San Diego sheriff to re-evaluate 2011 hanging death of Rebecca Zahau

The San Diego County sheriff said Monday he will assign a new team to re-examine evidence in the bizarre 2011 hanging death of Rebecca Zahau at a Coronado mansion.

Sheriff William Gore said the outcome of a civil wrongful death trial has prompted him to take "undertake a fresh review of the case, by investigators who have had no prior involvement with the case."

Sheriff's investigators and the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office officially ruled Zahau's death a suicide. But a jury this month deliberated only for a few hours before finding Adam Shacknai, the brother of Zahau's millionaire boyfriend, liable for her death.

The jury agreed with Zahau's family that Shacknai struck her in the head four times during a sexual assault then staged her death to look like a suicide. They said he strangled her, trussed up her nude body and tossed her over a balcony.

Immediately after the April 4 verdict, Gore said the civil trial would not change the department's conclusions in the case. He cited a lack of physical evidence tying Shacknai to the crime.

But after a "productive conversation" with Zahau's family attorney, Gore said in a statement Monday, he would re-evaluate the findings.

"While no new evidence was presented, new analysis of existing evidence was presented in the recently concluded civil trial," Gore said in a statement, adding that he expected the review to take at least 90 days.

"When our investigation is complete, we will meet with the family's attorney to discuss our findings. Ultimately, the cause and manner of death, in any case, is determined by the Medical Examiner," Gore said in the statement.

Re-opening the Zahau case?

Zahau's family attorney, C. Keith Greer, told the San Diego Tribune on Monday that they were excited by the decision and described Gore as "very professional, very accommodating." He said Gore "seemed genuinely interested in doing the right thing.”

Gore stopped short of saying he would reopen the case. His political opponent,, however, has for months pledged to reopen the case if elected. Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dave Myers, who is running against Gore, said he would make reopening the Zahau case a priority for his administration.

A day after the verdict, Shacknai delivered a terse and angry condemnation of the case and promised a vigorous appeal. He called Zahau's family "posers" for making claims against him without evidence.

"I've already been exonerated once, by police, after their investigation," Shacknai, a tugboat captain from Memphis, said. "If you value evidence, we made a good case. If you don't value evidence, I guess we failed."

Adam Shacknai is the brother of Jonah Shacknai, founder and former CEO of Scottsdale-based Medicis Pharmaceuticals. Jonah Shacknai told jurors during the trial that it was inconceivable his brother killed Zahau.

The 12-member jury did not agree. It found Adam Shacknai liable in a 9-3 vote and awarded Zahau's family $5 million for loss of companionship and $167,000 for loss of future income. A judge ruled Shacknai would not have to punitive damages on top of the award.

Because this is a civil trial, there doesn't have to be a unanimous verdict. Shacknai will not face any criminal charges and cannot be sentenced to prison.

Family wants to clear Rebecca's name

Zahau's mother and sister said all along they were not interested in monetary damages. They instead wanted the jury to repudiate investigations by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office and Sheriff's Department to help clear her name.

Zahau's nude and bound body was found on July 13, 2011, at Jonah Shacknai's beachfront mansion, just a few hundred yards away from the landmark Hotel del Coronado. Her death came two days after Jonah Shacknai's 6-year-old son fell over a stairwell balcony inside the house while under Zahau's care.

Max Shacknai died five days later.

Adam Shacknai arrived at the mansion on July 12 to be with his brother and nephew. He was staying at a guesthouse separate from the 27-room mansion. He was the only other adult on the property the night Zahau died.

He called 911 at 6:45 a.m. and told dispatchers he'd found Zahau hanging naked from a courtyard balcony. As he talked to police, he cut her down.

Later, he called his brother to tell him that Zahau had taken her own life, according to court testimony.

San Diego Sheriff's Department investigators found Zahau bound hand and foot with rope and with a shirt stuffed in her mouth. A severed noose was around her neck. The other end of the rope dangled from the balcony. Inside the upstairs bedroom, the rope had been anchored to bedroom furniture. On the bedroom door officers found a cryptic message in black paint: "She saved him. Can you save her?"

About seven weeks after Zahau's death, officials with the Coronado Police Department, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office and the sheriff's homicide squad concluded that Zahau killed herself.

MORE: A step-by-step look at Rebecca Zahau's bizarre death at Spreckels Mansion

They demonstrated how she tied the knots, placed the noose around her neck and threw herself over the balcony by leaning far over the railing. Dr. Jonathan Lucas of the Medical Examiner's Office, who performed Zahau's autopsy, said her hand was still clutching the end of the rope that she used to tighten the binding around her wrists.

Zahau's DNA was found on the knots of the rope and on one of the knives she used to cut the rope. Black paint was found on her hands and the rope. Her fingerprints were found on the paint tube and the other of the two knives. Her foot and heel prints were found in the dust on the balcony.

Investigation ruled it a suicide

Authorities said she killed herself out of remorse for Max Shacknai. Investigators testified that shortly before her death, Jonah Shacknai left a message on her phone telling her that Max was going to be removed from life support.

Jonah Shacknai said in court that she had a tumultuous relationship with his ex-wives and oldest children. Investigators testified they found notes on Zahau's phone indicating she was in turmoil over her relationship with Shacknai. They said the notes helped paint a picture of Zahau's emotional state.

By all accounts, Zahau had a close relationship with Max. Investigators said his fall was the catalyst for Zahau's suicide.

On July 11, emergency crews were called to the mansion after Max was found motionless on the floor beneath a stairwell landing. He was rushed to the hospital in a coma. The Coronado Police Department, which handled the investigation of Max's death, determined that it was accidental.

Coronado police said Max appeared to have been running down a hallway at the top of the stairs when he pitched over a second-floor railing, crashed onto a chandelier and hit a banister before falling to the floor.

Family determined to prove otherwise

Zahau's mother and sister have offered multiple theories in their determination to prove she would not have taken her own life.

They initially filed a $10 million lawsuit accusing Adam Shacknai of conspiring with Jonah Shacknai's ex-wife and her twin sister to kill Zahau in retaliation for allowing Max to be injured.

The Zahaus dropped Dina Shacknai and her sister Nina Romero from their lawsuit last year after surveillance footage showed they were at the hospital when authorities say Zahau died.

They instead focused solely on Adam Shacknai.

Zahau, who immigrated with her sister to America from Myanmar more than 15 years ago, lived in New York and California before moving to Phoenix with her ex-husband in 2007. She worked as a technician for a Phoenix-area eye clinic. They were divorced in 2010.

Zahau's mother, Pari Zahau, and her sister, Mary Zahau-Loehner, said their goal was to clear Zahau's name and prove she was murdered.

Zahau-Loehner told jurors her sister was deeply spiritual, echoing sentiments she has expressed for years about her sister's religious beliefs and her passion for life.

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