asking police to reinvestigate - and thinks they will.

by Inparadise Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:35 pm

I guess that Dina believes that Jonah and the kids were not at Spreckels that morning........because he said so. She should ask for proof, like copies of their boarding passes, etc..

by Puzzler Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:52 pm

Could it be that by accepting that no one else was at the mansion that morning (for now...), Dina was allowed access to the mansion for her experts.

by Inparadise Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:56 am

Puzzler wrote:Could it be that by accepting that no one else was at the mansion that morning (for now...), Dina was allowed access to the mansion for her experts.

Or maybe he knows how obsessed Dina is with proving that Rebecca harmed Max, and that this would all fit into keeping Rebecca's case closed, and having everyone believe that Rebecca was so distraught over what she had done to Max that she took her own life?

by playmuni Wed Aug 08, 2012 1:51 am

I thought the report was very odd. ESPECIALLY the way it ended. The way they ended that report made me feel like they were pressured to add that statement or they are a bunch of hacks. They concluded based on the statements that she made, that she had DIRECT involvement in the assault and DEATH of Max.

And she based her arguments that
1) Rebecca had knowledge of where Max fell and told Nina. Um...hello? There was a friggen chandelier there. he was dead in the foyer.

2.) She said he said "Ocean". Hey, maybe the kid exhaled air for Pete's sake. Maybe she lied. Maybe she wanted to think he was alive and it was her mind playing tricks on her. Whatever the reason, She was recalling a story trying to fill in the details, and even if she blatantly lied how do we know WHY she lied. She might have just filled in some of the blanks in her mind and it turned into a lie. It could just have easily have been that she lied because she thought maybe Jonah did this to the boy, and didn't want to get him in trouble. We don't know. That doesn't prove direct involvement. BIZARRO!

3.) "Dina is going to kill me". Um, yeah....Dina the vengeful snake is going to kill you. Over and over and over and over again. Rebecca figured that out a long time ago and guess what, she's still killing her. A comment that every person says about everyone when we know that person is going to be pissed off is their solid conclusion that RZ was directly involved. Hey gang, I haven't been on Reality Chatter in a long time. I promised I would stop in and read the boards last night but I didn't have time. Puzzler is going to kill me.

4.) Another conclusion to her DIRECT involvement is her inconsistencies in her verbal report about the incidents. Ok then. Brilliant! Wow, did these doctors work on the miracle landing of Curiosity on Mars! Genius I tell you, absolute genius. Except....hmmmmm....what were those inconsistencies. They conveniently forgot to mention them. And if we are to assume that inconsistencies in one's story in relation to an unsolved death mystery constitutes direct involvement in their death...well then Hee Haw! Dina, Nina, Jonah....jump on up on the murder train and welcome aboard! You have a lifetime pass! Hee Haw!

5.) And lastly, the final conclusion that Rebecca Zahau was DIRECTLY involved in her death was (wait for it.....okay now note the clever wording here girls....) her "apparent" suicide. Ah ha ha ha. Oh my, I can hardly stop laughing. Oh, oh, oh...no...I pee'd myself I'm laughing so hard. Even the good doctor couldn't bring herself to call it a suicide with a straight face, so they clarified it. "Apparently" she killed herself, therefore she apparently was directly involved in my son's apparent assault and death.

Good try, but I ain't biting.

She's a loon.

BUT.....

I'd be a loon too if my kid were dead. And we know something else happened to that kid. She has every right to find out the truth, but the one thing missing in ALL of this is her ex-husband's name. I mean, it's so vacant that it's painfully glaring.

I haven't taken my eyes off of him.

And to play fair, I am NOT saying I believe Rebecca is innocent. I have no idea and neither do any of you. We have build an image of who she is on tidbits of information, mixed with sympathy. If she hurt Max, that doesn't make her death any less of a murder. If she covered up for someone, that doesn't make her a murderer, but legally...that makes her an accessory to the crime...which is different from DIRECT involvement. Direct involvement means that she participated in some way to the assault and death. We don't know that she did or didn't do anything to Max, but we also don't know that Jonah did or didn't do anything. She got her story mixed up, and according to them, that is proof. What about his story? That he had a trip to the zoo planned, or whatever the f**k he said. the gym, the kids to the airport, etc. We don't know where the kids were and if they lied to anyone, does that make them directly involved? AND what about Dina herself. Was she directly involved because she lied and said she had the flu?

This was a joke. My heart aches for this boy. I disagree with many of you that she was a horrible mother. i don't know that. Lots of assholes are terrific parents to their kids and love their kids but they are certifiable assholes. She's so socially awkward that she doesn't realize what she's doing is backfiring. She flunked sandbox.

by playmuni Wed Aug 08, 2012 1:59 am

Oh and I do know that she's vengeful...because there is no one that can convince me that the photo of the tube of squished out paint on Max's charity site was an oversight. Sorry, but she's not fooling Freud with some subconscious b.s. about that. It was spite, through and through.

She starts off good, with great science to back it up, etc. then that last page of the report....almost like someone added it after the fact. Like she took Gone with the Wind and added a scene at the end, written by some hack reality TV writer. it just didn't fit with the whole tone.

by junie4justice Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:24 am

playmuni wrote:Snipped

2.) She said he said "Ocean". Hey, maybe the kid exhaled air for Pete's sake. Maybe she lied. Maybe she wanted to think he was alive and it was her mind playing tricks on her. Whatever the reason, She was recalling a story trying to fill in the details, and even if she blatantly lied how do we know WHY she lied. She might have just filled in some of the blanks in her mind and it turned into a lie. It could just have easily have been that she lied because she thought maybe Jonah did this to the boy, and didn't want to get him in trouble. We don't know. That doesn't prove direct involvement. BIZARRO!

I wondered if maybe Max yelled Ocean BEFORE he fell?

by Puzzler Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:54 am

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1208/07/ijvm.01.html

Note: I'm only posting the portions of the show pertaining to the interviews with Dina and Anne Bremner and I hope it's okay to post all of this.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Mother Calls for Re-examination of Accidental Death Ruling

Aired August 7, 2012 - 19:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: And tonight new twists and turns in the mysterious deaths at a tycoon`s beachfront mansion. A 6-year-old boy and his multi-millionaire dad`s girlfriend dead within days of each other last summer.

Police said young Max Shacknai had an accidental fall down the stairs. And Rebecca Zahau committed suicide. Case closed. But, no, now tonight Max`s mom is saying her son`s death was a homicide, and she is insisting this case be reopened. She joins me live in a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, a shocking new twist in the million-dollar-mansion death mystery. A little boy`s supposedly alleged death and the allegedly balcony suicide of his dad`s girlfriend, all within one week, devastated a pharmaceutical mogul`s family.

Now the little boy`s mother says she has proof her son`s death was actually a homicide. If so, who did it and why? I`ll talk to the mother live tonight.

And brand-new developments in the hunt for a man accused of faking his own death. Cops have now arrested his 22-year-old son, claiming an e-mail chain proves the son knew what his dad was planning and even helped him carry out the sinister plot. Tonight, why does the missing man`s wife now say she is in fear for her own life?

Also, more Miley Cyrus drama-rama. The 19-year-old starlet tweeted a photo showing her bare midriff, sparking people to ask is the former Disney star just too thin? I`ll show you the photo. And I`ll take your calls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The case is suspicious. There`s no question about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Max Shacknai fell down the stairs of this 27- room mansion near San Diego.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The home`s registered owner at 1043 Ocean Boulevard is Jonah Shacknai, an Arizona pharmaceutical tycoon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The body was found at the bottom of these stairs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Max was under the care of Rebecca Zahau at the time of his fall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I got a girl hung herself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, sir, is she still alive?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her hands and feet tied together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was naked, her wrists and ankles tied with rope. These eerie photos show two knives used to cut the rope on the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The condition of the victim and the circumstances surrounding the scene are suspicious in nature.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suicide and homicide at times can look very, very similar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The manner of death appears to be somewhat of a violent nature.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s still a mystery exactly what happened.

DINA SHACKNAI, MOTHER OF MAX: I hope that they will now make it right and reopen the case. And really find the truth about what happened to Max.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live. Stunning new developments tonight in the San Diego mansion deaths that gripped the nation last summer.

Both the young son and the girlfriend of pharmaceutical tycoon Jonah Shacknai died within days of one other. Six-year-old Max`s death was ruled an accident. Girlfriend Rebecca Zahau`s death was ruled a suicide.

But tonight, Max`s mom says her child`s death was not an accident at all. And she`s got a brand-new report from experts that she says proves her son was assaulted and killed?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHACKNAI: The results are we`re looking at a homicide. Real science doesn`t lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Max`s mother is my very special guest tonight. Will police listen to her and reopen the case?

Investigators say Rebecca found little Max unconscious at the bottom of the staircase at his father`s mansion. Two days later, as Max lay hospitalized in a coma, Rebecca was found hanging off a balcony at the very same mansion.

The circumstances of her death were beyond bizarre. Police say Rebecca was naked, her hands and feet bound behind her with a rope and a T- shirt stuffed in her mouth. A cryptic message painted on the door saying, quote, "She saved him. Can you save her?"

Four days after Rebecca`s body was found, Max tragically died from his injuries.

Even though a lot of people found the double deaths very weird and suspicious, police insisted there was no foul play involved in either of these two deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were these deaths the result of criminal conduct? Was Max`s death a homicide? The answer is no. It was a tragic accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Joining me now, Max Shacknai`s mother, Dina Shacknai, and her attorney, Angie Hallier.

Dina, thank you so much for joining us. And first of all, my heart goes out to you over the loss of your precious son, Max. I know you are searching for the truth. And that`s why you hired your own team of forensic experts who have finished their report. So tell us about this report. Tell us what they concluded.

SHACKNAI: Well, thank you for having me on the show tonight. There were -- the independent experts that I retained have been working diligently for nine months. And the findings, after working in collaboration with one another, were that Max suffered from an assault first -- an assault scenario and then was the victim of a homicide.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, the people who were there, tell us exactly in your opinion who was at the mansion at the time that this incident with your son occurred.

SHACKNAI: From what I understand, the persons present, according to the coroner`s department, were Rebecca and her sister Dia (ph) Zahau.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So essentially, what do you say happened? Who did what to whom in your opinion?

SHACKNAI: I think that the experts that we have retained, Doctors Bove and Dr. Melinek, were so thorough in their -- in their investigatory process, and they have presented us with science. Dr. Bove really ruled out the scenario that Dr. Gomez presented. And the scenario that the Coronado Police Department presented really defied gravity. Max couldn`t have gone over that railing like he did.

And Dr. Melinek, a forensic pathologist and a chief -- a medical examiner substantiated this basically and said that there was an assault scenario. And the injuries that he had and the multiple plains of injury all over his body, including the top of his head, above his eye, on his back, abrasions on his back, bruises on his neck, that they were not consistent with an accident.

So I am really hoping and think that the Coronado Police Department will reopen this and that they are the experts who can determine what happened to Maxie.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me say this. You`re saying that Rebecca, the girlfriend of your ex-husband, 32 years old -- and my understanding her kid sister, who`s about 13, are the only two individuals who are in the mansion at the time that this incident occurred with your son?

There is a picture of Rebecca, who is also deceased at this point.

Dina, our affiliate, 10 News, is reporting that you had instructed that Max should not be left alone with Rebecca, who, again, was the girlfriend of your ex-husband. You saw a picture there of them together. Is that true? And if so, why did you feel Rebecca should not be with your son when your ex-husband was not present?

SHACKNAI: Jonah and I had an agreement based on a meeting that she and I had the September prior to this. And at the time that I met her, she gave me a name that she had never used, as far as I knew, in this country. So she had used the name -- she gave me the name Rebecca Zahau, but at the time, her name was Rebecca Nalecka (ph). I didn`t -- she didn`t share with me that she was married at the time. And she didn`t share with me that she did have a shoplifting incident. And so these things were concerning.

