CA - Rebecca Nalepa - suicide or murder? #9

[Kentjbkent]

-------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget......
-Red bath towel found in hallway, so some where in the timeline she took a shower or bath in the mansion.
- AS says he last saw her in the mansion at 8pm- not the guesthouse although a womans clothing was found there......
-RN got call from JS about MS taking turn for worse - didn't that wake AS?
-Wouldn't JS have called AS regarding MS if he couldn't reach RN - he is so controlling that I would think he would ask his brother what she was doing or want to talk to someone supportive if he was that sad....

Do we know if they actually spoke/voicemail or if a text was sent? All I have read is she "received a message".....

Or did I read that they have records that she called voicemail and retrieved message? :waitasec:

 

[Peaceful]

Ok, so let's just all jump on the forensics team and say they were incompetent. Or that the detectives were on the take. And that the sheriff was corrupt. Not finding the DNA that was left from ONE touch of the rope must mean all of that. I feel like some are carrying pitchforks here for the San Diego LE. And it makes me sad. They are people doing their jobs and we are second guessing everything and jumping to the worst conclusions about them.

I guess I need a break.

Perhaps you are not taking into account that most of us on this forum are regular crime story junkies and we watch these stories from start to finish as hobbies. We become practical experts on the dos and the donts. Familiar with most all aspects of cases. I can only speak for myself when I say a WHOLE lot more than lack of DNA on one piece of the rope certainly did not lead me to the conclusion that this beautiful woman DID NOT commit suicide. If that is all you have gotten from this forum, may I suggest you start back at the beginning of the series of the blogs on this topic. Or, take a look at the autopsy report and then watch the PC and see if they match to you. They didn't to me. Please, feel free to take a break. We will be here to welcome you back, I am sure.

 

[jjenny]

1. There were two bedrooms in the guest house. One with a suitcase (assume AS) and one with women's clothes, make-up towelettes and a glass of clear liquid.

2. Perhaps after AS retired to guest house at 8:00 pm, maybe later RZ decided to sleep in the other bedroom so as to not be alone in the big house, say maybe 12:30 am or so.

3. IIRC the autopsy stated RZ had eyebrows tatooed as well as eye makeup (blue eye shadow?)

4. From there on, I have no idea. :waitasec:

Again, that doesn't fit with his statement that he last saw her at 8 pm when he retired to the guest house. She was in the main house. If she decided to sleep in the other bedroom of the guest house his statement should have been completely different, no?

 

[elementry]

Either she was in the main house, as AS stated, or she was in the guest house. Who would have a reason to lie about that? And why? When they dropped JS at the hospital everything was ok.

One thing that struck me in the autopsy report is that Rebecca had permanent makeup. Wonder what color makeup was on the make up removal pad.

That heavy blue eyeliner or whatever it's called, that she seemed to favor? I hope that stuff wasn't permanent.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

-------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget......
-Red bath towel found in mansion hallway, so some where in the timeline she took a shower or bath. Blood also found in hallway, so maybe nicked her legs shaving or waxing or ...?
- AS says he last saw her in the mansion at 8pm- not the guesthouse although a womans clothing was found there......
-RN got call from JS about MS taking turn for worse - didn't that wake AS?
-Wouldn't JS have called AS regarding MS if he couldn't reach RN - he is so controlling that I would think he would ask his brother what she was doing or want to talk to someone supportive if he was that sad....

Side note;
-Did I hear a candle was found on ground where she jumped? So, was she bound yet carrying candle, then jumped over railing or was candle to light up courtyard so someone could see or just left there from prior event
-Was RN hair wet or dry after shower - no comment in autopsy
-Was there loud music or not? AS surely would check it out if true....

If he was that controlling and couldn't get her on the phone he would have called Adam to go to the main house and get Rebecca to call him back.

I don't think he tried to control Rebecca. He probably tried to keep her updated on Max and called her around 12:50 am but the call went to voice mail so he just left a message.

IMO

 

[Kentjbkent]

Maybe he made the bed up when he got up.

