What is the origin of the planking rumor?

[inthedark14]

Mary Zahau VERY CLEARLY stated on the recent Dr. Phil that Rebecca called her, and THEN called Jonah. IMO, that call is on XZ's phone - which was never checked.

Hi CG! I truly must have missed this. Could you provide a link? I've always wondered about this. Is there a clip from the show? TIA

 

[Betty P]

Because there's often confusion over the timeline of events, I'll post the most recent revised timeline here.

Zahau / Shacknai Timeline


Around May 30 (Memorial Day)
-Jonah and Rebecca relocate to the Spreckels Mansion for the summer

Approximately June 28th
– About two weeks before July 11 Jonah’s older children arrive for their scheduled two-week visit.

July 10th
– X Z Rebecca’s little sister arrives for a scheduled 2 week visit.

July 11th

Early a.m. – Max and Jonah drive Max’s two older half-siblings (Jonah’s older kids by Kimberly) to the airport for their prearranged scheduled flight to meet up with their mother in Phoenix.

Mid morning
- Jonah walks/runs to the gym for a workout.
- Dina scheduled to pick up Max from Jonah, according to Dina's recent press conference when she discussed her custody arrangement with Jonah.

about 10:00 AM - Max’s fall from the 2nd floor to the foyer happens. Rebecca was in one bathroom. XZ had gone upstairs to take a shower. Rebecca screams for XZ to call 911

10:10 AM – XZ Calls 911. Rebecca attempts CPR.
10:12 AM - Coronado PD arrive. Rebecca claims that Max whispered “Ocean” the name of the dog in the house and then became unresponsive. The documents say that first responders found Max on his back, a razor scooter resting on his right shin, a soccer ball in the foyer and Ocean sitting on the landing. A broken chandelier laid shattered near Max’s left shoulder.

10:24 AM - Rebecca calls Jonah at the gym to tell him about Max’s fall and he runs home in time to see Max being loaded into the ambulance. Jonah follows ambulance to Sharp Coronado ER

10:36 AM – Max arrives at Sharp Coronado ER. He is later transferred from Sharp Coronado ER to Rady Children’s pediatric intensive care unit.

• 
  -Police attempt to locate Dina Shacknai (Max’s mom) and eventually find her later in the afternoon
  - XZ apparently cuts herself trying to help clean up the shattered glass from the chandelier. A police officer drives XZ and Rebecca to a local urgent care to have 4 stitches in her leg.
  
  Mid- afternoon
  
  - Howard Luber Jonah’s friend from PV Arizona also arrives some time on Monday
  
  - Ted Greenberg, owner of Camp Diggity Dog, said Zahau called the Coronado kennel last Monday, shortly after the boy’s fall, to ask that someone pick up her 14 month-old Weimaraner, Ocean. She said her child was hospitalized after an injury.
  2:00 PM – Dina arrives at Rady Hospital
  Early Evening – Jonah returns home in the “early evening hours” to shower and pack some clothes for the hospital.
  – XZ spends the night with Rebecca in Coronado.
  
  July 12th
  
  1:55 AM - Jonah attempts to stay at the Ronald McDonald House but it is full. He stays at a nearby hotel instead, the Homestead Inn.
  approx 5:30-6:00 AM – Jonah returns to the hospital
  approx 8:00 AM - Dina leaves the hospital. She goes back home and spends about 12 hours resting.
  8:45 AM - Ocean is picked up and taken to the kennel. According to the kennel owner Ted Greenberg.
  Mid morning & Afternoon
  - Arrangements are made for XZ to go back home. Rebecca drives her to the airport.
  - Adam Shacknai is picked up by Rebecca at the airport. He has flown in to support his brother during this tremendously horrible time.
  