As a mother you want to know who`s -- who`s taking care of your child. So not to share your name seemed very unusual and gave me cause -- concern to talk with Jonah, have an agreement and then go forward and learn a little bit more about why she didn`t share, you know, al that information in our first meeting.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. So you had concerns about your ex-husband`s girlfriend.

Listen to what cops believe happened to 6-year-old Max at his father`s mansion. And this is from affiliate KGTV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something caused him to trip. Whether it was a ball, whether it was the dog or something that he then tripped and fell over that railing, grabbing the chandelier, twisting him around to where his back impacted the railing on the other side, went down to his knees and then to his head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now our affiliate 10 News reports that your independent investigation showed it was not possible for somebody as short as little Max, who was 6 years old, to accidentally fall over the railing. And also that there were no injuries, according to your experts, on Max`s hands from grabbing the chandelier.

So Dina, I want to cut to the chase here. You`re saying that you don`t think this was an accident. So in your opinion what are you saying about who did what to your son?

SHACKNAI: What I`m saying is that I have received -- it`s been very hard to really remain silent about this. But what I`m saying is I`ve received reports from experts who have -- independent experts who have a great degree of knowledge in their fields -- their respective fields and they have presented me with compelling evidence that Max was assaulted and he was a victim of a homicide.

So I can`t say who did that. And I would hope that the -- given that we have presented the Coronado Police Department with real science -- and science doesn`t lie. And I hope that they take the science and then they open this investigation and they change the disposition of the case. And that`s what I`m asking for.

I know Rebecca`s family is grieving because she -- they have experienced the loss of a sister and a daughter. And I`m not in the position to say, because I`m not an investigator for the Coronado Police Department. I think it is their responsibility to more carefully look at this based on science that we have provided. And I hope they will do that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: One question, Angie Hellier, you`re the attorney for Dina. You`re sitting right next to her. These experts came up with a very different conclusion from police. So if it`s so evident to your experts, how did the police miss this?

ANGIE HELLIER, ATTORNEY FOR DINA SHACKNAI: You know, we don`t know. Dina was debriefed on what they were going to announce at the press conference, the accidental finding, just shortly before the press conference. At that time all she saw was the diagram. She received a copy of the Coronado Police Department`s biomechanical engineer`s report three weeks later, and that`s when the questions arose.

I don`t know if they didn`t have enough time. Our experts had nine months. I can`t speak for their investigation, but I can say that our experts thoroughly, thoroughly looked at the evidence locker. We were given access to the police records. We were given access to the medical examiner`s office. Jonah Shacknai provided us access to the residence where this occurred.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to jump in for a second. Do you think that Rebecca Zahau was involved in Max`s death?

HELLIER: I don`t know. All I know is that we have the scientific evidence. We`ve presented it to the police department. We believe it`s their job. And we hope they will reopen the investigation. And as part of the reopening do further investigation to determine exactly what happened.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. I want to thank you, Dina and Angie. Dina, again, there are no words. I know you are suffering as a result of your son`s tragic death. And I know you want the truth. And that`s all we want too. So we ask those questions. Thank you so much.

SHACKNAI: Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side we`re going to talk to an attorney for Rebecca Zahau`s family. And feel free to stay. And we`re going to, again, search for the truth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rebecca Zahau was hanging from a second-floor bedroom balcony. Jonah`s brother, Adam Shacknai, was staying in the guest house across the courtyard. He told detectives he ran up after spotting her and cut her down. He called 911. Paramedics responded and performed CPR but couldn`t revive her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Was that a suicide? And a couple of days earlier, Max`s fall, was that an accident? Two very strange and suspicious incidents two days apart at the mansion. Cops basically saying both of them not foul play.

But you just heard the mother of this precious child, Max, who tragically died. She`s hired independent experts who say, "Unh-uh, we feel that this little boy did not accidentally die, that there was an assault, that this was a homicide."

I want to go now -- and by the way, we reached out to Jonah Shacknai, who is the pharmaceutical tycoon -- there he is -- whose mansion this was, the father of this child. And obviously, he has suffered tremendously, as well. We did not hear back. He`s invited on our show or his representatives any time.

But I want to go to Anne Bremner. You represent the Zahau family. What is your reaction to what you heard from the mother, the devastated mother of little Max saying it was no accident, it was an assault?

ANNE BREMNER, ATTORNEY FOR ZAHAU FAMILY: Well, first, Jane, great to be on with you. And there`s too much grief to go around in this case. And I have, like you`ve said, so much empathy for Dina and Jonah Shacknai; of course for the family of Rebecca Zahau, my clients. She has parents that are grieving her loss, too.

But this case, we`ve been around now for a year going to the San Diego sheriff, going to the attorney general, going to the D.A. with investigation, talking to witnesses showing that this was not a suicide of Rebecca Zahau. I can count the ways, too. I know we`ve talked about this case before.

My reaction to what I just heard is you can`t get over the loss of a child. You want to look for answers. But these are not independent experts. They used the words "our experts." Dr. Melinek is charging $600 an hour, and she does point to Rebecca Zahau in these reports.

But these are independents, basically saying, "I see injuries on this boy`s face." What we heard from the experts from Coronado was that he fell on his face.

It`s just speculation and conjecture and baseless to say that this was a homicide.

And Dr. Bove, the other expert, said he couldn`t conclude anything. So that`s really what we have today. It`s a horrible loss, I know, but it`s not a homicide.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now you -- your family, the family you represent, doesn`t feel that Rebecca killed herself.

BREMNER: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s -- let`s show this. A woman is trying to do a re-enactment here, and she loops the ropes around her wrist. We`re going to show you this re-enactment video. It`s pretty extraordinary. And then you see this.

he police did this to prove that, oh, yes, Rebecca could have tied her hands and bound her feet and stuck a T-shirt in her mouth and still have jumped off the side of the mansion and found hanging naked from a balcony.

But what about this cryptic comment, "She saved him. Can you save her?" that was supposedly written on the door? And what about people who say women do not commit suicide naked, that it`s just not plausible?

BREMNER: Right. And this can take a Cirque du Soleil artist. And women don`t commit suicide this naked. In fact, there`s never been a case reported like this ever. And she had lividity in her back, which meant she died on her back, where her blood settles when you die. Not in her extremities where you go from hanging. And she had blunt force trauma to the top of her head. So this truly was not a suicide by any shape or form.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what are you saying? Who did what to whom? I`ll ask the same question I asked the boy`s mother.

BREMNER: You know, it`s funny, Jane. In listening to what has just been said and what we`ve been looking at in all this case, we`ve asked for Max`s case to be reopened too. We asked for both cases to be reopened because we think there`s more questions about Max`s death.

We don`t say it`s a homicide. And we`re not pointing fingers in either case. These are horrible deaths. Seven weeks they took to investigate. That`s it. We`ve been involved since before they said it was a suicide. I think...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you saying that there`s some kind of cover-up? That police...

BREMNER: No. No. I think they just didn`t get anywhere. It`s not a cover-up. They just didn`t investigate the case fully. And I`d hate to say cover-up because I don`t think it was that sophisticated. They just didn`t finish.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Jon Lieberman, investigative journalist, your thoughts.

JON LIEBERMAN, HLN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: I think that Anne brings up a good point. And perhaps they should open both of these cases up. I read this entire report. A few things stuck out to me, Jane. One was that -- a line in here, "An unassisted accidental fall, as depicted in Dr. Gomez` scenario, does not explain the subsequent resting position of the Razor scooter on top of Max`s leg, where there`s no bruising, and the complete lack of glass shard dicing injury to Max`s body." That stuck out to me.

Also this report does take a shot at the police, as well, saying that they saw no thorough psychological assessment of Rebecca Zahau, her mental state or inquiries into previous aggressive acts.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, on the other side we`re going to talk to somebody who talked to Rebecca, possibly hours before she died, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I got a girl hung herself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Sir, is she still alive?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you alive?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now, Jon Lieberman, tell us about who made that 911 call. Because that was the person who discovered Rebecca`s body hanging from the balcony.

LIEBERMAN: Yes. And that is so tragic. You heard that. I want to go back to what we were just talking about in the break, which is that also medical examiners and coroners, they can`t say that it`s murder, for example. They can say it could be criminally negligent homicide. They could say manslaughter. There are so many scenarios as to what this report indicates could have happened to that little boy. So I did want to point that out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, now, the person you heard on that 911 call was the brother of the mogul. And he, by the way, was a tugboat captain who had heard about Max, his nephew, having this injury. And he raced in only to find his brother`s girlfriend hanging naked from the balcony. How bizarre.

Now, right before she died, Rebecca, the girlfriend, called a local day care company for dogs to arrange so she could go to the hospital where Max was being treated. Here`s what the dog day care owner told me last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very quiet. I would say very upset. But definitely not distraught or anything that would indicate she would have been suicidal. She did ask about the cost of us taking the dog to the veterinarian for the vaccination.

So that alone would indicate that, you know, if you`re going to commit suicide, why would you even care about the cost?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good question, Anne Bremner.

BREMNER: Absolutely. And not only that. We have other people, of course, her sister, that talked with her. And she was fine.

And here`s no history of depression at all with Rebecca. And there`s no history of her having any kind of issues other than using her married name. I think we heard earlier she used her married name. A lot of people do from a prior marriage.

But there was absolutely nothing to indicate she would want to kill herself. She didn`t kill herself.

And then you also have other things we had in experiments where pulling on the bed with ropes, they were expert knots. She didn`t know how to tie those kind of knots. And pulling on the bed, it only went seven inches. May have been picked up and moved with those ropes. With an experiment done it went seven feet. You can go on and on about this case, but she wasn`t depressed. She didn`t kill herself. And it needs to be resolved.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Unbelievable mystery. We`ll stay on top of it.

by Marica Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:51 am

@ "playmuni"... Not intended to be offensive here.. just gotta say I couldn't read all of your comment because I started feeling physically ill reading it. I have always felt there so much covered up from the moment I heard about this case. I haven't believed Max's fall was an accident, nor that Rebecca took her own life. The longer this goes on the more saddened I am. I should stop reading about it altogether. I admire your ability to dig through all of the reports and make sense of it.
I hope there are a lot of people such as yourself who can continue ripping into the stories and pointing out the flaws, false information and lies.

Bless you. Rebecca Zahau Found Dead at Historic Mansion 7/13/11 #2 - Page 5 643974

Rebecca Zahau Found Dead at Historic Mansion 7/13/11 #2 - Page 5 643974

Rebecca Zahau Found Dead at Historic Mansion 7/13/11 #2 - Page 5 803492

playmuni wrote:I thought the report was very odd. ESPECIALLY the way it ended. The way they ended that report made me feel like they were pressured to add that statement or they are a bunch of hacks. They concluded based on the statements that she made, that she had DIRECT involvement in the assault and DEATH of Max.

And she based her arguments that
1) Rebecca had knowledge of where Max fell and told Nina. Um...hello? There was a friggen chandelier there. he was dead in the foyer.

2.) She said he said "Ocean". Hey, maybe the kid exhaled air for Pete's sake. Maybe she lied. Maybe she wanted to think he was alive and it was her mind playing tricks on her. Whatever the reason, She was recalling a story trying to fill in the details, and even if she blatantly lied how do we know WHY she lied. She might have just filled in some of the blanks in her mind and it turned into a lie. It could just have easily have been that she lied because she thought maybe Jonah did this to the boy, and didn't want to get him in trouble. We don't know. That doesn't prove direct involvement. BIZARRO!

3.) "Dina is going to kill me". Um, yeah....Dina the vengeful snake is going to kill you. Over and over and over and over again. Rebecca figured that out a long time ago and guess what, she's still killing her. A comment that every person says about everyone when we know that person is going to be pissed off is their solid conclusion that RZ was directly involved. Hey gang, I haven't been on Reality Chatter in a long time. I promised I would stop in and read the boards last night but I didn't have time. Puzzler is going to kill me.

