What One Thing?!?!

[jjenny]

..if that's the case, why would JS have not had it fixed, or replaced? it doesn't make sense to me to keep a broken table, and the broken off leg, around for months.

...

And why would a millionaire keep a table with a broken leg, especially with children around? I mean, this guy certainly could afford another table.

 

[arielilane]

During the 911 call, Adam Shacknai can be heard hyperventilating while apparently moving a wooden table into a position underneath the naked, bound and gagged body of Rebecca Zahau.
At one point, it sounds as if one of the wooden legs of the table breaks off and falls to the ground, while Adam scrambles to cut down Zahau's corpse.


http://www.cbs8.com/story/16150816/911-call-released-in-hanging-death-at-coronados-spreckels-mansion

 

[dovebar]

We assume that's what he was doing because he reported it that way. There were no witnesses that we know of.

Pretty dramatic, as others have pointed out.

He could simply has supported her weight and worked the rope away from her neck until the police arrived. I find it weird that someone would leave her hanging there, go inside and find a knife, get a table whose leg breaks, claim to stand on the table anyway, and claim to cut her down. If true, she must have been very dead, because it seems to me the first thing you'd do is call 911 and then try to support her weight, take the gag out, try to see if she could be revived until someone came to HELP YOU cut her down.

 

[Bonepile]

If the neighbor "kids" can be up on their roof and taking photos of Rebecca lying on the ground why did none of the "neighbors" hear any of the commotion when this tragedy was being reported or see anything if they happened to hear something and look out their windows?

And if those "neighbor kids" really exist what happened to those photos anyway, or their comments about what they saw?

 

[Mrs. Holmes]

What if AS's lawyer had access to the 911 call and heard the leg fall off. AS might not have known it was heard on the 911 call until the lawyer told him. Remember he said he was going to call back and maybe he didn't realize it had been recorded... or realized he would have to now explain because the leg fell off it "changed" the story he was planning to tell police?

AS could have just used the table to try and put RZ's legs on to support her... but what gets me is the rope and t-shirt around her neck once she was down that would be the first thing I would remove.. and he never did... doing compressions with all that around her neck and untying the hands but not her neck...

Something is not right... I just can't quite put my finger on it at the moment.

 

[Mrs. Holmes]

It is like once the phone call AS took action but the action did not quite happen as planned.. so what is happening that is recorded is of course what he is doing..will be interesting to hear the missing 8 seconds.

There is this sense when you listen he can't believe the crap he is in the middle of... the f###king kid ..... RZ is a girl.... in his next set of statements he says "lady" and "the boy" but in the heat of the moment he seems so angry at first... and he NEVER says their names or even says Shacknai home... in fact I am surprised the first person on the phone does not ask for the last name of the owner of the home as that certainly would help in finding the address... LE does have access to phone listings even for unlisted numbers. With the last name it could narrow it down when someone doesn't know.

His reactions fit my theory that he helped in the cover up for his brother JS and he is angry that he is left dealing with RZ's body and the police.

 

[dovebar]

What if AS's lawyer had access to the 911 call and heard the leg fall off. AS might not have known it was heard on the 911 call until the lawyer told him. Remember he said he was going to call back and maybe he didn't realize it had been recorded... or realized he would have to now explain because the leg fell off it "changed" the story he was planning to tell police?

AS could have just used the table to try and put RZ's legs on to support her... but what gets me is the rope and t-shirt around her neck once she was down that would be the first thing I would remove.. and he never did... doing compressions with all that around her neck and untying the hands but not her neck...

Something is not right... I just can't quite put my finger on it at the moment.

If someone is asphyxiating, seems to me the first thing you do is support their weight and pull the gag out.

 

[jjenny]

If someone is asphyxiating, seems to me the first thing you do is support their weight and pull the gag out.

She wasn't asphyxiating. She was dead and has been dead for hours. There is a very short window of opportunity to save a hanging victim-minutes, not hours.

 

[Yoda]

It is like once the phone call AS took action but the action did not quite happen as planned.. so what is happening that is recorded is of course what he is doing..will be interesting to hear the missing 8 seconds.

There is this sense when you listen he can't believe the crap he is in the middle of... the f###king kid ..... RZ is a girl.... in his next set of statements he says "lady" and "the boy" but in the heat of the moment he seems so angry at first... and he NEVER says their names or even says Shacknai home... in fact I am surprised the first person on the phone does not ask for the last name of the owner of the home as that certainly would help in finding the address... LE does have access to phone listings even for unlisted numbers. With the last name it could narrow it down when someone doesn't know.

