MAX SHACKNAI - 6 yo - Coronado CA

Mother of boy killed in mansion fall claims 'new information'

July 17, 2012 | 11:59 am

An attorney representing the mother of a 6-year-old boy who fell to his death at a Coronado mansion last year said her client had information leading her to believe the boy's death was not an accident.

The remarks came Monday — the one-year anniversary of Max Shacknai's death — at a news conference in Phoenix, where his mother, Dina Shacknai, spoke publicly for the first time about the incident.

Dina Shacknai's lawyer, Angela Hallier, told reporters her client had information from "privately retained experts," making her "certain that the accident scenario ... is inaccurate." She declined to provide details, saying they had requested a meeting with Coronado police.

Max was injured July 11, 2011, after falling down the grand staircase at the historic Spreckels mansion then owned by his father, pharmaceutical executive Jonah Shacknai, who split his time between Phoenix and Coronado. Two days later, the naked body of the father's live-in girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, 32, was found hanging from a second-story balcony at the mansion.

The boy died of his injuries July 16, 2011.

The deaths triggered intense scrutiny and public speculation, even after officials declared Max's death an accident and Zahau's a suicide.
Dina Shacknai held the news conference Monday to announce the creation of a nonprofit in her son's honor. Maxie's H.O.U.S.E. will work to provide resources for parents and children that "focus on the protection and safety of children from blended families regardless of which parent and caregiver they are with," she said during the Phoenix news conference.

Shacknai told reporters she had asked to meet with her ex-husband's girlfriend after learning how much time Max was spending with Zahau. She didn't feel comfortable after the meeting, she said, because Zahau gave her some "inaccurate" information about her past.

"Not wanting to go back to the courts, I sat down with Jonah to see what we could do to help me feel more comfortable with having Max ... be around Rebecca," she said, adding she initially asked her ex-husband that he not leave Max alone with Zahau.

Max was in Zahau's care at the time of the fall, authorities said.

"This is exactly why I founded Maxie's H.O.U.S.E.," Shacknai said. "Maxie's legacy reminds us of how undeniably important it is that every child have the right to be safe in their own home, wherever that home is."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/mother-of-boy-killed-in-mansion-fall-has-new-information.html

I remember this story when it began and there was nothing in evidence about the son;s death. HOWEVER, I have always felt that the girlfriend was done in. The circumstances surrounding the death are almost preposterous. Now this has me thinking...could there be a link between the two deaths? If hers was not a suicide, maybe his was not accidental. Seems odd to have two deaths occur at your home over such a short period of time...

It sounds like the mother of Max is alleging that the husband girlfriend, Rebecca, may have been responsible for his death..like maybe she pushed him down the stairs or something to that effect. Does it sound that way to you?

If she did and was about to get caught, that would explain why she would commit suicide or maybe the husband had her killed for causing the death of the son. I'm just taking a guess from the article about the mother's investigation. I wonder if we will ever know.

There's a lot of money in this case and who knows who is getting paid what to keep quiet. My scenario is similar to yours. The father was in a rage over something the boy had done and, while not meaning to, caused his child's death. She knew this, as she was a witness, and she wanted to inform authorities. Boom! She, while naked, binds herself behind her back and with a noose around her neck, jumps to her death from the balcony of the bedroom.
Hmmmm?

Boy, 6, who died at father's mansion 'was assaulted and thrown from balcony' claims new medical report
Max Shacknai found on first floor of the palatial home in San Diego
Independent medical report said child had injuries 'from being beaten'

By LOUISE BOYLE
PUBLISHED: 21:23 EST, 7 August 2012
UPDATED: 06:54 EST, 8 August 2012

A six-year-old boy who died last summer after falling from the grand staircase at his father's luxurious mansion was likely assaulted before plunging to his death, a new medical report claimed.

Max Shacknai's death was the first in a bizarre series of events that led to his father's girlfriend being found hanged, bound and naked, from a balcony at the palatial home in San Diego two days later.

Police declared both deaths solved and that pharmaceutical millionaire Jonah Shacknai was not involved in either.

Max Shacknai was in the care of his father's girlfriend Rebecca Zahau at the time of his death.

Max's death was ruled an accident and Miss Zahau's death deemed a suicide.

Max's mother Dinah Shacknai - who divorced from Max's father in 2010 - refused to believe these findings and instead hired her own team of investigators.

The new report claimed that Max was the victim of a homicide.

Jonah and Dinah Shacknai were said to have had a tumultuous and sometimes violent relationship and they repeatedly accused each other of verbal and physical abuse in the short time they were married.

Police had to be called to the 27-room mansion on three different occasions.

Ms Shacknai called on the Coronado police to reopen the case after the findings from Dr Judy Melinek, a San Francisco-based forensic pathologist, and Dr Robert Bove, an injury biomechanics expert.

She told Fox News: 'I can't imagine anyone in the world wanting to harm Maxie. He was the most sweet, loving and gentle boy.'

In the new report, both medical experts said that Max had injuries consistent with being beaten.

Dr Melinek reported that the child had injuries on his body which could not just have come from a fall, adding that it was impossible for Max to have bumped into the balcony and fallen over.