  - at some point in the afternoon Rebecca picks up Dina’s twin sister Nina from the airport. In a later interview, Nina says she "handled" Rebecca's cell phone to help her get directions from the airport to the hospital.
  - Nina's son was also with her on this trip.
  
  approx 6:00 PM - Adam and Rebecca pick up Jonah and Howard from the hospital.
  - They drop Howard off at the airport. Jonah, Rebecca and Adam then get some dinner
  
  6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
  Dina returns to the hospital ** a discrepancy in the time Dina returned to the hospital. Detectives are told by Dina 8:00 PM and Jonah tells them 6:00 PM**
  
  7:09 PM - incoming call from urgent care facility checking on XZ.
  7:34 PM - outgoing 1 min phone call to Jonah.
  7:39 PM - incoming 1 min phone call from Adam.
  8:00 PM - After dinner Jonah returns to the hospital. Dina is still there.
  - Rebecca and Adam return home to Coronado mansion.
  - Adam claims this is the last time he saw Rebecca. He went to the guest house, she went to the mansion
  8:06 PM - outgoing 27 min phone call to sister Mary
  8:33 PM - incoming 3 min phone call from Mary
  8:00 PM - text messages out to Jonah
  8:43 PM – text message in from Jonah
  9:25 PM - outgoing 1 min phone call to Mary
  9:40 PM - text message out to Mary
  9:24 PM - text message out to Mary
  9:44 PM - text message in from Mary
  9:48 PM - 2 text messages out to Mary
  9:52 PM - text message in from Mary
  9:53 PM - text message in from Mary
  9:53 PM - text message out to Mary
  
  10:41 PM - text message in from Nina asking if she can drop by to talk about “what happened” to Max. Rebecca never responds
  
  11:30 PM - anonymous “sources” claim to hear someone scream “help” from or near the mansion.
  
  July 13
  
  12:30 AM - Jonah claims he sent a voicemail message to Rebecca stating that Max’s condition was grave and his death was imminent.
  
  12:50 AM - allegedly Rebecca retrieves the voicemail message and deletes it. [there is no proof that Rebecca herself retrieved and deleted the voicemail]
  
  approx. 1:00 AM - Jonah goes to the Ronald McDonald House.
  1:00 – 3:00 AM – ME determines to be Rebecca’s time of death
  
  6:30 AM – Adam Shacknai said he awoke and made his way to the main house.
  - He saw Rebecca hanging, ran to the kitchen to find a knife, pulled a table underneath her and cut her down.
  6:48 AM - 911 is called. Adam stating he found Rebecca and was attempting CPR. He claims the t- shirt was covering Rebecca’s mouth so he removed it in order to try to perform CPR as instructed to do by the 911 dispatch (told him to take the gag out of her mouth).
  
  – Coronado Police Dept are the first to respond. Unable to locate a pulse they began CPR.
  - At this time, Jonah claims he received a text message from Adam advising Rebecca had hung herself.
  
  6:54 AM - Coronado Fire Dept arrived. Rebecca was cold to the touch and rigor mortis was present in her jaw. They pronounced Rebecca deceased. They quickly decide they do not have the resources to deal with a homicide and call in San Diego County to help.
  
  7:00 AM – Dina, who was at Max’s bedside, received a call from Jonah telling her Rebecca had killed herself. At this time Jonah returns to the hospital.
  
  8:09 AM - The ME is called.
  9:20 AM - SDSO arrives at Spreckels’s Manson
  – Jonah calls Rebecca’s sister Mary, but reaches her husband Doug instead. Jonah informs him that Rebecca has killed herself.
  – Adam Shacknai is interviewed by Detectives Lebitski and Hillen. He claims he was viewing on his Iphone just before he found Rebecca hanging from balcony.
  – Attorney Paul Pfingst shows up at the mansion, won’t say who he’s representing, but does say it’s not Jonah.
  – Later Adam is given a polygraph examination by Paul Redden. Redden says he couldn’t draw a conclusion. He recommends that Adam be given a 2nd test but was never asked by SDSO to do the follow up.
  – Special Agents Resendiz and Burtis from the DOJ interview Dina. She tells the agents she left Rady Hospital on the 12th at about 8:00 AM and returned at 8:00 PM.
  – Jonah Shacknai is interviewed by Detectives Norton and Palmer.
  7:15 PM - 13 hours after Rebecca’s body is discovered the ME finally arrives. They determine Rebecca’s death to be somewhere between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM.
  
