CA - Rebecca Nalepa - suicide or murder? #8

[askfornina]

getting caught up here. i need to watch the actual press conference because looking at just the powerpoint isn't too clear. just want to add that maybe the tshirt was there to act as a "cushion" on the neck under the rope if we are going with the suicide scenario.

all and all, BIZARRE. the black paint? the message? oh my gosh. erghhh i have to say i'm not sure how two (or three if i'm reading one of the slides correctly) police departments would be in on a conspiracy to rule this a suicide. any thoughts? i'm not saying i agree with the suicide theory absolutely, i'm just trying to make sense of all of this.

 

[sorrell skye]

I wouldn't want my partner by my side if I thought the partner was responsible for my child's condition. Nor would my child's other parent appreciate their presence. Don't know of too many parents who would.

bbm

Has JS made any statements that he believes Rebecca was responsible for Maxie's fall & subsequent death? If he has, I haven't read them.

If you have evidence that JS considers Rebecca responsible for Maxie's death, perhaps you should contact LE. If you have evidence that JS considers Rebecca responsible for Maxie's death, I'm sure LE would be interested in hearing about it.

 

[SunnieRN]

Yeah, this theory of the tying doesn't make as much sense to me as what I've read from several other posters. They suggested that she could have tied her hands and then stepped through them, to move her hands from tied in front of her to tied in back of her. If she left enough slack, it would pretty straightforward to tie her hands, then tie her feet, then step through her hands. I'm assuming she'd have to have placed the noose on her neck before starting to tie her hands, though maybe there's another way to do that too.

I know from reading Ocean's post that people who commit suicide by hanging do tie their feet. I don't understand why, and I feel like a lot of other "non rational" suicide behaviors can be understood, if only in the mindset of someone who's in a lot of pain. For example, committing suicide in the nude could be a way to link death with birth, sort of like leaving the world as you came into it.

Perhaps, in the end, it doesn't matter why she made the choices that she made, only that they were the expression of a tremendous amount of pain.

The more fantastical, fictional conspiracy theory side of me has thought that BigPharma + the deaths of the child and girlfriend of JS could have something to do with some revenge against JS. But I'm pretty sure that's just a tv/book explanation, and not what happened here.

Thing is, the ME could NOT find another case like this, where the person bound themselves and hung the,selves nude, outdoors. Fro, the start Rebecca's family has stated she was modest and no one has discounted that.

 

[Dum-Dum Sucker]

New article that has a lot of new info. According to family's lawyer RN was in the shower when the child had his accident. The two of child's siblings were in the home. The child was "planking." (which was one of our theories). It's so upsetting people are dying over this stupid human trick. Some sort of note was found, ambiguous in meaning, and the family does not believe it's in RN's handwriting. RN never displayed suicidal tendencies.

"Bremner, the attorney, said she and the family met with investigators for more than three hours this week and that the family was distraught over the conclusion. Bremner said there is no precedent for a woman committing suicde in the manner in which San Diego authorities contend."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation...death-ruled-suicide-family-objects/50233234/1

I don't see where in this article it says that Maxie was planking.
tia

 

[scorekeeper]

No proof she was in the bathroom. It sounds as though the child lay there quite some time without first aid and she was the only adult around. If I were his parents, I'd most certainly blame her.

RN was interviewed by LE. She was administering CPR when the 1st 911 call was made. Where do you get that Maxie lay there for quite some time?

The police seemed to believe her story as well as the stories told by JS and DS and AS.

 

[jjenny]

I don't see where in this article it says that Maxie was planking.
tia

They must have edited it. It now links to an updated article which also includes info on the press conference that was not there when the article originally came out.

 

[MyBelle]

If anyone HAD told Rebecca she was to blame, they probably would not admit it, once they learned she was dead, probably had killed herself. Most people would not want to come out and say that they said the one thing that might have driven someone to suicide.

ITA. I think it is impossible to know what will trigger a suicide.

 

[Evan's Mom]

I really don't understand why so many posters think their "gut instinct" should over ride actual police investigation.
LE has a job to do and they do it to the best of their ability with all of the tools available to them. I believe those tools far surpass any "feeling" a poster has regarding a case.
If LE says Rebecca's death is a suicide, then I am confident it was a suicide

 

[MyBelle]

Maybe she felt anger at JS for blaming her for Max's death. Maybe she had other issues with JS that were ongoing, and when he lashed out at her over Max's death, she replied in kind.

ITA. Any or all of that is not impossible to believe, imo

 

[SunnieRN]

I think it is obvious that he was horsing around if he ran hard and fast enough to fall from the upper balcony and landed out far enough to reach the chandelier.

And of course she has the 'right' to go to the bathroom. But this is a 27 room mansion with a HUGE staircase,and a very high balcony. Not your typical family home. Maybe she should have waited until the 13 yr old was out of the shower so Max could be supervised more closely.

I am not 'blaming' her for the accident, just saying that she was in charge of Max that day. And he was in a dangerous situation being so high up, when he was such a rambunctious kid. So I can see why she felt somewhat guilty and why she felt bad.

Maybe she should have inserted a foley with a leg bag and put Max on a leash, like the ones you see at amusement parks, if he was so willfully disobedient and untrustworthy, that he had to be so closely watched EVERY second.

Sorry, but you are still blaming someone who can not defend their actions, despite the fact that the parents, LE or the other person in the house has nt blamed her.

Yes, she was in charge, but if she was incompetant of that duty, do you believe JS would have gone golfing? He could have brought Maxie with him even, if he had any reason at all to be concerned.

Accidents can not be explained and it was not apparant to LE that he was trying to slide down the bannister, so why are you as insistent as you are that he was doing so?

 

[time]

And how did she even know how to do it? They haven't said they found any searches on the computer, have they?

