Rebecca Nalepa - suicide or murder? #2

[kljohnson0458]

Hmmm....Something else just occurred to me. Where was the 13 y/o girl that was there when the boy went down the steps. Wasn't that an older daughter of JS and she would be staying at the house. I guess she could have left and gone back with her primary caretaker after the accident.

 

[SuziQ]

Wow, that's interesting about LE not being able to determine how she was hung.

 

[Paladine]

I apologize if this is wrong to think or post....

I was very curious as to why they took out a rolled up rug. I know a number of people have commented about the body and rigor motis etc and said she may have passed away some time before she was found...

I am also puzzled about the ties on her legs and also what was used to tie up her wrists. Electrical cord is hard to use and tie(I hate to roll ours up when doing yard work)...but I can see it being used as the long rope her body was hung with. But what about the other bindings? What were they??

I wonder if someone tied her up in the room before she was hung. Hence the straps tied to her leg. And I wonder if she was dead before she was hung.

Here is the part I am not sure I should post. I had thought I had read that people can lose control of their bodily functions upon death, especially a violent death. That if she hung herself, then there would be a chance that there would be signs there in the courtyard that she lost control of her bodily functions...

But if she was killed prior to hanging (especially if someone choked her) then those forensics would be in the room that this happened. Like maybe on a rug...

Sorry.. I do not mean to be gross. I am just as puzzled as everyone else. Just when I think "murder" I also hear about other things (like blue scarf) that are a sign of grief etc....

BBM GREAT point! I was with many a family member in hospital, during their last hours, and I would watch the urine bag for the sign of letting go...then the smell would come of the bowels emptying. IF these signs are not outside, on her, or on the ground, imo, she was dead before hung.

 

[justbetweenus]

I think we are pretty safe to say the COD will be death by hanging. The ME wouldn't need weeks to determine that imo.

What they are waiting on is to see if she had alcohol or drugs in her system at the time and if they found them in the room she stayed in or scattered about on her dresser. Imo if found they will test the bottles for fingerprints.

Where they found her clothing will tell them whether they were ripped off or simply taken off and dropped in a neat pile or laid across her bed.

IMO

There seems to be so much more. If it was a simple death by hanging why seal the autopsy report? Why seal the 911 call?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Anyone have a clear picture of the crime scene? One that shows both where she is on the ground AND the balcony above? I just went back and looked through them all. The only one I found with both in it was blurry.

I want to blow up a pic of the balcony to see if there is any "bending" of the wrought iron work on the balcony. If she was hanging by that iron work - it is possible that it might have bent under the weight. But then again it might not have. I've grown up with wrought iron work all around me - on porches, blaconies, ornamental, etc. While it is very strong - it can (and usually does) weaken through the years. This mansion is over 100 years old and that iron work looks like it "came with the house".

I'm just curious as to the "condition" of that rout iron on the balcony.

I think like everything else in this mansion the rout iron was strong and in good shape. I cant see a 12-13 million dollar home having shoddy weak iron work on the balcony.

She looked small to me so I think the balcony iron work would have no problem holding her weight up. It is probably riveted into a concrete foundation.

People commit suicide by tying the rope to a chandelier or even a shower head. All it takes is for the feet not to be able to touch the ground.

IMO

 

[Quester]

Anyone have a clear picture of the crime scene? One that shows both where she is on the ground AND the balcony above? I just went back and looked through them all. The only one I found with both in it was blurry.

I want to blow up a pic of the balcony to see if there is any "bending" of the wrought iron work on the balcony. If she was hanging by that iron work - it is possible that it might have bent under the weight. But then again it might not have. I've grown up with wrought iron work all around me - on porches, blaconies, ornamental, etc. While it is very strong - it can (and usually does) weaken through the years. This mansion is over 100 years old and that iron work looks like it "came with the house".

I'm just curious as to the "condition" of that wrought iron on the balcony.

Available photos of the crime scene all appear to be blurry.

Here's link to the Fox 5 series:

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/photo_gallery/kswb-photos-nude-woman-found-dead-at-mansion-20110715,0,6503880.photogallery

 

[Paladine]

I think we are pretty safe to say the COD will be death by hanging. The ME wouldn't need weeks to determine that imo.

