CA - Rebecca Nalepa - suicide or murder? #8

[MyBelle]

If the police withheld information, I don't believe that is an untruth as you put it. Maybe I'm not understanding what you are saying. Are you suggesting that the investigation into Max's death is perhaps not an accident and that Rebecca should be charged after her death with murdering him? It was ruled an accident - what else could it be reopened to be?

There is no evidence whatsoever that police withheld information. They clearly stated who was in the house.

Re-opening the investigation would be to get at the truth. Isn't that what justice is supposed to be about?

 

[MyBelle]

I do not think she is implying it was a murder at all. I think she is referring to the 'new 'alleged info that the Z family atorney is throwing out there. It appears as if this attorney is trying to point the blame for the accident towards the older teen half siblings of Max's, who MAY have been there while he MAY have been trying to 'plank' before he fell and died. That would take the blame away from RN and her 13 yr old relative if it were true.

Bingo.

None of the LE reports from the very beginning mentioned anyone but the 13-year old who LE have identified as a relative of RN.

 

[Quester]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe that LE has officially closed either of these two cases.

TIA for any corrections.

 

[justice be served]

There is no evidence whatsoever that police withheld information. They clearly stated who was in the house.

Re-opening the investigation would be to get at the truth. Isn't that what justice is supposed to be about?

As I stated earlier in another post, if LE had not withheld such key information in their presser then it seems that the public would have much more confidence in their 90 minute long dog and pony show. Yes, it doesn't make sense that they would withhold information about who was there nor does it make sense that they didn't put out other information either - though questions were not pointedly asked about the gag, etc.

We most certainly agree on getting to the truth.

 

[jjenny]

And police have no reason to lie about it. Now that the attorney has inserted herself into providing her own version of facts, JS and DS should ask LE to reopen the investigation into their son's death. This "planking" theory might be news to them imo.

Well if LE refuses to re-open the suicide case then clearly they aren't going to re-open the accident case.
Or do you think if JS asks LE is going to jump?

 

[jjenny]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe that LE has officially closed either of these two cases.

TIA for any corrections.

Both cases are closed as far as I can tell. RN's family wanted LE to keep the suicide case opened, and continue to investigate, but LE did not.

 

[Quester]

Bingo.

None of the LE reports from the very beginning mentioned anyone but the 13-year old who LE have identified as a relative of RN.

So was GS staying at DS' house?

 

[katydid23]

Well if LE refuses to re-open the suicide case then clearly they aren't going to re-open the accident case.
Or do you think if JS asks LE is going to jump?

I do not think JS would ever ask to reopen Max's case because the so called 'new info' appears to implicate his older kids in the accident. Suddenly they were in the home and Max was planking. Sounds to me like the Z family attorney is trying to put it all off on his older kids now. RN and her sister were both in the bathroom,apparently. So who knew about the attempt at planking? And where did those kids disappear to so suddenly? I doubt that JS wants to open that can of worms.

 

[jjenny]

So was GS staying at DS' house?

GS is from the first marriage, so I can't imagine she'd be staying in DS' house.

 

[Quester]

Both cases are closed as far as I can tell. RN's family wanted LE to keep the suicide case opened, and continue to investigate, but LE did not.

I thought LE said something ambiguous like these cases will be considered closed but not that they were officially closed. It was unclear to me what was technically meant by their statement.

Sorry, I don't have the exact phrasing/wording.

 

[justice be served]

I do not think JS would ever ask to reopen Max's case because the so called 'new info' appears to implicate his older kids in the accident. Suddenly they were in the home and Max was planking. Sounds to me like the Z family attorney is trying to put it all off on his older kids now.

Well if the older sister was involved, then the message's second part could mean "her". Rebecca saved either Jonah or Max, but can Jonah save his child if she was a part of the little boy's accident. I don't even like stating that as even if there was planking involved, it's still just a very tragic accident and I, too, would protect my child. I guess, by default, I'm also saying that it maybe could have been Rebecca that wrote the message.

 

[scorekeeper]

I read somewhere (can't find it now) that RN did some painting and didn't sign her signature in 'block letters'......I'm not sure how that ties into the 'message' on the door.

But if you were writing on the door, would you take the time to do block lettering? I know I wouldn't. I may print, but not in block lettering. To me, block lettering in 'manly'.

The blue shirt - the arms were wrapped three times around her neck and then double knotted - and put over the rope. This tells me it was an after-thought. She would have had to wrap and gag herself before she put her hands behind her back and after she had the rope around her neck. Was it her shirt?

For those of you that have knowledge about suicides, is it usual for so many things to be done before the actual act is complete?

So many things happened...

somehow made aware of missed call and voicemail
listened to voicemail (did she try to call the person back???)
go get rope out of garage
go to kitchen and get 2 knives - why 2 - either one looked like they would cut the rope
cut 3 pieces of rope - 1 for hanging - 1 for hands - 1 for ankles
get black tube of paint
get 2 paintbrushes
block print message
tie ankles
tie hands
get blue shirt - wrap 3 times around neck and double knot
gag self

I was so hopeful that LE was going to be so much more informative. They all appeared very nervous and/or arrogant. They were not well prepared. I guess I expected so much more........

 

[jjenny]

I think it's very obvious that all of these things combined make this an extremely unusual case. I don't think there is anything "usual" about this.

 

[Quester]

GS is from the first marriage, so I can't imagine she'd be staying in DS' house.

Exactly my point!

