Mayor Speaks to Dr. Drew About Shacknai Investigations

UPDATE: KFMB Channel 8 reports that victim Rebecca Zahau's sister is upset that authorities have not eliminated suicide as a possible cause of her death. She discussed Zahau's state of mind in a statement that also referred to Max, her boyfriend's then-ailing son. The boy, 6, died four days after Zahau.

"Obviously the investigation is not complete yet, but as far as what I know about my sister, my sister did not commit a suicide,” the woman told the station. “My sister was not depressed, my sister was not frantic, my sister was planning to call my parents the next day and was planning to keep me posted about Max the next day."

Mayor Casey Tanaka was a guest on a cable news network late Wednesday, discussing , whose life is now under a microscope because of two unexplained deaths in his family, one at his oceanfront summer home.

HLN's Dr. Drew Pinsky questioned the mayor by phone on his eponymous show. Tanaka described Shacknai as “a very patient and rational person” who didn't threaten lawsuits or “throw his weight around” as he negotiated with the city to renovate his home, the historic Spreckels mansion.

Tanaka told Patch his only contact with the Arizona pharmaceuticals executive outside City Council meetings was a conversation over coffee to discuss an application to alter the home's facade.

The talks have been ongoing since Shacknai took ownership of the property. He sought permission for multiple additions, including a bedroom, a wall and gate near the sidewalk and French doors. Once a home is declared historic, the law requires owners to seek public review before major changes can take place.

Some of the changes were approved; the most recent public discussion of Shacknai's request .

Shacknai's troubles now extend far beyond protracted negotiations with the city. His son and girlfriend are dead, in unexplained incidents that have drawn national attention and left investigators circling the wagons.

His temperment is also in question, as reports have surfaced that Arizona police intervened in quarrels he had with his ex-wife, Dina, the mother of the dead child. The duo exchanged accusations of abuse, though no charges were filed.

Coverage of the increasingly infamous case is expanding. NBC's TODAY show and ABC's Good Morning America have broadcast pieces, and two shows – Pinsky's and Jane Velez-Mitchell's – on HLN, a sister network of CNN, have focused on the probes.

Max Shacknai, 6, died of injuries he suffered July 11 in a fall at the Spreckels mansion. Two days after the fall, his father's girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, 32, was found on the property nude and bound.

Shacknai's brother Adam told authorities she had been hanging from a second-floor balcony. Detectives have not released a cause of death, or even determined if Zahau's case is a criminal matter, though the Medical Examiner's Office completed an autopsy July 14.

The office also conducted an autopsy on the Shacknai boy, but have yet to release a cause of death for him either. Coronado police are investigating his case, while a San Diego Sheriff's homicide unit is handling Zahau's.

Both sides initially maintained the incidents were oddly timed and unrelated tragedies. The Sheriff's Department called Wednesday for the public to be patient as 15 detectives investigate Zahau's death.

In the press release, officials said they must await results from forensics, lab and toxicology tests “to understand what happened to Rebecca Zahau” and reject “hearsay, rumor or speculation.”

“We will go wherever the evidence takes us and will investigate however long it takes to make sure we get the facts right for Rebecca, her family and the public,” they said in the statement.

Contributor Gloria Tierney shared reporting for this report.