What they are waiting on is to see if she had alcohol or drugs in her system at the time and if they found them in the room she stayed in or scattered about on her dresser. Imo if found they will test the bottles for fingerprints.

Where they found her clothing will tell them whether they were ripped off or simply taken off and dropped in a neat pile or laid across her bed.

IMO

RBBM Now, I DID skip 2 pages...but I am certainly FAR from sure this is death by hanging...just sayin'...

Now, going to read those 2 pages.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

There seems to be so much more. If it was a simple death by hanging why seal the autopsy report? Why seal the 911 call?

That is really not that uncommon. They will do so as long as the investigation is on going and the tox test come back and they make a determination on MOD.

 

[askfornina]

Wow, that's interesting about LE not being able to determine how she was hung.

somewhere earlier in the last thread i believe someone said that LE stated they were not disclosing what the rope was attached to, and that they were also not disclosing whether or not the room with the balcony was her room. anyone remember this/have a link?

 

[Paladine]

I think like everything else in this mansion the rout iron was strong and in good shape. I cant see a 12-13 million dollar home having shoddy weak iron work on the balcony.

She looked small to me so I think the balcony iron work would have no problem holding her weight up. It is probably riveted into a concrete foundation.

People commit suicide by tying the rope to a chandelier or even a shower head. All it takes is for the feet not to be able to touch the ground.

IMO

RBBM: AND the feet can even touch the ground. I learned that from the case of Ryan Jenkins who killled Jasmine...he hung himself in a motel in BC on a coat rack. Surprised the heck outta me.

 

[justbetweenus]

IIRC when the police got there, they said she was face down, no? I can't find the link now. If that's the case, then they were there when her body was moved, at least once.

IMO, if it's homicide, the brother definitely needs to be looked at closer. The first thing I thought of when I read the stories was, why would he cut her down? Yes, I guess he could have thought she was still alive, but it would also be a convenient excuse for why his fingerprints would be on that cord. Also, it's hard to know from the photos, but if he did cut her down...did he go thru the house and upstairs and cut her down/untie the cord from the balcony? I don't think he did...perhaps he pushed the table over, stood on that, and cut her down. If so, wouldn't there still be a piece of rope left hanging off the balcony? Again, hard to know if there was when police arrived. Would they take something like that down right away? I have a hard time believing they would if they would leave her body lay in the open for hours not to disturb the scene. The other thing I'm sill baffled by is the way her legs are bent. If she died while hanging, I don't see any reason for her legs to be in that bent position. When rigor set in, they would have been straight.

In studying the photos longer, I really think she was hogtied at some point. I know the police said she wasn't when they got there, but that doesn't mean she hadn't been. I googled some hogtied images, and her body definitely looks like it could have been in that position...and many of the images have a gag...perhaps what the blue scarf was used for?

Other questions I have are...where was Neil Nalepa (Rebecca's ex-husband) and is Dina Romano (JS ex-wife #2) remarried? Hence the Romano last name. If so, where was her husband?

That really makes me wonder if that might be true.

 

[Dum-Dum Sucker]

Jonah has left and gone back to Arizona.
I would not expect Adam to have stayed in California if his brother left.

Do we know if Adam attended Maxie's funeral??

 

[oceanblueeyes]

RBBM Now, I DID skip 2 pages...but I am certainly FAR from sure this is death by hanging...just sayin'...

Now, going to read those 2 pages.

LOL, ok. but imo if it wasnt a hanging then LE would have moved much more quickly because they would have known immediately she didn't die by jumping off the balcony and hanging herself.

IMO the ME did tell them already that the death was due to a hanging. Its the MOD that they are waiting on, imo. Suicide or Homicide.

IMO

 

[Paladine]

somewhere earlier in the last thread i believe someone said that LE stated they were not disclosing what the rope was attached to, and that they were also not disclosing whether or not the room with the balcony was her room. anyone remember this/have a link?

I'll keep an eye open in my travels...

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Available photos of the crime scene all appear to be blurry.

Here's link to the Fox 5 series:

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/photo_gallery/kswb-photos-nude-woman-found-dead-at-mansion-20110715,0,6503880.photogallery

Thankx but there are none of the balcony in those.