4.) Another conclusion to her DIRECT involvement is her inconsistencies in her verbal report about the incidents. Ok then. Brilliant! Wow, did these doctors work on the miracle landing of Curiosity on Mars! Genius I tell you, absolute genius. Except....hmmmmm....what were those inconsistencies. They conveniently forgot to mention them. And if we are to assume that inconsistencies in one's story in relation to an unsolved death mystery constitutes direct involvement in their death...well then Hee Haw! Dina, Nina, Jonah....jump on up on the murder train and welcome aboard! You have a lifetime pass! Hee Haw!

5.) And lastly, the final conclusion that Rebecca Zahau was DIRECTLY involved in her death was (wait for it.....okay now note the clever wording here girls....) her "apparent" suicide. Ah ha ha ha. Oh my, I can hardly stop laughing. Oh, oh, oh...no...I pee'd myself I'm laughing so hard. Even the good doctor couldn't bring herself to call it a suicide with a straight face, so they clarified it. "Apparently" she killed herself, therefore she apparently was directly involved in my son's apparent assault and death.

Good try, but I ain't biting.

She's a loon.

BUT.....

I'd be a loon too if my kid were dead. And we know something else happened to that kid. She has every right to find out the truth, but the one thing missing in ALL of this is her ex-husband's name. I mean, it's so vacant that it's painfully glaring.

I haven't taken my eyes off of him.

And to play fair, I am NOT saying I believe Rebecca is innocent. I have no idea and neither do any of you. We have build an image of who she is on tidbits of information, mixed with sympathy. If she hurt Max, that doesn't make her death any less of a murder. If she covered up for someone, that doesn't make her a murderer, but legally...that makes her an accessory to the crime...which is different from DIRECT involvement. Direct involvement means that she participated in some way to the assault and death. We don't know that she did or didn't do anything to Max, but we also don't know that Jonah did or didn't do anything. She got her story mixed up, and according to them, that is proof. What about his story? That he had a trip to the zoo planned, or whatever the f**k he said. the gym, the kids to the airport, etc. We don't know where the kids were and if they lied to anyone, does that make them directly involved? AND what about Dina herself. Was she directly involved because she lied and said she had the flu?

This was a joke. My heart aches for this boy. I disagree with many of you that she was a horrible mother. i don't know that. Lots of assholes are terrific parents to their kids and love their kids but they are certifiable assholes. She's so socially awkward that she doesn't realize what she's doing is backfiring. She flunked sandbox.

by playmuni Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:47 am

Marcia,
I guess I am a little rough here, but I've been following this case over 1 year now and the antics that come from the anti-Zahau camp are astonishing. The interesting part, is that of all people...ME...who has really been one who believes that Dina is misunderstood (and I still believe that), I'm the one who cringes when I see her go on and on about things that are so minor, when the major issues are ignored.

She understands disfunction and mental illness and she works very hard at controlling it...but because her underlying emotion is so off balance, no matter how she tried to feign normal, we see awkward. We see anger. We see hatred and vengeance. But to her...she is screaming inside..."hey, wait a minute...don't you people see what is happening here?" "Can't you see that all this injustice happened? Rebecca lied! She lied! Can't you see how horrible of a person she is?"

And to me it reminds me of this....

Have you ever hung around someone going through a divorce? They talk about their ex with passionate anger, and the go on and on about how they can't wait to get in front of the judge and tell the whole story to the judge -- that this rat-bastard hubby didn't give the kids a bath last night...and oh...he spent money on a new car when he leaves me and his kids driving this car that broke down twice last year... and he just moved on to a new girlfriend and is spending money taking her on dates, while I stay at home taking care of the kids. Just wait until the judge hears that! Ha! And gets to see the kids on Wed. and Friday and "play" daddy, while I have to be the bad parent and tell them to clean their room, etc. The divorcee fantasizes about their day in court, the judge with their gavel in hand....they can't wait for the judge to say, "you ruined this marriage and therefore I deem you GUILTY! GUILTY! You will be imprisoned for lying to the court!!!!" The divorcee has these fantasies that justice will come eventually to that awful, awful spouse-- the one who just walked out on their marriage. Justice has to come right? And they keep lists of all his wrong-doings. And they get that day in court. 10 minutes. Not one question about who did what to whom, because you know what? the judge doesn't give a rat's ass! He keeps his focus on the big picture.

Dina's still in that mode now thinking the world is going to see everything the way she sees it, but we see a terrible tragedy and don't give two shits about whether her ex-husband's new girlfriend wanted to use her maiden name when she met you. No one asked Dina how she introduced herself to Jonah's first wife, who was rumored to be pregnant at the time she started an affair with him. Did she walk up to her and spill the truth? This is why I'm hard on Dina. Not because I think she doesn't have the right to know every detail and get every bit of justice that is possible for the death of her son, if justice is called for.

But the fact that she thinks that Rebecca lying is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO horrible and thinks that everyone listening is going to jump in and turn on RZ with an, "OMG what a horrible bitch" is loony!

right now we are like the people who listen to the fighting divorce couple and we just are thinking, so? So what if the rat bastard didn't give the kids a bath. In the scheme of things, that is what you're bitching about? Dina bitching that RZ got her story mixed up, is like bitching that the husband took the good TV and left you with the small one. yeah....what a bastard...but so?

this is why I think she's socially awkward. She doesn't get it. She's still in a warped world. She has a LOT of healing to do. she lost everything. She veered to the ditch and that's what is front of her. she doesn't even see the middle of the road anymore. This isn't about Rebecca lying or stealing earrings or even about her having an affair with your ex-husband. That's a moral high ground that Dina shouldn't be standing on...of all people. This is about two people who died tragically in VERY mysterious ways, neither death satisfied either family, and neither family had law enforcement's full attention. Like I said, to me it is sandbox, but she just doesn't know how to relate in those simple ways.

by Puzzler Wed Aug 08, 2012 6:53 am

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1208/07/ddhln.01.html

DR. DREW

Mansion Death Accident or Murder?

Aired August 7, 2012 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST (voice-over): Last summer, 6-year-old Max Shacknai fell over a staircase balcony at his father`s mansion and fell into a coma. Two days later, tragedy struck again. His father`s 32-year- old girlfriend, Rebecca, was found dead at the same home, hanging naked from a second story balcony, her hands and feet bound.

Three days later, tragically, Max died from his injuries, a double tragedy at the same estate in less than a week. Police ruled Max`s death accidental and Rebecca`s a suicide. But many were skeptical, voicing their doubts right here on this show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She didn`t speak like that she wasn`t -- I don`t know. It just doesn`t sound like something she would say.

PINSKY: A year later, there are serious questions as to whether Rebecca could have bound her own hands and feet and hung herself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a very curious thing to be able to tie yourself in knots.

PINSKY: And now, Max`s mother wants the investigation reopened to get justice for her little boy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PINSKY: And those of you that have been with us through following this mystery are familiar with some of those details. Those of you for whom this is new, we`ll try to recap and please hang with us.

At this point, we are going to welcome Dina Shacknai to the show.

Now, Dina, the police ruled your son`s death an accident. You would like them to reinvestigate. Tell me why.

DINA SHACKNAI, SON MAX SUFFERED FATAL FALL: Yes. Well, based on the findings that were presented to me by independent experts with impeccable credentials, one of whom, Doctors Bove and Melinek, one of Dr. Bove from Exponent, and Dr. Melinek from the San Francisco medical examiner`s office, presented information and -- to me that definitively stated that Max suffered an assault scenario and consequently, he died of a -- he was the victim of a homicide.

PINSKY: Now, we actually called the Coronado Police Department and we got this statement on the case from public information officer Leah Corbin (ph). Quote, "We did meet with Dina and her team on July 26th. We will review the information that they have provided."

Now, Dina, here`s the thing for me. This case came to light for me today because I saw some pictures of your son sick in the ICU bed. And I got to tell you, I was -- it was heartbreaking. It was just absolutely heartbreaking.

And I don`t know -- I don`t know how you get over something like that. And I -- is this -- is this what that`s about, part of the search for justice, helping you grieve?

SHACKNAI: I think as any parent would, I want to find the truth about what happened to my son and I agree with you that those pictures were shocking and horrific. Seeing him in person was even worse.

Having gone through all of the medical examiner photos myself, it was a horrible experience. I wouldn`t wish on anybody and certainly not a parent. The resolution for me in this -- in his death is to find the truth for him so that he has justice and then going forward, maybe other kids moms and dads and families can be helped and that is the resolution -- truth and help.

PINSKY: Dina, I`m looking -- yes, Dina, I`m looking at a picture of him.

A couple things -- first, I want you to tell me what kind of kid he was. And I`m going to ask your permission, can we show some pictures of maybe just his back and his hands so people get a sense of who we are talking about here?

SHACKNAI: Yes. Yes, you can. Yes.

PINSKY: And tell me about him. Max.

SHACKNAI: So, Maxi was -- Maxi was -- he and I were the best fit. I told him every day I was the luckiest mommy in all the universes to have him. And when I saw him in the morning, he had an enormous smile. He would look up at me and I really felt like I won the lottery every day.

I know you have seen pictures of him smiling. It`s not just that we caught him at a moment. He was like that every single day. He was the most loving, smart, funny, generous boy. I mean, I`m -- obviously, it`s subjective, I`m his mom. But I couldn`t imagine a better son.

So this loss of Max is devastating -- devastating for me.

PINSKY: I`m so sorry. Just, you know, again when you bring it to life like that, it`s just like getting kicked in the stomach. There you are together.

Let`s show some of the viewers where he ended up in the ICU. Let`s at least show the hands and the back. I guess what is at issue here is whether somebody assaulted him before he fell over the railing and whether -- there`s his back, I think some of the injuries that he suffered.

Let`s see his hands, if you could show us. Again, something about seeing human hands brings somebody to life. I will not show the pictures of his face. That is just too much.

But -- do we have the picture with the back, the railing, the matchup that Dina has sort of put together? There is his little hand. Gosh, it is just so -- this whole thing is devastating you.

So, let me take it to the -- why we are here again and why are we talking about this. You think wrongdoing -- you think somebody did something sinister with him. How could that happen?

I mean, I would think the only people -- here`s what was alleged to have happened, looking at the pictures, Dina, of the fall down the stairway. He fell onto the railing, the chandelier went with him.

Let me go to Angela, your attorney, and look back at what they -- what the police allege happened and what your investigators think, in fact happened.

Can you tell me about that, Angela?

ANGELA HALLIER, ATTORNEY FOR DINA SHACKNAI: Yes. The investigators for the Coronado Police Department in conjunction with the sheriff`s department, announced at a press conference a number of weeks after Maxi`s death that it was an accident. They provided a diagram that they allege depicted what had happened.

PINSKY: I`m going to show it again so understand what I`m talking about.

If you guys could throw that over there.

They say he fell over the railing the very top of this three-story staircase.

Come on, guys, show that for me.

And then he -- that is actually the staircase. There we go. Somehow fell over the railing here, tumbled, hit the rail on his back, we showed the injuries on his back they claim came from this particular rail and then down and hit his head and that was the terminal event.

But your investigators say something different. First of all, how does a kid fall over a rail like that? It just doesn`t happen. They have to jump over it. Maybe he`s trying to swing on a chandelier or something, I mean, if they want to allege, I don`t think he was that kind of kid. What -- how do they come up with that stuff?

HALLIER: Well, we weren`t part of the investigation from the Coronado Police Department what we did see was the diagram, which didn`t make sense to Dina to begin with. Three weeks after the press conference when the accidental scenario was announced, we got a copy of the -- Dr. Gomez`s report, who actually was hired by the Coronado Police Department to do this re-enactment.

Again, it didn`t make sense that is when Dina decided she really need to find out if that was true. And when we hired these individuals who didn`t know each other, we didn`t know them, we looked for people with great credentials and they told us, we are going to find the truth based on science. Whether you like it or not, we`re going to tell you what they find.

Not only did they -- oh, sorry.

PINSKY: No, I was going to say. Now you want the police to reopen this case.

