A former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and boyfriend of a Los Angeles socialite charged with murder in the deaths of two young brothers is responsible for the deaths because his vehicle struck the children first, defense attorneys told jurors Friday.
More than three years after Rebecca Grossman was charged with the murders of Jacob and Mark Iskander, ages 8 and 11, opening statements began with the defense pointing the finger at Scott Erickson, who they say was the first to cross the Westlake crosswalk where the children were. They were beaten.
Tony Buzbee, Grossman's lead attorney, told jurors that “she didn't do anything, but someone else did,” adding that authorities never examined Erickson's vehicle after the deadly incident.
Witnesses are expected to testify that they heard Erickson's powerful black Mercedes SUV racing down the street and saw it hit both children, who were thrown into the air after the collision.
Buzbee said he will present video evidence showing that after the crash, the former Dodger was still traveling at 70 mph, a speed the defense says was more than 20 mph faster than Grossman.
“We will prove that the black car was driven by Scott Erickson, who stopped on the road, hid in the bushes and watched,” Buzbee said. “Scott Erickson's car hit those kids. “That’s what…science will show in this case.”
Prosecutors, however, argued that Grossman, who was behind Erickson's truck, sped through the marked crosswalk on Triunfo Canyon Road at Saddle Mountain Drive at more than 70 mph.
Los Angeles County Deputy District. Lawyer. Ryan Gould said the 60-year-old Hidden Hills socialite had alcohol and drugs in her system, which prevented her from driving. He said Grossman only stopped after safety systems disabled her Mercedes following the collision.
Grossman is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run resulting in death. If she is convicted of all charges, she faces 34 years to life in prison.
Graphic testimony is expected from Nancy Iskander, who was crossing the street on September 29, 2020 with three of her children when she heard the roar of approaching engines on the quiet street at 45 mph. She testified during a preliminary hearing in 2022 that she raised her right hand in a desperate effort to stop oncoming vehicles and grabbed her 5-year-old son, Zachary, and pulled him to safety. She was unable to locate Mark and Jacob, who were further down the street. She said she and Jacob were on in-line skates, Zachary was on her scooter and Mark was on her skateboard as the family crossed the residential boulevard. Her husband and her daughter were jogging nearby.
Gould told jurors Friday that Grossman, who prosecutors say was speeding home behind Erickson after the two had been drinking at a nearby restaurant, “knew what he was doing was incredibly dangerous.”
Two tests of his blood alcohol level returned readings of 0.08%, California's legal limit, and 0.074%/0.075%, court records show. Valium was also found in her blood sample. She is not charged with driving under the influence.
“She acted with implied malice,” the necessary element prosecutors need to prove second-degree murder, Gould said. “If she was obeying the speed limit, she wouldn't have hit Mark and Jacob; “They would have had time to cross.”
Prosecution witnesses are expected to testify that they saw the SUVs speeding, with one describing the sound of the powerful vehicles “like an 18-wheeler.”
“They turn right and then they hit him,” Gould told jurors.
The black box in Grossman's truck showed he was going 73 mph at the time of impact, and the distance the boys were thrown (Jacob at about 50 feet and Mark at 254 feet) supported a speed of more than 70 mph. at the time of impact, Gould said. Mark died from a blunt force traumatic injury and Jacob was decapitated internally, he told jurors.
Gould said Grossman did not stop for more than a third of a mile from the intersection and only did so because the airbag in his Mercedes deployed, prompting a fuel shutoff and a call to a safety operator.
He played a tape of Grossman telling an operator: “I was driving down the highway and all of a sudden my bag exploded.” When a 911 operator on the line with the Mercedes representative asked, “Did they hit a person? Did they say the two children were hit with skates? Grossman responded, “No.”
But Buzbee argued that his client was not the one who fatally struck the children, suggesting that the Iskander brothers “were not in the crosswalk” but were turning a corner. He said the front damage to his vehicle was caused when one of the children, first hit by Erickson, bounced into his SUV. He also promised that an expert would testify why Grossman's airbag deployed and not Erickson's.
“We will show that the investigation was absolutely terrible,” the lawyer told a jury of nine men and three women. “We will show a black Mercedes AMG… it is the car that hit the children first,” adding that “several eyewitnesses heard two impacts.”
He said Grossman's driving was not affected (he had “one and a half drinks in two hours”) and that the amount of Valium in his system was barely detectable. He previously argued that the crosswalk was a known hazard and said video from a security system from a nearby home the night of the crash will allow jurors “to see how dark it was.”
Buzbee said Erickson, 55, lied to sheriff's investigators about the vehicle he was driving that night, saying he “stopped on the road, hid in the bushes and watched” as police investigated the crash before going to the scene. to Grossman's house and talk to his daughter. and then go back home.
Erickson has denied any wrongdoing in the fatal crash and had a misdemeanor charge dismissed after making a public service announcement about the importance of safe driving.
“We will emphasize science over emotion,” Buzbee said.
Dressed in a navy cardigan, white blouse and glasses, Grossman kept her gaze on the jury during opening statements. She hugged her son, her daughter and her husband, Dr. Peter Grossman, director of the Grossman Burn Center, during a break. Peter Grossman has said that he and his wife were separated at the time of the fatal crash.
“This case is about two families,” Buzbee said. “But no one on our side will try to minimize the tragedy.”
“Use your courage and declare Ms. Grossman innocent.”
