The death of Rebecca Zahau, a 32-year-old woman found hanging from a balcony in 2011, remains one of California’s most puzzling and controversial cases.
On July 13, Zahau was discovered hanging naked from a second-story balcony at the mansion of her boyfriend, Jonah Shacknai, in Coronado, California.
Her hands and feet were bound, and she was gagged.
The circumstances surrounding Zahau’s death raised immediate suspicions.
Zahau had been alone with Shacknai’s 6-year-old son, Max, earlier that day when he tragically fell down a staircase.
Max later passed away from his injuries on July 17. Just before her death, Zahau had received a voicemail about Max’s condition, which could have contributed to the emotional turmoil surrounding her death.
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Initially, the case was treated as a potential homicide, especially after a cryptic message was found painted on the mansion’s door: “She saved him can he save her?” However, after months of investigation, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department concluded that Zahau had died by suicide.
The department’s theory was that Zahau felt responsible for Max’s fall and chose to end her life.
To support the suicide theory, investigators demonstrated how Zahau could have tied herself up and hung herself, even providing a video reenactment.
They also found her fingerprints on a knife that had been used to cut the rope, as well as her toe impressions on the balcony floor.
Despite the sheriff’s conclusion, Zahau’s family firmly rejected the suicide ruling.
They filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jonah Shacknai’s brother, Adam, alleging that he sexually assaulted Zahau and murdered her before staging her death to look like a suicide.
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In 2018, a civil jury found Adam Shacknai civilly liable for her death, awarding Zahau’s family $5 million in damages.
However, Adam denied any involvement, and his attorneys argued that the accusations were baseless.
After the civil case verdict, Zahau’s family pushed for a reexamination of the case. They petitioned for the manner of death to be changed from suicide to homicide.