Rebecca Zahau Wrongful death trial begins. Trial coverage and discussion #4

[Imp]

The cameraman can't take any more?

:lol:

 

[Imp]

Ok, my trial watcher gave me the update!

Here we go...

After lunch Mr Greer introduced the life like mannequin. It was wearing a long dark wig, and a long sleeved T-shirt dress.

The jury were shown again the hog tie, how the rope exactly matches the distance between hand and foot, and th position of her body on the grass...and it was very impactful.

But then, Mr Greer HUNG the mannequin, as was described by AS, but using the actual lengths of the rope.

There were many objections, and arguments - however, Mr Greer demonstrated the the height of the body from the ground and the length of the rope were accurate to the forensic and police measurements.

My trial watcher said everyone’s jaw hit the floor when they saw her hanging...as it was so very obvious she could be cut down by standing next to her body. The table story looked like...a complete fabrication....

I will post more....shortly just want you to get the basics..

Just my opinion....


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O
M
G!!!!

That's why the Webb <modsnip> was so shook! He had to follow the hanging mannequin!

Booyah Mr. Greer!!

 

[Tortoise]

To add to his fiction and enhance the story?

Maybe. I don't know how it does though. I'm wondering if he put it there because she wasn't hanging straight, to make it look like she'd landed with her feet on it? But then chickened out of that in case they measured the rope length and she wouldn't have hung if the rope wasn't taut? I do think he panicked about having left her tied up overnight, from his questions to the detectives.

 

[Imp]

Actually, the Zahau family was not given evidence to prove DS was not involved until they received the videos from LE to prove her whereabouts, once they received the evidence they have been begging for years for, they did the honest thing and dropped her from the lawsuit. It proves that they aren't on a witch hunt to blame innocent people, they want the truth, and to prosecute the person who was involved. MOO

Very well said, Brit.

 

[Brit]

Webb gave the specific dates they were given the security video and when they dropped Dina from the lawsuit over a year later.

The lawsuit, formally amended in March, now alleges that Adam Shacknai alone beat Zahau unconscious, stripped off her clothes, bound her hands and feet, gagged her and hanged her from the balcony.

Greer said it was a long process to obtain evidence from the Sheriff’s Department and to depose key figures in the case. He got the Rady Children’s Hospital security video on 27 disks in September.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-zehau-lawsuit-20170420-story.html

according to this, it was not a year, more like 6 months.

 

[Imp]

Why did Adam bring the 3-legged table over at all?

Just another prop, imo.

 

[BRRI]

It isn't the Defense's job to convince the jury it was suicide or murder because that isn't part of the lawsuit. The jury will have clear instructions to focus only on the evidence they heard through testimony or from exhibits and determine whether AS has liability for RZ's death.

That&#8217;s true but they still would address it in some way. They can&#8217;t sit there and deny every shred of evidence without some counter to it. At this point though, who else could even be a remote possibility other than AS? A hitman? The defense&#8217;s job is to poke holes in the theories and evidence presented. To me, the best way to do that is to give the jurors a secondary thought of who else could correspond with the evidence presented. The defense doesn&#8217;t have to prove murder or suicide, but still need to counter with substance that plants doubt.

 

[Imp]

That&#8217;s true but they still would address it in some way. They can&#8217;t sit there and deny every shred of evidence without some counter to it. At this point though, who else could even be a remote possibility other than AS? A hitman? The defense&#8217;s job is to poke holes in the theories and evidence presented. To me, the best way to do that is to give the jurors a secondary thought of who else could correspond with the evidence presented. The defense doesn&#8217;t have to prove murder or suicide, but still need to counter with substance that plants doubt.

The SODDI theory - some other dude did it. No other dudes around for the defense to finger, however.

 

[Seattle1]

I can only go by Webb's closing and he said they were given the proof more than a year before they dropped Dina from the lawsuit.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/lo...knai-in-Death-of-Rebecca-Zahau-419896223.html

NBC 7 Investigates obtained video from Attorney Keith Greer, who got it from the San Diego County Sheriff&#8217;s Department after several years of trying he says. It shows Dina Shacknai was inside Rady Children's Hospital when Zahau died.

Attorney Greer says the video changed his mind about the death of Rebecca Zahau.

A Timeline of the Deaths at Spreckels Mansion
"Previously we had an eye witness who was adamant putting Dina at the scene of the murder,&#8221; Greer said.

Greer said it took him years to get the security camera footage from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which investigated Zahau's death, and called it a suicide.

San Diego Sheriff Gore stated in his News Conference that his Dept did not have the Hospital Video, and used DS phone "pings" to confirm her location. When Sheriff finally received video is unkown. The fact is that this Video was not available to Plaintiff for extended period of time.

