Wrongful Death Suit filed Nov. 13, 2013 in California, #2

[MyBelle]

No it doesn't. Settling by one of the POIs just means they want to disassociate and distance themselves from other plaintiffs because they believe and/or have info that the other POIs murdered Rebecca.

I'm certain that push comes to shove, Jonah will be more than willing to give all the dirt he has on Dina and her stalking/violent/hateful behaviors towards Rebecca. Jonah will save his brother Adam.

Jonah has NO LOVE for Dina. She best get that fact into her thick head. He's not going to "rescue" Dina just because she wants and fantasizes that he will. No Dina. He is NOT going to save you. He would have saved Rebecca but for the fact that he was sitting vigil by his son Max's side while you went about in your uncontrollable narcissistic rage against Rebecca.

BBM. I respectfully disagree. I hope the Plaintiffs' attorney hasn't let them engage in futile wishful thinking. Only a fool would settle a wrongful death lawsuit that makes the criminal accusation of murder and also conspiracy. It makes no financial sense to claim "I'm totally innocent of the crimes but hey, here's $1 million, please go away." All of the defendants will force the plaintiffs to prove they both conspired and killed RZ.

Jonah isn't going to throw the mother of his dead son under the bus. He'll throw RZ under the bus. This lawsuit has absolutely nothing to do with the current relationship between Jonah and Dina.

It was Jonah who obtained the cease and desist order against the Zahau's attorney. Jonah may not have any love for Dina but I'm betting he has no love for the woman who was supposed to be supervising his son and failed to do so. I doubt he appreciates her family making accusations of murder against his brother. By now, he might despise these people for putting his brother and him through this civil ordeal. Parents often hold hatred in their hearts a long time for the person responsible for the death of their child. Forgiveness can be easier said than done.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

O

I said that if the "true reason" the Zahaus filed was NOT to make money, but to "find out what happened to Rebecca", they should have made the case for $1, so they didn't look like they were just out for money, which they do now, IMO.

Adam would not settle for $1. He did nothing except try to SAVE Rebecca Zahau.

iirc, one of the reasons for the high amount of damages was because the lawsuit claimed the family was dependent upon RZ financially. I found that interesting because at the time of her death, RZ was unemployed.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

IIRC, there was a soft/editorial piece done that indicated Jonah was at the gym. And also IIFC, it was done by a writer who had formerly done promotional material for Medicis, Jonah's company. I don't recall, however, that any legitimate reporter or SDSO official gave any information on where Jonah was at the time.

I don't want to get too far off track as to what this thread is about - which is the wrongful death suit either.

A search warrant also places Jonah at the gym at the time of Max's fall. This would have been confirmed by police before using the information to obtain the search warrant.

"Jonah (Shacknai) was at the gym when he received a call from Rebecca telling him about Maxfield's accident. He immediately went home then followed the ambulance transporting Maxfield to the hospital."

"(Jonah) said on July 11, 2011, he was at the hospital with son, Maxfield. He went to his residence in Coronado later that evening to shower and pack a change of clothes. He returned to the Ronald McDonald House, across the street from Rady's Children's Hospital, at about 0155 hours, but they were at full capacity so he got a hotel at the Homestead Inn for the night. He returned to the hospital on July 12, 2011, around 0530-0600. His ex-wife, Dina Shacknai, was at the hospital when he arrived. Dina left and went to her residence in Coronado to gets some sleep."

"Dina returned to the hospital on July 12, 2011, at about 1800 hours. Rebecca and Adam came to the hospital to pick up Jonah and his friend, Howard. They left the hospital, dropped off Howard at the airport then went to eat some dinner. Jonah returned to the hospital around 2000 hours and Dina was still there. Rebecca and Adam returned to the residence in Coronado. (Jonah) left the hospital around 0100 hours and went to Ronald McDonald House. Dina stayed at the hospital. (Jonah) returned to the hospital on July 13, 2011 at about 0700 hours and Dina was still there"

"(Jonah) received a text message from his brother, Adam Shacknai, on July 13, 2011, at about 0648 hours, advising Rebecca had hung herself."

