Chapters
Shownotes Transcript
Okay, you guys, with the summer heat in full swing, literally 90 degrees today, I know we're all worrying about our deodorant holding up. That's why I've got to tell you about Lume. They have whole body deodorant, Lume whole body deodorant, and it's the only deodorant that I will use. Lume is formulated for all those spots that tend to get extra sweaty and stinky in the heat, like your pits, Garrett's butt crack, and even your feet. Oh my God, look.
Lume was created by an OBGYN, so it's totally safe for all your sensitive areas. And the best part, it's baking soda free, paraben free, and pH balanced, so it's gentle on your skin while keeping you fresh. You guys, I have been using Lume, and let me tell you something. They are anti-chafing, so you can put them on your thighs. You can put it under your boobs, your
Literally, it's great. Ready to try it? New customers get 15% off all Lume products with our exclusive code. Just use code MWMH at LumeDeodorant.com. That's L-U-M-E-D-E-O-D-O-R-A-N-T.com. And don't forget to use code MWMH for 15% off your first purchase.
You guys, most weight loss plans are one size fits all. They don't take into account each person's individual needs, but Noom builds personal plans that can meet your individual needs. Noom takes into account dietary restrictions, medical issues, and other personal needs to build a plan that works for you and is built for your psychology and your biology and
meeting you where you are. And you guys, I actually have been using Noom Weight and it truly feels personalized to meet my lifestyle. What I love most is that Noom doesn't restrict what you can eat and it actually doesn't shame you when you choose to treat yourself. Noom's personalized program has felt more sustainable than other more restrictive weight loss programs.
Noom Weight uses psychology and biology, and that's why they say losing weight starts with your brain. The program helps you understand the science behind your eating choices and why you have cravings and actually helps you build new habits for a healthier lifestyle. So stay focused on what's important to you with Noom's psychology and biology based approach. Sign up for your trial today at Noom.com. Today, Noom has helped more than 5.2 million people lose weight.
Hey everybody, welcome back to our podcast. This is Murder With My Husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. And I'm the husband. I feel like we've been gone forever. I'm so happy to be back with all of you. It just feels like home, you know what I mean? And it's weird because we recorded ahead of time though, so to everyone else it probably seems normal. Normal, right? But to us, we feel like we've been gone for so long. It's just us weirdos who feel like we've been missing you guys. All right, Garrett, you have your 10 seconds. Well, many of you probably saw that we were on vacation for...
about a week, which was amazing. It was so amazing. Seriously, it was like a dream. It felt good. It was the first vacation that Peyton and I have taken since our honeymoon. Together, yeah. So we were really excited about it. It was great. It was also fun on social media. I feel like so many people were just like involved with it with us. So that was really fun. So thank you for making this last week super fun for us as our week off. So that was one of Peyton's surprises and the other one actually came.
Yeah, so Garrett got me a customized license plate that says MWMH and like at the very beginning of this I was like, I think that would be so cool But I knew that we would have to be consistent and whatnot. So we just finally it was that time I guess basically she's always wanted it and so I finally finally got it and I'm so excited about it. So those were the surprises
I got super sunburned while we were on vacation, so my entire body is peeling like crazy. I'm like a lizard. Rookie mistake. And then we got caught in a snowstorm on the way home from the airport. It took us three and a half hours, which normally only takes an hour. Mm-hmm.
We were just, I was literally out on the freeway, standing on the freeway, pushing our car because we were stuck. It was, it was pretty crazy. Like in the middle of the freeway, everyone else was stuck. Everyone was sliding off. Like semis were overturned. It was super dangerous. I hope everyone was okay. I know we made it home okay, which was such a blessing, but it was pretty crazy. It was pretty crazy for my 10 seconds, I guess. I mean, I guess it was my 10 seconds, but there's a show called The Witcher on Netflix and season two comes out. Well, it came out.
i think yesterday anyways i will be watching that i don't know if anyone else watches it is it about witches i mean watch it with me no so that'll be my 10 seconds other than that we're hanging out we're doing good
Yep. Also one more thing. If you're listening to audio, it might sound the same, but the next two weeks that we do, we're actually going to be traveling for the holidays. And so we're going to be recording at a different area. So just a heads up. Oh, also I did want to mention that while we were on our trip, we ran into some listeners, a couple of them actually. And it was so awesome. So I do just want to remind you again, if you ever do see us like come up and
say hi it's like the coolest thing we seriously love it we want to meet you we want to know who's listening so we really appreciate it all right so our case sources for today are information cradle.com wikipedia marketrealist.com and abc 2020 some youtube videos times of san diego.com
fox5sandiego.com and kusi.com. All right, so our case this week begins in Coronado, California. Coronado is kind of like an island with a bridge coming out of it into San Diego. And the island is...