No, at the press conference today the SD Sheriff's investigators basically said that she just came up with those peculiarly complicated knots, right then and there as she was deciding to commit suicide. :innocent: Not very believable in my opinion.

And, why didn't we see the knots on her feet? Or a simulation of how she then walked with her feet bound.

 

[katydid23]

Rebecca is a victim. Whether she killed herself or was murdered, she is a victim. I thought we didn't trash victims on this site? There is NO evidence she was at fault or negligent in Maxies fall or the aftermath.

I do not think I am trashing her. I am simply saying that I can see why she might have felt guilty after his death. I think there might have been some negligence if she was not supervising him well enough to prevent him from going over the upper staircase balcony. This is not your regular family home, where you could leave a 6 yr old alone while you went to the bathroom. This home had dangerous staircases and 27 rooms. It requires more supervision than the average home, imo.

 

[jjenny]

RN was interviewed by LE. She was administering CPR when the 1st 911 call was made. Where do you get that Maxie lay there for quite some time?

The police seemed to believe her story as well as the stories told by JS and DS and AS.

Apparently he had a spinal injury. Which is what I believed from the start, because his symptoms didn't appear to fit with just the head trauma. The spinal injury prevented him from breathing. Nothing to suggest he was there for "some time" without any help.

 

[MyBelle]

bbm

Why would Rebecca kill herself & try to make it look like a homicide? That's quite an accusation to make against a deceased woman who is not here to defend herself.

It is my opinion.

 

[elementry]

bbm

All excellent points, Cal!

I have questions about the ones I bolded.

1. The shrubbery: how is it that when Rebecca reportedly threw herself over the railing, her body sustained noticeable bruising by coming into contact with the shrubs below the balcony? I'm an avid hiker and oftentimes hike on very steep slopes. There have been times that I've lost my footing and have slipped & fallen against the bushes growing along the trail - and have not been bruised (I bruise very easily).

maybe they consulted Jonah, an authority on bruising: in the documents released in Arizona regarding his domestic violence dispute with Dina, he responds to her accusations of manhandling her (and those incriminating pictures) with the response that it's known she "bruises easily". Btw, (neither here nor there I guess) in looking at the side effects of Restylane (Medicis product), one of them is increased susceptibility to bruising.

 

[time]

I really don't understand why so many posters think their "gut instinct" should over ride actual police investigation.
LE has a job to do and they do it to the best of their ability with all of the tools available to them. I believe those tools far surpass any "feeling" a poster has regarding a case.
If LE says Rebecca's death is a suicide, then I am confident it was a suicide

I have clearly stated my reasons over and over. I have not said it is my gut instinct and many others have given their reason and analysis also. Posters have repeatedly said that what investigators are claiming doesn't add up, doesn't make sense, and so on. Why are you demeaning all the effort we have put into this? Some of us just do not feel the need to automatically believe what we are told we should.

 

[Dum-Dum Sucker]

When did they say he was trying to slide down the bannister? It was stated he ran and fell off the top of the staircase, tried to hold on to the chandelier, which broke and was flung against the opposite bannister, then falling to the floor. I also feel Rebecca had the right to go to the bathroom. Were you there? Do you know if Maxie was horsing around, or needed to be supervised more closely? I would think that blaming Rebecca for an accident is akin to playing God. Not even LE placed blame on her shoulders. Again, WOW!

Was this information given in the Press Conference? I missed the conference. Thanks!

 

[katydid23]

Maybe she should have inserted a foley with a leg bag and put Max on a leash, like the ones you see at amusement parks, if he was so willfully disobedient and untrustworthy, that he had to be so closely watched EVERY second.

Sorry, but you are still blaming someone who can not defend their actions, despite the fact that the parents, LE or the other person in the house has nt blamed her.

Yes, she was in charge, but if she was incompetant of that duty, do you believe JS would have gone golfing? He could have brought Maxie with him even, if he had any reason at all to be concerned.

Accidents can not be explained and it was not apparant to LE that he was trying to slide down the bannister, so why are you as insistent as you are that he was doing so?

I am not so sure the parents didn't blame her. As a matter of fact I think JS and probably DS DID blame her, which is why she was so distraught.

He should not have been allowed to run and jump around at the top of that dangerous staircase. End of story. And accident or not, that is what he was doing. He should not have been allowed to play up there all alone, totally unsupervised, if he did not have the self control necessary to avoid such a tragic outcome. This was a dangerous, un-child proofed home. I would not have left a 6 yr old alone at the top of those stairs.

 

[babette_gladney]

Why did Rebecca never visit the hospital? She cared for Max, why would she not go to the hospital, especially given that she told TG that was why she wanted to board the dog? LE specifically said she never visited the hospital.

My bet is that she was not welcome at the hospital. By MS's mother, and, once it became clear that his condition was beyond hope, by MS's father.

I strongly suspect that the last vm she received included a breakup and quite possibly a legal threat.

The whole thing is terrible. I feel sorry for all parties. As a single mother, I feel particular sympathy for DS.

 

[MyBelle]

Maybe she should have inserted a foley with a leg bag and put Max on a leash, like the ones you see at amusement parks, if he was so willfully disobedient and untrustworthy, that he had to be so closely watched EVERY second.

Sorry, but you are still blaming someone who can not defend their actions, despite the fact that the parents, LE or the other person in the house has nt blamed her.

Yes, she was in charge, but if she was incompetant of that duty, do you believe JS would have gone golfing? He could have brought Maxie with him even, if he had any reason at all to be concerned.

Accidents can not be explained and it was not apparant to LE that he was trying to slide down the bannister, so why are you as insistent as you are that he was doing so?

The child wasn't being supervised is the point. His injuries were easily preventable. We wouldn't have any need for child abuse and neglect laws if every accident was no fault.