The Rebecca Zahau case centers on the death of a 32-year-old woman found hanging, bound and gagged, from a balcony at the historic Spreckels Mansion in Coronado, California, on July 13, 2011. San Diego County authorities ruled it a suicide. A civil jury later found her boyfriend’s brother liable for her death and awarded her family about $5 million, but no criminal charges have ever been filed and the official cause of death has never been changed.
What Happened at the Coronado Mansion
Zahau was the girlfriend of pharmaceutical executive Jonah Shacknai, who owned the beachfront estate at 1043 Ocean Boulevard.1Good Morning America. What Police Found at the Scene of Womans Mysterious California Mansion Death Two days before her death, on July 11, 2011, Shacknai’s six-year-old son Maxfield suffered catastrophic injuries in a fall at the mansion while in Zahau’s care. According to Zahau, she heard a noise and found Max in the foyer at the base of the stairs with a scooter, scattered soccer balls, and a fallen chandelier near him.2Oxygen. Tragic Accident of Max Shacknai He had fractured his forehead and suffered a severe spinal cord injury. Max was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he died on July 16. Investigators concluded he likely tripped while riding his scooter, and the medical examiner ruled the death accidental.3NBC San Diego. Dina Shacknai, Rebecca Zahau, Coronado Spreckels Mansion
On the morning of July 13, while Max was still in the hospital, Zahau was found dead. She was nude, gagged with a T-shirt partially stuffed in her mouth, her ankles bound and her wrists tied behind her back, hanging by a rope from the second-floor balcony above the courtyard.4NBC San Diego. New Book Looks Back at Rebecca Zahaus Death in Coronado Painted in black on the bedroom door leading to the balcony was a message: “She saved him can you save her.”5CBS News. Unexplained Head Injuries Raise Questions About Rebecca Zahaus Death
The only other person on the mansion grounds that night was Jonah’s younger brother, Adam Shacknai, a Mississippi River tugboat pilot who had flown in from Memphis the previous afternoon. Adam told investigators he had slept in the guest house, discovered Zahau hanging as he walked out the next morning, called 911, cut her down with a kitchen knife, and attempted CPR.6San Diego Union-Tribune. Shacknai Testifies Most Certainly Did Not Kill Zahau Jonah Shacknai was at the hospital with Max.
Why the Sheriff Ruled It a Suicide
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigated for roughly two months. In September 2011, Sheriff Bill Gore announced the death was a suicide, and Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas concurred, certifying death by hanging.7Fox 5 San Diego. Sheriffs Department to Review Rebecca Zahau Case Investigators theorized Zahau killed herself out of grief and guilt after receiving a voicemail from Jonah about Max’s deteriorating condition.8ABC News. Jury Awards Rebecca Zahau Family $5M in Womans Mysterious Death
The department said only Zahau’s fingerprints and DNA were found at the scene, and it produced a video demonstration intended to show how she could have bound her own hands and feet.9NBC San Diego. Rebecca Zahaus Family Plans to File New Lawsuit A book found in her room, Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, contained a drawing of a bound woman that investigators noted as potentially relevant.8ABC News. Jury Awards Rebecca Zahau Family $5M in Womans Mysterious Death Adam Shacknai was cleared of involvement. At the later civil trial, defense attorneys also pointed to notes on Zahau’s phone discussing hopelessness, insomnia, and frequent crying, along with a history of childhood and domestic abuse.10Courthouse News Service. San Diego Death Case Goes to the Jury
Why Zahau’s Family Rejected the Ruling
Her family contested the suicide finding from the start. Her sister, Mary Zahau-Loehner, said the handwriting on the painted door message did not appear to be Rebecca’s. The family noted Zahau had no psychiatric history and had never attempted suicide, and argued that a woman found nude, gagged, and bound was virtually unprecedented as a method of female suicide.11ABC News. Rebecca Zahau Autopsy Raises Questions
The family had Zahau’s remains exhumed, and forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht performed a second autopsy in Pittsburgh in October 2011. Wecht identified four hemorrhages on the right side of her scalp that he attributed to blunt force trauma from a hard, rounded object, arguing the injuries could have rendered her unconscious. He also described a fractured band of neck cartilage and muscle injuries he said were consistent with manual strangulation rather than hanging. Wecht noted the absence of a broken neck, which he said a nine-foot drop from the balcony should have produced in a true suicidal hanging.12San Diego Union-Tribune. Well-Known Pathologist Testifies in Trial That Zahau Was Strangled13ABC News. Coronado Mansion Death: Rebecca Zahau Knocked Unconscious His conclusion was that the death was a homicide by manual strangulation, “set up to look like a suicidal hanging.” Dr. Lucas, the county’s examiner, described the same scalp injuries as “relatively minor” and said they could have come from Zahau’s head striking the building during the fall.