Beautiful. Okay, we're talking huge mansions, just really a luxurious area. It's in California. The beach is nearby. You know what I mean? But on Coronado, there's one specific mansion that holds a bit of history. It's called the Historic Spreckles Mansion, and it was named after a sugar king when it was built. And I think a sugar king is like a candy.
A candy king? I don't know. Oh, okay. Well, if anyone knows what a sugar king is, let us know. These are my two guesses. Like either, cause isn't sugar like harvested? So either like he owned a lot of sugar things or whatever, or he's like actually was like a candy king.
Like Willy Wonka. Okay, well, we don't know. So if anyone knows, which I'm sure someone out there does, we're sorry and please let us know. This Spreckles Mansion had multiple grand staircases and probably more bathrooms and bedrooms than anyone would actually want to clean.
But in 2011, the beautiful and grand Spreckled Mansion was tainted. The architecture and design splashed with darkness when someone found something near one of the mansion's spacious balconies. A body hanging from the balcony by a rope.
The Spreckles Mansion now turned into a horror movie. You couldn't make this scene up. The haunted mansion all over again. So Rebecca Zahao was born in a remote country at the time known as Burma. And Rebecca was born into royalty over there. Her family was one of prominence. Rebecca was beautiful and funny. Her friends and family knew her as someone who could put a smile on anybody's face.
But Rebecca and her family's safe and secure life in Burma would eventually be overrun by political war. Their beautiful life shattered as they were forced to flee their home for safety. So that is how Rebecca and her family actually ended up in the United States. And despite the tragedy that brought them there, Rebecca had the personality that could take a sour situation and make it awesome.
She looked at the relocation as a chance to start a new chapter in her life, to do things she had always wanted to do. And so that's what she did. Once in America, Rebecca worked her way and eventually began her new job at an ophthalmology office where she worked as a tech.
So she would get people ready for surgery at the office and she loved it. She loved the education of all of it. She loved helping people. It really was right up her alley. And it was one day during this new life that now 32-year-old Rebecca met Jonah Shackney while at work. He had actually come in as a customer and began talking to Rebecca.
Jonah immediately thought Rebecca was full of life and enthusiastic, their connection blossoming right away. And unbeknownst to Rebecca at the time, Jonah wasn't like some of their other customers. Jonah Shackney was rich, rich.
Oh, man. Okay. Yeah.
We are talking very big company and he's the CEO and founder of it. Got it. Jonah's Google net worth today says he is a former pharmaceutical executive with a net worth of $3 billion, which includes his assets, money, and income. So that's like the type of money we're talking about that she just met. So when Jonah walked into the office and met Rebecca, she really didn't know the lifestyle change that she was about to get into and
As they begin to date, Jonah says that both of them loved the outdoors. Together, they practiced clean living. They loved working out together and hiking. So it was really easy to get along. Do you know who asked who out first? I don't know.
Okay. Okay.
very gorgeous and very younger than him, not a ton, but she is younger than him. So that's kind of why he's reiterating that it wasn't just a physical connection. And most people looking in from the outside could say that Rebecca just stumbled into her fairy tale, a great guy with great money who could make it so she could never, you know, have to go through the trauma that she had experienced just previously. But
But Rebecca's family wasn't having it. They didn't support Rebecca's new relationship, how serious it had grown so fast. They didn't trust Jonah and his dating record was a little more decorated than they would have preferred. He had been married multiple times and had two teenagers from his first marriage and a little boy named Max from his second marriage. So there were three kids.
And Rebecca didn't have any kids and she had never been married before. And as this relationship between them progressed, Rebecca began to stay at home with Max and take care of him as her own, despite the fact that Jonah had not popped to the question yet. And this is what bothered Rebecca's parents. He obviously had no issue with getting married. So why would he not ask Rebecca to marry him? Do you know how old were they exactly?
