Rebecca Zahau's Family Offers $100K Reward in Mansion Death Investigation
Rebecca Zahau, 32, was found bound, nude and hanging from a balcony at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado in 2011
By R. Stickney, Bridget Naso and and Allison Ash ••
Rebecca Zahau’s family is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Adam Shacknai. NBC 7’s Bridget Naso has more.
The family members of Rebecca Zahau are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Adam Shacknai in the 2011 death at the Coronado mansion.
Zahau, 32, was found bound, nude and hanging from a balcony at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado in 2011. The home belonged to Zahau's boyfriend, Jonah Shacknai, Adam Shacknai's brother.
The Family of the late Rebecca Zahau demands the Sheriff's Department to re-open death investigation. NBC 7's Allison Ash has more.
Adam Shacknai was the last person to see Zahau alive. The family wants leads from anyone who may know something about the night of Rebecca Zahau's death to come forward.
“It’s now time to step up and get the evidence out there so we can compel this sheriff as quickly as possible to reopen the investigation and prosecute Adam Shacknai,” said Zahau family attorney Keith Greer.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has ruled Zahau's death a suicide.
Adam Shacknai told NBC 7 the insurance company covering his legal exposure had settled with the Zahau family, for $600,000 without his knowledge or involvement.
He told members of the media outside court that his insurance company believed in his innocence but was "tired of throwing money" at his legal defense.
In December 2018, the sheriff's department decided it would not change its initial findings on the case; Zahau's official cause of death would remain a suicide.
The Zahau family considered the decision not to reopen a criminal case "improper and biased."
Rebecca Zahau's sister asked the public to call the sheriff's department and ask that they reopen the case.
"I know she fought the night she died," said Mary Zahau-Loehner. "She left plenty of clues and plenty of evidence that were ignored."
"I refuse to stand down," she added. "I have to fight for the injustice that was done to her."
The family wants anyone with information about the night of Rebecca Zahau's death to call (800) 366-8529.
Attorney Keith Greer talks about the family’s future plans after a settlement was reached in the civil case surrounding Rebecca Zahau’s death.
The family also wants the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office to change its determination of Zahau's manner of death in the case from suicide to homicide.
NBC 7 reached out to SDSO for comment and this is what the department said:
"The Sheriff's Homicide Unit conducted an objective and thorough investigation into Miss Zahau's death. Our investigation was without assumption as to the cause of her death. The facts of that investigation led to the conclusion that Miss Zahau took her own life."
NBC 7 has also reached out to the attorney of Adam Shacknai and have yet to hear back.
Jurors in the wrongful death lawsuit voted 9-3 that Adam Shacknai battered Zahau and that his actions caused her death. They determined Adam Shacknai owed Zahau's mother, Pari Zahau, nearly $5.2 million in damages.
A settlement has been reached in the civil case over Rebecca Zahau's death. NBC 7's Greg Bledsoe has more.
In a civil trial, nine jurors decided Adam Shacknai was responsible for Rebecca Zahau's death in July 2011 at the Spreckels mansion on Coronado.
NBC 7
The family of Rebecca Zahau (L) sued Adam Shacknai (R) for wrongful death in the bizarre hanging in 2011 at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado, California.
NBC 7
Adam Shacknai listens as attorneys present opening statements in the wrongful death trial of Rebecca Zahau.
NBCSanDiego
The Spreckels mansion in Coronado was the scene of the investigation. Zahau's body was found hanging from a second-story balcony.
Monica Dean
San Diego County Sheriff's Department homicide investigators determined Zahau's death to be a suicide and released a video of how they believe she bound herself with the rope before throwing herself over the balcony.
NBC 7
An image of the balcony at the Spreckels Mansion that was entered into evidence on March 5 by the family's attorney during the testimony of one of the first law enforcement officers to arrive at the home on the day Rebecca Zahau was discovered.
NBC 7
Dina Shacknai was deposed on January 11, 2018 and spoke about her former brother-in-law, Adam Shacknai. She said he was a relatively private person who worked as a tugboat captain and enjoyed writing.
NBC 7
Adam Shacknai and his defense attorney watch the videotaped deposition on Thursday. Dina Shacknai described the first time she met Rebecca Zahau and where she was the night before Zahau was found dead at the Coronado mansion.
NBC 7
The message found on the door above the location where Rebecca Zahau's body was found. Adam Shacknai's attorney maintains it was a suicide message but the plaintiffs believe someone else painted it.
NBC 7
Adam Shacknai is a 54-year-old tugboat pilot who arrived in San Diego just days before Zahau's death to provide support to his brother, Jonah Shacknai. Jonah's son Max was fatally injured in a fall at the mansion just days before Rebecca's death.
NBC 7
A handwriting expert testified that he believes the message was likely written by Adam Shacknai based on the comparison with the defendant's signature.
NBC 7
The family's attorney has one hand on the door found inside the mansion while he is pointing at the letter "m" in the message.
NBC 7
Adam Shacknai's signature on court forms was used by a handwriting expert hired by the Zahau family to compare with the writing found on the door at the Spreckels Mansion.
NBC 7
A defense attorney points out the hook on the letter "m" found on Adam Shacknai's signature is missing from the writing on the mansion door.
NBC 7
Attorney Keith Greer said this is the last known photograph of Rebecca Zahau. The clothing seen in this photograph has never been found, the family said.
NBC 7
Plaintiffs' attorney Keith Greer places his fingers in the same location of Zahau's fingerprints on the knife found at the scene. He tells them the only way they match is if the knife is held behind the back. Shacknai and his attorney look on.
NBC 7
In this image, the family attorney shows jurors four locations of Rebecca Zahau's head where she suffered an injury.
Maxfield Shacknai, 6, was injured after falling from a staircase inside the Spreckels mansion on July 11. He later died from his injuries.
NBC 7
An image of how the rope that was connected to Rebecca Zahau's body was attached to a bedpost in a guest bedroom. The family's attorney said the bed appeared to move seven inches.
NBC 7
The defense told jurors these were the two knots used in securing the rope found in the guest bedroom of the Spreckels mansion. The first knot is used by anyone who learned how to tie laces.
NBC 7
Mary Zahau-Loehner told jurors and the court that the family believes it is "pretty obvious" that Rebecca Zahau was murdered and did not commit suicide.
NBC 7
Defense Attorney Dan Webb tells jurors in his opening statement that there is no physical evidence connecting his client with the death of Rebecca Zahau.
Monica Dean
The sheriff's department investigated the case for two months.
NBC 7
Forensic evidence expert Lisa Allyn DiMeo testifies about the fingerprints found only on the blade of a kitchen knife in the guest room of the Spreckels mansion.
NBC 7
A drop of blood found in a shower inside the Spreckels mansion that was collected by sheriff's department investigators but not processed, according to one expert witness.
NBC 7
A towel and blood drops were found in the hallway outside of the guest bedroom that leads to the balcony where Zahau was found hanging. A forensic expert testified the blood was likely Zahau's menstrual blood.
NBC 7
The chef's knife found inside the guest bedroom of the Spreckels mansion.
NBC 7
Handwriting expert Michael Wakshull said that with a certain degree of certainty, he believed Adam Shacknai was the likely author of the message found on the mansion door.
NBC 7
Judge Katherine Bacal presided over the wrongful death lawsuit involving Rebecca Zahau, the woman who was found bound and hanging from a second-story balcony at Coronado's Spreckels mansion.
CNBC
An image of Jonah Shacknai from a 2010 CNBC interview.