  July 14th
  
  10:18 AM - Rebecca’s autopsy is performed at 10:18 AM.(results are sealed).
  – Shacknai’s contact LE and inform them that Max has become very bad and is most likely not going to live.
  
  July 15th
  
  Jonah Shacknai is re-interviewed by Detective Norton. He tells them he left the hospital on the 12th at about 6:00 PM and that Dina had returned to the hospital around 6:00 PM.
  
  July 16th
  
  Max Shacknai passes away brain death. Pronounced July 16th at 11:30 PM.
  – Nina returns home
  – Jonah calls Ted Greenberg, the owner of Camp Diggity Dogs. He advises that he’s sending someone to pick up the 14 month old Weimaraner Ocean. He thanks Greenberg for all that he had done.
  
  July 17th
  
  – Jonah and Dina release a joint statement that Max has passed away.
  6:00 AM – Jonah and Dina have authorized organ donation, procurement . 3 children benefit greatly from receipt of these organs.
  
  July 18th
  
  10:22 AM - Max autopsy performed (results are sealed).
  July 19th
  
  - A private memorial service is held for Max.
  
  July 21st
  
  – Jonah hires L.A. PR company Sitrick & Co.
  
  July 23rd
  
  – Rebecca is laid to rest in St. Joseph Missouri. Jonah attends the funeral.
  
  August 8th
  
  – Jonah speaks publicly for the 1st time, thanks shareholders for their support during a Medicis conference call—–says he “expects very quickly to return to the normal work schedule at the office” in a couple of weeks once his children are back in school.
  
  August 15th
  
  – LE states they power Rebecca’s cell phone on for the first time (however there are data transfers on dates prior to this date).
  
  August 24th
  
  – LE requests permission, receives and executes search warrants for cell phone records for two phones owned by Jonah Shacknai. It assumed they belong to Dina and Jonah. LE receives these records the same day.
  
  August 31st
  
  – LE conducts first and only interview with Rebecca’s sister, Mary.
  
  September 2nd
  
  – LE conducts press conference. They declare Rebecca’s death a suicide and the case closed. Max’s death is declared an accident.
  
  September 3rd
  
  – Rebecca’s family strongly disputes LE’s “iron-clad” closed case. Family hires attorney Anne Bremner who plans on putting together information to send to the AG requesting the investigation be re-opened.
  
  September 5th
  
  – Dr. Cyril Wecht, pathologist, and expert consulting with the family attorney Anne Bremner, says ‘a number of factors in the autopsy ruling do not add up’. He strongly questions the 4 subgaleal hemorrhages to the scalp, saying in his opinion they are evidence of blunt force trauma, therefore there was a struggle. He would classify the manner of death as “undetermined”.
  
  September 6th
  
  – Jonah’s attorney Dan K. Webb sends a “cease and desist” letter to Anne Bremner, to stop making false public statements that ‘have the effect of severely damaging Jonah’s personal and business reputations’.
  
  September 19th
  
  – Jonah Shacknai writes a letter to the CA Attorney General requesting a review of the findings that Zahau had killed herself.
  
  September 20th
  
  – Sheriff Bill Gore releases a statement regarding Jonah’s letter to the Attorney General. He states he believes a thorough and professional investigation was conducted.
  
  September 21st
  
  – Sheriff’s Homicide Lieutenant Larry Nesbit announces they will take another look at Zahau’s Samsung Focus Windows Phone using newly-identified, forensic software. Technological programs that were not available during the initial investigation.
  – A letter from CA Attorney General declines Jonah Shacknai’s request for a review.
  