His reactions fit my theory that he helped in the cover up for his brother JS and he is angry that he is left dealing with RZ's body and the police.

I agree. He seems annoyed and angry. But what if he is because he wasn't involved and has just realized he has been set up by his brother. Maybe not set up as in framed for murder, but set up as in there to discover the body and give distance from the scene to his brother/exsil. I mean, he is the poor(er) relation that wasn't very involved with his brother and JS family. And why did he fly to CA? They didn't know how bad ms was at the time. So maybe he comes out that morning, sees her, and thinks wt*?! And as he calling 911 and attempting to get her down he starts to realize that his brother prob did this and gets mad. That could also be why he isn't using any names; he is disgusted w/ his brother, and he isn't looking at RZ and MS as people but as part of JS. I hope I explained that right- I mean he wasn't insulting them, but his anger and disgust for JS putting him in the situation totally clouded any feeling for the victims- they became objects in his brothers plan. Didn't AS leave pretty quickly? If he did that could support being angry w/ his brother. I would say JMO just my opinion, but I am not sure if this is what I believe happened. How about APS another possible scenario? Unless someone can help me with a more appropriate acronym.

 

[MyBelle]

It is like once the phone call AS took action but the action did not quite happen as planned.. so what is happening that is recorded is of course what he is doing..will be interesting to hear the missing 8 seconds.

There is this sense when you listen he can't believe the crap he is in the middle of... the f###king kid ..... RZ is a girl.... in his next set of statements he says "lady" and "the boy" but in the heat of the moment he seems so angry at first... and he NEVER says their names or even says Shacknai home... in fact I am surprised the first person on the phone does not ask for the last name of the owner of the home as that certainly would help in finding the address... LE does have access to phone listings even for unlisted numbers. With the last name it could narrow it down when someone doesn't know.

His reactions fit my theory that he helped in the cover up for his brother JS and he is angry that he is left dealing with RZ's body and the police.

His reactions fit my theory that he was upset at Rebecca's actions, upset that he was the one who found her, upset that his nephew was also going to die. Accusing the man of covering up a murder that hasn't been ruled a murder is a bit of an unfair leap.

JMO

 

[cynic]

She wasn't asphyxiating. She was dead and has been dead for hours. There is a very short window of opportunity to save a hanging victim-minutes, not hours.

In researching one of my other posts I came across a story of survival after 15 minutes, but most were less than 10 minutes. This has more to do with "conventional" hanging, not long drop hangings where the forces generated (should) cause tremendous injury that put resuscitation out of reach

 

[jjenny]

In researching one of my other posts I came across a story of survival after 15 minutes, but most were less than 10 minutes. This has more to do with "conventional" hanging, not long drop hangings where the forces generated (should) cause tremendous injury that put resuscitation out of reach

Yes, in a long drop scenario she would have passed out very quickly, and died soon thereafter. Of course her injuries are to the front of her neck, and none to the back, which are also consistent with strangulation and then being hanged.
Of course they do have footprints on the balcony to support the idea that she was on that balcony. But they can't really say those are her footprints, the only thing the can say is that those footprints are consistent with her size (and I don't think they actually even verified that). Only one thing is clear-this is one bizarre case.

 

[arielilane]

His reactions fit my theory that he helped in the cover up for his brother JS and he is angry that he is left dealing with RZ's body and the police.

Respectfully snipped for space.

My sentiments, as well.

 

[dovebar]

In researching one of my other posts I came across a story of survival after 15 minutes, but most were less than 10 minutes. This has more to do with "conventional" hanging, not long drop hangings where the forces generated (should) cause tremendous injury that put resuscitation out of reach

Yes, and my point was, unless he was there, AS had no real way of knowing how long she'd been hanging or how "dead" she was. I was talking about natural reaction, which I would imagine to be - particularly if you were already holding your phone and she wasn't far off the ground - support her weight, pull the gag out, and dial 911.

 

[Candy_Pickletoes]

This has to be the most absolutely bizarre case I've heard in a very long time. And I do believe it is a case of homicide, not suicide. If RZ had committed suicide the way it is trying to be described, by leaning over the railing and falling over to hang herself, her neck would have been broken, there is no question in my mind about that. I keep going over it in my head, she's falling head first and the noose snaps her back to the upright position, whose neck wouldn't break under that kind of condition?

