Rebecca Nalepa - suicide or murder? #7

[Lawgirl]

I can see Rebecca being so depressed, so broken over this incident. Maybe at some point I would not blame her for wanting to die. I just have a problem with the manner in which she was allegedly found with her hands and feet bound. She could have chosen a gentler death if she did this to herself -- such as going into the garage with the car running - leaving a suicide note. I can't fit it in my head having died "violently" (words of LE) -- with feet and hands tied.

I recall a time when my ex boyfriend died in a tragic accident, and the shock lasted days. It was surreal, like being in a nightmare of some sort from which you don't wake up. I'll admit after four days I wanted to die too -- but certainly not the next day. I was in shock...it wasn't real to me.

I don't know what to think anymore. Yes, I could see her really depressed. Who wouldn't? I get depressed when my child gets a tiny booboo. I can't even imagine feeling responsible for the death of someone's child. It is the manner in which she died that make me doubt it was suicide.

Like I said I tried to do a mini renactment tying my feet and then my hands and I caught a major cramp in my stomach trying to do this...it really doesn't compute with me. If someone said it was just the hands...even that would I could live with because I could understand if she did not want to stop the noose from working properly..but the feet as well???!!! No no no.

 

[arielilane]

I have put myself in RZ's shoes and I believe I most likely would commit suicide. My issue is how it appears she was found with her hands tied behind her back. That is my issue/concerns.

 

[curiousjo]

Electrical cord? Nude? Timing? Hmmmmmmmmmm?

 

[Quester]

@ SunnieRN

What kind of damage could RN have done while administering CPR (as one would expect her to do) to the boy after his fall?

Seems she had little choice but to do CPR despite the risk of added damage.


TIA

 

[curiousjo]

No damage - anyone found pulseless and not breathing needs CPR stat!

 

[jjenny]

Wouldn't a plain vanilla suicide (if there's such a thing, in any case, this one has some odd circumstancial wrinkles) be announced within a six week window if not sooner? Almost seems like LE, lacking other fruitful avenues, is busy striking down all other scenarios element by element, thus delivering a kind of negative proof of suicide - and incidentally hoping the long elapse of time induces a general apathy in the public by the time they finally issue a finding. They may have to deal with a few unhappy Zahau's, but besides that will anybody really care that much 2 months after the fact? Of course if the fact is true and verifiable regarding suicide, that would help put this one to bed.

If this was an obvious suicide I don't think it would take long at all. In many cases it's announced to be a suicide within a few days.

 

[Quester]

So given what we know:

MS found not breathing an w/o pulse after fall in home from balcony in grand staircase.

Statements made on the day of the fall: fall, in coma, hasn't woken up, no brain activity, don't know if he'll live.

What does this tell you based on your professional experience?

 

[jjenny]

@ SunnieRN

What kind of damage could RN have done while administering CPR (as one would expect her to do) to the boy after his fall?

Seems she had little choice but to do CPR despite the risk of added damage.


TIA

Well if the neck is broken I know the person should not be moved. Of course we haven't been told that the neck was broken, but I don't understand how the child could sustain an injury so severe by falling down carpeted stairs if his neck was not broken. Also with head trauma in a lot of cases they have a period of lucidity and then become worse. With him he immediately was not breathing. How does that fit with head trauma?

 

[SunnieRN]

@ SunnieRN

What kind of damage could RN have done while administering CPR (as one would expect her to do) to the boy after his fall?

Seems she had little choice but to do CPR despite the risk of added damage.


TIA

With spinal injuries, we are trained not to move the patient until the neck and head are stable. A non professional would not know that. This would in no way make Rebecca responsible for any additional damage, and if she was already giving CPR, that means that Max was not breathing and had no pulse at the time she approached him. She may be the one responsible for keeping Max alive. It sounds as if she took the correct actions based upon her level of knowledge.

