The Rebecca Zahau case centers on the July 13, 2011 death of a 32-year-old woman found nude, bound, gagged, and hanging from a second-floor balcony at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado, California, two days after her boyfriend’s six-year-old son suffered a fatal fall inside the same house. San Diego County authorities ruled her death a suicide. A civil jury later found her boyfriend’s brother liable for it. No one has ever been criminally charged, and the family is still asking for the case to be reopened.
What Happened at the Coronado Mansion
The house at 1043 Ocean Boulevard belonged to Jonah Shacknai, the founder and CEO of Medicis Pharmaceutical.1Good Morning America. What Police Found at the Scene of Womans Mysterious California Mansion Death On July 11, 2011, his six-year-old son Maxfield was at the mansion in the care of Rebecca Zahau, Jonah’s girlfriend, and her 13-year-old sister Xena. Zahau told investigators she heard a noise and found Max in the foyer at the base of the stairs, gravely injured, with a scooter, soccer balls, and a fallen chandelier nearby.2Oxygen. Tragic Accident of Max Shacknai Max had fractured his forehead and suffered a severe spinal cord injury.3NBC News. Dina Shacknai, Rebecca Zahau, Coronado Spreckels Mansion He died at Rady Children’s Hospital on July 16. The medical examiner ruled it an accident.
Two mornings after Max’s fall, while he was still hospitalized, Zahau was found dead at the mansion. She was hanging by a rope from a second-floor balcony above the courtyard, nude, with her ankles bound, her wrists tied behind her back, and a T-shirt partially stuffed in her mouth as a gag.4NBC San Diego. New Book Looks Back at Rebecca Zahaus Death in Coronado A message painted in black on the bedroom door leading to the balcony read, “She saved him can you save her.”5CBS News. Unexplained Head Injuries Raise Questions About Rebecca Zahaus Death
The only other person on the mansion grounds that night was Adam Shacknai, Jonah’s younger brother. A tugboat pilot who had worked on the Mississippi River for nearly three decades, Adam had flown in from Memphis the previous afternoon to support his brother.6San Diego Union-Tribune. Shacknai Testifies Most Certainly Did Not Kill Zahau He said he slept in the guest house, saw Zahau hanging as he walked out the next morning, called 911, cut the rope with a kitchen knife, lowered her to the grass, and started CPR. Jonah was at the hospital with Max at the time.
Why the Sheriff Ruled It a Suicide
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigated for about two months. In September 2011, Sheriff Bill Gore announced the death was a suicide, and Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas concurred, ruling it a suicide by hanging.7Fox 5 San Diego. Sheriffs Department to Review Rebecca Zahau Case
Investigators theorized that Zahau killed herself out of grief and guilt after learning of Max’s grave condition, noting that she had received a voicemail from Jonah about his son’s deteriorating state.8ABC News. Jury Awards Rebecca Zahau Family $5M in Womans Mysterious Death The department produced a video demonstration meant to show she could have bound her own hands and feet.9NBC San Diego. Rebecca Zahaus Family Plans to File New Lawsuit Authorities reported that only her fingerprints and DNA were found at the scene and cleared Adam Shacknai. A book found in her room, Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, contained a drawing of a woman in a bound state similar to how Zahau was found. During the later civil trial, defense attorneys also pointed to personal notes on her phone describing hopelessness, insomnia, and frequent crying.10Courthouse News Service. San Diego Death Case Goes to the Jury
Why Zahau’s Family Rejects the Suicide Ruling
Her sister, Mary Zahau-Loehner, said publicly that the handwriting on the painted door message did not appear to be Rebecca’s.11ABC News. Rebecca Zahau Autopsy Raises Questions The family noted that Zahau had no psychiatric history, had never attempted suicide, and that finding a woman dead nude, bound, and gagged was virtually unprecedented as a method of female suicide.
The family had Zahau’s remains exhumed and sent to Pittsburgh, where forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht performed a second autopsy in October 2011. Wecht identified four hemorrhages on the right side of her scalp, which he attributed to blunt force trauma from a hard, rounded object, and said they could have rendered her unconscious.12San Diego Union-Tribune. Well-Known Pathologist Testifies in Trial That Zahau Was Strangled He also found a fractured band of cartilage in the neck and injuries to neck muscles he said were consistent with manual strangulation rather than hanging. He noted the absence of a broken neck, arguing a nine-foot fall from the balcony should have produced a cervical fracture.13ABC News. Coronado Mansion Death: Rebecca Zahau Knocked Unconscious Wecht concluded the death was a homicide caused by manual strangulation, “set up to look like a suicidal hanging.” Dr. Lucas had described the scalp hemorrhages as “relatively minor” and suggested they could have been caused by her head striking the building during the fall.