I don't believe she ever even hung from that rope. JMHO

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the police/medical examiner be in such a rush to rule this a suicide? If this is discussed elsewhere, would someone be so kind as to direct me to the conversation?

Thanks!

 

[time]

I think I've changed my mind as the "One Thing" for me now is that so much pertinent evidence was hidden from public view. That's the thing, the audacity of a public servant to manipulate and twist an investigation case into something it is not.

Candy asked

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the police/medical examiner be in such a rush to rule this a suicide? If this is discussed elsewhere, would someone be so kind as to direct me to the conversation?

I think they quickly determined the forensic evidence to convict someone of murder was not strong and obvious, that arresting and convicting the most likely suspect(s) was going to use a lot of resources and become a media spectacle, and that if they failed lawsuits would ensue. There were probably conversations with the DA who said this was going to be problematic. I have found the DA's office gets involved much more quickly in high profile cases like this and no one wants another long drawn out trial where the accused is a multi-millionaire or his ex./brother/ex's sister or whatever... there would be money and publicity.

Once they 'rule out' murder or won't/can't definitely claim it is murder they are left with two choices, this is a suicide or an undetermined death. In this case, there are only those three options. The last option, undetermined death, leaves the case open and a murderer on the loose. That's not a good thing in a rich, tourist area where the crime rate is low. That also would leave fingers pointing at Shacknais and Dina or some crazed, possible serial killer on the loose. And, it would obligate law enforcement to keep looking. Plus, they already look bad for not obtaining pertinent evidence while claiming it is a motive for suicide (huh?).

My theory is that BG put pressure on the ME to term it a suicide, since it's obvious the evidence is not there to actually claim medically it was a suicide (no broken neck basically) and there are unexplained injuries (although they gave unscientific explanation for the head injuries trying to claim they happened during the suicide). The ME seems fairly respectable and knowledgeable otherwise although young and probably wanting to climb the ladder.

Another motivation is that police departments want to portray ever higher high conviction rates. Many show abnormally high, unrealistic conviction rates, but the public is satisfied. A case that goes to trial and no one is convicted effects those rates and, hence, public's perception of their effectiveness. There is a fear factor involved, fear of killers being out on the loose. Plus, this case would have spilled over into another state, Arizona.

Makes it really laughable that during the first press conference they claimed hard science/facts told them this was a suicide for a couple of reasons - so much of it is not good science at all and every investigation looks at more than a few chosen facts to put forward for explanations - victimology, forensic psychology, MO of a perp, and so on. The later foci were almost totally excluded except for the attempt to throw a couple of things in there as to motive for a suicide. But if they were going to do that, then why wouldn't they have included Dina hatred for Rebecca and the suspicions floating around in Dina's family and with the Doctor? Because it made it look more like a murder than motive for a suicide.

No, SDSO did not want to get into the weirdness of the *advertiser censored*, bindings, Nina questioning and visiting the house that night, sightings of Dina, no alibis for many, Adam's weird 911 call, past mutual violent domestic abuse and stalking between Dina and Jonah, the death of a little boy that was misdiagnosed until autopsy and on and on.


Just my opinion of course!

 

[Candy_Pickletoes]

I think I've changed my mind as the "One Thing" for me now is that so much pertinent evidence was hidden from public view. That's the thing, the audacity of a public servant to manipulate and twist an investigation case into something it is not.

I think they quickly determined the forensic evidence to convict someone of murder was not strong and obvious, that arresting and convicting the most likely suspect(s) was going to use a lot of resources and become a media spectacle, and that if they failed lawsuits would ensue. There were probably conversations with the DA who said this was going to be problematic. I have found the DA's office gets involved much more quickly in high profile cases like this and no one wants another long drawn out trial where the accused is a multi-millionaire or his ex./brother/ex's sister or whatever... there would be money and publicity.

Once they 'rule out' murder or won't/can't definitely claim it is murder they are left with two choices, this is a suicide or an undetermined death. In this case, there are only those three options. The last option, undetermined death, leaves the case open and a murderer on the loose. That's not a good thing in a rich, tourist area where the crime rate is low. That also would leave fingers pointing at Shacknais and Dina or some crazed, possible serial killer on the loose. And, it would obligate law enforcement to keep looking. Plus, they already look bad for not obtaining pertinent evidence while claiming it is a motive for suicide (huh?).