"On July 13, 2011… detectives… facilitated a polygraph examination of Adam Shacknai with Polygrapher Paul Redden. Redden said based on the analysis of the polygraph charts he couldn't draw a conclusion, but felt Adam was being truthful during the examination."

http://www.760kfmb.com/story/15505829/some-shacknai-search-warrants-to-be-unsealed?clienttype=mobile

 

[K_Z]

iirc, one of the reasons for the high amount of damages was because the lawsuit claimed the family was dependent upon RZ financially. I found that interesting because at the time of her death, RZ was unemployed.
JMO

BBM. People often have many different sources of income, other than traditional employment, so you have no idea what Rebecca's financial support to her family may have been. Dina Shacknai, for example, has also been unemployed in the "traditional" sense, since approximately the time of her divorce, and yet lives a fairly extravagant lifestyle from the substantial awards she received in her divorce. Nina Romano has no obvious source of employment, yet lives a comfortable life. Adam Shacknai is a tugboat operator, and with that income, has retained extraordinarily expensive attorneys. Nina, Dina, and Adam also appear to be benefitting from "other sources of income", besides employment, KWIM?

If the case is dismissed, as you think it may be, there is no way the Zahaus will be "ordered" to pay the defendants legal costs. Each will go their own way, and pay their own bills, as they are most likely doing now.

Because there is "no way" that the highly paid attorneys for the defendants in THIS case would defer their bills for years, waiting for the not-wealthy plaintiffs to lose and be ordered to pay them money they don't have. That's just laughable. That's a good way to lose lots and lots of income, if you're an attorney!

These defendants aren't charity cases, and have sought out very high priced private attorneys to defend them (well, Nina's are more moderately priced). High priced private attorneys won't take on a civil case like this one, for defendants, stretching over years and hundreds of billable hours, not knowing if they will ever be paid! A plaintiff's attorney might roll the dice on that one, but in this case, I even doubt that. Each side has to pay their ongoing bills, or their attorneys will drop them. The attorneys might set up a payment plan, but they won't defer billing indefinitely on a case that goes on for years.

 

[K_Z]

Terrible people do kill themselves rather than go to prison for the rest of their life.

And some terrible people choose to brutally kill other people. Especially terrible people who are angry, or seeking revenge.

One unreturned phone call from a law enforcement officer following a serious accident is definitely not "going to prison for the rest of their life." That's always been hysterical hyperbole. The only one who has ever publically accused Rebecca of murder is Dina. She likes to give interviews, and make accusations, and has done this freely for several years. The other 2 defendants have pretty much disappeared and kept silent, as have the plaintiffs. But Dina just keeps popping up over and over. She has a lot to say, and apparently isn't done saying it.

I hope she will keep talking, personally. She keeps digging herself into an ever deeper and deeper hole, IMO.

 

[screecher]

BBM. I respectfully disagree. I hope the Plaintiffs' attorney hasn't let them engage in futile wishful thinking. Only a fool would settle a wrongful death lawsuit that makes the criminal accusation of murder and also conspiracy. It makes no financial sense to claim "I'm totally innocent of the crimes but hey, here's $1 million, please go away." All of the defendants will force the plaintiffs to prove they both conspired and killed RZ.

Jonah isn't going to throw the mother of his dead son under the bus. He'll throw RZ under the bus. This lawsuit has absolutely nothing to do with the current relationship between Jonah and Dina.

It was Jonah who obtained the cease and desist order against the Zahau's attorney. Jonah may not have any love for Dina but I'm betting he has no love for the woman who was supposed to be supervising his son and failed to do so. I doubt he appreciates her family making accusations of murder against his brother. By now, he might despise these people for putting his brother and him through this civil ordeal. Parents often hold hatred in their hearts a long time for the person responsible for the death of their child. Forgiveness can be easier said than done.