  September 22nd
  
  – SDSO releases statement respecting the decision of the Attorney General.
  – A search warrant unsealed revealed that the head of the Intensive Care Unit at Rady Children’s Hospital, Dr. Bradley Peterson, initially believed his patient, Max Shacknai, may have been suffocated before he fell down the stairs. In Max’s autopsy report, the medical examiner disagreed and determined the boy’s injuries were consistent with an accidental neck injury sustained in the fall.
  
  October 6th
  
  – Homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit said it was not possible to recover deleted data from Zahau’s phone without dismantling the device, something investigators did not want to do. As a result, no new information was obtained from the re examination.
  
  – Lt. Nesbit said the intact cell phone and other items belonging to the victim will be returned “in about one week” to the Zahau family attorney, Anne Bremner. The Seattle-based lawyer wants the cell phone and evidence in the case turned over as soon as possible.

 

[Betty P]

Mary Zahau VERY CLEARLY stated on the recent Dr. Phil that Rebecca called her, and THEN called Jonah. IMO, that call is on XZ's phone - which was never checked.

If, as you claim, Rebecca called Mary the morning of July 11, why would the call be on XZ's phone? IIRC, Rebecca has her own cell phone.

Here's a link to the Dr. Phil show, can you find the quote for us in that interview? I'm busy today, so can't help you out.

http://drphil.com/shows/show/1874

 

[inthedark14]

I apologize in advance for taking up too much space...but a few thoughts...

The main problem withg the planking theory is that it does not begin to explain how that little body brought down a chandelier from the ceiling. In order to land how he did and with such force, they drew a picture of him running head long up and over the banister.

Planking involves laying flat and still on the banister. If he had done that [which I highly doubt]---he would have just slipped off the side, straight down to the floor. He would not have ended up on top of the chandelier.

I agree Kadydid, I don't think MS was planking I think in June 2011, planking was as antediluvian concept. It had been done, what's the point of doing it again?

The planking scenario doesn't require that he have a scooter. It's just as likely that the scooter was parked down below on the first floor. It could have fallen over when he and/or the chandelier crashed down.

Given the scooter could have been upstairs or downstairs, which scenario do you think is most likely?

Agreed, there is no KNOWN info that tells us where the scooter was prior to the fall.

I don't think Max was planking either.

I do believe there was some kind of horseplay by Max involving the scooter and the newel post and bannister. Planking was an early cover story for whatever happened, imo.

I think it's really interesting that the fresh newel post damage and paint transfer to the scooter was revealed on the Dr. Phil show, after a full year had passed. That was the "bombshell" in that episode, imo.

Does anyone have those pics handy?

I think all information related to involvement of the scooter in Max's accident was consciously suppressed, save the presence of the scooter over Max's ankle at the scene of the fall.

That Max was permitted to ride his scooter inside the house and near stairs reflects very poorly on Dina and Jonah's judgement, imo, and would have been damaging to Jonah's reputation if his parenting decisions were questioned publicly. I think that (Jonah's reputation and decision making) is what has been shielded, as much as the older children. Perhaps out of pity or deference to grieving parents, for making an unwise judgement about the scooter.

It also leads me to consider Dina's statement to the Coronado City Council that there were instructions that she was not to be notified of the CPS investigation. I think it is certainly possible thatMax's safety was going to be investigated in both of his homes-- the safety of the environments and parenting decisions of BOTH parents was being questioned at that time, as the circumstances and outcome of Max's acxcident became obvious. As in, why was a very young child permitted to have a scooter inside the house near stairs?

I continue to believe that his fall was purely accidental, and not intentional on anyone's part. However, I do believe that a scooter inside and near stairs, provided to a 6 year old, was a recipe for a serious accident. I think all 3 of the older children know more than has been released.

Perhaps someday, Max will be considered in social movements or a nonprofit dedicated to preventing childhood accidents from improper use of outside toys. That would honor his memory, and perhaps help educate parents on how to prevent accidents in the home. Far too many kids die in preventable accidents.