In this case, the rescuer had to take a chance on keeping the person alive, vs possibly causing additional injury. Usually 911 stays on the phone while someone is performing CPR, in case there are any issues or concerns. They would have instructed her not to move Max. I wonder if the 911 caller in panic hung up the phone?

This brings me back to earlier posts I made tonight. This doesn't seem like a carpeted stair injury, but the post about falling from a balcony certainly can fit. I thought Max was inside the mansion when Rebecca was performing CPR though?

 

[Quester]

With spinal injuries, we are trained not to move the patient until the neck and head are stable. A non professional would not know that. This would in no way make Rebecca responsible for any additional damage, and if she was already giving CPR, that means that Max was not breathing and had no pulse at the time she approached him. She may be the one responsible for keeping Max alive. It sounds as if she took the correct actions based upon her level of knowledge.

In this case, the rescuer had to take a chance on keeping the person alive, vs possibly causing additional injury. Usually 911 stays on the phone while someone is performing CPR, in case there are any issues or concerns. They would have instructed her not to move Max. I wonder if the 911 caller in panic hung up the phone?

This brings me back to earlier posts I made tonight. This doesn't seem like a carpeted stair injury, but the post about falling from a balcony certainly can fit. I thought Max was inside the mansion when Rebecca was performing CPR though?

I believe the thought is that he fell from the 2nd floor hallway/balcony above the grand staircase foyer down to the base of the staircase.

 

[SunnieRN]

So given what we know:

MS found not breathing an w/o pulse after fall in home from balcony in grand staircase.

Statements made on the day of the fall: fall, in coma, hasn't woken up, no brain activity, don't know if he'll live.

What does this tell you based on your professional experience?

Alright then, I am tired having worked 14 hours last night. When I read balcony, my mind fixated on the Juliette balcony. Doh!?

If he fell of the balcony on the staircase, what did he hit and how did he fall? The only thing that makes sense in an injury severe enough to cause cessation of respirations and pulse, is a severe, open head trauma or a fractured neck, high up in the C Spine area. So, what did he hit? How did he land? This does sound like a truly tragic accident. One of those thing that defies logic.

 

[arielilane]

With spinal injuries, we are trained not to move the patient until the neck and head are stable. A non professional would not know that. This would in no way make Rebecca responsible for any additional damage, and if she was already giving CPR, that means that Max was not breathing and had no pulse at the time she approached him. She may be the one responsible for keeping Max alive. It sounds as if she took the correct actions based upon her level of knowledge.

In this case, the rescuer had to take a chance on keeping the person alive, vs possibly causing additional injury. Usually 911 stays on the phone while someone is performing CPR, in case there are any issues or concerns. They would have instructed her not to move Max. I wonder if the 911 caller in panic hung up the phone?

This brings me back to earlier posts I made tonight. This doesn't seem like a carpeted stair injury, but the post about falling from a balcony certainly can fit. I thought Max was inside the mansion when Rebecca was performing CPR though?

http://www.wittyprofiles.com/q/3262032

Yes, I have always believed this post was credible from the time a poster first posted it awhile back. It makes more sense that Max fell from a balcony than carpeted stairs. :twocents:

 

[Quester]

Alright then, I am tired having worked 14 hours last night. When I read balcony, my mind fixated on the Juliette balcony. Doh!?

If he fell of the balcony on the staircase, what did he hit and how did he fall? The only thing that makes sense in an injury severe enough to cause cessation of respirations and pulse, is a severe, open head trauma or a fractured neck, high up in the C Spine area. So, what did he hit? How did he land? This does sound like a truly tragic accident. One of those thing that defies logic.

A few early reports stated that the chandelier was somehow involved with a report saying he fell onto the chandelier and another saying it fell on top of him.

 

[babette_gladney]

Hi all,

I'm new to Websleuths.com. I live in San Diego, know Coronado well, know Rady's Children's Hospital (was there just two days ago), and have closely followed the recent events at the Spreckels mansion.