My theory is that BG put pressure on the ME to term it a suicide, since it's obvious the evidence is not there to actually claim medically it was a suicide (no broken neck basically) and there are unexplained injuries (although they gave unscientific explanation for the head injuries trying to claim they happened during the suicide). The ME seems fairly respectable and knowledgeable otherwise although young and probably wanting to climb the ladder.

Another motivation is that police departments want to portray ever higher high conviction rates. Many show abnormally high, unrealistic conviction rates, but the public is satisfied. A case that goes to trial and no one is convicted effects those rates and, hence, public's perception of their effectiveness. There is a fear factor involved, fear of killers being out on the loose. Plus, this case would have spilled over into another state, Arizona.

Makes it really laughable that during the first press conference they claimed hard science/facts told them this was a suicide for a couple of reasons - so much of it is not good science at all and every investigation looks at more than a few chosen facts to put forward for explanations - victimology, forensic psychology, MO of a perp, and so on. The later foci were almost totally excluded except for the attempt to throw a couple of things in there as to motive for a suicide. But if they were going to do that, then why wouldn't they have included Dina hatred for Rebecca and the suspicions floating around in Dina's family and with the Doctor? Because it made it look more like a murder than motive for a suicide.

No, SDSO did not want to get into the weirdness of the *advertiser censored*, bindings, Nina questioning and visiting the house that night, sightings of Dina, no alibis for many, Adam's weird 911 call, past mutual violent domestic abuse and stalking between Dina and Jonah, the death of a little boy that was misdiagnosed until autopsy and on and on.


Just my opinion of course!

Thanks! Now your description has led me to a few more questions, stemming mostly from being so incredibly confused by all of the facts in this case that I've obviously missed a lot....

1) Why would this crime spill over to Arizona?
2) I didn't realize there were differing causes of death with regards to the little boy. What was the original cause and what was the cause after autopsy? I looked at the autopsy reports but quite honestly they might as well be written in a foreign language, I don't understand much of it.
3) So, basically, the decision to rule this a suicide over undetermined is a political one. Why am I not surprised?

Thanks again!

 

[time]

Thanks! Now your description has led me to a few more questions, stemming mostly from being so incredibly confused by all of the facts in this case that I've obviously missed a lot....

1) Why would this crime spill over to Arizona?
2) I didn't realize there were differing causes of death with regards to the little boy. What was the original cause and what was the cause after autopsy? I looked at the autopsy reports but quite honestly they might as well be written in a foreign language, I don't understand much of it.
3) So, basically, the decision to rule this a suicide over undetermined is a political one. Why am I not surprised?

Thanks again!

1) Since Rebecca and Jonah's main house, practice, work, etc. are in Arizona ... they would need to investigate there and just media attention, not that any court proceedings go on there. They could have had to cooperate with their local law enforcement or even the FBI if something criminal came up in two states though. How would they know since they didn't thoroughly investigate? If they had to make an arrest, the suspect would most probably be in another state.

2) We didn't know till later that the doctor initially determined Max had been suffocated - it was later, at autopsy, they realized the true cause of death. No one really knows (?) if Rebecca was ever told about the suspicions though. It was also due to be filed with Child Protective Services IIRC

3) At the very least, I think they chose the easy route to close the case and figured it would be over, the records would never be seen, they'd get the family to accept the suicide ruling - wipe your hands and go on

 

[dovebar]

Arizona is also the site of the Southwest foundation that Shacknai is an officer from.

Someone used a "Southwest" email account to access computers in the house and search for anime *advertiser censored*, IIRC.

 

[zara]

Hi everyone! I'm a first time poster after poring through the message boards here and at The Hinky Meter. I am not sure what first caught my attention to Rebecca's case but I remember googling her name and came to a wikipedia article that had the details of her being bound and hanged. As sick as it made me, i read up more on the articles online and found myself so engrossed in all the theories surrounding her death. It's SO bizarre and seems very shady to me. There are SO many websites/articles/expert testimonials/documents etc out there on this case-that it is overwhelming at times, but so apparent that many, many people feel there is something wrong here...I just wish that everything comes to light and RZ's family is able to get answers and RZ is able to rest in peace.

Anyway, this particular thread is so interesting to me because it's glaringly obvious that there isn't just ONE thing...in addition to the many other findings regarding unexplained subgaleal hemorrages, forensic mistakes/neglect, and of course the suspicious actions of those who were close to RZ (in both proximity and relationship)...I have several questions and there are several things that stand out to me that make me question her death being a suicide.