IMO

Wish I could get him to talk to my DH....:floorlaugh:

 

[ehough22]

Also, regarding Rebecca's guilt, or lack thereof- I do agree that pretty much anyone would feel guilty if a child had a fatal accident while in their care. I don't see how you could not. However, I feel like there are two things in play- one would be guilt for his death and one would be guilt for being the person in charge when he died. They are not the same to me. We still don't have a firm grasp on what happened to Max- yes, we have LE's best guess, but we don't know for sure. Perhaps she was in the bathroom and Max chose that time to go barreling towards the stairs; perhaps she was truly not responsible for a split second accident. I think it's entirely possible she could feel guilt that it happened on her watch yet not necessarily feel guilt over his death, knowing there wasn't anything she could have done. And the autopsy report says she didn't feel "excessive guilt" (or something along those lines). It didn't say she felt no guilt whatsoever, regardless of what the attorney is saying 7 weeks after the fact.

 

[doubt]

I am not really hung up on the word guilt. I'm just saying that she should have felt some, imo. That little boy was propelled over the top of the second story bannister and broke his neck in the fall. Who wouldn't feel guilty if they were the adult in charge? It surprises me that she didn't.

And talk about attacking. I see this thread as attacking the San Diego LE, calling them liars, the forensics team is incompetent, , the head sheriff corrupt, people alluding to them being paid off,bribed, tampering with evidence and covering up a murder because JS is supposed to be muckedy-muck.

I do not think it is attacking RN to question her supervision of Maxie that day. It obviously fell short. If according to her family's attorney , it was a planking accident, then I hold her responsible, since she was the adult in charge at the time.

Maybe LE has answers to explain the tape residue and the head wounds. And maybe they did not discuss every single aspect of the case publicly. It does not mean they are on the take or they are morons.

personally, i believe LE are small potatoes where this one is concerned. the people calling the shots on this crooked investigation are far more powerful.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

That heavy blue eyeliner or whatever it's called, that she seemed to favor? I hope that stuff wasn't permanent.

The ME stated it was permanent tattooing.

IMO

 

[katydid23]

I don't know what to tell you since AS story is that he last saw her at 8 pm. She was in the main house and he retired to the guest house. If he retired to the guest house and she later stopped by then his story presumably wouldn't be he last saw her at 8 pm.

It does not say she later stopped by HIS master bedroom. There are two. He had flown in that night and was probably tired and distraught. he may have gone to sleep. so if she went to the other bedroom and prepared for bed he would not have seen her. imoo

 

[Kentjbkent]

Again, that doesn't fit with his statement that he last saw her at 8 pm when he retired to the guest house. She was in the main house. If she decided to sleep in the other bedroom of the guest house his statement should have been completely different, no?

Not if he had retired to Bedroom #1 and shut the door. He wouldn't have seen her retreat to Bedroom #2.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Wish I could get him to talk to my DH....:floorlaugh:

LOL! Guess you have to get one that was trained early.

My hubby always had to make his bed up first thing when he was growing up and he still does it if he gets up after me. Makes up the bed as neat as I do too.:floorlaugh:

 

[elementry]

The autopsy report also states that Rebecca had her eye makeup tattooed on; not that she couldn't use the makeup remover for other makeup that she was wearing, but I found that interesting, especially now that we have makeup remover in the guest house.

Regarding the lack of AS's DNA on the rope- do we know for sure that he simply reached up quickly and cut her down? I don't know that we do. I'm envisioning him finding the body, running to her, possibly touching her and/or the rope in an attempt to get her down, running in for a knife, and then...what? He stands on the table- does he let her drop to the ground? Does he prop her up on himself? I can definitely see a scenario where there could be DNA and fingerprints all over her and the rope. Of course, that in and of itself wouldn't be suspicious- he cut her down. The lack thereof does give me pause.

Regarding the message, the placement of it is kind of strange to me. Disclaimer: I know we can't apply logic to suicidal people, but I am not sure how else we'd examine such a case. Presumably she knew JS wasn't coming home- she had the voicemail and was also going to bring him clothes. That leaves AS. I am unclear on the layout of the grounds but wouldn't she realize AS would find her outside? That no one would first find the door message/be able to "save her", if that were ever her intention? Who did she think would first find a message on that door who wasn't first going to find her outside? This is, of course, assuming she wrote it, which I don't believe she did. But it's almost as if it were intended for someone who would be looking for her via the main house, which wouldn't be AS given what we're told, and wouldn't be JS, at least not for quite some time. Things that make you go hmmm.

Tattooed on eye make-up? How garish, so overdone on her if it's that blue stuff. Of course, JS is in the vanity biz - that restylane can make a perfectly human face into an over-puffed caricature. JS also has been spoken of as a control freak; perhaps he insisted RN get that permanent make-up, his modified oriental quasi-geisha......

