LOS ANGELES – A jury ruled Friday that two Hidden Hills socialites will be charged in the deaths of Jacob Iskander, 8, and Mark Iskander, 11, who were struck and killed in a Westlake Village crosswalk in 2020. Rebecca Grossman was found guilty.
Grossman, 60, was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and one count of hit-and-run driving causing death.
After a six-week trial, the jury deliberated for nearly two days before returning a unanimous verdict Friday afternoon in Van Nuys Superior Court.
Grossman is the co-founder of the Grossman Byrne Foundation and the wife of renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman.
-
Rebecca Grossman, second from left, and her husband, Dr. Peter Grossman, left, with their daughter at the Van Nuys Courthouse in West Van Nuys, California. (Irrfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Van Nuys, California – February 14: Rebecca Grossman (left) and her daughter head to the Van Nuys Courthouse in West Van Nuys, California. (Irrfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Nancy Iskander and her husband, Karim, are charged with murder and other crimes stemming from the Westlake Village crash that left Iskander's sons Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander. Leaving the Van Nuys courthouse during the lunch break from Grossman's preliminary hearing. 8, died. Nancy Iskander took the stand and described the moment her sons were killed by Grossman's Mercedes as they were walking in a crosswalk on Trianfo Canyon Road. in. Westlake. village. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Prosecutor's courtroom sketch during Rebecca Grossman trial on February 22, 2024 (KTLA)
According to prosecutors, on September 29, 2020, at approximately 7:10 p.m., the two boys, along with their parents and siblings, were crossing a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive. Then, Grossman reportedly hit the boys.
The car sped through the intersection at high speed and hit the boys “in front of their parents,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Prosecutors said Grossman was traveling more than 110 mph on a 45 mph city road.
Millet Fouad, a friend of the victims' family, said the mother was able to get her two youngest children out of harm's way, including her daughter in a stroller, but was unable to reach the older boys in time.
Mark was pronounced dead at the scene. His younger brother, Jacob, was taken to the hospital where he died a few hours later. Mark's body was found 84 meters from a crosswalk, and Jacob's body was found about 50 feet from a crosswalk, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Mercedes-Benz SUV involved in the accident sustained significant damage to the front end.
-
Family photo of Mark Iskander (left) and Jacob Iskander (right). -
Family photo of Mark Iskander (left) and Jacob Iskander (right).
Grossman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after the crash, but was released on $2 million bail.
During the trial, the defense blamed Grossman's then-boyfriend, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, for hitting the boys as the couple left a local restaurant in separate cars. He claimed that it was his car. Grossman and her husband were dating other people at the time, even after they decided to separate.
Grossman's attorney argued that Erickson was driving a black SUV directly in front of Grossman's car at the time of the accident.
According to the Orange County Register, a crash reconstruction engineer told the court that he was not convinced that only one vehicle hit the children, rather than two, and that there was “room for ambiguity” in the case. I testified.
Grossman's daughter, Alexis Grossman, 19, testified in court that she found Erickson hiding behind a tree near the scene of the accident on February 16. The OC Register reported that he “sticked his head out to see what was going on.”
She claimed Erickson then went to her home yelling, “Why did you quit, mom?” Why did she quit her mother? Why didn't she drive home? ”
The girl said she could smell alcohol on Erickson and that Erickson was “freaking out” but warned her not to tell anyone she saw Erickson near the accident scene. She told jurors that Erickson threatened to “ruin you and your family if you did that.”
But L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Rafael Mejia testified last month that he saw no signs that multiple vehicles might have been involved when he responded to the scene in 2020, and jurors also said I totally agreed.
According to the OC Register, Mejia said he smelled alcohol on Grossman and called police to investigate a DUI. He spotted Grossman standing outside her SUV about three-tenths of a mile away.
“She told me her car had been disabled by Mercedes-Benz,” Mejia said. He told jurors that Grossman said he hit something, but he didn't know what.
Under questioning, Mejia said no debris was found consistent with a black SUV or any type of black car.
“There was no indication that another vehicle was present,” Mejia said, adding that debris at the scene suggested a white vehicle was involved.
The boys' mother, Nancy Iskander, said she heard the engine revving and looked up to see a black SUV speeding towards the intersection, the Times reported. She jumped out of the way, dragging her young children to safety.
But she said a white Mercedes SUV was following closely behind the black car. She said she heard a thump as she sped through the crosswalk.
Nancy told KTLA about her sons: So much of this life, all of my hopes and dreams, was simply taken away from me. If you want to meet them, you have to go to the cemetery or look at their friends and imagine what they would become. ”
Grossman could be sentenced to up to 34 years to life in prison at his April 10 sentencing hearing.
This development story will be updated.