JMO

BBM

First bold: I'd be willing to wager the "please go away" part is ALL Jonah wants. For a couple of reasons.

Second bold: Dina has tormented both Jonah and Rebecca. And continues to torment Jonah with her civil suit against him. Do you honestly think/feel he wouldn't toss her on those trolley tracks if given that option? I have no doubt he wants no part of her. And hasn't since Maxie was a wee one. Nor does he want his living children to be anywhere near her. Dina is being very, very foolish, even reckless with her continuing her attack on Jonah. She should know better than to screw with him.

Third bold: Jeez MyBelle, how might you characterize the lawsuit she has filed against him??? How might the lawsuit affect their current relationship? Do you actually want us to believe they actually have a cordial relationship?

Fourth bold: I'm pretty sure Jonah abhors Dina for murdering Rebecca. Another reason to toss Dina on those tracks.

 

[Inparadise]

Hello LuLu, hope you are enjoying this lovely sunshiny day! In a post preceding this latest^ you mentioned the guesthouse concrete walls are 12" thick. Well, actually you stated 12' thick, anyways how do you know this to be fact? TIA

LuLu forgot to mention that the windows in the guest house at Spreckels are single pane, which doesn't insulate from noise.

 

[kittychi]

MYBELLE, I thought about it..."why wouldn't Nina admit she went to the house if she really went to the house?" and of course, it could have been an "innocent jaunt, late at night" OR, "she said it in order to cover up for her sister." Nina never says that the bicycle rider DIDN'T SEE A WOMAN PACING IN FRONT OF THE MANSION, instead she only states that the bicycler confused her for her twin. If that is the case, then Nina is not correct about the time she walked to the mansion (or she made two trips and neglected to relay that info?) because her timeline and that of the bicycle rider do not match. (off by 40 minutes) The sighting "of the woman in a white and black striped top" do not match the outfit Nina said she was wearing, nor does a large black purse look like a pink Coach w-r-i-s-t-l-e-t and a woman with long black hair does not look like a woman with shoulder length blonde hair. Nor do I believe a person "so intent on asking questions and disturbed by her nephew's condition"....would just walk "right back home and go to bed." It just seems that so much effort was put into getting to the mansion, and then (paraphrasing by me) "Oh well, I think I'll just go back home and go to bed." It sounds like a major "disconnect" or "distancing" of the events. Who says, I looked through the gate, "but didn't touch it?" Doesn't that seem like an odd statement for her to make? It is actually an odd statement for anyone to make...kind of like, I rang the doorbell, but I didn't touch the door....irrelevant additions to
unverifiable events. Irrelevant admissions always sounds like someone wanting to distract the listener away from the facts. Anyway, thank you for your insight, good night, kiddo. IQuestion a lot!

BBM: Thank you IQ, for your insight. I always assumed that Dina was telling the truth in that interview about being at the mansion that night.

However, if she was lying to protect her sister, one reason she would say 'I looked through the gate, "but didn't touch it?"' would be to point out that there would be no way to verify that she was actually there.

Totally agree with you about the major "disconnect." Perhaps it really is the truth, that she was not there, even though she admitted she was. It seems impossible for her to reconcile her previous statements with the timeline and sighting of Dina by the bicycle family.

 

[kittychi]

No it doesn't. Settling by one of the POIs just means they want to disassociate and distance themselves from other plaintiffs because they believe and/or have info that the other POIs murdered Rebecca.

I'm certain that push comes to shove, Jonah will be more than willing to give all the dirt he has on Dina and her stalking/violent/hateful behaviors towards Rebecca. Jonah will save his brother Adam.

Jonah has NO LOVE for Dina. She best get that fact into her thick head. He's not going to "rescue" Dina just because she wants and fantasizes that he will. No Dina. He is NOT going to save you. He would have saved Rebecca but for the fact that he was sitting vigil by his son Max's side while you went about in your uncontrollable narcissistic rage against Rebecca.