1) As mentioned before, her hair being inside the rope. I have long hair as well, and agree that it is instinctive to pull my hair out from under a scarf, hood, necklace, my teacher ID lanyard, etc. It is physically uncomfortable NOT to do so. I fully believe RZ would have done the same, had she committed suicide.

2) If RZ had committed suicide, why would she need a glove(s)? I know that there is a black latex glove mentioned in the list of items from the search warrant. She apparently didn't use it to paint with since she had black paint on her hands/body. Also, I looked up "black latex gloves" and some are medical, some are "adult" related, and some are from boating supply sites like this or this. I find it very suspicious that there was only one glove there and there has been no mention of where it came from or if it was tested for dna/fingerprints/foreign material (rope strands,tape residue,paint).

3. There was mention of Rebecca feeling guilt over her lack of supervision during Max's fall/death being the cause for her suicide. While I know I would be consumed with guilt if something were to happen to my children, (actually I already feel that way even if they get a little bump or scratch as it is!) I think people need to realize that Max was a typically developing (meaning he didn't have special needs that required extra supervision), healthy 6 year old boy. I have two 6 year olds (boy/girl twins) and while my home is nothing near as big as theirs was, I am not constantly following them around! In general, if I go downstairs to cook/clean/work for an extended period of time, I will turn on the tv downstairs or have them bring a high interest toy/game to keep them nearby, however, there have been and will be many times when one or both of them choose to return upstairs (their playroom is upstairs). The same goes for being upstairs. If i hear a crash-boom, I run up to see what happened, and usually it's nothing-but sometimes, they fall, fight, drop things etc. I don't beat myself up over these incidents, but that being said, we have never had a life threatening or God forbid fatal incident. Still, I know that if I need to shower, use the bathroom, take an important phone call, they may be unsupervised for that duration, but at 6 years old, with my home being "kid proofed" as much as possible, I feel comfortable with that. I have to remember too, that accidents can happen anytime. For example, my son rolled off the bed once last summer and I ran up to check on the thud I heard to find him with a pretty bad nosebleed! Poor guy had fallen onto his face and hurt his nose. I FREAKED out (hubby was traveling for work) and it was late enough in the evening that I wasn't sure who to call. Anyway, he ended up being fine,but my point is that accidents do happen. I wish they didn't and hope and pray that we are live our lives without having to deal with a fatal accident ever!

4. The lack of public response from Jonah Shacknai. He did release a statement about the losses and when asking the AG to review/reopen the case, however, if I was in that position and found out my girlfriend was found hanged with the details we all know of, why didn't he come out and say SOMETHING? ANYTHING? I would be fighting to find her killer! I had NO idea that people committed suicide with bindings to prevent helping themselves. I had only heard about it AFTER reading about this case and that it is apparently not unheard of, but to the average person, if you hear of a loved one committing suicide with bound feet and hands, it would warrant SOME sort of reaction...some state of disbelief or denial that she could have done it herself. Maybe JS is a very private person-after all he didn't make any statements about the loss of his son either (other than the one I mentioned earlier) but in my mind, he had a reason for being silent other than grief.

5. There were 2 knives at the scene-why would RZ need 2? One would be sufficient to
cut the rope-and stranger yet, why not just use scissors? Weren't there a pair of utility scissors in that big ole mansion somewhere? Kitchen shears? The rope wasn't very thick-and while it was probably very strong, as a woman, my first instinct tells me to use scissors rather than a knife, let alone 2.

6. IF there was a phone call/message about poor Max taking a turn for the worse (although it appears that his condition was grave from the beginning), and THAT call prompted RZ to end her life, wouldn't there be an apology note? A call back to verify his condition? Begging/pleading JS for forgiveness (I am NOT saying she did anything wrong, but, if she was of that mindset (as has been suggested), it would make sense that there was some sort of interaction/reaction from RZ before her elaborate plan took shape).

