On July 13, 2011, Coronado PD received a phone call from a man named Adam Shacknai, who had found the body of a woman hanging from a balcony and was desperately trying to revive her. He was unable to do so, and by the time police arrived, the woman, identified as 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau, girlfriend of millionaire pharmaceutical tycoon (and Adam's brother) Jonah Shacknai, was already showing signs of rigour mortis. However, what caused the case to make national headlines were the specifics of her death. As well as the rope around her neck, Zahau's hands were bound behind her back. Her feet were tied together. Her mouth was gagged. A nonsensical suicide note was scrawled on a door in handwriting that didn't resemble hers. The nine-foot drop from the balcony should have caused extensive damage, certainly internal decapitation, and possibly partial external decapitation, yet her wounds were more consistent with manual chocking. A knife lay on the floor of her bedroom, the handle of which was encased with her menstrual blood. And she was naked.
Police ruled her death a suicide.
Airing on Oxygen in North America and Sky Crime in the UK and Ireland, the four-part Death at the Mansion: Rebecca Zahau follows the efforts of former LA prosecutor Loni Coombs, investigative journalist Billy Jensen, and forensic criminologist Paul Holes, they try to uncover enough evidence to convince the San Diego Sheriff's Department to declare Zahau's death "undetermined" and re-open the case. It's compelling stuff, but as a TV show, much of the four hours feel padded. This is especially frustrating when one considers just how much information is left out; information one can learn by watching the superior (and much shorter) Rebecca Zahau: An ID Murder Mystery (2019), or by listening to Dr. Phil McGraw's excellent five-episode podcast on the case, "Mansion of Secrets: The Mysterious Death of Rebecca Zahau" (2019). The trio at the centre of Death at the Mansion spend a lot of time talking about the confirmation bias of the police, apparently unaware that their own bias is clear to see. It isn't a bad introduction to the case, but I'd strongly advise that, if you're interested in Zahau, you supplement your viewing with something a little more objective.
Having said that, the show does raise some fascinating issues, and for the most part, it's convincing. For example, asking if Zahau would have been able to secure her hands behind her back using the knots with which she was found, we're shown footage of a police officer demonstrating how she may have done so, and Coombs and Jensen visit a BDSM expert who instructs Jensen on how to secure his own hands behind his back. However, as is discovered later on, both the demonstration and the BDSM example use a simpler form of the knots than Zahau used. Thus far, no one has been able to demonstrate how it's possible to tie one's hands behind one's back using an exact replica of the knots used by Zahau.
The show also spend time looking at the huge (unanswered) question of why she was naked? The police's main argument is that Zahau killed herself due to the guilt she felt after Jonah's six-year-old son suffered a horrific accident whilst he was under her supervision just two days earlier (he would die a few days after Zahau). It's extremely unusual (although not completely unheard of) for a female suicide victim to be naked, but if one believes that the suicide was related to honour and brought about by guilt, how does her nudity factor in?
We also examine her 'suicide note' - "SHE SAVED HIM CAN YOU SAVE HER", written on a door in black paint. "She saved him" presumably refers to Zahau performing CPR on Max, but if it is a suicide note, why is it written in the third-person, and what does the second half mean? To whom is it addressed? It also seems that the note was not written in her handwriting, although experts are somewhat divided on this issue. Additionally, the paint used to write the sign was found on Zahau's nipples and inner thigh. How'd it get there? And why only there?
Another issue is the complete lack of any DNA or prints other than Zahau's at the scene, which makes little sense as there should have been plenty of both in a room that was used by many people. The lack of DNA and prints is itself a significant red flag, suggesting the room was wiped clean.
The show also looks at other pieces of fascinating evidence that speak to murder rather than suicide. For example, a woman (Marsha Alison) two houses down from Spreckles heard a woman shouting "help me" the night of the suicide. However, police never tried to find another ear witness. Another example is that forensic audio engineer Brad Murphree analyses Adam's 911 call, and hears Adan saying "hold her still". To whom was he talking? Murphree also identifies a very a garbled voice that isn't Adam's, although what the voice is saying is impossible to make out.