So at this point in time, she was 32 and he was 54. Okay. So 22 year difference. Yeah. Got it. Instead, she stayed at home and took care of his kids is how they saw it. Like she was just basically playing mom, almost like she was a living nanny instead of Jonah's wife, Jonah's better half. Surprised if his net worth is so crazy, he's still...
Not retired, you know? Yeah. His resume is very decorated still. It was like CEO of this, founder of this, you know, like he did a thousand things. Like it took me so long to get through it.
So once again, this is how her family is seeing it. I'm not saying this is how it was or how it wasn't. I wouldn't know. I wasn't there. But this is how her family is seeing this relationship. But despite these accusations, Jonah claims that Max and Rebecca had an amazing relationship. Max is his little boy, which is why they spent so much time together. He says that Rebecca was such an attentive and warm person with Max. And because she had no children of her own, she really took Max under her wing.
Jonah insists that Rebecca was a good influence on Max and they loved each other. But like I said, Jonah had been married before and Max still had a birth mother who was in the picture, which as suspected began to create problems in this fairy tale story. Jonah's first marriage was to Kimberly James, the founder and president of the Dream and Color Foundation, which is who he had the first two children with.
Then he later married Dina Shackney, a post-doctoral child psychology fellow in Scottsdale. Together they had Max Aaron Shackney, which is Max, who was born on June 7th, 2005. After their divorce, you know, and Jonah moving Rebecca into the Coronado Spreckles Mansion home, where she ended up taking care of Max full time, Dina, Max's birth mom, was irate.
She says that the fact that somebody else was taking care of her six-year-old son was hard and she wanted to meet Rebecca, but she didn't disapprove of Jonah's new girlfriend being involved. It was just difficult. Like, why couldn't Jonah just raise him? Rebecca's family, however, claims that Dina and Rebecca had an awful relationship and things had been bad between them from the start.
And Jonah backs this up claiming that yes, Dina had made it really difficult for Rebecca since they had started dating and that Dina and Rebecca were definitely not friends. But despite the drama, the dirty laundry of their blended family, nobody was expecting what happened next. Nobody was expecting the movie-like story that would soon unfold in this relationship. On June 11th, 2011, Jonah woke up and left to go to the gym to work out in the morning.
Back at the Spreckles Mansion is Rebecca, her teenage little sister, Zena, and six-year-old Max. Okay. Zena was just visiting Rebecca at the mansion that morning. She was in one side of the house, which I'm assuming was like the guest area. Rebecca was on the other side of the mansion, probably in her regular master bedroom living area. And Max was...
playing on the second floor of the house like six-year-olds do. It was at this point that Jonah Shackney and the police department both received a devastating call. There had been an accident. Six-year-old Max had somehow fell over the banister and was now lying on the main floor unresponsive. Yeah, so Zena had called the cops while Rebecca called Jonah. So he basically, there was like,
a staircase overlooking the main floor. Yes. And he fell off of it. And he fell over the banister and fell to the main floor. Okay. Jonah obviously rushed home and found Max lying on the floor. Max was then rushed to the Rady Children's Hospital and Jonah and Dina both fell
followed him there, unable to leave his side. So now birth mom, Dina is also at the hospital with Jonah, with their son, Max. I can't even begin to imagine the nightmares already taking place with drama. Between the two girls. Yes. So Rebecca told everyone that she was in the bathroom when Max fell and she ran out and found him. She had no idea how it had happened. Zina, her little sister remembers running out and seeing Max on the floor as well. Rebecca was
also confused at what happened. This is what Zena is saying. Rebecca told Zena in that moment that Dina was going to kill her because she had not been watching him close enough. So this is the first thought going through her head because kind of like what you said, she was acting as guardian over six year old Max at this point. And he had been hurt on like her watch and,
And now Dina, his birth mom, is going to be really mad at Rebecca considering their relationship is already on the rocks. So is he okay? Like what's going on with him? So while Dina and Jonah were stuck at the hospital waiting for news on Max, who was alive, but he was struggling, police created a 3D rendering of what they think had happened based on Max's injuries and the kind of the scene where he had been found. Okay.
