Rebecca Grossman trial: Breaking down the evidence that led to conviction
LOS ANGELES - Rebecca Grossman was found guilty of striking and killing 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his brother, 8-year-old Jacob, with her car while speeding through a Westlake Village crosswalk in 2020, officials announced Friday.
The 60-year-old mother was found guilty in a Los Angeles County courtroom on all five counts, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run resulting in death.
The nine-man, three-woman jury reached its verdict on the second day of deliberations, reviewing the evidence for a total of about nine hours before rejecting a defense contention that Grossman's then-boyfriend, former Dodgers Scott Erickson, was the one who fatally struck the two brothers on Sept. 29, 2020.
While the jury landed on the verdict within just two days of deliberation, legal expert RJ Manuelian found the quick nature unsurprising.
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Manuelian pointed to Grossman's erratic driving behavior, her admission of attempting to restart her vehicle after the accident, and her subsequent actions as all indicators of her culpability.
According to Manuelian, these actions combined with evidence of her intoxication – with both Valium and alcohol – at the time of the incident, spoke to Grossman's recklessness and utter disregard for the safety of others.
The defense's strategy was to shift blame onto Grossman's then-boyfriend, former Los Angeles Dodgers player Scott Erickson, who was driving alongside Grossman through the crosswalk in his own car.
But despite raising theories about Erickson's involvement, Manuelian said the defense failed to produce concrete evidence that would help sway the jury.
Additionally, the officers involved in investigating the scene maintained that the physical evidence found belonged to only one car: Grossman's.
The defense did not call Erickson as a witness to testify during the trial, which Manuelian said likely only reinforced Grossman's guilt in the jury's minds and bolstered the prosecution's case.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that Grossman and Erickson had been out for drinks earlier that evening and were heading toward her nearby home in separate vehicles when Grossman's white Mercedes-Benz SUV struck the boys while they were crossing Triunfo Canyon Road with their parents in a marked crosswalk.
Sheriff's officials said the six family members were crossing the three-way intersection, which does not have a stoplight, in the crosswalk when the mother heard a car speeding toward them and both parents reached out to protect two of their children, but the two boys were too far out in the intersection and were struck.
The older boy died at the scene and his 8-year-old sibling died at a hospital.
The sentencing for Grossman is set for April 10, and she faces a potential prison term of 34 years to life. Despite the possibility of an appeal, she was taken into custody after the verdict was announced.