I know your ex-husband`s girlfriend`s family has been asking for this as well because of the mysterious circumstance of her death. I`ve had rope experts in here who have said it`s just impossible for her to tied her own hands behind her back the way she was found. And again, there`s lots of sort of questionable aspects of her death.

So this whole thing is not tying together.

Now, again, Maxi`s death is one of the first at the same house in the same week.

We are going to talk more to Dina and we`re also going to talk to the attorney representing your ex-husband`s girlfriend.

And we are taking your calls, 1-855-DRDREW5. Please call in. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BILL GORE, SAN DIEGO COUNTY SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT: Were these deaths the result of criminal conduct? Was Max`s death a homicide? The answer is no. It was a tragic accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Well, it`s quite an accident if that`s the case. It sounds like a soap opera, a millionaire`s 6-year-old son dead after falling over a banister at a California, San Diego mansion. A few days later, his father`s girlfriend found hanging naked. Again, women don`t hang themselves naked, with her hands and feet bound. The police closed both cases quickly.

But tonight, after a year-long silence, this young boy, Max`s mom, claims she has proof, scientific proof, that there was foul play.

So, Dina, I want to cut right to the chase. I want to get to some -- by the way, I`ve got Dina Shacknai and her attorney, Angela Hallier.

I want to cut right to the chase before I go to calls. That is what do you think happened? I mean, we had -- basically Maxi under the care of your ex-husband`s girlfriend who is now herself deceased and there was a teenager in the house as I understand, too. What do you think happened?

And by the way, before you answer that before you answer, I want to say if there was really sort of overt wrongdoing -- I would expect the person doing the wrongdoing would have had a history. So I`m going to ask you, if you give me a little theory -- is there some history there that spores those ideas or we just don`t know?

SHACKNAI: I would say that the reason that I`ve come forward now is - - and it`s been very hard to be silent for all this time, is due to the expert findings that we have been given. So I think that the Coronado Police Department, they are the experts. Chief Lou Scanlon and Commander Lawton are the ones who can reopen this case and amend the disposition and do the investigative work to determine what happened to max and they are the ones, you know, it is their responsibility and their area of expertise to do that.

PINSKY: And, Dina, have you at least made an appeal, as a grieving mom, like would you guys, please, I need this to be OK? Have you made an emotional appeal to these guys or would you like to now?

SHACKNAI: Well, I think that I have been -- I have tried to do that. I`m doing that now for Max. And I think going forward, it`s important that he have justice, just like it would be important for you or for me or for anybody, and that means knowing the truth about what happened to him.

And through this, maybe going forward, other kids and moms and dads and families wouldn`t have to go through the things that we have gone through as a family.

And I know that having lost him was a soul-searing loss. It is the worst thing that has ever happened. And having to go through this every day since he has died and try to do my own investigation -- I`m a mom. I had no previous experience at any of this. So, having to do that has been an additional horrific, in and of itself --

PINSKY: Can I ask you something?

SHACKNAI: Horrific, period. Sure.

PINSKY: How do you hold it together? It is such a horrible story.

SHACKNAI: Well, I think that Max`s memory is always with me. I always have him in my thoughts. And he, I know, when he was alive, would tell me, even when he wasn`t with me, he would say to me, I always have you, mommy, I have you in my thinking thought, my mommy thoughts.

So I would say the same thing, that I have him in my thoughts. And so, I think that has given me strength and also obviously the very strong and supportive people around me who have helped try to find the truth, wherever that will lead, wherever that has led.

PINSKY: That`s, again, so important, getting through something like this, having people that genuinely care about you. Dina, you were robbed. I`m so sorry.

Let`s go to calls. Kathy in Ohio. Kathy, what do you got?

KATHY, CALLER FROM OHIO: Yes. Dr. Drew, my question is this -- I was wondering if there was any DNA found possibly that would connect the lady who had also died, Rebecca, with the son`s death?

PINSKY: Well, as you know, the San Diego investigators did not feel there was any wrongdoing. I know there was all kinds of consternation over the DNA on the rope that they found Rebecca tied to, but, Angela, maybe you can sort of clear that up real quick.

HALLIER: Yes. It`s our understanding from the records we have been given access to that DNA was taken from underneath Max`s fingernails but we have no indication that it was ever tested.

PINSKY: Interesting. Blair in Texas - Blair.

BLAIR, CALLER FROM TEXAS: Hi, Dr. Drew. Thank you so much for taking my call.

PINSKY: Pleasure.

BLAIR: Ms. Shacknai, where was your husband during this time of your son`s fall? And my condolences go to you. I`m so sorry for your loss.

SHACKNAI: Thank you. Thank you.

As reported by the police, the only two people home at the time that this happened were Rebecca and Xena, so, that`s what I`ve been told.

PINSKY: OK.

SHACKNAI: I wasn`t there, but that`s what was reported to me in police reports.

I would also like to add to that. This -- the idea of what happened to Max was such a shock, it wasn`t until Thursday afternoon that I was even informed by a doctor at Rady Children`s Hospital that they suspected something and CPS was called. Really, I feel during the week, it was such a traumatic shock, I was really, you know, not apprised of all the other information going on with I guess the Coronado Police Department`s investigation.

PINSKY: What did you think had happened at that point?

SHACKNAI: It was so shocking to walk in and see those photographs of Max. The first thing that I was told was that he had a heart attack. I didn`t understand how that had happened and that somehow the chandelier had came down. I didn`t understand that had happened.

I thought and as the week progress, I thought the most important thing to do was focus on Max and so I brought his favorite stuffed animals. I even brought my favorite -- his favorite perfume that he knew that I wore, thinking maybe it would stir some memory for him so I never thought Max was not going to walk out of that hospital. I thought that I would maybe need a tutor and he would be able to play on his Blackhawks team and maybe he would sit out a few games.

So then my focus that week was on being with him, speaking to him, reading to him, singing to him, hoping to, you know, elicit and stir some, to let him know that I was there.

PINSKY: And then you -- when he died, you didn`t have any expectation that was going to happen?

SHACKNAI: I didn`t. I -- it happened on Friday, the first. He suffered from brain death and on Friday morning, approximately 6:30 in the morning, the EEG went flat and I thought something was wrong with the machine.

And it was soon clear that the doctors came in and said, you know, that he was brain dead. So, it was a shock to me and, you know, going through the next 24 hours and sitting with him was just as hard.

And I have to say the thing that Maxi did, even in his death, was he saved three people. He donated his liver and two kidneys. So he saved an 11-month-old and two adults.

So, in death, he was as generous and beautiful and amazing as he was in life.

PINSKY: Oh, Dina, the story -- I`m going to ask my control room, can I keep my guests here through this next segment? Is that OK? OK.

We are going to keep you guys. Let me just read this. Two days after 6-year-old Max fell off a staircase, his father`s girlfriend was found hung. I think those of you that follow the story know. Her hands and feet were bound.

A rope expert questions whether or not it`s even possible to have done this. So, check it out. Don`t go away. I`m not going anywhere.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: All right. Dina Shacknai and her attorney, Angela Hallier.

Angela, I want to thank you for bringing Dina in here with us tonight, Angela.

And, Dina, I don`t understand -- first of all, thank you for being so courageous and sharing this story. I don`t understand how the appeal of a mom on the level you`re appealing can`t be met by some sort of satisfaction by the San Diego Police.

Don`t you think, Angela?

HALLIER: Oh, yes, and it is not just the appeal, it`s the science. I mean, that`s really what we relied on. I hope that`s what they rely on is the science we gave them.

PINSKY: And, Dina, you just let out a big sigh. Did you want to say something?

SHACKNAI: I absolutely agree. And I agree with your sentiment and I hope and I really think that they will do the right thing. I believe that they will and I believe that Max deserves justice.

PINSKY: OK. This block is rather short.

I want to get some calls.

Pete in Pennsylvania -- Pete.

PETE, CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Yes, Dr. Drew. I got two questions. Number one, did he find out what happened to Max, how he died?

PINSKY: He had a head injury and the head injury was massive and he eventually died of brain death.

PETE: Do they know how he fell from this --

PINSKY: Well, if you guys want to -- my control room wants to please show the cartoon again. This is the part that`s in sort of contention.

And, Dina, I will let you sort of address -- no, not the staircase, here it is, this thing. This is the police rendition of what happened. What do you think happened?

SHACKNAI: Well, according to doctors, Bove and Melinek, Max was assaulted, there was an assault scenario at the top of the --

PINSKY: So, somebody assaulted him. Somebody assaulted him and threw him over the rail? Is that what we are saying?

SHACKNAI: And given the planes of injury on his body, the face you can the back, the neck, the eye, the top of the head as well as the front over the front eye, so that along with the skull fracture and the cerebral contusion, which is eventually what led to his death.

So, yes, so somebody -- there was some force or movement that moved him over the railing on the top of his head.

PINSKY: OK. Well, ladies, thank you for joining us. We will keep appraised of your progress.

I have Ann Bremner up next to talk on behalf of the family of your ex- husband`s girlfriend who died as a part of this whole mystery.

But, Dina, I`m not going to soon forget this conversation. It`s just gut-wrenching, this entire experience. So many of our -- I guarantee you tonight, many people`s thoughts are with you.

SHACKNAI: Thank you for your care and attention to max and to listening to his story.

PINSKY: OK. Listen, we will be following this -- what we are calling this Coronado mansion mystery as it develops. More calls, Anne Bremner, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: Now, the Coronado mansion mystery continues. 6-year-old max was laying in a coma in an ICU. His father`s girlfriend, a couple days later, found hanging naked, her feet and hands bound in a way that was inconceivable for her to have done -- two deaths in two days in the same house.

Joining me now is Rebecca Zahau`s, that is Dina`s ex-husband`s girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau`s attorney, and she`s also the house family attorney, Anne Bremner.

Anne, you and I talked about this over the last year. I`m very concerned something untoward happened to Rebecca. Now, Max`s demise was thrown into question.

Do you feel both these cases should be reopened and why?

ANNE BREMNER: Yes. And I wanted to thank you again, Dr. Drew, on behalf of the family for how much attention you have devoted to this case. And yes, I think they both need to be reopened.

You know what? We have asked for both to be reopened. We have been to the San Diego Sheriff`s Department. We have been to the D.A. And now, we are in front of the A.G. asking to have Max`s case reopened and Rebecca`s. And I think both, there`s serious question on both of these cases.

We`re not saying that Max`s case is a homicide. But we are saying that Rebecca`s a not a suicide. If you look at one, you look at both. And I think -- you know, all the things been through when we talked about before that women don`t kill themselves this way, the rope expert that you had.

Of course, she would have been like a Cirque de Soleil artist, you know, to kill herself in this manner. Dr. Cyril Wecht did an independent autopsy and found lividity, remember?

PINSKY: Yes.

BREMNER: It`s on your show actually.

PINSKY: And, Anne, I`m going to interrupt. Right, she had the signs of pooling of body fluids in the back even though she`d been hanging from her neck allegedly. And I don`t know if we have the footage of that rope expert I brought in, but he literally -- not only did he say it`d be impossible for her to have tied herself behind her back that she would have to have been a sailor in the 16th century -- this is the police -- this is the police version of it.

She literally would have had to have been a sailor in the 16th century on a schooner to know how to do that kind of rope work, as I understand, had never handled a rope, is that correct?

BREMNER: Exactly. Exactly. Such a wonderful job, Dr. Drew, on all of these things. Exactly. Just outrageous, you know, that all of these discrepancies were there and the case has yet to be reopened. It was closed after only seven weeks. And I know you paid a lot of attention to it and you still have with this case.

I do want to say one thing today to Dina and her family. There`s so much grief in this case to go around.

PINSKY: Yes.

BREMNER: But Becky`s family lost a daughter and a sister and it`s just heartbreaking. And I think when there`s questions like we have on both cases, let`s just see blue sky law, so to speak. Let`s look at these cases anew.

PINSKY: Well, yes. It just -- it would help this family complete their grieving. I know the Zahau family feel incomplete. They can`t close the chapter, at least, not to their own satisfaction.