The claims appeared to point the finger at Jonah Shacknai's girlfriend Rebecca which the late woman's sister strongly denied today.

Mary Zahau told RadarOnline: 'The thought that Rebecca would cause Max harm is preposterous.'

Mary added that the relationship between her sister and Max was a close and loving one, with her treating him like her own child.

The Coronado police department said it would review the report and decide whether to reopen the investigation.

Max died at the hospital shortly after he tumbled down the grand staircase at the historic Spreckels manor.

His multimillionaire father, Jonah Shacknai, was not home at the time, but Mr Shacknai's girlfriend, Miss Zahau, 32, was along with her 13-year-old sister.

Miss Zahau, from Myanmar, had been dating the multimillionaire for two years and friends said he had been planning on proposing to her.

Miss Nalepa began working as an ophthalmic technician in April 2008, but left in December 2010 to devote more time to Mr Shacknai and his three children.

Two days after Max's death on July 16, Mr Shacknai discovered Miss Zahau hanging dead from an outside balcony.

She was naked, gagged and her hands and feet bound.

Miss Zahau's parents also believe that their daughter was murdered.

They hired a private pathologist to conduct a second autopsy. That expert said his findings cast doubt on the suicide ruling.

However, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said the second look revealed no new information and the case remains closed.

Her sister said she spoke with her sister the night before her body was found and she gave no hint that she planned to take her life.

She said she planned to bring Mr Shacknai breakfast and a change of clothes the next morning to the hospital where his son was being treated.

Dr Cyril Wecht, a private consultant in high-profile investigations ranging from the Kennedy assassination to the death of Anna Nicole Smith, made a nationally televised appearance today on the Dr Phil show to render his opinion about the bizarre death of Rebecca Zahau.

Dr Wecht performed a second, independent autopsy on Miss Zahau's body last month at the request of relatives who have challenged the official determination of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and coroner that she took her own life.

He agreed with the official autopsy finding that the cause of Miss Zahau's death was asphyxiation by hanging, but said he strongly doubted she killed herself.

'While I am not prepared to unequivocally, with absolute scientific certainty, say that it was a homicide and that it was not a suicide, I lean very strongly toward it being a homicide, something involving foul play. And I lean very strongly against it being a suicide,' he said.

Dr Wecht said he was particularly troubled by findings in both autopsies that Miss Zahau had suffered blows to the top of her head, indicated by four separate hemorrhages beneath the scalp.

He said such an injury pointed to the possibility that she was knocked unconscious with a blunt object and could explain why police said there was no sign of a struggle at the scene.

Dr Wecht said he was also puzzled as to why Miss Zahau's neck was not broken by the force of her fall from the balcony. He said the way in which Miss Zahau would have had to tie herself up was possible, but implausible.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185207/Max-Shacknai-mansion-death-New-report-says-boy-6-murdered.html#ixzz22z2yjD9i

Ok... I never thought her death was a suicide and always questioned the boy's death. I mean, even if you could tie yourself up, why would you? I mean, I guess so once you jump you can't try to chicken out... but it just doesn't seem likely. On the other hand, if you were going to murder someone and want it to look like a suicide, why would you tie your victim up; especially if you knocked them unconscious first. I just don't know.

Coronado Police Won't Reopen Shacknai Death Probe
Dina Shacknai Says Experts Have Findings That Show Death Of Son Max Was Homicide

POSTED: 6:31 pm PDT September 10, 2012
UPDATED: 11:51 pm PDT September 10, 2012

SAN DIEGO -- The Coronado Police Department will not be reopening their investigation into the death of a young boy at the Spreckels Mansion last year.

According to a press release issued Monday, Coronado police declined to reopen their probe into the July 2011 death of 6-year-old Max Shacknai despite an independent investigation that contradicted the conclusion that the boy's death was an accident.

"In light of the evidence we provided, it is shocking that the Coronado Police Department has refused to reopen the case," Dina Shacknai said in the release. "As a mother, I will leave no stone unturned and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to pursue justice and find the truth behind my son's death, however long that may take. We presented scientific evidence and legitimate science does not lie. It is more than disappointing that despite the depth and detail of the evidence we presented, the system has failed us and it has failed Max. I just hope we can make a meaningful difference in many other children's lives through our experience and through the recent creation of Maxie's H.O.U.S.E."

*To read the complete press release, click here

In a letter sent to Coronado Police Chief Lou Scanlon on Monday, Shacknai stated the decision not to re-open her son Max's case "...has left us not only disappointed but incredulous. Your decision is an insult to common sense and decency."

On Monday, Shacknai spoke with 10News on the phone from near her home in Arizona.

"Right now, I think that it's the responsibility of the Coronado Police Department to reopen this investigation," she said.

In the letter, Shacknai also accused the department of ignoring and dismissing the comprehensive scientific analysis done by two well-respected independent experts she hired.

She wrote, "They reached irrefutable scientific conclusions after a nine-month process. In fact, as a mother, their conclusions were the worst possible outcome that I could have imagined."

"That Max was the victim of an assault scenario… that basically his death was a homicide, which is death at the hands of another," she said.

Read More: http://www.10news.com/news/31424675/detail.html