Zahau Family Sues County for Additional Evidence

[Inparadise]

Filed 11-18-2013 under the Register of Actions for the Zahau civil suit against SD county:




https://roa.sdcourt.ca.gov/roa/faces/CaseSearch.xhtml

(Case 37-2013-00047752-CU-MC-CTL)

No other documents yet with this filing. I expect we will learn more soon!
Apparently, this case is still moving forward.

Correction: I guess Snowem was always listed as a plaintiff-- I want to correct that, now that I looked at older filings! This must mean she has a different attorney, I think?

You are correct on all counts!

 

[inthedark14]

Oh, Patrick's angry words were not generated by grief. If you go to the FB page he is connected with, he has written a ton of letters to officials over time. But that case is kind of a tangled mess from a sleuthers standpoint. I hope we find out more about what SDSO did and didn't do since another County took it over.

I really hope so too. The people who live in San Diego, the county and the city deserve so much more than a possibly inept, or worse corrupt LE in their corner. I suppose it's really a good thing right now that all of these major cases are being brought to light. Can you imagine how many there are that do not have the huge media coverage that makes everyone aware? Throw tomatoes at me if you want, but there is something seriously wrong with LE in San Diego and nothing seems to be done to right the wrongs. It would be hard to feel safe somewhere where LE doesn't seem to listen to the community.

I would just like say that I am a stanch supporter of LE and I come from an LE family. I realize that mistakes can be made and LE is as human as everyone else. However, not just the Coronado case, but others, probably far more than we know have been mishandled by this agency. Why hasn't it been looked into further? At lease now, the media is linking them together, with the "big" cases will come the ones not reported as much by the media and all of them should be held up to the light.

ALWAYS MOO

 

[Carioca]

Filed 11-18-2013 under the Register of Actions for the Zahau civil suit against SD county:




https://roa.sdcourt.ca.gov/roa/faces/CaseSearch.xhtml

(Case 37-2013-00047752-CU-MC-CTL)

No other documents yet with this filing. I expect we will learn more soon!
Apparently, this case is still moving forward.

Correction: I guess Snowem was always listed as a plaintiff-- I want to correct that, now that I looked at older filings! This must mean she has a different attorney, I think?

Thank you K_Z. This is EXCELLENT news!! Hats off to Snowem for taking the initiative to move this case forward.
:fireworks:

 

[Betty P]

Very good news, indeed. Both cases are moving forward. We need justice for Rebecca!

 

[*Lash*]

Thank you KZ!

This is all great news...Snowem now has an attorney (yippee) and Mary's attorneys have re-filed the WDS in state court (wahoo)! I am feeling optimistic that if a settlement was offered by, imo Jonah, it was turned down and any future settlement offer will also be rejected. It will be a long road and the Zahau's have plenty of supporters.

The family should never have needed to file a suit to obtain Rebecca's personal belongings. It is beyond illogical to keep her belongings if there is not an open or closed murder investigation. SDSO you chose to rule this a suicide not a murder. Therefore you have no right to keep her belongings, but seem to think you have the right to do whatever you want, whenever you want and however you want. Did you choose to preserve some of her belongings just in case the people who loved Rebecca didn't let you slide by? Some people are simply not thwarted by snakes!

Justice for Rebecca and the Zahau's is coming!

:woot:

 

[Carioca]

So much compelling evidence was withheld from RZ's family. Since quite a lot was indeed turned over and the fact that the items on the Request for Evidence list were NOT, IMO one can only deduce those items are in some way incriminating to the defendants in the WDS. Is there any other valid and legal explanation? Here's a link to the list:

Post #43
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209218&page=2

Lash, you said it perfectly. SDSO can't have it both ways, try as they have.

IMO one of the most compelling is the mysterious 8-second gap in AS' 911 call. What could be the explanation for why SDSO would redact those 8 seconds?

Item C (Footnote 2): The Adam Shacknai 911 tape has an unexplained "8-second gap" at 1:43 of the 911 call during which no sound was recorded. We are informed by the Coronado Police Department, which recorded the call, that there was no "8-second gap" in the original recording. For comparison purposes, the call to police by Paul Pfingst had no such gap. We seek a new, clean copy of Adam Shacknai 911 call.

The following part of the AS 911 call transcript is where the 8-second gap appears. Ironically it is at the point where there are what sounds to be other voices in the background. (Am not saying those are voices; just saying it sounds like voices to me.):

http://www.cbs8.com/story/16150816/911-call-released-in-hanging-death-at-coronados-spreckels-mansion

Op1: OK, sir. Is she still alive?
AS: I don't know?