 

[curiousjo]

Detailed report on suicide findings: http://www.examiner.com/news-analys...rt-on-suicide-findings-death-of-rebecca-zahau

Zahau family reject suicide finding:http://www.examiner.com/news-analys...icide-finding-coronado-death-of-rebecca-zahau

Zahau family attorney interview: http://www.examiner.com/news-analys...ahau-family-attorney-debunks-suicide-findings

 

[katydid23]

I read somewhere (can't find it now) that RN did some painting and didn't sign her signature in 'block letters'......I'm not sure how that ties into the 'message' on the door.

But if you were writing on the door, would you take the time to do block lettering? I know I wouldn't. I may print, but not in block lettering. To me, block lettering in 'manly'.

The blue shirt - the arms were wrapped three times around her neck and then double knotted - and put over the rope. This tells me it was an after-thought. She would have had to wrap and gag herself before she put her hands behind her back and after she had the rope around her neck. Was it her shirt?

For those of you that have knowledge about suicides, is it usual for so many things to be done before the actual act is complete?

So many things happened...

somehow made aware of missed call and voicemail
listened to voicemail (did she try to call the person back???)
go get rope out of garage
go to kitchen and get 2 knives - why 2 - either one looked like they would cut the rope
cut 3 pieces of rope - 1 for hanging - 1 for hands - 1 for ankles
get black tube of paint
get 2 paintbrushes
block print message
tie ankles
tie hands
get blue shirt - wrap 3 times around neck and double knot
gag self

I was so hopeful that LE was going to be so much more informative. They all appeared very nervous and/or arrogant. They were not well prepared. I guess I expected so much more........

From the little that I gleaned when I worked on the hotline, YES, many times there were lots of rituals and odd details carried out before the person did the actual deed. It is common for them to want certain things just so, and to spend some time orchestrating things. I think the mind is battling with itself a little as well. " Ok, as soon as I write this note, I will shoot myself" You know what I mean? It is a process.

Sometimes a person might have a sudden impulse to drive off a cliff or to play russian roulette, and they die suddenly. But often they send long emails, send packages of treasured items to family, even going to the post office first.

I think in this case, if it was a suicide, she was conflicted. I think she was angry at JS and acting out qad wanting him to find an ugly mess in his perfect little mansion. But she loved her family too and was perhaps trying to talk herslef out of it as well.

People on the suicide hotline sometimes told me about prior attempts they almost made, where they set things up, placing them just so, got everything ready, but carried on a conversation in their head, that tried to dissuade them.

 

[jjenny]

I don't see how someone who supposedly bound her feet, hands behind her back and gagged herself was "trying to talk herself out of it." If she killed herself, she appears to have done everything possible to succeed.

 

[MyBelle]

I do not think JS would ever ask to reopen Max's case because the so called 'new info' appears to implicate his older kids in the accident. Suddenly they were in the home and Max was planking. Sounds to me like the Z family attorney is trying to put it all off on his older kids now. RN and her sister were both in the bathroom,apparently. So who knew about the attempt at planking? And where did those kids disappear to so suddenly? I doubt that JS wants to open that can of worms.

Bremner has opened the can of worms. JS knows where his other children were at the time of Maxie's accident and so do the cops, who have publicly stated who was there. I sure wouldn't allow an attorney go to the media and claim my kids were involved in the death of their sibling if they weren't even there. That's slander and can be handled with a lawsuit.

As for the planking, that's closer to manslaughter than accidental, imo.

 

[katydid23]

I don't see how someone who supposedly bound her feet, hands behind her back and gagged herself was "trying to talk herself out of it." If she killed herself, she appears to have done everything possible to succeed.

Because it is a long process. Why didn't she just do something quickly, with no preparation? She could have gotten in her car and driven off a cliff or walked into the ocean or jumped off a cliff into the rocks.

But she did a bunch of time consuming things, IF she killed herself. And , imo, she may have been having a serious conversation w/herself during the preparations. But once she decided to do it she went for it.

I am not 100% convinced she killed herself. But the reasons that others are giving against it are not convincing enough to me, imo.

I think DS was angry enough to kill RN. If it was my kid, and my ex-husband, I might have been that angry too. But she had a solid alibi and I do not think she would have given up the last moments of her child's life/death to go and carry out this crime. And I don't think it would have been done like this.

 

[deanna82437]

I read somewhere (can't find it now) that RN did some painting and didn't sign her signature in 'block letters'......I'm not sure how that ties into the 'message' on the door.

But if you were writing on the door, would you take the time to do block lettering? I know I wouldn't. I may print, but not in block lettering. To me, block lettering in 'manly'.

Respectfully snipped for brevity.

I posted earlier about the block lettering on the message which I believe was referred to in the PC. I got my info from Dr. Drew's 9/02 program where RZ's sister, Mary was a guest. Her remarks as follows ..

PINSKY: Can you be -- your phone is fading in and out a little bit. Can you be more specific about where your concerns are?

ZAHAU: For example, the writing on the door, it said she saved him, can he save her? That does not sound like something my sister would come up with. And her right hand fingerprint was on the right side of the door. My sister is right-handed. So did she right it with the left hand if the writing is hers?

PINSKY: Did it look like her handwriting?

ZAHAU: No, it did absolutely not look like her handwriting. It was all in block. And my sister does not write in block.

PINSKY: What other concerns did you have?

ZAHAU: For example, there was blood on her. We asked if she was having her period and they said no. But then where did that blood come from? Enough to be down her leg. Was it even checked if it`s hers?

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1109/02/ddhln.01.html