Let me go to some calls. Let`s go to Cindy in California -- Cindy.

CINDY, CALIFORNIA: Yes, I`m here. Thank you, Dr. Drew.

PINSKY: Go ahead, Cindy.

CINDY: I just want to give my condolences to both Dina and also Rebecca`s family. My heart goes out to them. I had beloved sister who was my whole world, who was murdered when she was 34 years old. The shock, heartache, and loss never goes away for me. And it`s just very tragic. So, my heart goes out to everyone.

PINSKY: And Cindy, can you understand them from -- having been through an experience like that, of course, really hard for any of us to put ourselves in those shoes.

CINDY: It is.

PINSKY: But the need to have some sort of closure and questions answered. Can you appreciate that feeling?

CINDY: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. For both Max and Rebecca, I wanted to say with Max, the diagram of that child trying to get over a wall and grab a chandelier and fall like that just seems like an impossibility. And I did want to ask was the chandelier fingerprinted or DNA taken off of it to prove the child had grabbed it?

PINSKY: I don`t know if -- Ann is shaking her head no and the -- Dina`s attorney said they had tested under the fingernails but did not test -- they did not have any DNA result. Thank you for that call. Cassidy in Alabama -- Cassidy.

CASSIDY, ALABAMA: I have a couple of questions. My first question is, I heard nothing about the father. Is he a suspect in either homicide, supposedly homicide?

PINSKY: Well, yes. To call these homicides at this point is jumping the gun a little bit. And Anne, I`ll rephrase the question for you. I know you`re having trouble hearing Cassidy, which was --

BREMNER: Yes.

PINSKY: Where does the dad fit into this -- the story? Was he a suspect at one time?

BREMNER: Apparently, he was not. His name is Jonah Shacknai. He was cooperative through all of this. He had an alibi, and it was on video. They didn`t call anybody suspects in this case, Dr. Drew. They simply closed it out as a suicide, at least, with Rebecca, and then with Max, an accident. So, they never got to the point of using that type of terminology with anybody.

PINSKY: Because it was an accident and a suicide. Judy in Washington -- Judy.

BREMNER: Exactly.

JUDY, WASHINGTON: Yes. I was wondering about the teenage sister of the girlfriend that was also in the house at the time of Max`s fall, if she`s ever said anything or she was questioned or about what happened.

PINSKY: Yes. Judy, it`s a great question, because Anne, I got to be honest, I didn`t -- I didn`t pay attention. I didn`t know the teenaged sister was in the house at the time. What do we know about her?

BREMNER: You know, it was a little known fact, Dr. Drew, but she was there. She was in a bathroom taking a shower at the time of the fall and came out and helped to collect the glass and helped with Max. She`s the one that called 911. And you can hear Rebecca hysterically, you know, screaming and trying to perform CPR on Max at that time.

And she did give a statement to the police, and they even went to see her back east and spent time with the child specialist to make sure they got it right in terms of the interview.

PINSKY: And one of the things I think people may, Anne, find curious, something I said at the opening of this segment was that women do not hang themselves naked. Do you want to clarify why that`s the case?

BREMNER: Right. Well, it`s not only that, yes, they don`t -- part of it is just modesty. Women don`t do it. There`s never been a case ever in reported history of a woman hanging herself naked this way, bound, and gagged over the side of the railing, leaving no DNA, of course, on the railing either.

And part of this was cultural, too, in terms of what the experts have said. But, they agreed with me in Coronado and San Diego, the authorities, that they`ve never heard of any such a case as suicide ever before.

PINSKY: Yes. We`ve had lots of questions. I don`t understand the resistance to reopening. And you said, it`s in front of the attorney general now. And are you getting any traction there?

BREMNER: Yes.

PINSKY: OK, well --

BREMNER: We are getting traction. And I`m happy to say. And it`s been since the beginning of July that they`ve had it. They`ve had questions, have inquiries. And, I believe we`ll have a meeting with them as early as next week.

PINSKY: Great. We will keep in touch with you, Anne, to see how that goes. And next up -- and by the way, thank you for joining us -- the shooter in Sunday`s temple massacre is said to be a White supremacist. When we come back, I`m going to speak to a former skinhead who reveals his secret life inside that world of hate. Don`t go away.

by Puzzler Wed Aug 08, 2012 7:07 am

from Dr. Drew's transcript above:

(snip) BREMNER: We are getting traction. And I`m happy to say. And it`s been since the beginning of July that they`ve had it. They`ve had questions, have inquiries. And, I believe we`ll have a meeting with them as early as next week. (snip)

Bremner says they have a meeting with the CA AG next weeek. I sure hope this will bring good news!

by Marica Wed Aug 08, 2012 9:38 am

My head is just spinning. HOW, can all of these supposed highly
intelligent people discuss this case and say NOTHING.
This transcript is a lot of fluff & babble.
The show mod (or whatever he/she is called) spends more time
telling his/her audience who is on the show and why they are there
than actually talking to guests and asking questions.

@ Play... I am just baffled by Dina... You are right on about her.
I just don't get it. WHAT is she expecting to accomplish. She speaks
more like a high school drop out than a woman of high intelligence.
I really thought Dina would attack the failures of LE's investigation
rather than these attacks on
Rebecca for daring to introduce herself by her maiden name.
She was no doubt in the process of divorce and knew she was going
to reclaim the name.
So far all of what Dina has said has left me going............
"Huhhhhh? WTF?"
Has she ever said WHY she insisted that Jonah never leave Max
alone with Rebecca. As a Mother who was never any too impressed with
"the NEW wife" I can understand Dina not wanting her child left with
Rebecca... and I would bet it wouldn't matter who Jonah had taken up
with, Dina would have had the same feelings. It's pretty much a normal
Mom thing. Ya just hate for your child to develop a relationship with
"the OTHER woman"

The lawyer comment about "The Science".. WHAT science? DNA? Finger
prints? The comments about the injuries.. Exactly which injuries indicate
an assault? Why? And if these things cannot be discussed on the program,
then why the hell even go on national TV and speak of these things in such
a vague way?

by Lash Wed Aug 08, 2012 10:16 am

Respectfully snipped-

Marica wrote:
I just don't get it. WHAT is she expecting to accomplish. She speaks
more like a high school drop out than a woman of high intelligence.
I really thought Dina would attack the failures of LE's investigation
rather than these attacks on
Rebecca for daring to introduce herself by her maiden name.
She was no doubt in the process of divorce and knew she was going
to reclaim the name.
So far all of what Dina has said has left me going............
"Huhhhhh? WTF?"
Has she ever said WHY she insisted that Jonah never leave Max
alone with Rebecca.

I believe Play used the word 'minor' issues. The shoplifting and maiden name accusations are so small in comparison to the big picture in both tragic deaths. The emphasis that was put on Rebecca's past at the p/c for Maxie's House was not needed nor appropriate. It took focus away from Maxie's House and put into question Dina's intentions. Yesterday was the appropriate time for Dina to have shared her suspicious findings about Rebecca. Not 3 weeks ago. In my opinion it looks even more like Dina just couldn't resist throwing accusations towards Rebecca at the p/c in July. In my opinion Dina couldn't resist throwing spears and they boomeranged.

by playmuni Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:42 pm

Marica wrote:My head is just spinning. HOW, can all of these supposed highly
intelligent people discuss this case and say NOTHING.
This transcript is a lot of fluff & babble.
The show mod (or whatever he/she is called) spends more time
telling his/her audience who is on the show and why they are there
than actually talking to guests and asking questions.

Marcia you took the words right out of my mouth. That Dr. Drew drives me batty sometimes. Cut to the chase--it's an interview. Ask her a hard question. Forget it, it's all fluff. He's too afraid of hurting someone's feelings. He's being therapist not interviewer.

by playmuni Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:46 pm

Oh and how about when she said that she didn't know he would die until Friday when his monitor went off and they came in and told her he was brain dead. Rebecca was dead by then. She keeps implicating Jonah in small ways. So Jonah knew, and put in a disappearing mystery call to Rebecca's phone, and then it was mysteriously gone from his phone record too, where in he informed her that the boy would die. But he forgets to mention it to the mother of the boy, who brought her favorite perfume there and his toys so when he woke up he'd have these things. Even Nina knew before Dina did. Bunk! Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.

by CuriousPortlander Wed Aug 08, 2012 1:55 pm

Marica wrote:
(respectfully snipped for space)

The lawyer comment about "The Science".. WHAT science? DNA? Finger
prints? The comments about the injuries.. Exactly which injuries indicate
an assault? Why? And if these things cannot be discussed on the program,
then why the hell even go on national TV and speak of these things in such
a vague way?

The science they are referring to is reported in this report: http://media.utsandiego.com/news/documents/2012/08/06/Dr.Bove_Report.pdf, written by Exponent, Failure Analysis Associates. They basically proved that Max couldn't have just fallen over the railing.

by playmuni Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:31 pm

I agree with that something else went down that day, more than we know. I don't know that it definitively includes or excludes anyone's involvement. The fact that the accusation points solely to Rebecca and the fact that Dina took Jonah at his "word" regarding his whereabouts---a notorious liar, seems ridiculous. Dina said, "he said he wasn't home". She didn't say, "I saw evidence that proved he wasn't in the home." Remember, this is the guy she filed police reports against.

by Marica Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:38 pm

Curious.. What I was trying to say and didn't manage to come across
properly, was WHY wasn't the discovery shared in this interview.
When the mention was made of the scientific proof, why wasn't some
of this shared then and there. Guess this is why I don't watch these
programs. So frustrating to listen to all of the hype about Mr. or Mrs.
So& so has broken his/her silence and in this bombshell exclusive
interview will tell us what, when, where, how & why.. stay tuned...
And right after this word from our sponsors, (which usually numbers
somewhere between 6 and 10, and you have time to run to the corner
store and grab another 6 pack and back in time to hear the whole same
truck load of crap before MR. or Mrs. So&so is introduced, consoled and
other wise sucked up to & then we get to hear what they have to say,
which is nothing of any importance and is wrapped in the whole of
Webster's, leaving you wonder just what the hell any of what they just
said has to do with anything. Now, please excuse me while I go find a
nice solid brick wall to beat my head against.

I cannot figure out the purpose of these interviews.
Dina expects a new investigation based on additional information, so
why is she on the tube. I can't imagine she believes this is going to
bring about opening a new investigation faster than her paid for new
findings.

CuriousPortlander wrote:
Marica wrote:
(respectfully snipped for space)

The lawyer comment about "The Science".. WHAT science? DNA? Finger
prints? The comments about the injuries.. Exactly which injuries indicate
an assault? Why? And if these things cannot be discussed on the program,
then why the hell even go on national TV and speak of these things in such
a vague way?
The science they are referring to is reported in this report: http://media.utsandiego.com/news/documents/2012/08/06/Dr.Bove_Report.pdf, written by Exponent, Failure Analysis Associates. They basically proved that Max couldn't have just fallen over the railing.

by HinkySD Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:46 pm

Wowza! Thank you, thank you, Puzzler!

Odd that Dina is 'ramping up' RIGHT BEFORE Bremner meets with the AG, isn't it?

I seem to remember her fugly sister Nina giving a lengthy interview the DAY BEFORE the Dr. Phil show was going to air Rebecca's story trying hard to derail any attention that Rebecca's story might be given.

All of this 'feels' like Deja vu!

Of course, Dina is REALLY REALLY trying EVEN harder showing pictures of her dead son. Spreading those pictures around to news stations? Now she is giving interviews to magazines and shows! Entertainment TV anyone?

Dina is saying "look at me!!!' Please DO NOT pay attention to what's coming!

I feel sorry for her losing her son. Beyond that, she is a real PIECE OF SHIT! Her and her twin look nothing alike, but they have that in common!

WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BURMESE BEAUTY, REBECCA ZAHAU! GET OUT OF THE WAY, BITCHES!!

by Lash Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:46 pm

playmuni wrote:I agree with that something else went down that day, more than we know. I don't know that it definitively includes or excludes anyone's involvement. The fact that the accusation points solely to Rebecca and the fact that Dina took Jonah at his "word" regarding his whereabouts---a notorious liar, seems ridiculous. Dina said, "he said he wasn't home". She didn't say, "I saw evidence that proved he wasn't in the home." Remember, this is the guy she filed police reports against.

Definitely semantics...It does give me the feeling that Jonah's whereabouts do not want to be revealed by either side right now. One side being held by a Cease and Desist, the other a really fine line. Many people question why XZ hasn't spoke out to clear up questions. Wouldn't XZ be bound by the same Cease and Desist?

by khintx Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:00 pm

HinkySD wrote:
Dina is saying "look at me!!!' Please DO NOT pay attention to what's coming!

I agree completely.

kh

by Marica Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:28 pm

Curious, Thnx for the link. Have read this and while I realize not much could have been spoken of in the interview, I feel the lawyer could at least have... said we have conclusions of Dr. Bove who has shown the there is almost no chance Max fell in the way previously reported and this report is sufficient to cause us to believe his death was not the result of an accidental fall.

by Marica Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:36 pm

Another thing that bothers me about Dina, is that she is saying that she is pursuing this FOR Max. NOPE.. No way.
I don't know what her agenda is.. maybe to prove Rebecca is at fault, thus Jonah is at fault because he agreed not to leave Max alone with Rebecca, she who DARED to use her maiden name prior to her divorce... she who had a criminal background of a shameless shoplifter. (Which by the way I don't know the story on that. I do know I could have been charged with shop lifting in my past when I dropped a pair of earrings in my purse which was in the shopping cart and didn't discover I had made off with them until after I got home. So maybe the charge was over something like that where the lift was an accident.) Anyway, maybe she plans to sue Jonah for wrongful death of their son... Rebecca can't pay but she can sure ruin Jonah if only she can make it stick that Max died as the result of Jonah's failure to protect Max from his evil GF.

by carlakay Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:38 pm

Hi all..I followed this story over at the Hinky Meter and from day one had Dina pegged as the one (with help) who killed Rebecca out of sheer revenge for what she believed Rebecca or her sister had done to Max.I think it is possible she now NEEDS absolute proof her lil boys death was in fact murder just in order to live with herself.I wonder if she and her sister have remained close..where is Nina now? I did not buy the PD theory of what occurred with Max either but I still have not seen enough evidence to prove he was murdered..nor does anything prove Rebecca was responsible. I do not believe Jonah played an active role in either death but I would put down good money on him knowing a whole lot more about em than he has bothered to share.I have always wanted to know for a fact Max's older siblings were in fact already off the premises when he fell.Rebecca and Jonah BOTH would have covered for one of them had they been involved and Jonah could not reveal this info once Rebecca was killed either....and someone commented up thread that perhaps Max called out "Ocean" just before he fell..it is actually quiet possible a young dog roughhousing could of been the catalist of this all..throw in a scooter and well...also why would Max's hands have cuts or abrasions from grabbing at the chandelier..when it had yet to fall and shatter? The police department dropping the ball big time in both cases is the one thing it seems everyone but Jonah agrees on. Why is that?

by CuriousPortlander Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:39 pm

Marica wrote:Curious, Thnx for the link. Have read this and while I realize not much could have been spoken of in the interview, I feel the lawyer could at least have... said we have conclusions of Dr. Bove who has shown the there is almost no chance Max fell in the way previously reported and this report is sufficient to cause us to believe his death was not the result of an accidental fall.

Marica, sorry I misunderstood your previous comment. I agree that they should have at least briefly summarized the report findings. They don't leave a lot of time in these shows for all the important info to surface.

by HinkySD Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:51 pm

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/08/rebecca-zahau-sister-claims-murdered-max-shacknai-preposterous

'.. Mary Zahau, vehemently denies, telling RadarOnline.com exclusively that "the thought that Rebecca would cause Max harm is preposterous.. "

by Lash Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:57 pm

Marica wrote:Curious, Thnx for the link. Have read this and while I realize not much could have been spoken of in the interview, I feel the lawyer could at least have... said we have conclusions of Dr. Bove who has shown the there is almost no chance Max fell in the way previously reported and this report is sufficient to cause us to believe his death was not the result of an accidental fall.

But Bove says something different here...

Snip- Melinek said that Max’s injuries were inconsistent with a fall and “it would be more accurate to certify that manner (of death) as a homicide.”

Bove said that Melinek proposed a scenario in which Max was assaulted, resulting in his facial and forehead injuries, with his back then contacting the stair railing.

Hallier said “an assault scenario is the only scenario that Dr. Bone and Dr. Melinek, in collaborative consultation, could identify that accounts for the multiple planes of injuries on Max’s body and the scene findings.”

However, Bove said he had "not taken a position" as to whether the incident that resulted in Max's injuries was intentional.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...ible-homicide/

by GlaringError Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:15 pm

Its good to have attention given to this story again!

I feel for Dina's loss. I also (my thoroughly personal opinion based on my own feelings only) don't think Dina killed Rebecca.

I do think that its interesting she appears to have a face full of some Botox-like substance (an indication, to me, that she is still drinking her ex-husband's koolaid). She, according to the interviews given, did no independent validation of the story that her ex-husband was not at home at the time of the incident that happened to Max.

Her answer as to why she told her ex-husband not to have Rebecca alone with Max while any of her other family members was around was non-sensical: Because Rebecca gave her maiden name instead of her married name. And shoplifting. In my opinion I believe she is flat out lying about the "while any of Rebecca's family members were around" portion of the conversation had with her ex-husband. I think she said she didn't want Rebecca alone with Max and I think after that her ex-husband told her to go "bleep" herself. End of conversation. I think she threw the after thought of "then she revised the agreement to Rebecca can't be with Max alone if any of her family members are there" for the public, in order to bolster her position against whomever she has a position against in this case.

I wonder did she have her investigators investigate why/how the chandelier came down?

In reading the cafepharma.com boards on Medicis, and going back to posts from the beginning (ie. 2006, 2008, etc.)... it drew a very interesting picture of the Medicis CEO and the company culture (which I'm guessing would be shaped by the people at the top). The way his co-horts in the lil pharma industry and people at Medicis itself view their company and leader, was fascinating.

by Tamta Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:20 pm

To quickly weigh in...

Snipped from The Conclusion:

In the absence of a mechanism to raise Maxfield Shacknai’s center of gravity, no accidental events or actions involving only Maxfield Shacknai initiated at floor level (initiated with Maxfield Shacknai’s feet in contact with the floor or with the scooter’s wheels in contact with the floor) could be identified that were consistent with all aspects of the incident scene and would result in an accidental fall to the first floor.

The kinematics associated with the scenario put forth by Dr. Melinek, in which an assault resulted in Maxfield Shacknai’s fall to the first floor, provide biomechanically accurate mechanisms for all of Maxfield Shacknai’s injuries and are consistent with the physical evidence and geometry of the incident scene.

The opinions in this report, based upon the materials reviewed and the education, experience, and knowledge of the author, and are presented with a reasonable degree of biomechanical and scientific certainty. As additional information becomes available, this report may be amended. If additional reasonable accidental scenarios consistent with the available information are presented that have not been addressed in this report, this report may be amended.

This report has drawn various conclusions about the kinematics and mechanisms by which Maxfield Shacknai sustained his injuries. Although I have ruled out Dr. Gomez’s scenario as inconsistent with Maxfield Shacknai’s injuries and have confirmed that Dr. Melinek’s scenario is consistent with those injuries,[color=red] I cannot affirmatively state exactly what happened in the subject matter. I also am unable to determine the initiating event and who was at fault at the time of the subject accident. Although I have ruled out certain types of accidental events or actions (as described above), I have not taken a position as to whether the actual incident that resulted in Maxfield Shacknai’s injuries was intentional.[/color]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...ible-homicide/
PAGE 25

______________________________________________

snipped from The Chandelier

-Measurements and notes were taken but I was not allowed to take any photographs.

-The portion of the ring found on the landing was not available for inspection.

-Additional examination, including photography and/or testing of the chandelier and/or the broken link found on the landing, may allow for a more quantitative analysis of the forces and mechanisms required to cause separation of the chandelier from the chain.

Page 9
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...ible-homicide/

by Tamta Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:49 pm

Puzzler wrote:http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1208/07/ddhln.01.html

DR. DREW

Mansion Death Accident or Murder?

Aired August 7, 2012 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST (voice-over): Last summer, 6-year-old Max Shacknai fell over a staircase balcony at his father`s mansion and fell into a coma. Two days later, tragedy struck again. His father`s 32-year- old girlfriend, Rebecca, was found dead at the same home, hanging naked from a second story balcony, her hands and feet bound.

Three days later, tragically, Max died from his injuries, a double tragedy at the same estate in less than a week. Police ruled Max`s death accidental and Rebecca`s a suicide. But many were skeptical, voicing their doubts right here on this show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She didn`t speak like that she wasn`t -- I don`t know. It just doesn`t sound like something she would say.

PINSKY: A year later, there are serious questions as to whether Rebecca could have bound her own hands and feet and hung herself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a very curious thing to be able to tie yourself in knots.

PINSKY: And now, Max`s mother wants the investigation reopened to get justice for her little boy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PINSKY: And those of you that have been with us through following this mystery are familiar with some of those details. Those of you for whom this is new, we`ll try to recap and please hang with us.

At this point, we are going to welcome Dina Shacknai to the show.

Now, Dina, the police ruled your son`s death an accident. You would like them to reinvestigate. Tell me why.

DINA SHACKNAI, SON MAX SUFFERED FATAL FALL: Yes. Well, based on the findings that were presented to me by independent experts with impeccable credentials, one of whom, Doctors Bove and Melinek, one of Dr. Bove from Exponent, and Dr. Melinek from the San Francisco medical examiner`s office, presented information and -- to me that definitively stated that Max suffered an assault scenario and consequently, he died of a -- he was the victim of a homicide.

PINSKY: Now, we actually called the Coronado Police Department and we got this statement on the case from public information officer Leah Corbin (ph). Quote, "We did meet with Dina and her team on July 26th. We will review the information that they have provided."

Now, Dina, here`s the thing for me. This case came to light for me today because I saw some pictures of your son sick in the ICU bed. And I got to tell you, I was -- it was heartbreaking. It was just absolutely heartbreaking.

And I don`t know -- I don`t know how you get over something like that. And I -- is this -- is this what that`s about, part of the search for justice, helping you grieve?

SHACKNAI: I think as any parent would, I want to find the truth about what happened to my son and I agree with you that those pictures were shocking and horrific. Seeing him in person was even worse.

Having gone through all of the medical examiner photos myself, it was a horrible experience. I wouldn`t wish on anybody and certainly not a parent. The resolution for me in this -- in his death is to find the truth for him so that he has justice and then going forward, maybe other kids moms and dads and families can be helped and that is the resolution -- truth and help.

PINSKY: Dina, I`m looking -- yes, Dina, I`m looking at a picture of him.

A couple things -- first, I want you to tell me what kind of kid he was. And I`m going to ask your permission, can we show some pictures of maybe just his back and his hands so people get a sense of who we are talking about here?

SHACKNAI: Yes. Yes, you can. Yes.

PINSKY: And tell me about him. Max.

SHACKNAI: So, Maxi was -- Maxi was -- he and I were the best fit. I told him every day I was the luckiest mommy in all the universes to have him. And when I saw him in the morning, he had an enormous smile. He would look up at me and I really felt like I won the lottery every day.

I know you have seen pictures of him smiling. It`s not just that we caught him at a moment. He was like that every single day. He was the most loving, smart, funny, generous boy. I mean, I`m -- obviously, it`s subjective, I`m his mom. But I couldn`t imagine a better son.

So this loss of Max is devastating -- devastating for me.

PINSKY: I`m so sorry. Just, you know, again when you bring it to life like that, it`s just like getting kicked in the stomach. There you are together.