It's all pretty fascinating and convincing. But one of the main problems with the show is that everyone who is interviewed (with the exception of a lone police officer) believes that Zahau was murdered. Now, fair enough, the show is about trying to uncover enough evidence to convince the police that there was foul play, so it makes sense to focus on that side of the debate. Nevertheless, there's no balance; it's so one-sided as to be distracting. The showrunners don't seem to realise that interviewing people who believe it was a suicide would have forced Coombs, Jensen, and Holes to more actively engage with such theories, which would have strengthened their own arguments for homicide. All three believe that confirmation bias played a huge role in the investigation, and they may be correct, but their own confirmation bias is just as big a problem.
Another problem is what the show leaves out. A big example is Max's fall. According to Zahau, she performed CPR on Max, but when doctors examined him, they found no evidence of CPR. Additionally, Zahau said that when she reached him, Max asked for the family dog, but according to Dr. Judy Melinek, a forensic pathologist hired by Max's mother Nina, Max's injuries would have made it impossible for him to say anything. Melinek also found that the thickness of the carpet on the second floor would have made it impossible for Max to have gotten up enough speed to go over the baluster. She also argued that his centre of gravity was too low to support Zahau's version of events.
On the other hand, the show even leaves out information that supports its case. For example, there's virtually nothing on the fact that famed forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht found four subgaleal haemorrhages on Zahau's scalp that couldn't be explained except by blunt force trauma. Police said they came from impact with branches as she fell - but how could that be possible if she went over the balcony feet first? Another issue left out of the show is something that was presumably cut for time, as it has been released as a web exclusive on the show's official website. In a meticulous recreation of the crime scene, using a mannequin of the same weight and height as Zahau tied to the same bed on the same carpet with the same rope, biomedical engineer Prof. Cynthia Bir conducted multiple experiments by dropping the body off the balcony in a variety of ways. In the real case, police say the bed moved seven inches when she hung herself, but in the experiments, the shortest distance the bed ever moved was 24 inches, suggesting she was lowered carefully into position rather than dropping a sheer nine feet. This scene absolutely should have been included.
Death at the Mansion: Rebecca Zahau is a flawed documentary about a suicide that was almost certainly a murder. Although many of its central points are convincing, it does itself no favours by limiting its interviewees to people who already support its conclusions, nor does it address the very real confirmation bias of the hosts, even as they criticise the confirmation biases of others. As an introduction to the case, it's decent, and its main theories are convincing, but I wouldn't recommend it as a final word, and would suggest you check out some other resources.
Police ruled her death a suicide.
Airing on Oxygen in North America and Sky Crime in the UK and Ireland, the four-part Death at the Mansion: Rebecca Zahau follows the efforts of former LA prosecutor Loni Coombs, investigative journalist Billy Jensen, and forensic criminologist Paul Holes, they try to uncover enough evidence to convince the San Diego Sheriff's Department to declare Zahau's death "undetermined" and re-open the case. It's compelling stuff, but as a TV show, much of the four hours feel padded. This is especially frustrating when one considers just how much information is left out; information one can learn by watching the superior (and much shorter) Rebecca Zahau: An ID Murder Mystery (2019), or by listening to Dr. Phil McGraw's excellent five-episode podcast on the case, "Mansion of Secrets: The Mysterious Death of Rebecca Zahau" (2019). The trio at the centre of Death at the Mansion spend a lot of time talking about the confirmation bias of the police, apparently unaware that their own bias is clear to see. It isn't a bad introduction to the case, but I'd strongly advise that, if you're interested in Zahau, you supplement your viewing with something a little more objective.
Having said that, the show does raise some fascinating issues, and for the most part, it's convincing. For example, asking if Zahau would have been able to secure her hands behind her back using the knots with which she was found, we're shown footage of a police officer demonstrating how she may have done so, and Coombs and Jensen visit a BDSM expert who instructs Jensen on how to secure his own hands behind his back. However, as is discovered later on, both the demonstration and the BDSM example use a simpler form of the knots than Zahau used. Thus far, no one has been able to demonstrate how it's possible to tie one's hands behind one's back using an exact replica of the knots used by Zahau.