The commentary here is so thoughtful and insightful. So many articulate writers!

I thought I'd share a few impressions. My apologies in advance if I blunder in any way (and please let me know if I do).

There is just one reason why I think RN killed herself, why her demeanor changed since her last phone conversation with her sister. My sense is that following the phone call, JS called or texted RN to say that she was no longer welcome in his home. If he did so, his manner was probably not too kind (to put it mildly).

I believe that the bizarre, humiliating and public nature of the suicide (if that is indeed what it is) stemmed from anger at JS.

I do not think it was necessarily the regret (and devastation) she likely felt regarding MS.

By the way, DS's Coronado house is gorgeous. In some ways I think it's far nicer than the Spreckels mansion.

While at Rady's the other day I could not help thinking of DS, JS and of course poor MS. The hospital itself is not very large. I went by the ICU (outpatient radiology is nearby) and felt, once again, such sadness for the child and his parents. As a parent whose children are being cared for by a stepparent part of the time, I find this case particularly poignant.

 

[SunnieRN]

A few early reports stated that the chandelier was somehow involved with a report saying he fell onto the chandelier and another saying it fell on top of him.

I thought this was ruled out, since the chandelier was not removed from the house during the investigation? Unfortunately, it could truly be an accident, where Max unfortunately landed head first, falling from the balcony to the floor, landing on his head, fracturing his neck. A freak accident. But... how did he fall?

 

[Quester]

Alright then, I am tired having worked 14 hours last night. When I read balcony, my mind fixated on the Juliette balcony. Doh!?

If he fell of the balcony on the staircase, what did he hit and how did he fall? The only thing that makes sense in an injury severe enough to cause cessation of respirations and pulse, is a severe, open head trauma or a fractured neck, high up in the C Spine area. So, what did he hit? How did he land? This does sound like a truly tragic accident. One of those thing that defies logic.

So if it was a high C Spine fracture does this mean certain paralysis from the neck down?

 

[arielilane]

Welcome, babette gladney!

 

[jjenny]

So if it was a high C Spine fracture does this mean certain paralysis from the neck down?

If the spinal cord was damaged.

 

[SunnieRN]

Hi all,

I'm new to Websleuths.com. I live in San Diego, know Coronado well, know Rady's Children's Hospital (was there just two days ago), and have closely followed the recent events at the Spreckels mansion.

The commentary here is so thoughtful and insightful. So many articulate writers!

I thought I'd share a few impressions. My apologies in advance if I blunder in any way (and please let me know if I do).

There is just one reason why I think RN killed herself, why her demeanor changed since her last phone conversation with her sister. My sense is that following the phone call, JS called or texted RN to say that she was no longer welcome in his home. If he did so, his manner was probably not too kind (to put it mildly).

I believe that the bizarre, humiliating and public nature of the suicide (if that is indeed what it is) stemmed from anger at JS.

I do not think it was necessarily the regret (and devastation) she likely felt regarding MS.

By the way, DS's Coronado house is gorgeous. In some ways I think it's far nicer than the Spreckels mansion.

While at Rady's the other day I could not help thinking of DS, JS and of course poor MS. The hospital itself is not very large. I went by the ICU (outpatient radiology is nearby) and felt, once again, such sadness for the child and his parents. As a parent whose children are being cared for by a stepparent part of the time, I find this case particularly poignant.

Welcome to Websleuths!!:seeya:

The only thing that causes me to disagree with you well spoken post, is that Rebecca had family and friends. She wasn't isolated or without places or people to turn to.

I would think if she got a text or phone call, that she would have been very upset, but I have a feeling she was close enough to her sister, that she would have called her.

She had been through a breakup before and was 32, I can't see her sinking into a depression deep enough to commit suicide in a matter of hours.

This is of course IMO, and based on what I have read only.

Thanks again for posting and welcome!! I'll look forward to reading more of your posts!!

 

[4Jacy]

Could you all trust me? We will never know the truth.