So basically it's a three story open staircase. - Three story? - Yes. - Oh my gosh. - So one railing on one side that is the top floor, a middle landing with a railing like perpendicular to that. And then you turn the corner and it goes down that railing directly across from the top railing. And then you're on the main floor. Like pretend you're drawing out a box
One line, two line, three line, but now make those like staircases with a landing in the middle. Okay. They claim that Max was playing on the top floor when he somehow fell over the top railing, hitting the chandelier, which then knocks out of the ceiling and falls to the ground. Max continues falling with the chandelier, hitting his back on the downward sloping railing that's like going to the main floor. Uh-huh.
and finally falling face flat onto the main floor. So he like boom, boom, boom down, took the chandelier. Like it was a hard fall.
Did he just? No one knows. Did they say that? So there's no like, did he run off? No, no one was. Was he running and slipped? Yeah. The only two adults home, Zena and Rebecca, were both in different rooms. So no one actually knew what had caused the fall. Okay. He had injuries to his spinal cord and facial bones, which doctors initially concluded affected his heart rate and breathing. So it was kind of the injuries then made it really, really hard. He was really struggling. Okay.
All of this is so awful and every friend and family member is devastated. Like six year old Max is literally stuck in the hospital. This is when Jonah Shackney's brother, Max's uncle named Adam Shackney came into town to help in whatever way he could, just like family would if there was a tragic accident.
Okay, let me guess. Your medicine cabinet is crammed with stuff that does not work. You still aren't sleeping, you still hurt, and you're stressed out. That's how it was for me, so I cleared out my cabinet and reset my health with CBD from CB Distillery. CBD Distillery's targeted formulations are made from the highest quality clean ingredients, no fluff, no fillers, just pure effective CBD solutions designed to help support your health.
In two non-clinical surveys, 81% of customers experienced more calm, 80% said CBD helped with pain after physical activity, and an impressive 90% actually said they slept better with CBD. I have personally used CBD before to help me sleep. I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping and I couldn't figure out what to do to help. And honestly, CBD did help and if that's something you're struggling with, give it
Give it a try. Check it out. If you struggle with a health concern and haven't found relief, make the change like I did to CBD Distillery. And with over 2 million customers and a solid 100% money back guarantee, CBD Distillery is the source to trust. You guys, we have a 20% discount to get you started. So if you've ever wanted to do CBD, now is the time. Visit CBDistillery.com and use code husband for 20% off. That's CBDistillery.com.
.com code husband, CBDistillery.com code husband.
Okay, you guys, shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall can be a challenge, but I'm telling you right now, my Quince products that I have, my Quince clothing items, are my go-to staples in the fall. They make it so easy. They have timeless, high-quality items. I use their silk skirts. I literally wear them in so many ways, with boots, with tights, with a sweater, with a crop top.
They have cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, so much more. And the best part is that they are priced so well because they partner directly with top factories. So they cut out the cost of the middleman and then they pass the savings onto you. So you are literally getting cashmere sweaters for $50.
I just got a cashmere sweater from Quince that I am going to be wearing. I also have a pair of their linen pants. I'm actually just going to pair them together. I will post it on my social media and you will see it. So make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash husband.
for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. You guys, if you want free shipping, make sure to do quince.com/husband. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com/husband to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com/husband. They have the cutest clothes. You need to go check it out. Rebecca had been staying at the home still kind of taking care of things 'cause she's not gonna go to the hospital with Deena. So she's still back at Spreckles Mansion just kind of watching over things.
So on July 12th, she dropped her sister Zina off at the airport to fly home and at the same time picked up Adam, Jonah's brother. Got it. Rebecca drove Adam back to the Spreckles mansion where he would be staying. And later that night, her, Jonah and Adam actually ate dinner together with a friend named Howard.
Now, I don't want you to think this is weird. Jonah stayed most of his time at the hospital, but he would leave for breaks and to eat and whatnot. Like he can't just stay there full time. So his brother got into town. He made his way home and ate dinner with them. Now, at some point that night, neighbors noted loud music coming from the Spreckles mansion. And also at some point, Jonah returned back to the hospital to be with Max and Dina and
Adam was staying in the guest house. Rebecca was in the main house of the Spreckles Mansion. The next morning, July 13th, at roughly 6.45 a.m., a 911 call came into the police department once again from the Spreckles Mansion. Yeah, I got a girl hung herself in the guest house. It's on Ocean Boulevard across from the hotel, same place that you came and got the kid yesterday.