This home was not The Breakers, it was a very small space. You are absolutely right when you look at how much space the chandler took up. It was rather large for such a small stair space. When you look at the pictures it was very close to the banisters on the second floor. Also, you put a chandelier on a chain, in almost every instance, but there is also the reinforcing work on the joist. The chain is only meant to hold the chandelier...maybe there is a code for CA that we don't know about? But there is no reason to make sure that the chain holds anything but the chandelier.

You have no solid proof Rebecca hung herself, nor have solid proof Maxie was critically injured while under her care. NONE.

TY mittymick, the evidence is clear that RZ was murdered and her killer(s) are still free. MS suffered a horrible accident, we KNOW that RZ was there but we have NO PROOF that others weren't. Whatever poor MS was doing was obviously not a good idea and should not have been tolerable. I, for one, will not be convinced until LE or another authority tells us, in no uncertain terms where everyone was on that horrible day.

Again, sorry for the big long post...but it MUST be said.

 

[*Lash*]

Here is another site that did not scrub the planking references. It is the same article written by USA Today. First Coast News published the article on their website.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/...o-Mansion-Death-Called-Suicide-Family-Objects

 

[CuriousGeorgia]

Hi CG! I truly must have missed this. Could you provide a link? I've always wondered about this. Is there a clip from the show? TIA

No clip that I know of. I recorded it and have watched it three times. You can get a transcript on DrPhil.com.

 

[*Lash*]

A snip from Dr. Bove's report discussing an interview given by Det. Adkins w/XZ regarding Max and the scooter.

According to Officer Adkins, the night before the incident Maxfield Shacknai showed Xena Zahau how he could ride the scooter in the second floor hallway. She stated that he never got close to the railing and did not hit the railing. In an interview, after a comment by the interviewer regarding the ability of the scooter to roll on the carpet on the second floor, Xena Zahau indicated that Maxfield Shacknai did not go very fast on the scooter.

http://media.utsandiego.com/news/documents/2012/08/06/Dr.Bove_Report.pdf

 

[CuriousGeorgia]

If, as you claim, Rebecca called Mary the morning of July 11, why would the call be on XZ's phone? IIRC, Rebecca has her own cell phone.

IMO, RZ immediately began covering up what really happened to Max. She knew her phone may be checked, so IMO, she used XZ's to call Mary to devise a plan.

 

[CuriousGeorgia]

Here is another site that did not scrub the planking references. It is the same article written by USA Today. First Coast News published the article on their website.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/...o-Mansion-Death-Called-Suicide-Family-Objects

So if it reference is still out there, it pretty much proves that it was not "scrubbed" by Jonah's PR firm.

 

[*Lash*]

So if it reference is still out there, it pretty much proves that it was not "scrubbed" by Jonah's PR firm.

Hi CG! In my opinion, it could also prove that whomever was responsible for the scrubbing was not entirely successful in all their attempts to have the story changed.

 

[screecher]

Or couldn't be 'compelled' to scrub.

 

[*Lash*]

I also do not believe Max was planking. I do believe Max had an accident that involved his scooter starting where the railing descends from the second floor to the landing as suggested by Dr. Bove.

The only way in which a person of Maxfield Shacknai’s stature, starting from the second floor level, could accidentally travel over the railing would be for his body to interact with the railing at a location where the railing is below his center of gravity. This can theoretically be achieved by interacting with the railing where it descends from the second floor to the landing (Figure 7). Interaction with the railing at this location would require the person to have already left contact with the second floor and be airborne just prior to contact with the railing. Sufficient horizontal travel velocity would also be required to prevent the person’s center of gravity from falling below the railing due to gravity prior to railing engagement. At sufficient speeds, a trajectory off the second floor surface toward the railing at an angle of approximately 45 degrees relative to the railing in the horizontal plane would theoretically provide the opportunity for someone of Maxfield Shacknai’s stature to travel over the railing and to interact with the chandelier. This is the scenario presented by Mark Gomez, Ph.D. in his report. It is important to note that if the path of travel departs from the second floor level much sooner than this, the body’s center of gravity drops too much before the railing is reached and thus does not travel over the railing. On the other hand, if the path of travel person departs from the second floor hall much later, the interaction with the railing occurs where the railing height is still matched with the height of the hallway railing and has not yet begun to descend with the stairs, and thus the railing is too high to be traveled over by the person’s center of gravity.

