Rebecca Zahau's Death Ruled Suicide; Death of Jonah Shacknai's Son an Accident

Categories: News
zahau.jpg
Rebecca Zahau committed suicide, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department today released its findings on the bizarre deaths of both the girlfriend and son of Scottsdale-based Medicis CEO Jonah Shacknai.

The death of Shacknai's son Max, 6 -- who fell down a flight of stairs at the family's Coronado mansion in July -- was ruled an accident.

The strange death of Shacknai's girlfriend, 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau, who was caring for Max at the time of his fatal accident, has officially been ruled a suicide following a very tight-lipped investigation by the SDCSD.

"Were these deaths the result of criminal conduct? Was Max's death a homicide? The answer is no," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said at a press conference this morning. "It was a tragic accident. Was Rebecca's death a homicide? Again the answer is no. It was a suicide ... These deaths were not the result of any criminal acts."

Despite the ruling, Zahau's apparent suicide remains controversial for a few reasons -- namely the fact that she was found bound and naked and hanging from a balcony, which doesn't exactly seem like the ideal way for someone to end their life.

However, detectives say that while it's rare for someone to bound their hands and feet during a suicide attempt like Zahau's, it's not unheard of. According to detectives, suicide victims will sometimes bound themselves to prevent them from rescuing themselves in the middle of a suicide attempt.

The SDCSD did not immediately provide a reason as to why Zahau might want to end her life, but a spokeswoman for the agency tells New Times more details will be provided later this afternoon.

Check back for updates. 

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