Op1: OK. Ah.
AS: [Noise] What the f***. What. [Noises. Talking to someone? sounds like AS says Coroner's day. Noises. Sound of metal bouncing off stone walkway?]
You're sh*****. F***. NO. [Noises].
F****** kidding. [Noises. Sounds like maybe one or two men talking in the background. Noise. Dog barks. Noise.]

Unexplained 8-second gap in recording

[Recording returns with noise that sounds like jet flying overhead. Then sounds like someone talking?]

AS: Ah.

Op1: Sir are you there?
AS: Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah (with incrementally increasing volume) Are you alive? Oh,oh,oh. [Heavy breathing]. NO. [Heavy breathing.] Uh.

*******************
Now that 911 calls are digitized, they are kept on record, in many cases, for decades, as per the following article:

911 Has a Long Memory
.. the fact that the prosecution had obtained tapes of calls going back nearly two decades from the authorities.
… Nassau and Suffolk police officials said defense lawyers may subpoena recordings and prosecutors must officially request them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/06colli.html?_r=0

911 Recordings & Transcripts - State Statutes
California
911 calls fall under the California Public Records Act, which makes all records available to the public through request. CPRA limits disclosure of personal information by protecting the right to privacy over the public’s interest.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/911-recordings-transcripts-state-statutes

The above leads me to believe the attorney for the plaintiff in this case has access to AS' unedited, preredacted 911 call. I look forward to seeing WHY SDSO redacted 8 seconds of that call.

 

[bourne]

So much compelling evidence was withheld from RZ's family. Since quite a lot was indeed turned over and the fact that the items on the Request for Evidence list were NOT, IMO one can only deduce those items are in some way incriminating to the defendants in the WDS. Is there any other valid and legal explanation? Here's a link to the list:

Post #43
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209218&page=2

Lash, you said it perfectly. SDSO can't have it both ways, try as they have.

IMO one of the most compelling is the mysterious 8-second gap in AS' 911 call. What could be the explanation for why SDSO would redact those 8 seconds?



The following part of the AS 911 call transcript is where the 8-second gap appears. Ironically it is at the point where there are what sounds to be other voices in the background. (Am not saying those are voices; just saying it sounds like voices to me.):

http://www.cbs8.com/story/16150816/911-call-released-in-hanging-death-at-coronados-spreckels-mansion



*******************
Now that 911 calls are digitized, they are kept on record, in many cases, for decades, as per the following article:





The above leads me to believe the attorney for the plaintiff in this case has access to AS' unedited, preredacted 911 call. I look forward to seeing WHY SDSO redacted 8 seconds of that call.

You're right, Carioca. I never noticed this before but I do hear Adam sounding like he's talking to someone while Adam was pulling (or pretending to pull) the table about in the courtyard and making all those squeaky noises with the table leg, and it supposedly breaking off during that time. It sounds like someone was instructing him what to do, like pull the table around and curse a few times...

Also in the "AUDIO" below the video at http://www.cbs8.com/story/16150816/911-call-released-in-hanging-death-at-coronados-spreckels-mansion , there is definitely an *edited* gap of 8 seconds from 01:42 to 01:50. Originally when I first heard about this gap, I thought perhaps Adam put the phone down on the ground to try to move the table under Rebecca, but that doesn't explain why there is absolutely *no sound or noise, not even of squeaky table or Adam's heavy frantic breathing* which then later continues after 01:50. It's as if someone edited the 911 audiotape, making it completely *silent* for 8 seconds.

Definitely *suspicious*. Why would anyone edit a 911 tape except to hide something incriminating about either Adam or another POI involved in Rebecca's murder?

I hope the Zahaus are able to obtain the original 911 tape without the obvious edited 8 second gap. I hope they publish the tape in its entirety so we the public can hear it all and judge for ourselves who exactly was present the morning Adam allegedly found Rebecca hanging, and what exactly they were saying/doing.

 

[Carioca]

IANAL, and please correct me if I'm wrong:
Posted today on the Register of Actions: The case to receive RZ's personal belongings and withheld evidence goes forward. The Order to Show Cause stricken. Don't know if same date will be maintained or a new date for hearing will be assigned.