So what you just heard was Adam Shackney on the phone with a 911 operator. He is reporting that Rebecca had hung herself from the balcony of the Spreckles mansion. What the heck? While on the 911 call, you can hear him cut her down and begin chest compressions before fire and medical get there. I'm doing, I'm compressing her chest right now.
By the time help had arrived, Rebecca Zahow was already dead. Oh my gosh. Okay. Adam texts Jonah, who is back at the hospital with Max, and explains that he needs to call him right away. So when Jonah calls, Adam breaks the news. Rebecca had taken her own life.
Jonah was sitting in a hospital with his struggling son. Holy crap. And he'd just been told that his girlfriend was now gone. Yeah. Everyone's confused. This couldn't be real. Like, how does this happen? It was days apart, both at the mansion. Like, what's going on?
But it might not be real. When police arrive on scene to respond, the state of Rebecca's body does really not look like self-elimination. Rebecca was naked, like butt naked. Her feet bound violently together with red rope, wrapped over and over and over again. Her hands tied behind her back with the same red rope. Oh, there's no way she did this.
A t-shirt was wrapped tightly around her neck three times and then gagged into her throat. Rebecca did all of this and then somehow hobbled off that balcony. No way. So why? And furthermore, how? Right? This is what everyone's thinking. It just seems impossible. A graphic and bizarre death at the Spreckles Mansion. Due to the nature of the scene, the San Diego Police Department launches a full investigation into Rebecca's death.
The police report shows that one end of the rope was tied to the bed up in the bedroom, where it was then guided all the way out over the balcony and around Rebecca's neck. There's no way she did this. Rebecca's footprints were found on the balcony as well as a men's boot print. There was also a witchcraft book found on the bookshelf that showed images of a naked woman with her hands tied behind her back with red rope.
What the heck? I'm so confused. Also, on the floor of the bedroom, there were two kitchen knives, one smaller and one bigger. The bigger knife had what appeared to be small traces of blood on it, but Rebecca had no, like...
It wasn't like she was stabbed with that knife. Rebecca was menstruating at the time of her death and small blood deposits were found in the house that were Rebecca's, despite the fact that she had no bleeding wounds. But the most puzzling piece of evidence found immediately at the home was actually right on the bedroom door. She saved him. Can you save her? Was scribbled on the door in black paint. Wait,
Wait, she saved him. So basically she saved Max. Can you save her? Is that what you're getting out of it? That's what I'm getting out of it. So no one knows what to make of it. There's no explanation for what this means. No one. I mean, but it does seem right. It feels like it has something to do with Max, right? Was what's her name at the hospital this entire time?
Are we going to get to that? So we don't know yet. We're assuming that's where she says she is, but we haven't gotten to video camera footage yet. So we will clarify her alibi. Where's the cameras? So it doesn't make sense. What does this even mean? She saved him. Can you save her in black paint on the door? That's insane. Two small paint brushes with Rebecca's prints on it were found on the floor in the bedroom, as well as a black tube of paint that
with no prints on the body, just Rebecca's thumbprint on the cap. Now, it originally was the Coronado police that responded to the 911 call, but their department was small. It certainly wasn't equipped to handle a case of this magnitude. I mean, they're in Coronado. It's not like they
are doing homicides all of the time. In fact, police actually left Rebecca's nude body tied up and uncovered out on the lawn so long that media helicopters were actually able to take pictures of her. Oh my gosh. Which is just horrible. Atrocious. That is absolutely not okay. I'm going to get the FBI in here. Right? And it took...
12 hours after her body was discovered for the medical examiner to even arrive and begin looking at the scene. Okay. Which is not okay. They also didn't even have a full-time homicide unit. So fairly quickly, the San Diego County Sheriff's department was called in like the Coronado police were like, we're not handling this. We're not equipped to do this.