Let`s show some of the viewers where he ended up in the ICU. Let`s at least show the hands and the back. I guess what is at issue here is whether somebody assaulted him before he fell over the railing and whether -- there`s his back, I think some of the injuries that he suffered.

Let`s see his hands, if you could show us. Again, something about seeing human hands brings somebody to life. I will not show the pictures of his face. That is just too much.

But -- do we have the picture with the back, the railing, the matchup that Dina has sort of put together? There is his little hand. Gosh, it is just so -- this whole thing is devastating you.

So, let me take it to the -- why we are here again and why are we talking about this. You think wrongdoing -- you think somebody did something sinister with him. How could that happen?

I mean, I would think the only people -- here`s what was alleged to have happened, looking at the pictures, Dina, of the fall down the stairway. He fell onto the railing, the chandelier went with him.

Let me go to Angela, your attorney, and look back at what they -- what the police allege happened and what your investigators think, in fact happened.

Can you tell me about that, Angela?

ANGELA HALLIER, ATTORNEY FOR DINA SHACKNAI: Yes. The investigators for the Coronado Police Department in conjunction with the sheriff`s department, announced at a press conference a number of weeks after Maxi`s death that it was an accident. They provided a diagram that they allege depicted what had happened.

PINSKY: I`m going to show it again so understand what I`m talking about.

If you guys could throw that over there.

They say he fell over the railing the very top of this three-story staircase.

Come on, guys, show that for me.

And then he -- that is actually the staircase. There we go. Somehow fell over the railing here, tumbled, hit the rail on his back, we showed the injuries on his back they claim came from this particular rail and then down and hit his head and that was the terminal event.

But your investigators say something different. First of all, how does a kid fall over a rail like that? It just doesn`t happen. They have to jump over it. Maybe he`s trying to swing on a chandelier or something, I mean, if they want to allege, I don`t think he was that kind of kid. What -- how do they come up with that stuff?

HALLIER: Well, we weren`t part of the investigation from the Coronado Police Department what we did see was the diagram, which didn`t make sense to Dina to begin with. Three weeks after the press conference when the accidental scenario was announced, we got a copy of the -- Dr. Gomez`s report, who actually was hired by the Coronado Police Department to do this re-enactment.

Again, it didn`t make sense that is when Dina decided she really need to find out if that was true. And when we hired these individuals who didn`t know each other, we didn`t know them, we looked for people with great credentials and they told us, we are going to find the truth based on science. Whether you like it or not, we`re going to tell you what they find.

Not only did they -- oh, sorry.

PINSKY: No, I was going to say. Now you want the police to reopen this case.

I know your ex-husband`s girlfriend`s family has been asking for this as well because of the mysterious circumstance of her death. I`ve had rope experts in here who have said it`s just impossible for her to tied her own hands behind her back the way she was found. And again, there`s lots of sort of questionable aspects of her death.

So this whole thing is not tying together.

Now, again, Maxi`s death is one of the first at the same house in the same week.

We are going to talk more to Dina and we`re also going to talk to the attorney representing your ex-husband`s girlfriend.

And we are taking your calls, 1-855-DRDREW5. Please call in. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BILL GORE, SAN DIEGO COUNTY SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT: Were these deaths the result of criminal conduct? Was Max`s death a homicide? The answer is no. It was a tragic accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Well, it`s quite an accident if that`s the case. It sounds like a soap opera, a millionaire`s 6-year-old son dead after falling over a banister at a California, San Diego mansion. A few days later, his father`s girlfriend found hanging naked. Again, women don`t hang themselves naked, with her hands and feet bound. The police closed both cases quickly.

But tonight, after a year-long silence, this young boy, Max`s mom, claims she has proof, scientific proof, that there was foul play.

So, Dina, I want to cut right to the chase. I want to get to some -- by the way, I`ve got Dina Shacknai and her attorney, Angela Hallier.

I want to cut right to the chase before I go to calls. That is what do you think happened? I mean, we had -- basically Maxi under the care of your ex-husband`s girlfriend who is now herself deceased and there was a teenager in the house as I understand, too. What do you think happened?

And by the way, before you answer that before you answer, I want to say if there was really sort of overt wrongdoing -- I would expect the person doing the wrongdoing would have had a history. So I`m going to ask you, if you give me a little theory -- is there some history there that spores those ideas or we just don`t know?

SHACKNAI: I would say that the reason that I`ve come forward now is - - and it`s been very hard to be silent for all this time, is due to the expert findings that we have been given. So I think that the Coronado Police Department, they are the experts. Chief Lou Scanlon and Commander Lawton are the ones who can reopen this case and amend the disposition and do the investigative work to determine what happened to max and they are the ones, you know, it is their responsibility and their area of expertise to do that.

PINSKY: And, Dina, have you at least made an appeal, as a grieving mom, like would you guys, please, I need this to be OK? Have you made an emotional appeal to these guys or would you like to now?

SHACKNAI: Well, I think that I have been -- I have tried to do that. I`m doing that now for Max. And I think going forward, it`s important that he have justice, just like it would be important for you or for me or for anybody, and that means knowing the truth about what happened to him.

And through this, maybe going forward, other kids and moms and dads and families wouldn`t have to go through the things that we have gone through as a family.

And I know that having lost him was a soul-searing loss. It is the worst thing that has ever happened. And having to go through this every day since he has died and try to do my own investigation -- I`m a mom. I had no previous experience at any of this. So, having to do that has been an additional horrific, in and of itself --

PINSKY: Can I ask you something?

SHACKNAI: Horrific, period. Sure.

PINSKY: How do you hold it together? It is such a horrible story.

SHACKNAI: Well, I think that Max`s memory is always with me. I always have him in my thoughts. And he, I know, when he was alive, would tell me, even when he wasn`t with me, he would say to me, I always have you, mommy, I have you in my thinking thought, my mommy thoughts.

So I would say the same thing, that I have him in my thoughts. And so, I think that has given me strength and also obviously the very strong and supportive people around me who have helped try to find the truth, wherever that will lead, wherever that has led.

PINSKY: That`s, again, so important, getting through something like this, having people that genuinely care about you. Dina, you were robbed. I`m so sorry.

Let`s go to calls. Kathy in Ohio. Kathy, what do you got?

KATHY, CALLER FROM OHIO: Yes. Dr. Drew, my question is this -- I was wondering if there was any DNA found possibly that would connect the lady who had also died, Rebecca, with the son`s death?

PINSKY: Well, as you know, the San Diego investigators did not feel there was any wrongdoing. I know there was all kinds of consternation over the DNA on the rope that they found Rebecca tied to, but, Angela, maybe you can sort of clear that up real quick.

HALLIER: Yes. It`s our understanding from the records we have been given access to that DNA was taken from underneath Max`s fingernails but we have no indication that it was ever tested.

PINSKY: Interesting. Blair in Texas - Blair.

BLAIR, CALLER FROM TEXAS: Hi, Dr. Drew. Thank you so much for taking my call.

PINSKY: Pleasure.

BLAIR: Ms. Shacknai, where was your husband during this time of your son`s fall? And my condolences go to you. I`m so sorry for your loss.

SHACKNAI: Thank you. Thank you.

As reported by the police, the only two people home at the time that this happened were Rebecca and Xena, so, that`s what I`ve been told.

PINSKY: OK.

SHACKNAI: I wasn`t there, but that`s what was reported to me in police reports.

I would also like to add to that. This -- the idea of what happened to Max was such a shock, it wasn`t until Thursday afternoon that I was even informed by a doctor at Rady Children`s Hospital that they suspected something and CPS was called. Really, I feel during the week, it was such a traumatic shock, I was really, you know, not apprised of all the other information going on with I guess the Coronado Police Department`s investigation.

PINSKY: What did you think had happened at that point?

SHACKNAI: It was so shocking to walk in and see those photographs of Max. The first thing that I was told was that he had a heart attack. I didn`t understand how that had happened and that somehow the chandelier had came down. I didn`t understand that had happened.

I thought and as the week progress, I thought the most important thing to do was focus on Max and so I brought his favorite stuffed animals. I even brought my favorite -- his favorite perfume that he knew that I wore, thinking maybe it would stir some memory for him so I never thought Max was not going to walk out of that hospital. I thought that I would maybe need a tutor and he would be able to play on his Blackhawks team and maybe he would sit out a few games.

So then my focus that week was on being with him, speaking to him, reading to him, singing to him, hoping to, you know, elicit and stir some, to let him know that I was there.

PINSKY: And then you -- when he died, you didn`t have any expectation that was going to happen?

SHACKNAI: I didn`t. I -- it happened on Friday, the first. He suffered from brain death and on Friday morning, approximately 6:30 in the morning, the EEG went flat and I thought something was wrong with the machine.

And it was soon clear that the doctors came in and said, you know, that he was brain dead. So, it was a shock to me and, you know, going through the next 24 hours and sitting with him was just as hard.

And I have to say the thing that Maxi did, even in his death, was he saved three people. He donated his liver and two kidneys. So he saved an 11-month-old and two adults.

So, in death, he was as generous and beautiful and amazing as he was in life.

PINSKY: Oh, Dina, the story -- I`m going to ask my control room, can I keep my guests here through this next segment? Is that OK? OK.

We are going to keep you guys. Let me just read this. Two days after 6-year-old Max fell off a staircase, his father`s girlfriend was found hung. I think those of you that follow the story know. Her hands and feet were bound.

A rope expert questions whether or not it`s even possible to have done this. So, check it out. Don`t go away. I`m not going anywhere.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: All right. Dina Shacknai and her attorney, Angela Hallier.

Angela, I want to thank you for bringing Dina in here with us tonight, Angela.

And, Dina, I don`t understand -- first of all, thank you for being so courageous and sharing this story. I don`t understand how the appeal of a mom on the level you`re appealing can`t be met by some sort of satisfaction by the San Diego Police.

Don`t you think, Angela?

HALLIER: Oh, yes, and it is not just the appeal, it`s the science. I mean, that`s really what we relied on. I hope that`s what they rely on is the science we gave them.

PINSKY: And, Dina, you just let out a big sigh. Did you want to say something?

SHACKNAI: I absolutely agree. And I agree with your sentiment and I hope and I really think that they will do the right thing. I believe that they will and I believe that Max deserves justice.

PINSKY: OK. This block is rather short.

I want to get some calls.

Pete in Pennsylvania -- Pete.

PETE, CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Yes, Dr. Drew. I got two questions. Number one, did he find out what happened to Max, how he died?

PINSKY: He had a head injury and the head injury was massive and he eventually died of brain death.

PETE: Do they know how he fell from this --

PINSKY: Well, if you guys want to -- my control room wants to please show the cartoon again. This is the part that`s in sort of contention.

And, Dina, I will let you sort of address -- no, not the staircase, here it is, this thing. This is the police rendition of what happened. What do you think happened?

SHACKNAI: Well, according to doctors, Bove and Melinek, Max was assaulted, there was an assault scenario at the top of the --

PINSKY: So, somebody assaulted him. Somebody assaulted him and threw him over the rail? Is that what we are saying?

SHACKNAI: And given the planes of injury on his body, the face you can the back, the neck, the eye, the top of the head as well as the front over the front eye, so that along with the skull fracture and the cerebral contusion, which is eventually what led to his death.

So, yes, so somebody -- there was some force or movement that moved him over the railing on the top of his head.

PINSKY: OK. Well, ladies, thank you for joining us. We will keep appraised of your progress.

I have Ann Bremner up next to talk on behalf of the family of your ex- husband`s girlfriend who died as a part of this whole mystery.

But, Dina, I`m not going to soon forget this conversation. It`s just gut-wrenching, this entire experience. So many of our -- I guarantee you tonight, many people`s thoughts are with you.

SHACKNAI: Thank you for your care and attention to max and to listening to his story.

PINSKY: OK. Listen, we will be following this -- what we are calling this Coronado mansion mystery as it develops. More calls, Anne Bremner, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: Now, the Coronado mansion mystery continues. 6-year-old max was laying in a coma in an ICU. His father`s girlfriend, a couple days later, found hanging naked, her feet and hands bound in a way that was inconceivable for her to have done -- two deaths in two days in the same house.