*see image*

Figure 7. The center area of this photograph depicts the inclined portion of railing where a person of Maxfield Shacknai’s stature could theoretically travel over the railing given sufficient horizontal velocity.

http://media.utsandiego.com/news/documents/2012/08/06/Dr.Bove_Report.pdf

 

[coastal]

IMO, RZ immediately began covering up what really happened to Max. She knew her phone may be checked, so IMO, she used XZ's to call Mary to devise a plan.

I cannot, in my wildest imagination, imagine this is true.

 

[Inparadise]

I cannot, in my wildest imagination, imagine this is true.

Coastal, I agree.....it is possible that XZ called Mary on her own phone? CG wasn't there and she certainly doesn't "know" that Rebecca called Mary using XZ's phone.

 

[time]

I think the scooter was involved with Max's fall. I think it's possible Max was using the scooter in some kind of posed, balanced position on the newel post, or railing. Whether or not that meets the definition of planking is up for debate.

If Max was holding onto the handlebars and fell outward and head first, the scooter could have become entwined in the chandelier, and with the weight of Max, pulled the hanging chain apart. Particularly if he was balancing on the railing and/ or newel post. There was a "missing link" in the chandelier chain that was photographed on a step, and subsequently lost by the investigators. Dr. Bove was unable to examine it.

There are a number of scooter scenarios and "showing off" (stationary or in motion), or "still" planking tricks that can explain a head first impact that also takes down the chandelier. Consider a "spinning" trick involving the scooter and the newel post, for example. Velocity and momentum are certainly possible there, right?

Dr. Bove, unfortunately, was only paid to run the numbers on the Gomez diagram and Dina's imaginative, but highly unlikely scenario. There are many scenarios that could explain Max's accidental fall.

Added:
Check out the spin move at 33 sec mark.

Razor Scooter tricks - YouTube

I agree, this is a very plausible scenario. I think it could account for the damage to the Newel Post also ... the scooter being at that end with wheels hooked over it maybe and Max falling somewhat backwards to the side (over the banister toward the chandelier or at least in some position the scooter/handlebars caught in the chandelier). That would also possible fling the ring towards the landing. No one has checked out these alternate scenarios.

 

[Inparadise]

I agree, this is a very plausible scenario. I think it could account for the damage to the Newel Post also ... the scooter being at that end with wheels hooked over it maybe and Max falling somewhat backwards to the side (over the banister toward the chandelier or at least in some position the scooter/handlebars caught in the chandelier). That would also possible fling the ring towards the landing. No one has checked out these alternate scenarios.

That type of activity is called "Owling", and was popular at the same time as "Planking"........the object is to perch in an unusual place, stare into space like and owl and have someone take your picture and post it. Many people, adults included, have been severly injured from this......some have even died doing this.

 

[K_Z]

katydid23 wrote:
XZ said he rode it on the carpeted hallways, not on the stairway rails.

And she also said he rode it VERY slowly. Those things don't go fast on plush carpeting.

The bigger point is that these scooters are outside toys. They are not designed for use on ANY kind of carpet-- plush or otherwise.

It would be extremely unwise, and probably futile, to attempt (for example) to sue the scooter manufacturer for injuries or death that occurred as a result of using this toy in such a reckless manner.

I am dismayed and astonished that anyone would attempt to justify or excuse such bad parenting judgement. This wasn't a "one time" deal-- Max was allowed to play with a dangerous outside toy inside, upstairs, and NEAR stairs in this manner, over and over. That was an accident waiting to happen.

Use of this toy in this manner, with the approval of his parents, is simply not justifiable.

