Less than a month after she was found guilty in the deaths of two young boys, Rebecca Grossman is facing more legal issues.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the District Attorney is accusing the L.A. socialite of illegal conduct from jail, and her legal team of juror tampering following the trial.
A jury found Grossman guilty in the deaths of Jacob Iskander, 8, and Mark Iskander, 11, who were hit and killed in a crosswalk in Westlake Village in 2020.
The 60-year-old was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. She faces 34 years to life in prison.
According to the report from the L.A. Times, prosecutors would like Grossman’s access to jailhouse phones taken away after their investigation revealed that she has been trying to get her daughter, husband, and legal team to help her get a new trial.
Grossman has allegedly asked her daughter, Alexis, to publish a deputy-worn body camera from the incident that the judge had ordered sealed, and to ask another person to speak with the judge about getting a new trial.
In addition, the report states that Deputy D.A. Ryan Gould and his colleague Jamie Castro — who filed the motion — say that Grossman’s private investigator identified as Paul Stuckey has contacted three jurors, despite the fact that the judge sealed all of the jurors’ personal information.
“The only ways in which the defense could have obtained this personal juror identification information was either by photographing the jury list that was presented to counsel during jury selection or copying the names down off this same list,” prosecutors wrote. “The defense is actively attempting to engage in jury tampering … and illegally in possession of jury personal identifying information.”
According to the L.A. Times report, Grossman sent a letter to the parents of the young boys, Nancy and Karim Iskander, who informed prosecutors that Grossman sent them a letter on March 13.
Prosecutors have also asked officials to move Grossman to a part of the jail where there is no access to phones or visitors, and where she will not be allowed visitors, other than attorneys.
“These recorded phone calls also document numerous potential criminal conspiracies, such as requests to disclose more protected discovery, discussion of various attempts to interfere with witnesses and their testimony and attempts to influence his honor in regards to sentencing,” Gould and Castro wrote in the motion.
Grossman is being held in the Twin Towers jail, where phone calls from inmates are recorded by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
According to The Times, Grossman told her daughter to “unblock the videos” on the day she was found guilty. To which Alexis replied, “I will.”
Further information from the DA’s motion shows a transcribed conversation between Grossman, and her husband, Peter.
“Everything you want us to put out, honey, let us know,” Peter Grossman said. “We’re going to put it all out.” To which Rebecca responded by saying “I want you to put everything out.”
The DA also alleges that Grossman was not happy with the testimony of witness Susan Manners, who says she saw Grossman’s white Mercedes SUV strike one of the boys in the crosswalk.
Grossman allegedly asked her husband why his colleague, Manners’ doctor, didn’t do more to influence the witnesses’ testimony.
Further details in the report say that Grossman was communicating with her daughter on how to push for a new trial.
“We have to get a real story out there about everything behind us and everything that wasn’t done and all the things that were hidden from the jury and how the media influenced the entire trial and how they were releasing all this stuff to the media, just to make me look like a monster and that we know that the jurors were influenced by it,” Grossman said.
“I’m going to do everything for you, Mom. Everything,” her daughter Alexis replied. “And so is Dad.”
The DA’s motion states that after the verdict came in, Grossman told her daughter: “I was so in shock to have all 12 jurors [convict]. These were the worst jurors. I knew they were bad jurors. That whole jury selection thing didn’t work for us at all. They weren’t on my side from the beginning. I just knew it.”
The L.A. Times report adds that Grossman has continued to say that her former boyfriend, former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson — who was driving close to Grossman when the crash occurred — is responsible for the death of the two young boys.
“I know he needs to confess, but right now, I can’t even talk about the case,” Peter Grossman said to his wife. “But that guy needs to [know] you’re in jail for him, and it drives me crazy.”
“Tell him to [make] a video and confess,” Grossman replied. “I have a family.”