Joining me now is Rebecca Zahau`s, that is Dina`s ex-husband`s girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau`s attorney, and she`s also the house family attorney, Anne Bremner.

Anne, you and I talked about this over the last year. I`m very concerned something untoward happened to Rebecca. Now, Max`s demise was thrown into question.

Do you feel both these cases should be reopened and why?

ANNE BREMNER: Yes. And I wanted to thank you again, Dr. Drew, on behalf of the family for how much attention you have devoted to this case. And yes, I think they both need to be reopened.

You know what? We have asked for both to be reopened. We have been to the San Diego Sheriff`s Department. We have been to the D.A. And now, we are in front of the A.G. asking to have Max`s case reopened and Rebecca`s. And I think both, there`s serious question on both of these cases.

We`re not saying that Max`s case is a homicide. But we are saying that Rebecca`s a not a suicide. If you look at one, you look at both. And I think -- you know, all the things been through when we talked about before that women don`t kill themselves this way, the rope expert that you had.

Of course, she would have been like a Cirque de Soleil artist, you know, to kill herself in this manner. Dr. Cyril Wecht did an independent autopsy and found lividity, remember?

PINSKY: Yes.

BREMNER: It`s on your show actually.

PINSKY: And, Anne, I`m going to interrupt. Right, she had the signs of pooling of body fluids in the back even though she`d been hanging from her neck allegedly. And I don`t know if we have the footage of that rope expert I brought in, but he literally -- not only did he say it`d be impossible for her to have tied herself behind her back that she would have to have been a sailor in the 16th century -- this is the police -- this is the police version of it.

She literally would have had to have been a sailor in the 16th century on a schooner to know how to do that kind of rope work, as I understand, had never handled a rope, is that correct?

BREMNER: Exactly. Exactly. Such a wonderful job, Dr. Drew, on all of these things. Exactly. Just outrageous, you know, that all of these discrepancies were there and the case has yet to be reopened. It was closed after only seven weeks. And I know you paid a lot of attention to it and you still have with this case.

I do want to say one thing today to Dina and her family. There`s so much grief in this case to go around.

PINSKY: Yes.

BREMNER: But Becky`s family lost a daughter and a sister and it`s just heartbreaking. And I think when there`s questions like we have on both cases, let`s just see blue sky law, so to speak. Let`s look at these cases anew.

PINSKY: Well, yes. It just -- it would help this family complete their grieving. I know the Zahau family feel incomplete. They can`t close the chapter, at least, not to their own satisfaction.

Let me go to some calls. Let`s go to Cindy in California -- Cindy.

CINDY, CALIFORNIA: Yes, I`m here. Thank you, Dr. Drew.

PINSKY: Go ahead, Cindy.

CINDY: I just want to give my condolences to both Dina and also Rebecca`s family. My heart goes out to them. I had beloved sister who was my whole world, who was murdered when she was 34 years old. The shock, heartache, and loss never goes away for me. And it`s just very tragic. So, my heart goes out to everyone.

PINSKY: And Cindy, can you understand them from -- having been through an experience like that, of course, really hard for any of us to put ourselves in those shoes.

CINDY: It is.

PINSKY: But the need to have some sort of closure and questions answered. Can you appreciate that feeling?

CINDY: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. For both Max and Rebecca, I wanted to say with Max, the diagram of that child trying to get over a wall and grab a chandelier and fall like that just seems like an impossibility. And I did want to ask was the chandelier fingerprinted or DNA taken off of it to prove the child had grabbed it?

PINSKY: I don`t know if -- Ann is shaking her head no and the -- Dina`s attorney said they had tested under the fingernails but did not test -- they did not have any DNA result. Thank you for that call. Cassidy in Alabama -- Cassidy.

CASSIDY, ALABAMA: I have a couple of questions. My first question is, I heard nothing about the father. Is he a suspect in either homicide, supposedly homicide?

PINSKY: Well, yes. To call these homicides at this point is jumping the gun a little bit. And Anne, I`ll rephrase the question for you. I know you`re having trouble hearing Cassidy, which was --

BREMNER: Yes.

PINSKY: Where does the dad fit into this -- the story? Was he a suspect at one time?

BREMNER: Apparently, he was not. His name is Jonah Shacknai. He was cooperative through all of this. He had an alibi, and it was on video. They didn`t call anybody suspects in this case, Dr. Drew. They simply closed it out as a suicide, at least, with Rebecca, and then with Max, an accident. So, they never got to the point of using that type of terminology with anybody.

PINSKY: Because it was an accident and a suicide. Judy in Washington -- Judy.

BREMNER: Exactly.

JUDY, WASHINGTON: Yes. I was wondering about the teenage sister of the girlfriend that was also in the house at the time of Max`s fall, if she`s ever said anything or she was questioned or about what happened.

PINSKY: Yes. Judy, it`s a great question, because Anne, I got to be honest, I didn`t -- I didn`t pay attention. I didn`t know the teenaged sister was in the house at the time. What do we know about her?

BREMNER: You know, it was a little known fact, Dr. Drew, but she was there. She was in a bathroom taking a shower at the time of the fall and came out and helped to collect the glass and helped with Max. She`s the one that called 911. And you can hear Rebecca hysterically, you know, screaming and trying to perform CPR on Max at that time.

And she did give a statement to the police, and they even went to see her back east and spent time with the child specialist to make sure they got it right in terms of the interview.

PINSKY: And one of the things I think people may, Anne, find curious, something I said at the opening of this segment was that women do not hang themselves naked. Do you want to clarify why that`s the case?

BREMNER: Right. Well, it`s not only that, yes, they don`t -- part of it is just modesty. Women don`t do it. There`s never been a case ever in reported history of a woman hanging herself naked this way, bound, and gagged over the side of the railing, leaving no DNA, of course, on the railing either.

And part of this was cultural, too, in terms of what the experts have said. But, they agreed with me in Coronado and San Diego, the authorities, that they`ve never heard of any such a case as suicide ever before.

PINSKY: Yes. We`ve had lots of questions. I don`t understand the resistance to reopening. And you said, it`s in front of the attorney general now. And are you getting any traction there?

BREMNER: Yes.

PINSKY: OK, well --

BREMNER: We are getting traction. And I`m happy to say. And it`s been since the beginning of July that they`ve had it. They`ve had questions, have inquiries. And, I believe we`ll have a meeting with them as early as next week.

PINSKY: Great. We will keep in touch with you, Anne, to see how that goes. And next up -- and by the way, thank you for joining us -- the shooter in Sunday`s temple massacre is said to be a White supremacist. When we come back, I`m going to speak to a former skinhead who reveals his secret life inside that world of hate. Don`t go away.

Dina may not like the sound of this,
but her opinions are neither facts nor are they news.

Can not even sit through that G-d for saken interview and take that
load of crap.
Its an insult to my humanity and intelligence.

I have zero patience and empathy for an individual who persists in using the 'truth' and the tragic death of their own child- or any child at that- to assert an agenda that has nothing to do with either of those things.

My advice to Dina and her attorney Hell-yeah-A,
Start working on an insanity defense.

NEXT!

by Inparadise Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:04 pm

My advice to Dina and her attorney is to start digging into the whereabouts of Jonah and his other children........he/they are hiding something, and for a reason.

by GlaringError Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:08 pm

Tamta wrote:To quickly weigh in...

Snipped from The Conclusion:

In the absence of a mechanism to raise Maxfield Shacknai’s center of gravity, no accidental events or actions involving only Maxfield Shacknai initiated at floor level (initiated with Maxfield Shacknai’s feet in contact with the floor or with the scooter’s wheels in contact with the floor) could be identified that were consistent with all aspects of the incident scene and would result in an accidental fall to the first floor.

The kinematics associated with the scenario put forth by Dr. Melinek, in which an assault resulted in Maxfield Shacknai’s fall to the first floor, provide biomechanically accurate mechanisms for all of Maxfield Shacknai’s injuries and are consistent with the physical evidence and geometry of the incident scene.

The opinions in this report, based upon the materials reviewed and the education, experience, and knowledge of the author, and are presented with a reasonable degree of biomechanical and scientific certainty. As additional information becomes available, this report may be amended. If additional reasonable accidental scenarios consistent with the available information are presented that have not been addressed in this report, this report may be amended.

This report has drawn various conclusions about the kinematics and mechanisms by which Maxfield Shacknai sustained his injuries. Although I have ruled out Dr. Gomez’s scenario as inconsistent with Maxfield Shacknai’s injuries and have confirmed that Dr. Melinek’s scenario is consistent with those injuries,[color=red] I cannot affirmatively state exactly what happened in the subject matter. I also am unable to determine the initiating event and who was at fault at the time of the subject accident. Although I have ruled out certain types of accidental events or actions (as described above), I have not taken a position as to whether the actual incident that resulted in Maxfield Shacknai’s injuries was intentional.[/color]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...ible-homicide/
PAGE 25

______________________________________________

snipped from The Chandelier

-Measurements and notes were taken but I was not allowed to take any photographs.

-The portion of the ring found on the landing was not available for inspection.

-Additional examination, including photography and/or testing of the chandelier and/or the broken link found on the landing, may allow for a more quantitative analysis of the forces and mechanisms required to cause separation of the chandelier from the chain.

Page 9
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...ible-homicide/

Thank you for your quote on the chandelier.
More things being hidden, hmmmmmmm Jail

by Tamta Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:15 pm

Inparadise wrote:My advice to Dina and her attorney is to start digging into the whereabouts of Jonah and his other children........he/they are hiding something, and for a reason.

Yep.

She and her attotney could start by laying down in front of his car
Until he fesses up.

by Inparadise Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:19 pm

They should ask (nicely of course), for copies of the flight info, and if they don't get that, then ask DELTA for the information. Then, find out exactly when Jonah showed up at Rady........It's funny, no one from the gym would confirm that Jonah was there that morning, but they did confirm that he was there 2 days after Rebecca's body was found.

by GlaringError Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:24 pm

Inparadise wrote:They should ask (nicely of course), for copies of the flight info, and if they don't get that, then ask DELTA for the information. Then, find out exactly when Jonah showed up at Rady........It's funny, no one from the gym would confirm that Jonah was there that morning, but they did confirm that he was there 2 days after Rebecca's body was found.

I'm not a detective.... but if there is nobody to corroborate the Boss's whereabouts on that morning, I think that is usually referred to as "has no alibi." No?

by Inparadise Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:31 pm

GlaringError wrote:
Inparadise wrote:They should ask (nicely of course), for copies of the flight info, and if they don't get that, then ask DELTA for the information. Then, find out exactly when Jonah showed up at Rady........It's funny, no one from the gym would confirm that Jonah was there that morning, but they did confirm that he was there 2 days after Rebecca's body was found.

I'm not a detective.... but if there is nobody to corroborate the Boss's whereabouts on that morning, I think that is usually referred to as "has no alibi." No?

Unless he can provide concrete evidence and witnesses, he has no "credible alibi"

by Tamta Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:51 pm

Inparadise wrote:
GlaringError wrote:

I'm not a detective.... but if there is nobody to corroborate the Boss's whereabouts on that morning, I think that is usually referred to as "has no alibi." No?

Unless he can provide concrete evidence and witnesses, he has no "credible alibi"

Sorry to be picky, but that does not make him a witness to Maxi's accident.

Flight records would need a subpoena, which means a legal investigation would have to be under way- and even then that does not make the older children witnesses.
Just because they had tickets for a particular flight time doesn't mean that flew that purchased flight.

Xena being deposed is probably what would make a difference .
If anything that's what would be a concern to JS, if he has something to be worried about.

I doubt things will progress that far.

I see the DA conceding that maybe they will review any civil proceedings to see if grounds for criminal investigation are shown.
I'm sure that ten different expert opinions could be produced on the accident and that's not proof that their investigation conclusion was inaccurate legally.

Lawyers were influencing maxis investigation I'm sure of it.

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