I'm curious. Who provided Max with the scooter in the first place? Who allowed him to have it indoors?

My guess is, it wasn't Rebecca Zahau.

It was a tragic accident, but it was an accident that was completely predictable and preventable. I think it is a grave injustice to Max to pretend that he was assaulted. His own parents failed to exercise even basic safety precautions as related to the scooter.

And that is why I think Dina was not to be notified that CPS was notified about Max's injuries. There were questions about the safety of this child in both of his homes. He died in what every indication points to a reckless accident involving the scooter. IMO, that is what CPS was going to investigate. IMO, Dina was going to be investigated, also. Along with Jonah.

 

[Inparadise]

The bigger point is that these scooters are outside toys. They are not designed for use on ANY kind of carpet-- plush or otherwise.

It would be extremely unwise, and probably futile, to attempt (for example) to sue the scooter manufacturer for injuries or death that occurred as a result of using this toy in such a reckless manner.

I am dismayed and astonished that anyone would attempt to justify or excuse such bad parenting judgement. This wasn't a "one time" deal-- Max was allowed to play with a dangerous outside toy inside, upstairs, and NEAR stairs in this manner, over and over. That was an accident waiting to happen.

Use of this toy in this manner, with the approval of his parents, is simply not justifiable.

I'm curious. Who provided Max with the scooter in the first place? Who allowed him to have it indoors?

My guess is, it wasn't Rebecca Zahau.

It was a tragic accident, but it was an accident that was completely predictable and preventable. I think it is a grave injustice to Max to pretend that he was assaulted. His own parents failed to exercise even basic safety precautions as related to the scooter.

And that is why I think Dina was not to be notified that CPS was notified about Max's injuries. There were questions about the safety of this child in both of his homes. He died in what every indication points to a reckless accident involving the scooter. IMO, that is what CPS was going to investigate. IMO, Dina was going to be investigated, also. Along with Jonah.

Excellent points!

 

[arielilane]

While I'm aware that the newel post damage and paint transfer to the scooter can't be dated or timed at this point, I feel strongly the scooter was involved with the fall. The photographs of the paint transfer and damage were fresh damage. Flakes were evident.

I agree with your comments about the scooter being a dangerous "inside" toy. And yet, there is ample evidence that BOTH Dina and Jonah approved of Max's indoor scooter use, and indulged this.

If Jonah is sued by Dina for being "proximate cause" of Max's accidental fall, I feel certain that things will change focus and become a "battle of parenting styles". From Dina's own admissions in interviews, her home, also, was littered with "outside" toys, soccer balls, etc. She approved of, and encouraged very active indoor play, by her own admission-- so active inside play would likely have been "normal" for Max. I have a strong feeling from all I've read that it was very difficult for Max's parents to tell him "no", or limit his desires and play behaviors. And I also feel that evidence demonstrates that permissive parenting leads to accidents and injuries.

Rebecca was in a very bad position if Jonah and Dina were engaged in permissive parenting, and she attempted to place any limits on him. And she was in an even worse situation related to the scooter-- which Max was clearly allowed by them to have inside and upstairs. XZ was quoted as saying Max showed her how he could ride inside and upstairs the day of her arrival.

If Max was allowed to have this outside toy inside and upstairs, and Rebecca was in the bathroom downstairs, well-- how in the world can anyone hold her responsible for an accident that occurs subsequent to a dangerous activity his parents approved of? The scooter wasn't Rebecca's idea. Max didn't sneak it inside. Kids (esp 6 year olds) are unreliable and need limits.

Thank you so much for this post. It speaks volumes. When I was a child growing up you never had outside toys kept in the home they were in the garage because they were used outside where we played. Unfortunately, playing in the home nowadays contributes to child home accidents being a large reason for death among children.

 

[K_Z]

Does anyone have pictures of the paint transfer to the scooter, the damaged newel post, and the gouges on the scooter that were shown on the Dr. Phil show?

I think it would be good to look at those again more closely.

TIA.