Lot of fodder there, Bourne, to throw into theories about "She saved him, can you save her?"

 

[IQuestion]

Nina put herself at the mansion but I don't recall that she said she went right back home and went to bed. But even if she did say it, there are probably witnesses and phone calls to confirm where she was. I doubt she turned off her phone or failed to keep in touch with Dina about Max's condition as well as with other family members.

She may have been asked by LE to describe in detail what she did, how long she was there and if she heard or touched anything. As far as some witness on a bicycle, witnesses are notorious for mis-identification or inserting themselves in high profile cases just to get attention. While he might think he saw Dina, I find that suspicious because at the time he saw the person, she was a stranger and he only recalled his memory after the media had published her photo. I also doubt he saw her face because the person would not have been looking at him, she would have been focused on the house.

I think it will come down to either Max's medical records notes or phone records confirm Dina's alibi.

JMO

BBM "I walked back to my sister's house, got ready for bed and went to sleep." "I walked back to my sister's house, got ready for bed and went to sleep."
http://www.cbs8.com/story/15982091/exclusive-max-shacknais-aunt-talks-about-coronado-mansion-deaths
"MISS"-IDENTIFICATION.... the witness was pretty darned detailed about the female seen in front of the mansion! Doesn't sound as if the witness was under duress or watching something speeding by....witness actually slowed down and waited for family to catch up (as I recall from earlier readings). Do you at least trust that the witness would know the difference between long hair and short hair? Black hair and blonde hair? Black and white stripes from a solid gray top? A male from a female? Hey, the witness can't be ALL BLIND (although I feel as if that could also be pushed by those who want me to believe the witness's vision is really, really bad.) because {he} said there was a female, and NINA has stepped up to say she was the female the witness saw. (So that can't be denied now, can it?) What if a photo of POI in a striped black and white top shows up...maybe even in the hospital video....and not being shown to the public? If the Sher'f only speaks of "pings from a cell phone" instead of video proof....I have to ask myself what type of shirt was the POI wearing in the hospital video?

 

[Morag]

He returned to the hospital on July 12, 2011, around 0530-0600. His ex-wife, Dina Shacknai, was at the hospital when he arrived. Dina left and went to her residence in Coronado to gets some sleep."

"Dina returned to the hospital on July 12, 2011, at about 1800 hours..."

I always forget that fewer than 24 hours after Max's accident, she left his bedside for 12 hours. What did she have to do that was more important than staying beside the deathbed of her only child? Most of us would just sleep for a few brief hours, maybe in a chair at the hospital.

 

[MyBelle]

BBM. People often have many different sources of income, other than traditional employment, so you have no idea what Rebecca's financial support to her family may have been. Dina Shacknai, for example, has also been unemployed in the "traditional" sense, since approximately the time of her divorce, and yet lives a fairly extravagant lifestyle from the substantial awards she received in her divorce. Nina Romano has no obvious source of employment, yet lives a comfortable life. Adam Shacknai is a tugboat operator, and with that income, has retained extraordinarily expensive attorneys. Nina, Dina, and Adam also appear to be benefitting from "other sources of income", besides employment, KWIM?

If the case is dismissed, as you think it may be, there is no way the Zahaus will be "ordered" to pay the defendants legal costs. Each will go their own way, and pay their own bills, as they are most likely doing now.

Because there is "no way" that the highly paid attorneys for the defendants in THIS case would defer their bills for years, waiting for the not-wealthy plaintiffs to lose and be ordered to pay them money they don't have. That's just laughable. That's a good way to lose lots and lots of income, if you're an attorney!

These defendants aren't charity cases, and have sought out very high priced private attorneys to defend them (well, Nina's are more moderately priced). High priced private attorneys won't take on a civil case like this one, for defendants, stretching over years and hundreds of billable hours, not knowing if they will ever be paid! A plaintiff's attorney might roll the dice on that one, but in this case, I even doubt that. Each side has to pay their ongoing bills, or their attorneys will drop them. The attorneys might set up a payment plan, but they won't defer billing indefinitely on a case that goes on for years.