22 - 11/20/2013
OSC - Why Case Should Not be Dismissed scheduled for 12/06/2013 at 10:00:00 AM at Central in C-70 Randa Trapp was vacated.

https://roa.sdcourt.ca.gov/roa/faces/CaseSearch.xhtml

(Case 37-2013-00047752-CU-MC-CTL)

 

[Mrs. Holmes]

So much compelling evidence was withheld from RZ's family. Since quite a lot was indeed turned over and the fact that the items on the Request for Evidence list were NOT, IMO one can only deduce those items are in some way incriminating to the defendants in the WDS. Is there any other valid and legal explanation? Here's a link to the list:

Post #43
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209218&page=2

Lash, you said it perfectly. SDSO can't have it both ways, try as they have.

IMO one of the most compelling is the mysterious 8-second gap in AS' 911 call. What could be the explanation for why SDSO would redact those 8 seconds?



The following part of the AS 911 call transcript is where the 8-second gap appears. Ironically it is at the point where there are what sounds to be other voices in the background. (Am not saying those are voices; just saying it sounds like voices to me.):

http://www.cbs8.com/story/16150816/911-call-released-in-hanging-death-at-coronados-spreckels-mansion



*******************
Now that 911 calls are digitized, they are kept on record, in many cases, for decades, as per the following article:





The above leads me to believe the attorney for the plaintiff in this case has access to AS' unedited, preredacted 911 call. I look forward to seeing WHY SDSO redacted 8 seconds of that call.

Good catch Carioca. I listened to the tape again. Definitely a loud noise from a distance....it does seem like a vocalization by a dog or human.... even though AS is breathing heavy close to the phone...so who or what is it? Why in the world is that part missing.... it just boggles the mind. :tantrum:

AS sounds so angry and callous. Never says her name.... the "are you alive" just gives me chills.... I think it would be the first thing you would use is the person's name..... it's not like she is a stranger.... she picked him up at the airport and spent most of the day with her.... I think I would be using her name over and over.... Rebecca can you here me... on my god Rebecca I am going to get you down..... I would be speaking to the person.... it would be natural.... and the way AS answers when they ask is she still alive.... "I don't think so.." it is so cold so angry..... there is absolutely no compassion for her in his voice or the words he uses...

and there is something else...
they ask him when was the last time you saw her.. and he says last night.... and maybe it is just me..... but if it was daylight when I last saw her I would say yesterday..... and if it was dark when I last saw someone I would say last night....I also brought this up earlier that AS also talks about MS and says you picked up a little boy here yesterday..... but it wasn't yesterday it was the day before..... the kind of mistake you make when you have been up all night.....

 

[Mrs. Holmes]

IANAL, and please correct me if I'm wrong:
Posted today on the Register of Actions: The case to receive RZ's personal belongings and withheld evidence goes forward. The Order to Show Cause stricken. Don't know if same date will be maintained or a new date for hearing will be assigned.

22 - 11/20/2013
OSC - Why Case Should Not be Dismissed scheduled for 12/06/2013 at 10:00:00 AM at Central in C-70 Randa Trapp was vacated.

https://roa.sdcourt.ca.gov/roa/faces/CaseSearch.xhtml

(Case 37-2013-00047752-CU-MC-CTL)

"vacated" the legal language.... sheesh.... it also says

"Notice of Rescheduled Hearing SD"

 

[Inparadise]

"vacated" the legal language.... sheesh.... it also says

"Notice of Rescheduled Hearing SD"

If you look at the hearing date/time, the original OSC was for 1:00am, not 10:00am. I think somebody made a typo.......

 

[Mrs. Holmes]

If you look at the hearing date/time, the original OSC was for 1:00am, not 10:00am. I think somebody made a typo.......

:floorlaugh: I noticed that but I am pretty sure court is not open 24 hours... so also assumed a typo... :blushing:

 

[Betty P]

Thanks for the great post, Carioca. The 8 second gap in Adam S's 911 call is not explained, but should be. The sounds are very unusual.

In reviewing your list of evidence plaintiffs are requesting in the Zahau lawsuit filed w/ SDSO, something stood out. I don't know if I overlooked it, or if we've discussed this before and I forgot, but: When did Paul Pfingst call 911?


