CA - Rebecca Zahau Nalepa - suicide or murder? #11

[deanna82437]

Didn't think I could find it, but I did:

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2011/09/10/rebecca-zahau-case-max-shacknai-autopsy-review/

CPR was reportedly started by Max’s father’s girlfriend. Upon paramedic’s arrival, CPR was continued, and cardiotonic medications were administered.

From that link and it would have been nice if they referred to her as Rebecca, not Max's father's girlfriend ..in that report.

Originally Posted by CDS22 View Post
I've been reading a lot of posts on this forum about the case, so I can't recall where I read it, but it was in one of the official reports. It stated that the emergency workers walked in on Rebecca calling out Max's name, not doing CPR on him. Yet the news media said she did CPR on him immediately while the sister called 911. So I don't know what to make of the discrepancies. Shoddy reporting by others? Misrepresentation on Rebecca's part?

My original request.

 

[cynic]

And if she hit her head on the balcony railing/wall, or whatever else they think she might have hit her head on to explain her head trauma, did they find any of the fragments from the railing/wall embedded into her hair?

Yes, and while it might explain one of the subgaleal hemorrhages it wouldn’t explain 4.

 

[CDS22]

CPR was reportedly started by Max’s father’s girlfriend. Upon paramedic’s arrival, CPR was continued, and cardiotonic medications were administered.

From that link and it would have been nice if they referred to her as Rebecca, not Max's father's girlfriend ..in that report.



My original request.

I don't know what you're requesting. The answer was in the link. Here's the specific quote:

When Officer Erhard arrived, he saw Rebecca kneeled beside Max. She was crying and yelling the child’s name. Max was ashen, unresponsive, and did not appear to be breathing.”

This proves that Rebecca wasn't doing CPR the entire time she found Max injured.

 

[sorrell skye]

The internal neck injuries in the AR could be explained by either a long drop hanging with the knot being to the right, or manual strangulation. The problem I have with the long drop hanging scenario that the police are putting forth is that there is no injury to the spine.
Also, if we are to accept that RN leaned over the railing and fell head first, where are the injuries to the front of RN’s torso as she scraped over the metal edges of the railing?
In the AR we see only one line describing RN’s torso injuries: None.

TY so much, Cynic, for taking the time to come here & give us your opinion.

I've wondered the same thing about the lack of scrapes and/or injuries to RZ's anterior torso.

I agree - if she leaned forward over the railing & somehow managed to hurl herself over, why is there no evidence of that on the front of her body? Since her hands were bound behind her back, and since the placement of footprints & toe prints on the balcony indicates that she DID go over the railing facing forward, where are the torso injuries?

Another thing - if the railing is 36" high (as LE indicated in their PC), that would put the railing several inches above RZ's hip area. I question how it is that she bent over a railing that was too high for her 5'3" frame to bend over without the aid of a stool or some other device to assist in clearing the railing.

I also find it very hard to believe that a 9'2" drop would not have resulted in a cervical spine fracture - or, at the very least, a significant displacement of those vertebrae when she was jerked by the rope. IIRC, the AR indicated the cervical vertebrae were not fractured or displaced, nor was her spinal cord injured.

 

[CocoChanel]

IMO, even talking about comparing how much Max loved RN in comparison to how much he loved his mother is a vicious thing to do. I don't care about her body language or her facial expressions or anything like that. Just the fact that she would make a statement like that after Max died violently while in the care of RN is horrendous behavior on the part of Mary Z, imo.

BBM
I respect your right to your opinion.
However, in offering a different opinion, I would replace the adjectives vicious and horrendous with insensitive and grief-driven.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Another interesting article that explains why there could only have been Rebecca's prints on the rope, paintbrush, etc.:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/03/officials-sure-bizarre-case-suicide-family-unconvi/

Thank you for the interesting article.

This part makes a lot of sense, imo.

The fingerprints

Linda Wright, the department’s senior fingerprint examiner, said the paint tube held Zahau’s fingerprints and no others. Ditto, the brush found near the painted door. And black paint had dripped onto Zahau’s hand and torso.

