Sheriff Tries to Lay Mansion Case to Rest

After weeks of waiting, the community of how investigators decided that the girlfriend of a wealthy pharmaceuticals executive killed herself.

Nearly two months ago, it seemed like the most improbable conclusion of all: How does a woman with her hands bound behind her back, and bindings on her legs, hang herself from a second-floor balcony?

Yet that appears to be the case, according to investigators. An attorney for Rebecca Zahau's family confirmed Thursday that investigators had informed them the day before that .

The family, which has maintained for weeks that Zahau, 32, would not have killed herself, made a formal request for further investigation through the Seattle attorney, Anne Bremner, whom they hired days ago.

They learned of Friday's news conference, said Zahau's ex-husband Neil Nalepa, through a reporter, not investigators, and felt blindsided.

“I know it took everybody by surprise,” Nalepa said. “They did not feel this was going to happen like that.”

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore will host the 11 a.m. news conference at the department's Kearny Mesa headquarters and has promised what appears to be a highly coordinated presentation, including Power Points, photos, videos and graphics.

as they awoke to police blocking off one of the most exclusive and historic homes in the community, the oceanfront Spreckels mansion, owned by .

A woman had been found dead there and as people crowded around the cordoned-off home, a number of rumors swept from neighbor to neighbor. Had she been naked? Was she the homeowner's girlfriend? Hadn't a boy been badly hurt there two days before?

The speculation was true: Zahau had been found naked and bound, and according to Shacknai's brother Adam—who detectives said was the only other person present on the property in the hours leading up to Zahau's death—hanging from a second-floor balcony.

In addition, Shacknai's son Max, 6, had fallen down a flight of stairs two days prior, leaving him without a pulse. .

Detectives confirmed that Adam, Jonah and Dina Shacknai—Jonah's ex-wife and Max's mother—were being treated as witnesses in the case and that no suspects or persons of interest had been named.

They also assured Coronado residents that the Spreckels incidents appeared to be isolated and that no one faced any danger.

Investigators have said little since. A sheriff's homicide unit took charge of the Zahau case, while Coronado's small police department looked into Max's death.

. Scott Markey, a trainer at the gym where Zahau worked out, said people have stopped speculating about the case, whether it was a suicide or a who-done-it.
 
“It’s been so long, people have forgotten about it,” he said.

Another witness, San Diego kennel owner Ted Greenberg, met Zahau the day before she died. He said investigators interviewed him about the case. He does not favor the suicide ruling, and hopes detectives might reconsider.

“It may be a temporary statement until they can further prove it, or they may never change it,” he said.

Gloria Tierney contributed to this report.