From the lawsuit evidence request list:

C. The 911 calls of Adam Shacknai and Paul Pfingst on July 13, 2011 (2)

In the timelines we've compiled, particularly Lash's, and news media stories, there's no mention of Pfingst making a 911 call. Is this just a typo or did Pfingst actually make a 911 call or is it referring to other phone calls he made to SDSO or Coronado PD? We've discussed Pfingst's alleged call later in the day to Adam S trying to encourage him not to take a lie detector test, but is that actually a 911 call? Could there have been another call to Coronado PD?

Thanks to anyone who can refresh my memory on this.

 

[*Lash*]

Betty P - I too am lost on this requested item. I remember Pfingst used a private LE phone number to get in touch with Adam because Adam was not responding to his phone calls. I am wondering if the 911 call is this private LE phone number PP used? If not, then wow this 911 call is a smoking gun. I wouldn't necessarily label 911 a private number, could this be what Ann Rule meant? What time and from where did PP call 911?

“It was probably Jonah who had retained Paul Pfingst, the lawyer who had texted Adam just before he took the polygraph tests. Unable to reach Adam, Pfingst knew the private number to call at the sheriff’s office where he could get a message to Adam as soon as possible. His intent had indeed been to advise Adam, as Detective Hillen had predicted, that he should avoid the polygraph machine—at least at this point in the investigation.”

Excerpt From: Rule, Ann. “Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors.” This material may be protected by copyright.

 

[bourne]

Thanks for the great post, Carioca. The 8 second gap in Adam S's 911 call is not explained, but should be. The sounds are very unusual.

In reviewing your list of evidence plaintiffs are requesting in the Zahau lawsuit filed w/ SDSO, something stood out. I don't know if I overlooked it, or if we've discussed this before and I forgot, but: When did Paul Pfingst call 911?


From the lawsuit evidence request list:



In the timelines we've compiled, particularly Lash's, and news media stories, there's no mention of Pfingst making a 911 call. Is this just a typo or did Pfingst actually make a 911 call or is it referring to other phone calls he made to SDSO or Coronado PD? We've discussed Pfingst's alleged call later in the day to Adam S trying to encourage him not to take a lie detector test, but is that actually a 911 call? Could there have been another call to Coronado PD?

Thanks to anyone who can refresh my memory on this.

IIRC, Pfingst first called 911 to try to talk to Adam in the police precinct. When he couldn't get through, Pfingst then directly called a private number at the precinct to connect with Adam. This is around 5-6pm on Wednesday 7/13/2011.

 

[*Lash*]

Another quote from Ann's book -

“Paul Pfingst used a non-published phone number to reach the police,” the legal trio noted, “to tell them not to give his client (Adam) a polygraph. In this recorded call, Pfingst referred to the incident as a ‘homicide.’*”

Excerpt From: Rule, Ann. “Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors.” This material may be protected by copyright.

 

[bourne]

"vacated" the legal language.... sheesh.... it also says

"Notice of Rescheduled Hearing SD"

I think the schedule is entered and listed chronologically, with the most recent actions at the top of the list. So ROA#22, the "vacated" order of the motion to dismiss by the Judge is the most recent. There will be no hearing on why case should not be dismissed on 12/06/2013.

The vacated order is likely the result of Rebecca's sister Snowem Horwath and her lawyer David A Miller's motion/declaration entered on 11/18/2013 in response to the previously scheduled hearing regarding arguments for dismissing case.

Good job, Snowem!

 

[*Lash*]

IIRC, Pfingst first called 911 to try to talk to Adam in the police precinct. When he couldn't get through, Pfingst then directly called a private number at the precinct to connect with Adam. This is around 5-6pm on Wednesday 7/13/2011.

Do you remember the source where you read PP first called 911 to talk to Adam? I cannot find this stated in Ann's book. I'm really curious. TIA

 

[bourne]

Do you remember the source where you read PP first called 911 to talk to Adam? I cannot find this stated in Ann's book. I'm really curious. TIA

I think it was a media article. But I don't specifically recall.

 

[*Lash*]

I think the schedule is entered and listed chronologically, with the most recent actions at the top of the list. So ROA#22, the "vacated" order of the motion to dismiss by the Judge is the most recent. There will be no hearing on why case should not be dismissed on 12/06/2013.

The vacated order is likely the result of Rebecca's sister Snowem Horwath and her lawyer David A Miller's motion/declaration entered on 11/18/2013 in response to the previously scheduled hearing regarding arguments for dismissing case.

Good job, Snowem!

I guess I am a little slow, lol. If I understand correctly Snowem's motion stopped the judge from possibly dismissing the case? If so, thank you Snowem, you're awesome!