Socialite Rebecca Grossman has been found guilty on all counts in the hit-and-run crash that killed two young brothers in 2020. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News on Feb. 23, 2024.
A Los Angeles County jury found socialite Rebecca Grossman guilty Friday on all five charges, including murder, in the deaths of two young boys who were struck in a Westlake Village crosswalk by Grossman’s car in 2020.
The 60-year-old was convicted on two counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one felony count of hit-and-run driving.
The nine-man, three-woman panel deliberated for nearly two days to hand down the verdict to the defendant.
Deputy District Attorney Ryan Gould argued the boys, 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his 8-year-old brother, Jacob, were hit by Grossman’s speeding white Mercedes-Benz SUV as the Hidden Hills woman was “driving too fast” and was “impaired.”
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Speaking outside the Van Nuys courtroom after the verdict was announced, Nancy and Karim Iskander, the parents of Mark and Jacob, said they welcomed the closure after more than three years.
"Mark and Jacob did not die. They were murdered," said Nancy Iskander, who also added she felt for the woman who was convicted of killing her sons as the Grossman family cried and hugged each other after the verdict was read.
"I don't have any hate for her. My heart broke for her children," Nancy Iskander said. "I'm a mother."
The prosecutor also said during the trial that Grossman hit the children as they were in a marked crosswalk and had a “duty to stop,” but “never returned” to the scene.
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But defense attorneys for Grossman argued that it wasn’t Grossman’s vehicle that fatally struck the two young boys.
Tony Buzbee, the lead defense attorney, instead alleged that authorities rushed to judgment without properly investigating the crash, adding Scott Erickson, a former Dodger pitcher and Grossman’s alleged love interest at the time, was rather responsible for the fatal collision.
The prosecution claimed that Grossman was speeding at 81 mph in a 45-mph zone just seconds before impact, and that data from the vehicle's so-called black box showing that she was driving 73 mph at the time of the crash was reliable.
In contrast, Buzbee contended that Grossman was driving 52 mph "at best'' -- pointed the blame at Erickson, whom he alleges was driving a black Mercedes SUV just ahead of Grossman's vehicle.
Shortly after the verdict was announced, Grossman was hand-cuffed and taken into custody. A judge denied the defense attorney's request to allow Grossman to remain free before sentencing.
Sentencing is set for April 10. Grossman could face up to 34 years to life in state prison.