The painted door opened onto a bedroom with the balcony. The red nylon rope used to bind and hang Zahau was tied to the foot of a bed — and Zahau’s fingerprints were there again, once more without anyone else’s prints. Also, a knife that apparently had been used to cut the rope into three segments.

Bremner still believes someone else tied the knot: “Criminals use nylon gloves.”

Wright believes otherwise: “Gloves would have destroyed her prints.”

The rope also was tested for DNA.

Shelley Webster, a DNA specialist with the sheriff’s department, found 10 samples. All matched Zahau.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

And if she hit her head on the balcony railing/wall, or whatever else they think she might have hit her head on to explain her head trauma, did they find any of the fragments from the railing/wall embedded into her hair?

I dont think she hit it that hard to do any damage to the railing/wall. The hemmoraging under her scalp was minor so the impact wasn't that hard, imo.

IMO

 

[elementry]

Thank you for the interesting article.

This part makes a lot of sense, imo.

The fingerprints



.......Bremner still believes someone else tied the knot: “Criminals use nylon gloves.”

Wright believes otherwise: “Gloves would have destroyed her prints.”

Not if the gloved hands handled the objects prior to RZ's prints being applied in re: the paint tube, or the gloved hands on different parts of the rope......

 

[jjenny]

Police are incapable of making a mistake? For instance, the hanging death of Phyllis Ellen Tamm was ruled a suicide. But a serial killer later confessed to murdering her.

Phyllis Ellen Tamm isn't the only woman who was hanged and ruled a suicide by police. Here is another case of woman murdered by strangulation, police ruling it a suicide by hanging (and closing the case), until the perp confessed. A pretty fascinating case by the way. The perp convinced the victim to write some sort of note (and police apparently bought it hook line and sinker) and came in with gloves. So is it really out of the question that someone can wear gloves and not leave fingerprints/ DNA?

""I was like a machine with a program; I went in there and executed the program," Leach, 21, said to Fort Bend County sheriff's detectives."
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Killer-s-Passion-confession-I-was-like-a-1957898.php

 

[cynic]

TY so much, Cynic, for taking the time to come here & give us your opinion.

I've wondered the same thing about the lack of scrapes and/or injuries to RZ's anterior torso.

I agree - if she leaned forward over the railing & somehow managed to hurl herself over, why is there no evidence of that on the front of her body? Since her hands were bound behind her back, and since the placement of footprints & toe prints on the balcony indicates that she DID go over the railing facing forward, where are the torso injuries?

Another thing - if the railing is 36" high (as LE indicated in their PC), that would put the railing several inches above RZ's hip area. I question how it is that she bent over a railing that was too high for her 5'3" frame to bend over without the aid of a stool or some other device to assist in clearing the railing.

I also find it very hard to believe that a 9'2" drop would not have resulted in a cervical spine fracture - or, at the very least, a significant displacement of those vertebrae when she was jerked by the rope. IIRC, the AR indicated the cervical vertebrae were not fractured or displaced, nor was her spinal cord injured.

Thank you, and ITA with your observations.
The lack of injuries to the torso stands in stark contrast to the injuries sustained to RN’s back.
From the AR:

Back: There are many punctate, linear, and slightly irregular abrasions on the back, extending from the neck to the mid buttocks and from each side of the back to the other. They are slightly more concentrated on the right thoracic back, with other ill defined groups across the lower lumbar back at the upper buttocks and on the left scapular and lateral mid thoracic back. Some appear to be paired and separated by a distance of 3/8 – ½ inch. On the right paraspinal thoracic back, two pairs appear to be discontinuous linear abrasions measuring 3/8 and 5/8 inches in length, separated by 3/8 inches. The larger ovoid abrasions measure up to 3/16 inch in greatest dimension. The linear abrasions measure up to 3/16 inch in length. However, on the posterolateral right upper back along the right posterior axillary line there are two linear abrasions, the longest of which measures 5/16 inch.
On the lateral right thoracolumbar back there is a vertically oriented 3-1/2 x ¾ inch patterned contusion. There is a vertically oriented linear component. There appear to be three thin linear parallel components situated ¼ inch apart.