 

[prpladi]

I saw the defense screw up today. Mr Greer was amazing. Justice for Rebecca

 

[Lezah]

Part two...I’ve managed to have a good catch up with my courtroom friend.

She explained that everyone was totally on the edge of their seat in the courtroom when the mannequin was being used.

What she described was a ‘dawning of realization’ regarding how the body was allegedly hanging, and that the story AS gave ‘just didn’t fit’ with the facts as they were there for all to see.

The feedback from fellow trial watchers in the gallery was very interesting too. Two fellow watchers had said previously that they believed RZ was murdered, but they could not reconcile that it was AS, but after the demonstration of the dummy hanging they said they had changed their opinion.

“ ...he was obviously lying about the table, cutting her down, it’s obviously not true when you see the model hanging there...but why would he say all that, why would he lie... if he was innocent...?” was one of the comments made apparently.

I personally recall the police forensics officer testifying about the rope lengths and Greer going over them in cross examination... it was complicated testimony, I posted here that I was worried it was lost on the jury, but when it was done, I knew, he had shown the rope was just too long.

And we all know, nothing tells a story like a picture

Perhaps this gives a better understanding of Mr Webb’s demeanor, appearing agitated, loud, I think a few posters mentioned...but imagine having to follow THAT!

And so the jury go home, and ponder all that they have seen, ready for closing tomorrow.

update on proceedings is that Mr Webb finishes his closing in the morning, then Mr Greer presents his final closing argument, and the jury should get to take leave to decide and deliberate after lunch.

All just my opinion....and my opinion and interpretation of my friends feedback who was at the trial.


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[BRRI]

Maybe. I don't know how it does though. I'm wondering if he put it there because she wasn't hanging straight, to make it look like she'd landed with her feet on it? But then chickened out of that in case they measured the rope length and she wouldn't have hung if the rope wasn't taught? I do think he panicked about having left her tied up overnight, from his questions to the detectives.

I guess we don&#8217;t know when the table was brought over (in reality, not his account)? Maybe he adjusted her body after hanging her, realized he then had to account for the table being there (footprints, marks in the ground from the table legs) so he left it there and said he used it to cut her down?

 

[Mica]

The lawsuit, formally amended in March, now alleges that Adam Shacknai alone beat Zahau unconscious, stripped off her clothes, bound her hands and feet, gagged her and hanged her from the balcony.

Greer said it was a long process to obtain evidence from the Sheriff&#8217;s Department and to depose key figures in the case. He got the Rady Children&#8217;s Hospital security video on 27 disks in September.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-zehau-lawsuit-20170420-story.html

according to this, it was not a year, more like 6 months.

Thank you for confirming the timeframe with this article. Yes, six months and not a year. Defense sure was stretching the facts.

 

[Tortoise]

Thank you so much Lezah. We wouldn't know the half of it without you, with the media reporting to go by.

 

[MyBelle]

The lawsuit, formally amended in March, now alleges that Adam Shacknai alone beat Zahau unconscious, stripped off her clothes, bound her hands and feet, gagged her and hanged her from the balcony.

Greer said it was a long process to obtain evidence from the Sheriff’s Department and to depose key figures in the case. He got the Rady Children’s Hospital security video on 27 disks in September.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-zehau-lawsuit-20170420-story.html

according to this, it was not a year, more like 6 months.

I'm going by what Webb said in court today. He gave specific dates. Pretty unconscionable to do that to Dina whether it was a year or six months. JMO

 

[MyBelle]

That’s true but they still would address it in some way. They can’t sit there and deny every shred of evidence without some counter to it. At this point though, who else could even be a remote possibility other than AS? A hitman? The defense’s job is to poke holes in the theories and evidence presented. To me, the best way to do that is to give the jurors a secondary thought of who else could correspond with the evidence presented. The defense doesn’t have to prove murder or suicide, but still need to counter with substance that plants doubt.

The burden is on the Plaintiff to place AS at the scene of the crime. That's it. So far, there has been no evidence produced that places AS in that bedroom. This isn't a murder trial, it is a wrongful death trial.

 

[Brit]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-zahau-closing-trial-20180402-story.html

this article describes greer's demonstration in court today

 

[Tortoise]

Ah, according to that article he dabbed paint on her buttocks, which explains how it got on her hands but not the rope. I never knew about the paint on her buttocks.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-zahau-closing-trial-20180402-story.html

this article describes greer's demonstration in court today

That story is remarkably sparse on details of the demonstration.

 

[Brit]

I remember when from the very day of Rebecca's body being found and being plastered all over the media, I read so much on this site of posters pointing out about this table possibly being used and how it looked broken and didn't make sense......then when the LE declared this a suicide and provided the evidence of why they thought this, so many people posted here saying "No way, the table just doesn't make sense". In all these years this table has been mentioned more times than almost anything else......over and over again everyone would go back to the broken table. All I can say is good job fellow sleuthers!