The show also spend time looking at the huge (unanswered) question of why she was naked? The police's main argument is that Zahau killed herself due to the guilt she felt after Jonah's six-year-old son suffered a horrific accident whilst he was under her supervision just two days earlier (he would die a few days after Zahau). It's extremely unusual (although not completely unheard of) for a female suicide victim to be naked, but if one believes that the suicide was related to honour and brought about by guilt, how does her nudity factor in?
We also examine her 'suicide note' - "SHE SAVED HIM CAN YOU SAVE HER", written on a door in black paint. "She saved him" presumably refers to Zahau performing CPR on Max, but if it is a suicide note, why is it written in the third-person, and what does the second half mean? To whom is it addressed? It also seems that the note was not written in her handwriting, although experts are somewhat divided on this issue. Additionally, the paint used to write the sign was found on Zahau's nipples and inner thigh. How'd it get there? And why only there?
Another issue is the complete lack of any DNA or prints other than Zahau's at the scene, which makes little sense as there should have been plenty of both in a room that was used by many people. The lack of DNA and prints is itself a significant red flag, suggesting the room was wiped clean.
The show also looks at other pieces of fascinating evidence that speak to murder rather than suicide. For example, a woman (Marsha Alison) two houses down from Spreckles heard a woman shouting "help me" the night of the suicide. However, police never tried to find another ear witness. Another example is that forensic audio engineer Brad Murphree analyses Adam's 911 call, and hears Adan saying "hold her still". To whom was he talking? Murphree also identifies a very a garbled voice that isn't Adam's, although what the voice is saying is impossible to make out.
It's all pretty fascinating and convincing. But one of the main problems with the show is that everyone who is interviewed (with the exception of a lone police officer) believes that Zahau was murdered. Now, fair enough, the show is about trying to uncover enough evidence to convince the police that there was foul play, so it makes sense to focus on that side of the debate. Nevertheless, there's no balance; it's so one-sided as to be distracting. The showrunners don't seem to realise that interviewing people who believe it was a suicide would have forced Coombs, Jensen, and Holes to more actively engage with such theories, which would have strengthened their own arguments for homicide. All three believe that confirmation bias played a huge role in the investigation, and they may be correct, but their own confirmation bias is just as big a problem.
Another problem is what the show leaves out. A big example is Max's fall. According to Zahau, she performed CPR on Max, but when doctors examined him, they found no evidence of CPR. Additionally, Zahau said that when she reached him, Max asked for the family dog, but according to Dr. Judy Melinek, a forensic pathologist hired by Max's mother Nina, Max's injuries would have made it impossible for him to say anything. Melinek also found that the thickness of the carpet on the second floor would have made it impossible for Max to have gotten up enough speed to go over the baluster. She also argued that his centre of gravity was too low to support Zahau's version of events.
On the other hand, the show even leaves out information that supports its case. For example, there's virtually nothing on the fact that famed forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht found four subgaleal haemorrhages on Zahau's scalp that couldn't be explained except by blunt force trauma. Police said they came from impact with branches as she fell - but how could that be possible if she went over the balcony feet first? Another issue left out of the show is something that was presumably cut for time, as it has been released as a web exclusive on the show's official website. In a meticulous recreation of the crime scene, using a mannequin of the same weight and height as Zahau tied to the same bed on the same carpet with the same rope, biomedical engineer Prof. Cynthia Bir conducted multiple experiments by dropping the body off the balcony in a variety of ways. In the real case, police say the bed moved seven inches when she hung herself, but in the experiments, the shortest distance the bed ever moved was 24 inches, suggesting she was lowered carefully into position rather than dropping a sheer nine feet. This scene absolutely should have been included.
Death at the Mansion: Rebecca Zahau is a flawed documentary about a suicide that was almost certainly a murder. Although many of its central points are convincing, it does itself no favours by limiting its interviewees to people who already support its conclusions, nor does it address the very real confirmation bias of the hosts, even as they criticise the confirmation biases of others. As an introduction to the case, it's decent, and its main theories are convincing, but I wouldn't recommend it as a final word, and would suggest you check out some other resources.