What other source of income did RZ have? She was employed as a technician prior to her unemployment wasn't she? That ended months prior to her suicide.

The attorneys are being paid for their time. I figure JS is picking up the tab for AS. The way it usually works is that the attorneys ask the Judge to order payment of attorneys fees and the Judge decides. It's done all the time in civil cases, especially ones that seem incredibly frivolous from the outset as this one does.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

BBM

First bold: I'd be willing to wager the "please go away" part is ALL Jonah wants. For a couple of reasons.

Second bold: Dina has tormented both Jonah and Rebecca. And continues to torment Jonah with her civil suit against him. Do you honestly think/feel he wouldn't toss her on those trolley tracks if given that option? I have no doubt he wants no part of her. And hasn't since Maxie was a wee one. Nor does he want his living children to be anywhere near her. Dina is being very, very foolish, even reckless with her continuing her attack on Jonah. She should know better than to screw with him.

Third bold: Jeez MyBelle, how might you characterize the lawsuit she has filed against him??? How might the lawsuit affect their current relationship? Do you actually want us to believe they actually have a cordial relationship?

Fourth bold: I'm pretty sure Jonah abhors Dina for murdering Rebecca. Another reason to toss Dina on those tracks.

I doubt Dina and Jonah have a cordial relationship. But I also doubt Jonah had any intention of continuing his relationship with his girlfriend after Max was so critically injured while in her care. I'm betting the father loved the child more than he loved RZ because he never got around to marrying her. The reason could be that his children couldn't stand the woman.

JMO

 

[IQuestion]

LuLu forgot to mention that the windows in the guest house at Spreckels are single pane, which doesn't insulate from noise.

Great point Inparadise. And let us not forget the photo of the balcony (3rd picture down on the left side of linked article, click on the picture to ENLARGE) and you will see that the double-hung window just left of the balcony is OPEN!!
So regardless if the walls are 12 inches thick if sounds/screams/loud music can and would be heard. The photo (evidence) was taken by the Coronado police dept before 9:20am on the morning Rebecca was found. (And before SDSO took arrived and began their {thorough?} investigation. Again, I am simply pointing out the police reported "loud music", so why isn't possible a "scream" could also have been heard? Sometimes a photo is worth a thousand words. http://www.cbs8.com/story/15466715/questions-linger-in-coronado-mansion-hanging-death

 

[MyBelle]

He returned to the hospital on July 12, 2011, around 0530-0600. His ex-wife, Dina Shacknai, was at the hospital when he arrived. Dina left and went to her residence in Coronado to gets some sleep."

"Dina returned to the hospital on July 12, 2011, at about 1800 hours..."

I always forget that fewer than 24 hours after Max's accident, she left his bedside for 12 hours. What did she have to do that was more important than staying beside the deathbed of her only child? Most of us would just sleep for a few brief hours, maybe in a chair at the hospital.

So, after 24 hours of being there a mother should still sit in a chair? Meanwhile, Jonah had no problem extracting himself and going to a hotel. He didn't go home to sleep with his lover, he went to a hotel. That act alone speaks volumes. The next night, he went to the Ronald McDonald House.

JMO

 

[Inparadise]

Great point Inparadise. And let us not forget the photo of the balcony (3rd picture down on the left side of linked article, click on the picture to ENLARGE) and you will see that the double-hung window just left of the balcony is OPEN!!
So regardless if the walls are 12 inches thick if sounds/screams/loud music can and would be heard. The photo (evidence) was taken by the Coronado police dept before 9:20am on the morning Rebecca was found. (And before SDSO took arrived and began their {thorough?} investigation. Again, I am simply pointing out the police reported "loud music", so why isn't possible a "scream" could also have been heard? Sometimes a photo is worth a thousand words. http://www.cbs8.com/story/15466715/questions-linger-in-coronado-mansion-hanging-death

The walls in the guest house are not 12 inches thick.......I have been in the place.