At this point, neighbors are also interviewed, and one neighbor claims to hear screams of help coming from a woman the night before. Adam Shackney, the brother who found her. Yeah, because he was there the entire time, wasn't he? It was just them two at home alone. So Adam Shackney was given a polygraph test the day that they found Rebecca's body, and the results were inconclusive. And my gut says right now I don't think it's him. It just seems to...
obvious that it would be him. - I mean, he technically was the only person at the home with Rebecca that night, but Jonah claims that this is the exact problem. His brother, Adam is a good person. And just because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, his life was now being turned upside down. All fingers pointed at him. He was the only guy home, right? And to really put the last twist in this case to make matters so much worse,
As everyone is trying to figure out what really happened to Rebecca, just three days after her death, six-year-old Max suddenly dies in the hospital. Oh, my gosh. Due to complications from his fall. This is not real. So within three days...
Two people had died at the hands of the now infamous Spreckles Mansion, the once beautiful and spacious home now holding mystery and darkness that no one could scrub out. But with the investigation into honestly both deaths now buzzing in the air, Rebecca's family feels like absolutely Rebecca did not take her own life.
that they heard Rebecca say the words, "Dina's going to kill me," days before she died. - Yeah. - And on the other side, Dina is begging police to look into her son's death more, as now it had been ruled an accident, but she doesn't believe it is. She thinks Rebecca had most likely done something to her son and then thrown him over the banister.
So I think this next part is ironic because we are now about to have our third eyewitness neighbor come forward and claim that they saw something. And honestly, it all seems a little like Salem witch trials to me. But we'll still mention it because there are three like eyewitness accounts from that night.
An eyewitness says that the night of Rebecca's death, they saw a woman matching Dina's description walk up to the mansion's front door late into the night. But as days turn to weeks, no arrests are made. No news is delivered.
Until randomly, police announce they are doing it. They are holding a press conference about the whole case. They're answering everyone's question. They have figured out what has happened. And this is what they have to say seven weeks after the deaths of Rebecca and Max. I feel like it's a long time. Yeah. They ask the question at the press conference.
Was Rebecca and Max's deaths homicides? Their firm answer after seven weeks of investigation? No. Neither Rebecca or Max's death involved criminal conduct. They say Max tripped over the railing, grabbing the chandelier, that he probably just tripped over a ball or the dog or something. And Rebecca's death? The autopsy DNA and fingerprints show that Rebecca had not been attacked. There's no way. Max's...
I'm not sure about, but Rebecca's, I just feel like there's no way with tie your own hands behind your back. Right. I'll go through some of the evidence to see how you feel after. So all of the fingerprints were from her in the room. The DNA all on the rope was from her as well. And the boot print that was found on the balcony accidentally left there by an officer.
and the neighbor hearing the plea, the pleas for help, all a lie. She was lying. They claim toe impressions on the balcony confirm that Rebecca had moved up to the balcony and thrown herself off, like leaning off and taking her life.
They even showed a video of a female officer recreating the same bindings on her hands, which like basically involved her slipping a hand, like tying them up, slipping a hand out, moving them behind her back, putting them back through the ties and then kind of like tugging it tighter. So was it possible that she could have tied her own hands in that way? Maybe. Okay. Yeah, maybe. Yeah. But they did quickly...
mentioned that there was more DNA not from Rebecca found on the larger knife that was in the room, but the DNA was too small of a sample to test.
They also say there was foreign DNA on the doorknob to the balcony. But once again, the DNA was too small to test. Of course it was. And the last foreign DNA from the crime scene was found on a pair of gardening gloves on a coffee table. But once again, too small to test. So any DNA that doesn't belong to her was too small to test. Everyone in the crowd is dumbfounded. Like, really?
Possibly, yes, this could be true, but probably it just seems weird. Like, everyone's like, what happened at the Spreckles mansion? And now they really don't have any more answers. And why would Rebecca take her own life anyways? Police say that's because Jonah had actually left her a voicemail that night explaining the grave condition that Max was in.
And police claim that Rebecca knew it was at her hands, that she wasn't watching close enough, and she just couldn't bear it. Both Dina and Rebecca's families are devastated by the news at the press conference. Rebecca's family felt like, you know, no one cared about her, that they didn't even want to investigate it. They believe that someone who held her responsible for Max's death then killed her for it at the Spreckles Mansion.