The 2018 Civil Trial and Verdict
In July 2013, the Zahau family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court. The suit initially named Adam Shacknai, Jonah’s ex-wife Dina Shacknai, and Dina’s sister Nina Romano. Family attorney Keith Greer said an eyewitness had placed Dina at the scene, but Sheriff’s Department surveillance footage showed she was at Rady Children’s Hospital at the time, and she was dismissed from the case. Romano was also dropped.14NBC San Diego. Security Video, Dina Shacknai in Death of Rebecca Zahau Adam Shacknai remained the sole defendant.
The six-week trial before Judge Katherine Bacal in early 2018 included 29 witnesses.10Courthouse News Service. San Diego Death Case Goes to the Jury Greer alleged that Adam battered, sexually assaulted, and manually strangled Zahau, then staged the scene. A handwriting expert hired by the plaintiffs testified that the door message was more likely written by Adam than by Zahau, though he could not call it “probable.”15Los Angeles Times. Mansion Trial Defense attorney Dan Webb argued DNA and fingerprint evidence pointed to Zahau’s own involvement, that a rape kit returned negative for vaginal trauma, and that the knots used were not uniquely nautical. Adam Shacknai testified he had “nothing to do with Zahau’s death” and denied ever entering the main house that night.6San Diego Union-Tribune. Shacknai Testifies Most Certainly Did Not Kill Zahau
On April 5, 2018, the jury voted 9-3 to find Adam Shacknai civilly liable. It awarded approximately $5.167 million: $3 million for past noneconomic damages, $2 million for future noneconomic damages, $35,000 for past financial support, and $132,000 for future financial support.16CBS 8. Adam Shacknai Found Liable in Death of Rebecca Zahau
Settlement and Dismissal
Shacknai moved for a retrial, but the case never went back before a jury. In February 2019, the family reached a settlement with the insurance company covering his legal exposure, reported by one outlet at $600,000.17NBC San Diego. Settlement in Rebecca Zahau Civil Case On February 6, 2019, Judge Bacal dismissed the case with prejudice, ending the retrial request.18Times of San Diego. Zahau Saga Ends With Family Agreeing to Insurance Settlement The judge noted that the jury verdict technically remained on the record, but an attorney for Shacknai said it “lacked legal standing.”1910News. Rebecca Zahau Case Settlement Reached, Civil Case Dismissed Shacknai has maintained his innocence, saying his “name is cleared.”
The Sheriff’s 2018 Re-Review
The civil verdict put pressure on the Sheriff’s Department. In April 2018 it announced a “fresh review” by personnel with no prior involvement, drawing on the Major Crimes Division, Homicide Detail, Crime Lab, County Medical Examiner’s Office, and Coronado Police Department. On December 7, 2018, Sheriff Gore announced that the team found no evidence Zahau “died at the hands of another.” The suicide determination stood.2010News. San Diego County Sheriff Updates Coronado Mansion Death of Rebecca Zahau Greer called the decision “not a logical decision” and accused sheriff’s investigators of being “corrupt.”2110News. Sheriffs Decision Not to Reopen Zahau Case Not a Logical Decision, Attorney Says
In 2022, Greer filed a formal petition with the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to reclassify the cause of death as homicide or undetermined.22KPBS. Zahau Family Petition Medical Examiner to Reclassify Cause of 2011 Death In September 2023, Chief Medical Examiner Steven Campman responded in a letter: “After reviewing the totality of the evidence, the conclusion of this office has not changed.”23Fox 5 San Diego. Rebecca Zahau Book San Diego An earlier petition to the California Attorney General’s Office to reopen the criminal investigation had also been denied.
Where the Case Stands Now
No criminal charges have ever been filed. As of March 2025, a representative for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office stated, “At this time, there is no new information which would lead the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office to re-open this investigation.”24Fox 5 San Diego. Rebecca Zahau Case Revisited After 14 Years The case remains officially classified as a suicide.
Mary Zahau-Loehner published Unraveling the Knots in March 2025, a nearly 300-page account that includes previously unseen photos, autopsy reports, and court transcripts. The book highlights what the family views as investigative failures: a partial male fingerprint found in the room that the family argues was never adequately analyzed, a dryer sheet at the scene that investigators never collected, and what Zahau-Loehner describes as errors in the sheriff’s video re-creation of the knot-tying.23Fox 5 San Diego. Rebecca Zahau Book San Diego She has called on Sheriff Kelly Martinez to transfer the investigation to the FBI or another outside agency for an independent review. The family has also offered a cash reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.22KPBS. Zahau Family Petition Medical Examiner to Reclassify Cause of 2011 Death