Rebecca Mawii Zahau was born on March 15, 1979, in Burma (now Myanmar). Her hometown, Falam, China, was located in the northwest of the country. The woman's father was Khua Hnin Thang and her mother was Zung Tin Par, who was called Pari. Rebecca had three sisters - the older Mary Zahau-Loehner, the younger Snowem Horwath, and the teenage Xena Zahau.
The family was Protestant. For economic reasons, they all moved to Nepal and then to Germany. Eventually, family members settled in the USA. The move took place some ten years before Rebecca's death. Zahau's parents and most members of the family settled in Saint Joseph, Missouri.
Rebecca finished her studies in the United States and started working as an ophthalmic technician. In 2002, the woman married then 36-year-old nursing student Neil Nalepa, who was from Scottsdale, Arizona. The couple divorced in February 2011.
Earlier, in 2008, Zahau began dating Jonah Shacknai, who was her patient. The man was the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Medicis Pharmaceutical. Shacknaia's business prospered and the man quickly became a millionaire. Due to this, Jonah persuaded his partner over time to quit her job. The woman hesitated at first, as she supported her family financially. Shacknai, however, declared that he would take on these responsibilities, which he actually did.
As is often the case, money did not go hand in hand with successful family life. Jonah had two marriages behind him. The first - with Kimberly James - ended in divorce and a three-year struggle for custody of their two children. The man had the son of Maxfield, Aaron Shacknai, with his second wife, Dina Romano. The boy who everyone just called Max was born on June 7, 2005.
Before we move on to two tragic events, it is worth mentioning a strange incident that happened two years earlier. In August 2009, Zahau was arrested for stealing 1,000-dollar jewelry from Macy's store in Phoenix, Arizona. The woman pleaded guilty and paid a $ 500 fine.
Her behavior was so peculiar that she was already seeing Jonah, who was an extremely wealthy man. At the same time, Rebecca was still working and had money of her own. She quit her job at the urging of her partner in 2010. It is therefore hard to explain the theft, considering that the woman could buy the jewelry herself or simply ask Jonah for it, who would certainly be willing to give her loved one such a gift.
On Monday, July 11, 2011, Rebecca, her youngest sister Xena, and Max were staying at the Spreckels mansion in Coronado, California. It was used as the summer mansion where Zahau usually lived. Jonah was also in Coronado at the time, but he left home for a while and went to the gym. So the sisters looked after his son.
At one point, Rebecca, who was supposedly in the bathroom at the time, heard a shrill bang. So she ran out of the toilet and found Max lying on the floor. Next to it was a chandelier that had fallen from the ceiling and a scooter. The boy often rode it, even inside the house.
It seemed Max had probably flown over the railing while driving and fell one floor below the railing, catching a hanging lamp. Xena just as quickly appeared nearby. It turned out that she also did not see the whole event (supposedly taking a shower). A teenager called an ambulance. Her sister, who worked in the health service and had the appropriate qualifications, provided first aid.
When the ambulance arrived, Max was not breathing and he was unconscious, so he was taken to the hospital. It turned out that his spinal cord was badly damaged. Ultimately, the boy died on July 16, five days after the fall. The cause of death was reported to be brain damage due to hypoxia. Unfortunately, it was not possible to be sure what happened to Max because no one saw the accident.
Rebecca later claimed that she ran to the six-year-old and heard him say the word "ocean." That was the name of the boy's dog. It is also worth mentioning that the property overlooked the Pacific. So it's hard to know what Max meant exactly, assuming, of course, that Zahau told the truth. This is doubtful because the doctors later concluded that the boy, having such injuries, probably lost consciousness right after the fall. Why would Rebecca make up this detail after all?
On July 26, investigators regarded the boy's death as an accident, speculating that he had somehow tripped and fell over the railing. However, the doctor who examined Max before he died and performed the autopsy stated that he did not believe it. He explained that the cardiac arrest and brain swelling he suffered were not caused by the fall.
The next day, July 12, Rebecca drove her sister to the airport. Xena was supposed to return to her parents' house. Zahau then picked up Jonah's brother Adam, who had just flown from Memphis, Tennessee, where he was living. The man, as soon as he found out about his nephew's accident, booked the next flight, even though he did not like to travel this way very much and almost never did. Adam's element was water - the man worked as a sailor. Rebecca and the Shacknai brothers had dinner that night with a friend named Howard. Zahau and Adam returned to the Spreckels mansion. Jonah, on the other hand, decided to stay at Max's bedside with the boy's mother.