So they decide to exhume Rebecca's body and have a different doctor perform another autopsy. And this doctor determines that the head wounds in which, so she had four head wounds on her head. Okay. And the first coroner accredited them to the fall and,
But this doctor says they might actually be like blunt force trauma from a struggle with somebody. There's no, that the way she fell, she wouldn't have actually hit her head on anything. Okay. And this doctor concludes that the ropes that Rebecca supposedly tied herself with were tied so tight that they left bruises on her ankles and her wrists. And there's no way she could have done that.
Herself, it seems. It just would be really hard to tie him that tight. I mean, your ankles, you can tie yourself, but your hands behind your back, it seems impossible to me. So also, I do have to mention that when the police recreated their drawing of the knot...
So she like got it to wrap around the top of her wrist and then tied it with the knot at the bottom, right by the wrist, right? 'Cause that's where only your fingers can reach. But on Rebecca's body, the knot was at the top up in her forearms. - Oh, you can't reach that. - Which you couldn't like bend your arms up there and like tie it clear up there, you know what I mean? So they're like, oh yeah, this knot is possible, but the knot was actually like reversed.
And, you know, on top of this, Rebecca's family also petitions for the police to reopen the case. They're like, please don't close this case. Can you just take another look into it? But that petition is denied. And Dina feels like there's no way her son's death was an accident as well. How does a six-year-old get over the tall railing initially unless he was hurt?
was climbing on it, I guess, but that was like a pretty far drop down. So it would be weird place for a six year old to be climbing. It also would just be hard for a six year old to get all the way up and then fall. And also like Rebecca's family, she turns to the media for help.
Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. From the launch your online shop stage, to the first real life store stage, all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage. Shopify is there to help you grow. Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers with the internet's best converting checkout up to 36% better compared to other leading commerce platforms.
and sell more with less effort thanks to Shopify Magic, your AI-powered all-star. Peyton and I love Shopify. We have been using it for, I mean, I've been using it for six years now, so many years, and it's amazing. It just keeps getting better and better with more updates. It's easy to use. It's user-friendly. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US, and Shopify is the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklyn, and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries.
Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash husband, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash husband now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in. Shopify.com slash husband. Hola. ¿Cómo está? Hola, ¿cómo estamos? Want to learn a new language? Well, the best way is to uproot your entire life, move to Spain, and live there for the rest of your...
I made that up. I went off the ad. Let me go back to the ad read. The best way is to uproot your entire life. Drop your... Oh. You literally followed the ad. I didn't read the rest of that. Drop yourself in the middle of a new country and figure it out from there. I just want to let everyone know that's what I did. But... That's what I did. It worked. If you're not ready for that, you can still learn a new language the next best way, and that is with Babbel. See...
Speak like a whole new you with Babbel, the science-backed language learning app that gets you talking. Wasting hundreds of dollars on private tutors is the old school way of learning a new language. Babbel's 10-minute lessons are quick and handcrafted by over 200 language experts, ready to get you talking your new language in three weeks because talking is the key to really knowing any language.
Designed by real people for having real conversation, Babbel gets you talking. You guys, I actually use Babbel to brush up on Spanish when we travel. I love it. It is so easy. And then I can actually kind of keep up with what's going on. And with over 16 million subscriptions sold, Babbel's 14 award-winning language courses are backed by a 20-day money-back guarantee. So there's no pressure. Buy Babbel and travel.
Here's a special limited time deal for our listeners right now. Get up to 60% off your Babbel subscription, but only for our listeners at babbel.com slash husband. Get up to 60% off at babbel.com slash husband spelled B-A-B-B-E-L.com slash husband. Rules and restrictions may apply. She's asking for a new look. She's hiring experts to relook at the fall. And both of these families are going on Dr. Phil's.
And they're probably blaming each other. Yes. Like Dina thinks that Rebecca hurt her son. And Rebecca's family probably thinks it was Dina. Thinks that Dina killed Rebecca. Oh my gosh. What a mess. So it's such a mess. And both of them are like, now that the police have closed it, they're now turning to the media for help. So they're going on all these shows, like trying to say, here's the evidence that we know. There's no way it could have been an accident. I don't understand how...