 

[jjenny]

It does not say she later stopped by HIS master bedroom. There are two. He had flown in that night and was probably tired and distraught. he may have gone to sleep. so if she went to the other bedroom and prepared for bed he would not have seen her. imoo

Really? You think she could get into the bedroom of a guest house without telling him and he had no idea? How likely is that story?

 

[Kentjbkent]

-------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget......
-Red bath towel found in mansion hallway, so some where in the timeline she took a shower or bath. Blood also found in hallway, so maybe nicked her legs shaving or waxing or ...?
- AS says he last saw her in the mansion at 8pm- not the guesthouse although a womans clothing was found there......
-RN got call from JS about MS taking turn for worse - didn't that wake AS and he would realize she was not in bed?
-Wouldn't JS have called AS regarding MS if he couldn't reach RN - he is so controlling that I would think he would ask his brother what she was doing or want to talk to someone supportive if he was that sad....

Side note;
-Did I hear a candle was found on ground where she jumped? So, was she bound yet carrying candle, then jumped over railing or was candle to light up courtyard so someone could see or just left there from prior event
-Was RN hair wet or dry after shower - no comment in autopsy
-Was there loud music or not? Was there a party or not? AS surely would check it out if true....
-IF RN retired to guesthouse later, wouldn't she have woken AS and he would have seen her there?
-Did LE check for anesthetic with short acting half life that could have been injected to temp. sedate/paralyze her. Some drugs in and out of system fast. I would hope they checked for obscure drugs.... Could you be injected with Botox or Restalyne in spine and cause paralysis? Just asking....

INteresting....first time I heard this...

So possible she was in middle of retiring for the evening, had removed clothing, makeup, when something called her attention back to mainhouse (phone, noise, etc) so she wrapped in towel to address whatever it was, and encountered a person known/unknown to her in mainhouse?

 

[HowLoveCanBe]

I don't know what to tell you since AS story is that he last saw her at 8 pm. She was in the main house and he retired to the guest house. If he retired to the guest house and she later stopped by then his story presumably wouldn't be he last saw her at 8 pm.

Unless he was asleep - this was 8PM PST - his body clock was an hour or two ahead?

 

[katydid23]

Also, regarding Rebecca's guilt, or lack thereof- I do agree that pretty much anyone would feel guilty if a child had a fatal accident while in their care. I don't see how you could not. However, I feel like there are two things in play- one would be guilt for his death and one would be guilt for being the person in charge when he died. They are not the same to me. We still don't have a firm grasp on what happened to Max- yes, we have LE's best guess, but we don't know for sure. Perhaps she was in the bathroom and Max chose that time to go barreling towards the stairs; perhaps she was truly not responsible for a split second accident. I think it's entirely possible she could feel guilt that it happened on her watch yet not necessarily feel guilt over his death, knowing there wasn't anything she could have done. And the autopsy report says she didn't feel "excessive guilt" (or something along those lines). It didn't say she felt no guilt whatsoever, regardless of what the attorney is saying 7 weeks after the fact.

If the accident happened the way LE showed in their animation then yes, it was a split second tragedy and she could not have prevented it. But the family attorney is trying to paint it as a planking accident, involving the older S siblings as well. If that is true, then she holds more responsibility, imo.

I only pointed out what the attorney Bremner was saying because I think it is innaccurate and insensitive, which describes her professionally to a Tee. imoo

 

[Kentjbkent]

Really? You think she could get into the bedroom of a guest house without telling him and he had no idea? How likely is that story?

People who live in two bedroom apartments do it all the time. I know I did when I was in college....don't think I ever disturbed my roommate when I came home late after she had already gone to bed (and it was a SMALL, starving college student apartment!!) LOL

 

[HowLoveCanBe]

INteresting....first time I heard this...

So possible she was in middle of retiring for the evening, had removed clothing, makeup, when something called her attention back to mainhouse (phone, noise, etc) so she wrapped in towel to address whatever it was, and encountered a person known/unknown to her in mainhouse?

I don't think it was confirmed that there was blood in the hallway - only a red stain in the carpet.

 

[jjenny]

People who live in two bedroom apartments do it all the time. I know I did when I was in college....don't think I ever disturbed my roommate when I came home late after she had already gone to bed (and it was a SMALL, starving college student apartment!!) LOL

She didn't live in a two bedroom apartment. She had a whole mansion to herself. What would be her reason for sneaking into a bedroom of a guest house when there was AS staying in a second bedroom (and without AS knowing?)