As far as I’m concerned this means that RN’s back dragged over something, whether it be the railing or something else.
How the ME does not find this to be completely inconsistent with the theory that he and police have proposed is beyond me.

 

[sorrell skye]

Linda Wright, the department’s senior fingerprint examiner, said the paint tube held Zahau’s fingerprints and no others. Ditto, the brush found near the painted door. And black paint had dripped onto Zahau’s hand and torso.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/03/officials-sure-bizarre-case-suicide-family-unconvi/

There was a brush found near the door? According to the evidence photos, both paint brushes were found at the foot of the bed.

Regarding the black tube of paint that 'held Zahau’s fingerprints and no others' - yet another piece of so-called evidence that was withheld from the PC.

According to the PC:

Fingerprints from the guest room entry door jamb, balcony door, the large knife, and the bed leg next to the rope were from Rebecca.

http://www.sdsheriff.net/coronado/rz.pdf

There is no mention in the PC power point slide show about fingerprints (Rebecca's or anyone else's) being found on the paint tube or the paint brush.

If it was mentioned in the PC, it wasn't included in the slide show. I'm going to have to watch that PC again - ugh!

 

[Morag]

And if she hit her head on the balcony railing/wall, or whatever else they think she might have hit her head on to explain her head trauma, did they find any of the fragments from the railing/wall embedded into her hair?

Rebecca had a lot of hair. Did they find any of her hair on the railing, wall, plants?

 

[deanna82437]

I don't know what you're requesting. The answer was in the link. Here's the specific quote:

This proves that Rebecca wasn't doing CPR the entire time she found Max injured.

The following is from the link you posted ..
The autopsy report, page 2, continues:

When Officer Erhard arrived, he saw Rebecca kneeled beside Max. She was crying and yelling the child’s name. Max was ashen, unresponsive, and did not appear to be breathing.” Officer Erhard summoned fire department rescue personnel. CPR was reportedly started by Max’s father’s girlfriend. Upon paramedic’s arrival, CPR was continued, and cardiotonic medications were administered.

I read it as Rebecca DID start CPR.

 

[cynic]

Phyllis Ellen Tamm isn't the only woman who was hanged and ruled a suicide by police. Here is another case of woman murdered by strangulation, police ruling it a suicide by hanging (and closing the case), until the perp confessed. A pretty fascinating case by the way. The perp convinced the victim to write some sort of note (and police apparently bought it hook line and sinker) and came in with gloves. So is it really out of the question that someone can wear gloves and not leave fingerprints/ DNA?

""I was like a machine with a program; I went in there and executed the program," Leach, 21, said to Fort Bend County sheriff's detectives."
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Killer-s-Passion-confession-I-was-like-a-1957898.php

Wilson's body was discovered Jan. 19 in her apartment near Richmond, southwest of Houston. All physical evidence pointed to suicide, Kubricht said, and the 19-year-old had gone off anti-depressant medications because she was pregnant.

The pregnancy apparently was the motive, Kubricht said, because Leach believed he was responsible and did not want to raise a child.

Leach, 21, wore gloves and left none of his own DNA behind, Kubricht said.

"He was very, very meticulous," Kubricht said. "It was very well-planned and well executed."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-03-26-passion-murder-confession_x.htm

 

[jjenny]

Wilson's body was discovered Jan. 19 in her apartment near Richmond, southwest of Houston. All physical evidence pointed to suicide, Kubricht said, and the 19-year-old had gone off anti-depressant medications because she was pregnant.

The pregnancy apparently was the motive, Kubricht said, because Leach believed he was responsible and did not want to raise a child.

Leach, 21, wore gloves and left none of his own DNA behind, Kubricht said.

"He was very, very meticulous," Kubricht said. "It was very well-planned and well executed."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-03-26-passion-murder-confession_x.htm

Clearly police totally bought the suicide and if he hasn't confessed it's still be considered suicide. And the perp was only 21 and yet managed to fool the police with no problems whatsoever. No DNA or fingerprints, a suicide note, a depressed victim-cased closed.