7. The theory that RZ intentionally hurt Max has also bothered me as a reason for her suicide OR murder. It was proven that Max was NOT suffocated, drugged, or physically rendered unconscious with his autopsy, right? So, if we assume that she pushed him over the balcony or grabbed and threw him over, there would be NO way to know with 100% certainty that he would die from his injuries. In fact, aren't some of the "she murdered Max" theorists claiming that the fall should NOT have produced fatal results? What if she did that and he not only survived, but suffered broken bones, but no loss of consciousness or head/brain injuries. He would tell the police, emt, his father, mother EVERYONE, that RZ tried to hurt him! Also, physically speaking, she was a tiny woman and he was an average-healthy boy. Wouldn't he have fought back? Wouldn't RZ have scratch marks or bruises from Max putting up a fight? I know that my husband and kids have bruises/scratches sometimes from their horseplay-let alone if they were being threatened.

8. (Apologies in advance if this is too personal to discuss) RZ was apparently menstruating. Even IF she had planned to commit suicide after showering, wouldn't she have used some feminine products? I find it very difficult to believe that RZ would have overlooked that detail. She did seem very fit and a bit vain (not a criticism, just an observation). She had implants, tattooed eyeliner and eyebrows, none of those are "everyday" enhancements to me (but then again, I'm in a cozy suburb of Chicago-not in BH or SD, yoga pants and ponytails are high maintenance for some of us here ). Why would she choose to humiliate herself in this manner? I could see this being more believable if she was properly dressed, fully made up, and had downed a bottle of pills. That way, when found, she would be as beautiful in death as was in life...

9. The other crime scene objects that don't seem to have a purpose or look "out of place" to me. The white garbage bag with smears or fingerprints. Why was that needed?

10. The lack of tears. This is purely speculation, however, if I were so distraught that I was ready to take my own life, I know I would be crying! Crying as I tied the ropes, crying as I painted the message, crying as I wrapped a shirt around my mouth as a gag, crying as I hopped to the balcony, and crying as I jumped/leaned over. Was there mention of dried tears or mucous on her face or hands as she wiped them away while cutting the ropes or on any of the materials used? If not, doesn't it seem odd that she carried this out void of any emotion and in a manner that suggests she had ONE focus and went for it without ANY hesitation, regret, doubt? Don't first time suicide attempts usually include some sign of hesitation? I know i have heard of "hesitation marks" when people have slit their wrists or of people being found in a crawling position toward the garage door opener when committing suicide in the garage with a running vehicle. I know there have been suggestions of people binding themselves because they are afraid of trying to fight the hanging, but how would she know to do that unless she researched or experienced it before? And why her feet?

11. The Shacknai mansion was sold and cleared out relatively soon after the deaths. I know it was a "summer home" but, again, if my loved one was found in that manner, I would definitely want to preserve everything in case another inquiry was going to be made. I totally understand not wanting to go back to live there-but getting rid of all the evidence (does anyone know what happened to the furniture?)

12. While I really dislike Dr. Phil-I do find Cyril Wecht to be a very reputable, unbiased, and knowledgeable forensic pathologist and coroner. His findings and professional opinion that RZ's death was more likely to be a homicide than a suicide.

13. The fact that when I mention some of the details of her death to someone who had not heard of it prior has a similar reaction to my won after first reading about it such as a variation of "It doesn't make sense" or "There is definitely a coverup." In other words, it defies common sense and logic. Yes, it IS possible that RZ could have done this to herself, but it seems highly improbable that she did this without help, hesitation, research, or obvious motive.

I feel so sick reading the details on Max and Rebecca's deaths and I feel depressed after thinking about them but I just feel so drawn to this case-it's hard to explain for me. THe only other time I recall being very interested in a murder/death case was the Laci Peterson disappearance/murder case but I was in San Francisco when the story first broke and I know there was a lot of local coverage. Plus, Laci was around my age, and my husband and I were trying to get pregnant around that time so I somehow felt a connection to her.
Rebecca's life story is so different than my own and I have never been in SD. In fact, I stumbled upon her story accidentally after being referred to the Hinky Meter site from one of my mommy message boards that was discussing the disappearance of baby Lisa Irwin. I just feel like a very bad thing has gone down and for whatever reason(s) (police ineptitude/coverup by a wealthy & influential family/ avoiding bad press in a tourist town during our difficult economic times/errors from lack of experience with the investigation/the lack of respect for RZ because she was a minority or had a "bad" reputation (gold digger) or that she was presumed to be responsible for Max's death...in any case, it just doesn't sit right with me for this be wrapped up as a suicide and attempted to be swept under the rug.

I have so many questions too about the case and the testing that was done on the items obtained from the search warrant. I can only imagine just how distraught RZ's family must be...

I just hope that there is some definitive evidence one way or the other, although I am more inclined to believe this was murder.