The 2018 Civil Trial and Verdict
In July 2013, the Zahau family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court. Early defendants Dina Shacknai (Jonah’s ex-wife) and her sister Nina Romano were dropped before trial, leaving Adam Shacknai as the sole defendant.14NBC San Diego. Security Video, Dina Shacknai in Death of Rebecca Zahau The six-week trial took place in early 2018 before Judge Katherine Bacal, with 29 witnesses testifying.10Courthouse News Service. San Diego Death Case Goes to the Jury
Family attorney Keith Greer alleged Adam Shacknai battered, sexually assaulted, and manually strangled Zahau, then staged the scene. In closing arguments, Greer used a life-size mannequin and argued Shacknai had used the handle of a steak knife to assault her and had written the message on the door himself.15Los Angeles Times. Zahau Closing Trial A handwriting expert for the plaintiffs testified the door message was more likely written by Adam than by Zahau, though he said he could not call it “probable.”16Los Angeles Times. Mansion Trial Defense attorney Dan Webb countered that a rape kit returned negative for vaginal trauma, that the knots were not uniquely nautical, and that physical evidence pointed to Zahau’s involvement in her own death.10Courthouse News Service. San Diego Death Case Goes to the Jury Adam Shacknai testified he had “nothing to do with Zahau’s death” and denied ever entering the main house that night.6San Diego Union-Tribune. Shacknai Testifies Most Certainly Did Not Kill Zahau
On April 5, 2018, the jury voted 9-3 to find Adam Shacknai civilly liable. The award totaled roughly $5.167 million: $3 million for past noneconomic damages, $2 million for future noneconomic damages, $35,000 for past financial support, and $132,000 for future financial support.17CBS 8. Adam Shacknai Found Liable in Death of Rebecca Zahau
Shacknai filed for a retrial. The case never returned to court. In February 2019, the family reached a settlement with the insurance company covering his legal exposure, reported at $600,000.18NBC San Diego. Settlement in Rebecca Zahau Civil Case On February 6, 2019, Judge Bacal dismissed the case with prejudice, ending the retrial request.19Times of San Diego. Zahau Saga Ends With Family Agreeing to Insurance Settlement The judge noted the jury verdict technically remained on the record; an attorney for Shacknai said it “lacked legal standing,” and Shacknai maintained his “name is cleared.”2010News. Rebecca Zahau Case Settlement Reached, Civil Case Dismissed
The Sheriff’s 2018 Re-Review
The civil verdict put pressure on the Sheriff’s Department to reopen the case. In April 2018, the department announced a “fresh review” by personnel with no prior involvement, drawing on the Major Crimes Division, Homicide Detail, Crime Lab, County Medical Examiner’s Office, and Coronado Police Department.2110News. San Diego County Sheriff Updates Coronado Mansion Death of Rebecca Zahau On December 7, 2018, Sheriff Gore announced the team found no evidence Zahau “died at the hands of another.” The suicide ruling stood. Keith Greer called the decision “not a logical decision” and accused investigators of being “corrupt.”2210News. Sheriffs Decision Not to Reopen Zahau Case Not a Logical Decision, Attorney Says
Where the Case Stands Now
No criminal charges have ever been filed. The family petitioned the California Attorney General to reopen the criminal investigation; the request was denied.8ABC News. Jury Awards Rebecca Zahau Family $5M in Womans Mysterious Death In 2022, attorney Keith Greer filed a formal petition with the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office asking that the cause of death be reclassified from suicide to homicide or undetermined.23KPBS. Zahau Family Petition Medical Examiner to Reclassify Cause of 2011 Death In September 2023, Chief Medical Examiner Steven Campman replied in writing: “After reviewing the totality of the evidence, the conclusion of this office has not changed.”24Fox 5 San Diego. Rebecca Zahau Book San Diego
In March 2025, Mary Zahau-Loehner published Unraveling the Knots, highlighting what the family considers investigative failures: a partial male fingerprint found in the room that they say was never adequately analyzed, a dryer sheet at the scene that investigators did not collect, and what she describes as errors in the sheriff’s video re-creation of the knot-tying.24Fox 5 San Diego. Rebecca Zahau Book San Diego Zahau-Loehner has asked Sheriff Kelly Martinez to transfer the investigation to the FBI or another outside agency, and the family has offered a cash reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.23KPBS. Zahau Family Petition Medical Examiner to Reclassify Cause of 2011 Death
As of March 2025, a representative for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office stated: “At this time, there is no new information which would lead the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office to re-open this investigation.”25Fox 5 San Diego. Rebecca Zahau Case Revisited After 14 Years The death of Rebecca Zahau remains officially classified as a suicide.