 

[MyBelle]

BBM "I walked back to my sister's house, got ready for bed and went to sleep." "I walked back to my sister's house, got ready for bed and went to sleep."
http://www.cbs8.com/story/15982091/exclusive-max-shacknais-aunt-talks-about-coronado-mansion-deaths
"MISS"-IDENTIFICATION.... the witness was pretty darned detailed about the female seen in front of the mansion! Doesn't sound as if the witness was under duress or watching something speeding by....witness actually slowed down and waited for family to catch up (as I recall from earlier readings). Do you at least trust that the witness would know the difference between long hair and short hair? Black hair and blonde hair? Black and white stripes from a solid gray top? A male from a female? Hey, the witness can't be ALL BLIND (although I feel as if that could also be pushed by those who want me to believe the witness's vision is really, really bad.) because {he} said there was a female, and NINA has stepped up to say she was the female the witness saw. (So that can't be denied now, can it?) What if a photo of POI in a striped black and white top shows up...maybe even in the hospital video....and not being shown to the public? If the Sher'f only speaks of "pings from a cell phone" instead of video proof....I have to ask myself what type of shirt was the POI wearing in the hospital video?

And the police were pretty darn detailed in the times they listed in the search warrant. At the time the witness claims to have seen Dina, both she and Jonah were at the Hospital.

The search warrant quoted up thread has both Dina and Jonah at the Hospital between 10 PM and 1 AM. The witness did not see Dina in Coronado at 10:20. Impossible.

Jonah returned to the hospital around 2000 hours and Dina was still there. Rebecca and Adam returned to the residence in Coronado. (Jonah) left the hospital around 0100 hours and went to Ronald McDonald House. Dina stayed at the hospital.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

And some terrible people choose to brutally kill other people. Especially terrible people who are angry, or seeking revenge.

One unreturned phone call from a law enforcement officer following a serious accident is definitely not "going to prison for the rest of their life." That's always been hysterical hyperbole. The only one who has ever publically accused Rebecca of murder is Dina. She likes to give interviews, and make accusations, and has done this freely for several years. The other 2 defendants have pretty much disappeared and kept silent, as have the plaintiffs. But Dina just keeps popping up over and over. She has a lot to say, and apparently isn't done saying it.

I hope she will keep talking, personally. She keeps digging herself into an ever deeper and deeper hole, IMO.

Apparently Dina has chosen the path that both Sharon Rocha and Beth Holloway followed. They sincerely believed they knew the killer of their child and spoke out about it. And both women had many, many critics on message forums that they totally ignored. I admire their courage.

JMO

 

[IQuestion]

The walls in the guest house are not 12 inches thick.......I have been in the place.

Inparadise...I am not disagreeing with you about the guest house. I was just stating that no matter what, another window might also have been left open. After all, keeping a window closed "upstairs/downstairs" doesn't really provide any security, if the back door is left unlocked.
I was just pointing out that the window next to the balcony (on left side i- looking towards the balcony) was open when Coronado PD took photos. The photos were taken before SDSO arrived. Nobody seems to mention the open window! Maybe the person or persons who
attacked Rebecca, did not know the window was open because of the closed curtains?

 

[IQuestion]

Apparently Dina has chosen the path that both Sharon Rocha and Beth Holloway followed. They sincerely believed they knew the killer of their child and spoke out about it. And both women had many, many critics on message forums that they totally ignored. I admire their courage.

JMO

Yes, Mybelle...they are women to be admired. And both of the women you cited (Mrs. Rocha and Mrs. Holloway) had the support of their spouses, both current and former. I sincerely hope and wish Dina had the support of her former spouse. It also appears she has not gotten the answers she has requested from LE or why her requests to re-open the case has fallen on deaf ears. As a Mom, I understand her quest for answers. The Zahau's have also asked for the case to be re-opened....I understand their quest for answers as well.