 

[CDS22]

The following is from the link you posted ..
The autopsy report, page 2, continues:

When Officer Erhard arrived, he saw Rebecca kneeled beside Max. She was crying and yelling the child’s name. Max was ashen, unresponsive, and did not appear to be breathing.” Officer Erhard summoned fire department rescue personnel. CPR was reportedly started by Max’s father’s girlfriend. Upon paramedic’s arrival, CPR was continued, and cardiotonic medications were administered.

I read it as Rebecca DID start CPR.

That's my point. CPR was REPORTEDLY started by Max's father's girlfriend. They only have her word for it. She wasn't doing CPR when they walked in. It wasn't witnessed.

 

[cynic]

Clearly police totally bought the suicide and if he hasn't confessed it's still be considered suicide. And the perp was only 21 and yet managed to fool the police with no problems whatsoever. No DNA or fingerprints, a suicide note, a depressed victim-cased closed.

Yes and the victim wasn’t bound, gagged or nude.
The manner of death in the RN case should have been listed as undetermined at the very least, and the investigation ongoing.

 

[sorrell skye]

I dont think she hit it that hard to do any damage to the railing/wall. The hemmoraging under her scalp was minor so the impact wasn't that hard, imo.

IMO

IMO, if her head struck the balcony railing (which has obvious signs of rust & weathering), or the supports below the balcony (again, rust & weathering), or the wall (which appears to have a stucco-like surface) during her fall, I would think that some microscopic fragments of these materials would have adhered to her hair and/or scalp.

If her head struck the foliage below, I would think there would be signs of broken foliage and also strands of her hair in the foliage.

 

[Morag]

Linda Wright, the department’s senior fingerprint examiner, said the paint tube held Zahau’s fingerprints and no others. Ditto, the brush found near the painted door. And black paint had dripped onto Zahau’s hand and torso.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/03/officials-sure-bizarre-case-suicide-family-unconvi/

There was a brush found near the door? According to the evidence photos, both paint brushes were found at the foot of the bed.

Regarding the black tube of paint that 'held Zahau’s fingerprints and no others' - yet another piece of so-called evidence that was withheld from the PC.

According to the PC:

Fingerprints from the guest room entry door jamb, balcony door, the large knife, and the bed leg next to the rope were from Rebecca.

http://www.sdsheriff.net/coronado/rz.pdf

There is no mention in the PC power point slide show about fingerprints (Rebecca's or anyone else's) being found on the paint tube or the paint brush.

If it was mentioned in the PC, it wasn't included in the slide show. I'm going to have to watch that PC again - ugh!

This house is 100 years old. There had recently been two or more houseguests. And regardless of no information, I am going to assume that there is some sort of housekeeping service, as well as other workers who might come and go. But there were seemingly no fingerprints anywhere, other than Rebecca's. Not even Jonah's? Not even the fingerprints of a curious 6 year old who might want to look into every room (particularly one with a balcony)? Surely someone had touched those doors sometime.

 

[sorrell skye]

The following is from the link you posted ..
The autopsy report, page 2, continues:

When Officer Erhard arrived, he saw Rebecca kneeled beside Max. She was crying and yelling the child’s name. Max was ashen, unresponsive, and did not appear to be breathing.” Officer Erhard summoned fire department rescue personnel. CPR was reportedly started by Max’s father’s girlfriend. Upon paramedic’s arrival, CPR was continued, and cardiotonic medications were administered.

I read it as Rebecca DID start CPR.

Hmmm...

So, according to the AR, when Officer Erhard arrived, he observed RZ kneeling beside Max (reportedly performing CPR).

"CPR was reportedly started by Max's father's girlfriend. Upon paramedic's arrival, CPR was continued..."

According to the wording in the AR, it doesn't appear that Officer Erhard administered CPR.

CPR is exhausting, and can only be sustained by one person for a brief period of time.

I wonder why it isn't reported that Officer Erhard took over administering CPR (in place of RZ doing it) until the paramedics arrived- especially since an LE officer should have the most recent training in how to perform it correctly?