Community Reacts to Detectives’ Suicide Finding in Mansion Death

Reaction came in from throughout Coronado Friday, from longtime residents to shop workers to tourists, as everyone tried of Rebecca Zahau and Max Shacknai.

The reaction was sharply divided, with some people saying their questions about what happened at the Spreckels mansion had been answered, while others struggled with the suicide conclusion.

Detectives, led by Sheriff Bill Gore, said that Zahau, .

Judy Holden, who is married to a Navy officer based in Coronado and is also a grandmother said, “I believe it was a suicide because I trust police to do a thorough investigation and the event closely followed on the heels of the young boy’s death, so they must be related somehow.”

Longtime resident Jeff Alison also believes Zahau killed herself.

“My only question this whole time has been, ‘How did she manage to tie her wrists behind her back?’ Then, I saw the video demo of a woman, about the same stature of Rebecca, successfully tie her own wrists,” he said.

“It was very convincing. I suggest anyone who has a question about how she could have done this to herself should watch the video.”

The news also left , in shock. Detectives said a witness told them that last winter Zahau had been stressed, was losing weight and not working out.

But according to trainers, Zahau worked out constantly this summer. “She was in that weekend,” Reed Holman said, referring to the days before Zahau died.

Gym records failed to confirm that. But Ethyyanne Ochoa, co-owner of Hollywood Fitness, said many members fail to scan their cards properly. She recalls Zahau working out as well. “I remember seeing her come in and heading straight for the Stairmaster,” Ochoa said.

Holman was unsure what to think of the suicide finding.

“I’m surprised,” he said. “She seemed so OK and happy when she was here. At the same time you have to understand that what happened with the boy, his being hurt and in a coma, you don’t know how that is going to make someone feel. It could change them.”

For his part he saw no sign of depression in Zahau. “She was exactly the same (this year) as she was last summer,” he recalled.

Tourists were quite familiar with the case as well, including other Arizonans. Shacknai and Zahau lived there full time.

A pair of young parents from Scottsdale recognized the mansion as they strolled through the community.
The couple was divided.

“To me, it doesn’t sound like a suicide. Why would she tie herself up and kill herself? It doesn’t seem possible,” Kyle Green said.

His wife disagreed and said anything is possible and that Zahau probably felt responsible for the young boy’s accident. The couple has a 1-year-old baby.

“I can imagine that she (Zahau) felt guilty for the boy’s injuries,” Heather Green said.

Charles Rottmann, a resident of San Francisco who travels to Coronado frequently, is not so sure.

“To me, if you’re going to kill yourself, why would you need to tie yourself? And naked? It doesn’t make sense,” Rottmann said.

Another neighbor on Ocean Boulevard, a medical worker who declined to give her full name, said she has mutual friends who knew Zahau from yoga classes.

“They said she was a very nice, outgoing and beautiful girl,” she said.

“I used to work at Scripps Hospital and Tri-City Medical Center where I dealt with suicides often, so the condition she was found in is very strange,” she said.

“I feel for the families of both,” she concluded.

That is a nearly universal sentiment. “Overall, it’s all really tragic news,” Holden said.