As for the wrought iron being in good condition. As I said, I've lived around wrought iron my entire life. While it may look like it is strong and in good condition - it can rot from within. It would seem that the wrought iron on that balcony was strictly ornamental. While it was put there to ensure the safety of people standing on that balcony - it was never meant for anyone to sit on (or swing from).

I was 10 and we were all climbing the wrought iron tressel to get to the roof. My foot went completely through a piece as I stepped onto it. Even though 5 - 6 other kids went up before me.

I've seen a dog tethered to a piece of wrought iron and while he didn't pull through the iron - he did a heck of a job bending it out.

My DH is a structural steel ironworker. It does have flaws and weaknesses in it, just like glass.

I'm just curious about the wrought iron and would like to see a better picture of the iron on the balcony.

 

[Quester]

somewhere earlier in the last thread i believe someone said that LE stated they were not disclosing what the rope was attached to, and that they were also not disclosing whether or not the room with the balcony was her room. anyone remember this/have a link?

Yep - I remember the non-disclosure of the anchor.


Re: room - in the last couple of days, a posted article stated it was a "bedroom" [new info to me] but not whose.

ETA: Here's a quote and link:

The home's balcony, which lies outside of a bedroom, is about 10 to 15 feet from the ground.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/mysterious-rebecca-zahau-mansion-death-devastates-family/story?id=14080327

 

[oceanblueeyes]

RBBM: AND the feet can even touch the ground. I learned that from the case of Ryan Jenkins who killled Jasmine...he hung himself in a motel in BC on a coat rack. Surprised the heck outta me.

Sounds like he was determined. I guess he bent his knees and let his neck take all the pressure.

IMO

 

[time]

Available photos of the crime scene all appear to be blurry.

Here's link to the Fox 5 series:

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/photo_gallery/kswb-photos-nude-woman-found-dead-at-mansion-20110715,0,6503880.photogallery

Are there any early pictures with a piece of rope/cord attached to the balcony?

I can't imagine LE would take that off right away if there were. If not, then it at least indicates someone detached her by untying the cord at the balcony? Although they keep saying 'cut her down" don't they?

I keep wondering if she could have been found dead (with or without the binding, but with I think) and someone tried to cover up by taking her out to the lawn. Of course, they would know this and probably wouldn't keep saying it's a suicide unless they suspect there is a small chance it was suicide and someone moved her? Same goes for a homicide. Maybe it could be a homicide, but not from hanging from the balcony. I could see a third party doing something to 'limit the damage' in the press.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Thankx but there are none of the balcony in those.

As for the wrought iron being in good condition. As I said, I've lived around wrought iron my entire life. While it may look like it is strong and in good condition - it can rot from within. It would seem that the wrought iron on that balcony was strictly ornamental. While it was put there to ensure the safety of people standing on that balcony - it was never meant for anyone to sit on (or swing from).

I was 10 and we were all climbing the wrought iron tressel to get to the roof. My foot went completely through a piece as I stepped onto it. Even though 5 - 6 other kids went up before me.

I've seen a dog tethered to a piece of wrought iron and while he didn't pull through the iron - he did a heck of a job bending it out.

My DH is a structural steel ironworker. It does have flaws and weaknesses in it, just like glass.

I'm just curious about the wrought iron and would like to see a better picture of the iron on the balcony.

I imagine Jonah had someone (professional inspector) go over every inch of this home and inspect it from top to bottom before he purchased it.

imo

 

[Jade]

May I muddy the water more by pointing out a comment in this link that was provided by mrsu?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/mysterious-rebecca-zahau-mansion-death-devastates-family/comments?type=story&id=14080327

Summation:

meow2525 posted on July 15th and says she is a good friend of the daughter and has been in contact with the family who are struggling, asking for prayers for them.

Says on a 15th post the little boy has now passed away

On the same day she says in two different posts that the stairs are carpeted and she can’t see how he could get so badly hurt.

Another poster challenges her saying the child is still on life support.

meow2525 posts back on the 16th that she knows for a fact Max was taken off life support this morning.

Also meow2525 says if you had seen the stairs in that house you would know that is not how the boy died

As usual all caution being expressed that there is really no telling who is posting, imo

* I don’t see any times for the posts so she could have been posting late on
the 15th that the life support was discontinued on the morning of the 15th
then after midnight posted this morning since she hadn’t gone to bed yet it seemed the same day although it was technically the 16th.

all imo