Zahau Family Files $10M Wrongful Death Suit Against Shacknai's Brother

One day short of the second anniversary of her death, Rebecca Zahau's family has filed a $10 million lawsuit against members of the extended Shacknai family, alleging wrongful death, assault, battery and negligence. 

The nine-page civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court Friday, names Adam Shacknai, Dina Shacknai and Nina Romano.

Adam Shacknai is the brother of Jonah Shacknai, the Arizona pharmaceuticals magnate who was in a relationship with Zahau when she was found dead in a courtyard to the rear of the historic Spreckels mansion on July 13, 2011.

Dina Shacknai is Jonah Shacknai's ex-wife – with whom he shared a child, the late Max, 6 – and Romano is the woman's twin sister.

In the suit, the trio are accused of intentionally, willfully, wantonly and maliciously” threatening to cause Zahau harm by stalking, attacking, choking, gagging or hanging her.

They are alleged to have done so “with malice aforethought” though no criminal charges were ever filed in the case, which was declared a suicide.

Jonah Shacknai, who used the Spreckels mansion as a summer getaway from his Arizona home, is not named as a defendant in the suit.

The Zahau family members named as plaintiffs in the case are Pari Zahau, Rebecca's mother, and Mary Zahau-Loehner, her sister. They are represented by San Diego attorneys Frederick Gaston and C. Keith Greer. 

Though Zahau's father is included in the suit, he died four days ago. 

Another family attorney, Martin Rudoy, declined to comment on the case Saturday. Rudoy sued the county on the family's behalf in May seeking autopsy results and other evidence collected by investigators.

The family could not be reached – services for the late Robert Zahau took place Saturday – nor could the defendants named in the suit.

Zahau's body was found nude, bound and with a T shirt wrapped about her neck. The case drew immediate attention, because of the manner in which her body was discovered, the wealth and prominence of Jonah Shacknai, and Coronado's tony reputation as a wealthy resort town.

After weeks of investigation, San Diego County Sheriffs detectives determined Zahau had hung herself from a balcony at the residence, in despair over the failing health of Max Shacknai.

Max fell down a staircase at the mansion two days before Zahau's death. His death was announced July 16 following days of treatment at Rady Children's Hospital.

Her loved ones have maintained that Zahau could not have committed suicide and that someone must have harmed her.  Until the case was filed, they have never named specific individuals they thought to be responsible.

Dina Shacknai also has argued that Max's death was not an accident as Coronado police determined. Both sides sought new inquiries, but were turned away.

Adam Shacknai, who found Zahau's body, was the only person investigators said was on the Spreckels property in the hours before her death. Coronado police said Zahau and her adolescent sister were the only people at the residence when Max fell.

The Spreckels mansion, which has been substantially renovated, is in the process of being sold.