On the morning of July 13, at around 6:45 am, Adam entered the main mansion. He had spent the night in the guesthouse. To his surprise, he then saw Zahau's naked body hanging from the balcony on the second floor. The woman had her ankles and hands bound. The strangest thing, however, was that her wrists were tied behind her back. Rebecca was also gagged. A blue T-shirt was wrapped around her head and the sleeves were tied up and stuffed into the woman's mouth. There were also what appeared to be traces of tape on her legs. However, she was nowhere to be found in the vicinity.
Adam called an ambulance at 6:48 am. However, he was so upset that he did not remember the exact address of the house. Wanting to help the dispatcher, he said that an ambulance had been called there the day before for a little boy. The ambulance had picked up Max two days earlier, so the woman hadn't found this report in the system. Eventually, Adam managed to give the correct address. Then he texted his brother to inform him about the incident. Before the police arrived, the man cut the rope from which Zahau's body was hanging.
Paramedics who arrived at the scene found the woman dead. The police ordered an autopsy and toxicological tests to determine the cause of death. Of course, speculation quickly emerged about third-party involvement. Investigators, however, did not find any DNA other than that of Zahau at the scene. On September 2, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department officially announced that Rebecca had committed suicide.
The results of the 32-year-old's autopsy revealed four head injuries, which were divided over the years. San Diego Medical Examiner Jonathan Lucas concluded that the woman might actually have hit her head on the balcony. Werner Spitz, the forensic expert who testified at Casey Anthony's trial, said the possibility existed. However, he stated that he would have to see exactly what position the body was in. On the other hand, forensic consultant Dr. Maurice Godwin expressed doubts, saying that hitting his head four times in an alleged suicide attempt would be rather impossible.
Rebecca's second autopsy was performed by pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht at the request of the family. Wecht testified that, in his opinion, the fracture of the hyoid bone was caused by strangulation by a third party, and not by hanging as a result of suicide. In the doctor's opinion, Zahau's death should qualify as a homicide. Rebecca's family lawyer added that there had been inaccuracies in the investigators' investigation, including evidence showing that the woman had been sexually abused before her death.
But there was still a peculiar question to be resolved - why were Zahau's wrists and feet tied? San Diego sheriff Roy Frank said there had been cases in the past where would-be suicides secured their legs and arms to keep their minds from changing. The police decided to do an experiment to determine if Zahau would be able to bind herself in this way. A woman of similar height and weight wrapped the rope around her hands several times, released one hand, then put her hands behind her back, pushed them away, and tightened the binding with a string similar to the one the police found in Zahau's hands. It proved that it was theoretically possible. But did Rebecca actually do it?
Another mystery was the message that was painted on the door of the room leading to the balcony, where the police found Zahau's body. According to the ex-husband of the woman, the inscription read: "She saved him, can he save her?" Investigators initially refused to confirm this information. In a media comment, Sheriff Gore merely stated that it was not an explicit suicide note. However, investigators ultimately found it to be another proof of suicide. Because Rebecca liked to paint. For this, she was using the brush that was used to create the inscription. The woman's siblings, however, argued that the message did not suit her handwriting. Nalepa also stated that the note did not look like what his ex-wife might have written.
Police ordered telecommunications companies Verizon and AT&T to check the 32-year-old's phone bills. A Samsung Focus mobile phone, which belonged to Zahau, was also seized as evidence in the case. As per AT&T's findings, from around 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Zahau spoke and exchanged text messages with her older sister Mary, who confirmed that Xena was safely back home.
At 10:48 PM, Rebecca received a message from Nina Romano, Shacknai's ex-wife's twin sister. The woman wanted to visit her to talk about Max's accident. Zahau did not reply to this text, however. The 32-year-old checked her voicemail hours later at 00:50 and listened to the message. The bills did not reveal who left the message.
The police said it related to the deterioration of Max's health. However, the investigators did not disclose who had signed up for the voicemail. Mary later revealed that investigators told her the author was Jonah Shacknai. The message has been deleted. This meant that the police and the Zahau family did not know what exactly was on the video.
The investigators initially did not turn on the woman's mobile phone, fearing that they might overwrite any evidence contained in the device's memory. Investigators tried to determine if there was software available that would allow them to investigate the model. Ultimately, they failed to find such a method.
On August 15, one of the detectives turned on the phone and checked its contents. He discovered that said voicemail had not been saved. Interestingly, the police did not ask AT&T to try to retrieve the deleted footage from their servers. In early October, investigators completed a second examination of the telephone. However, they found no new information and announced that they would return the cell to the Zahau family soon.
On the one hand, Rebecca had reasons to commit suicide. The most obvious one was Max's accident. The woman who treated the boy like a son blamed herself for taking her out of her sight. On the other hand, Zahau knew that the 6-year-old was in serious condition, but at the time of her death, Max was still alive and there was hope that his condition would improve.
Mary Zahau-Loehner, who was in good contact with her younger sister, admitted that Rebecca planned to end her relationship in the near future. For her life was not as fairy-tale as you might think. The woman quit the job she liked, losing her financial independence at the same time. It is true that she had a lot of free time, but she devoted it mainly to running everyday matters, taking care of Max, or cleaning a large mansion.
There were also conflicts with Shacknai's two children from their first marriage, who did not tolerate their father's much younger partner. Jonah's two former wives were also negative about Zahau, who probably envied her simple beauty and age. The only person who really liked the 32-year-old was Max.
Rebecca's family and lawyers contested much of the evidence found at the scene, which led police to conclude that the woman's death was a suicide. Relatives also felt that Zahau would not have done so because of her religious views and strong ties with her family.
It seems particularly unlikely that she would decide to commit suicide, knowing that her naked body would be seen by relatives, neighbors, or representatives of the services. Another argument that contradicted the woman killing herself was the statistics. Women commit suicide much less frequently than men. They most often choose methods other than hanging themselves.
It is also worth adding that a witness who reportedly saw a woman outside Jonah's property on the night of Rebecca's death reported it to the police. There were speculations that it could be Dina, the mother of Max. The motive would be to take revenge for the boy's serious condition. Dina was also reportedly jealous of her ex-husband's younger and prettier partner. Another reason could be that Max preferred Rebecca's company to his mother. The woman, however, had an iron alibi. She spent practically the whole day and night in the hospital, watching over her son. This was confirmed by the surveillance recordings.
Interestingly, however, Dina had a twin sister, Nina. In addition, this woman confirmed that she did indeed go to Shaknai's villa in the early evening. The reason for the visit was that Nina wanted to hear directly from Zahau what had happened on an ill-fated day. Supposedly, no one was home at the time. Rebekah and Adam appeared on the property around 8:00 PM, so it is likely. So both sisters were excluded from the circle of possible suspects.
The cause of Max's injuries is also controversial. The 6-year-old's mother has repeatedly questioned the possibility that the accident was caused by speeding a scooter. It was hard for her to imagine that a rushing boy could fly over a relatively high railing. Dina hired a private investigator to investigate the details of the incident. It was found that there was a carpet on the floor of the corridor where the accident allegedly occurred. For this reason, it would be quite difficult to reach high speed when riding a scooter. However, it was not possible to clearly establish what happened to Max.
At the request of Rebecca's family, who still did not believe in her suicide, the body was exhumed. Then a second, independent autopsy was performed. It mainly focused on the injuries I mentioned earlier. It was established that they arose before her death. One hypothesis according to which the body was injured after it had fallen from a height was thus ruled out. It is about the moment when Adam cut the rope from which Rebecca's body hung.
Two knives that were in the woman's room should also be mentioned. No fingerprints were found on one of them. On the second, Rebecca's fingerprints were discovered. Interestingly, they were not on the hilt, but on the blade. The location of the marks suggested that the woman might have been holding the knife in her bound hands. Perhaps she thought for a moment about giving up suicide but finally abandoned the idea.
It is also extremely peculiar that only her fingerprints were found in Zahau's room. Her partner and Max had probably stayed in this room many times before, and probably other people too. I am speaking generally and not about their presence there on the day of her death. So it looks a bit as if the potential perpetrator cleaned up the exact scene.
Rebecca's ex-husband, Neil Nalepa, doubted the 32-year-old's suicide, stating that it would not be her style. The woman was always smiling and optimistic about life. She was also planning a party to celebrate her father's 80th birthday in October.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that Adam Shacknai was sued by the Zahau family as guilty of Rebecca's death. The man lost the trial and had to pay $ 5 million to the relatives of the deceased. However, it was a civil trial, very different from a criminal case. Jonah's brother was not found murdering a woman. To date, it has not been possible to clearly determine whether Rebecca's mysterious death was a result of suicide or the participation of third parties.
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