A jury on Friday found Rebecca Grossman guilty of murder for killing two young brothers who were crossing a street in Westlake Village when her speeding Mercedes struck them.
The verdict caps a legal drama that generated international attention in part because Grossman is a prominent figure who co-founded the Grossman Burn Foundation with her husband, Dr. Peter Grossman.
For the record:
6:04 pm February 23, 2024An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Grossman's possible sentence. He faces a sentence of 34 years to life in prison.
The verdict was read in a tense, packed courtroom in Van Nuys. The jury of nine men and three women found Grossman guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and one count of hit-and-run in the 2020 deaths of Mark and Jacob Iskander, ages 11 and 8. life sentence and he is scheduled to return to court on April 10 for sentencing.
“My family has been waiting for this for three and a half years,” Nancy Iskander, the children's mother, said after the decision was announced. “I give glory to God.”
Grossman's lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, called the verdict unexpected and vowed to appeal.
As the guilty verdict was read aloud in court, Alexis Grossman, Rebecca's daughter, screamed, “Oh my God, my God,” as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Rebecca Grossman, also with tears on her face, turned to her daughter to try to calm her, while Peter Grossman hugged Alexis.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino said justice could no longer be delayed and an officer moved to handcuff Grossman.
Alexis Grossman screamed as her mother was detained. Her mother begged her to stop before being escorted out of the courtroom.
Over the course of the six-week trial, jurors were presented with two very different versions of Grossman and the collision that took the lives of the two young brothers.
“This was not a tragic accident,” the district deputy said. Lawyer. Jamie Castro said in closing arguments Wednesday. “This was murder.”
But Buzbee launched his final statement with words he had repeated throughout the trial: “Where is Scott Erickson?”, trying to hold the former Dodgers pitcher responsible for the accident.
Erickson has denied any wrongdoing. Although at one point he was charged with a misdemeanor in connection with the accident, he was dismissed after he made a public service announcement to teenagers about the importance of driving safely.
Prosecutors alleged that Grossman, 60, had cocktails with Erickson and then raced with him — he in his black Mercedes sport utility vehicle and she in her white Mercedes SUV — along Triunfo Canyon Road until they reached a crosswalk. , where he fatally ran over the Iskander brothers.
Grossman, Castro said, showed conscious disregard for human life and knew his speed could be dangerous on a suburban street with pedestrian traffic because police had warned him of the dangers in the past. Prosecutors also alleged that Grossman traveled a third of a mile after crashing into the children before safety features in his car automatically shut it off.
“He had a history of speeding. She had texted me about it,” Castro said. “She acted without regard for human life.”
But throughout the trial, Buzbee continued to point his finger at Erickson, who was the first to cross the crosswalk. Defense accident reconstruction experts testified that Erickson's Mercedes struck the children first, sending Mark over his vehicle and into the hood of Grossman's vehicle.
It was around 7 pm on September 29, 2020, when Nancy Iskander and her three children approached the crosswalk. Using in-line skates, Iskander began crossing Triunfo Canyon Road at Saddle Mountain Drive. Her youngest son, Zachary, was next to her on her scooter. Mark, on a skateboard, and Jacob, who was also wearing inline skates, were also in the crosswalk.
“The mother did everything right,” Castro said. “Rebecca Grossman did everything wrong.”
Iskander testified during the trial that he heard engines revving and looked up to see a black pickup truck speeding toward the intersection. He moved out of the way and pulled Zachary to safety.
But she testified that a white Mercedes SUV was following the black vehicle closely. When she crossed the crosswalk, Iskander said, she heard an impact and her two oldest children were missing.
Jacob was found near the sidewalk about 50 feet from the crosswalk. He was taken to a hospital, where hours later he was pronounced dead. Mark's body was found 254 feet away.
Prosecutors accused Grossman of reaching 81 mph before lightly braking and hitting the brothers at 73 mph, based on the car's data recorder and the distance Mark was found from the crosswalk. But Buzbee called experts who testified that the data was unreliable and that Grossman was traveling 52 mph according to video captured seconds after the collision.
Deputy District. Lawyer. Ryan Gould said he was glad Erickson's argument didn't become a distraction for jurors.
“We thought the evidence spoke for itself,” Gould said. “As we argued at the end, there was not the slightest evidence that he was involved. And the jury obviously felt the same way too.
“This is a day for the people of Iskander, Mark and Jacob and the Westlake Village community,” he said. “We get justice for the children.”
Karim and Nancy Iskander speak to reporters outside court on Friday after the verdict for the murder of their two sons.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
After the verdict was read Friday afternoon, Karim Iskander, the children's father, thanked the jury.
“Thank you for not falling for imaginary conspiracy theories and tricks,” he said. It took “a lot of patience, so I really appreciate that you were able to close it.”
Nancy Iskander thanked prosecutors for their hard work on the case.
“We went above and beyond. … They've done their job and now we're ready to begin our healing process,” he said. “We have a justice system we can trust, thank God.”
He declined to comment on the upcoming sentencing, saying he would “leave that to the judge.”
Although the children's parents felt justice was served in the case, Nancy Iskander said she was not happy to see Grossman in handcuffs.
“No one wishes that on anyone,” he said. “I promise I don't feel any hatred for her. My heart broke for her children. … It wasn't easy, but she will bring me closure.”