So I saw in a YouTube comment, I don't understand how I don't know any of this. This whole story. And everyone listening probably does. And I've never heard any of this. So actually in 2011, this case was in the top 10 most Googled cases for the year. What was I doing with my life? I don't understand. So here's some points that could possibly poke holes in the finding of the police when it comes to Rebecca's death, which this is the evidence I'm going to tell you.
So one point is how was Adam's DNA not found on Rebecca's body if he cut her down and performed CPR? So they're like, oh no, it was only her DNA. There was no foreign DNA. So that's how we know she wasn't attacked. Oh, I didn't even think about that. But if Adam performed CPR on her and cut her down,
How was his DNA not on the rope that he grabbed? How was his DNA not on her mouth? When police claim it was only her DNA on the body and the rope. So I have an idea of what I think is going on, but I won't say it yet. Okay.
So also the binding was very intricate, like we talked about, and it would take knowledge despite the fact that police said it would be pretty easy. And I'll be honest, I couldn't tie the knot that I saw in those pictures. It was very intricate. It was very detailed. Like there's no way I could even replicate that just by looking at it. A rope expert was brought in and he even says that someone novice would not be able to like tie the rope without expert knowledge. Um, and that it was a pretty difficult knot, but.
But Rebecca had tied down Jonah's boat on multiple occasions. So maybe she would have, you know, knot knowledge. But also Adam Shack and I worked in the boat industry as well and tied knots as well. So, I mean, both of them could have learned to tie an intricate knot. It would also be hard to be tied up.
and gagged and then hop your way out onto the balcony then to literally gruesomely just like throw yourself over without any hands. But yeah, then they say that she climbed up with her feet. So her feet were on the balcony like footprints, but it wasn't like on the top of the balcony or anything. What?
What police are saying is that she painted the door, tied herself up in the room, then hobbled her way out of the room onto the balcony, which her feet were tied tight enough that she would have had to hop. Yeah. And then got up to the balcony ledge and then just leaned off.
Okay, which is pretty gruesome like in pretty violent. Yeah, very it's not impossible though. Like she could have done it I mean, yeah, she could have it's it's not very probable but it's not impossible something's going on here It's also possible that someone could have thrown her body over the rail without stepping on the balcony so they did tests and they realized that someone could have lifted her up and
and put her over without actually stepping out onto the balcony. But it still would have been hard because they would have had to like lean her body against the railing. So each like it's just all a little weird. So there are more holes in the police investigation despite the shoddy work we already know about which was like leaving the body out, the medical examiner arriving so late, and the boot print literally on the major part of the crime scene.
officer step on the balcony. Yeah. Like that's the most, that's the biggest part of what they're looking at. And another thing that they did wrong is that the drawn up diagram of the crime scene was
from the police does not actually match the crime scene photos. So there are items in the wrong place. Some items even weren't included on the diagram, which when we're talking about something as big as a possible murder, this level of work is not okay. - Is this the Coronado police or is this the San Diego? - Coronado police. - Okay.
There was actually a dryer, but then it was the San Diego police's effort immediately after. So someone could have caught on. You know what I mean? There was actually a dryer sheet on the floor of the bedroom in between, like laying in between the two knives that you can see in multiple pictures, but it's never listed as any, like as evidence. And even on the diagram, it doesn't exist. Like it's like it wasn't even out there. And might I know, I did learn this, dryer sheets can thoroughly wipe down prints.
Really? Yes. Like people can use dryer sheets to get rid of prints. Why wouldn't you use just like a rag instead of a dryer sheet? You could too, but. They're just saying you can use a dryer sheet. That it does the same thing. So if you didn't know, now you do. Crazy. So Rebecca's family actually like went on to file a wrongful death suit against Dina.
her sister Nina, which I think they're twins because they look pretty alike. So Dina and Nina and then Adam, they're accusing them of teaming up and killing Rebecca and then staging it as a suicide that night. So because police are like, we closed the case, this isn't a suit that would like end in prison time, just monetary value. So they're like, we're taking you guys to court, a wrongful death suit, and you're going to pay us because of it. But when like everyone starts looking into it,
Dina proved that there was surveillance cameras showing that she was at the hospital the whole night.
Okay, so that's what I was going to ask. So she didn't go anywhere? No. Okay. So she was at the hospital on camera the whole night. So she's dropped from the suit as well as her sister because you can't be in two places at once. So basically we just have Adam now. