Officially, Rebecca Zahau died at her own hand.

Investigators who first looked around the Coronado mansion where she reportedly was found hanging — naked, gagged and bound hand and foot — suspected they had a homicide on their hands.

But after a seven-week investigation, Sheriff Bill Gore held a news conference to announce that evidence and autopsy results led to the conclusion that Zahau’s death on July 13, 2011, was a suicide.

Zahau’s mother and sister have refused to believe that the 32-year-old surgical technician with a strong Christian faith killed herself. This week, trial is to start in San Diego County Superior Court in the family’s wrongful death lawsuit.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.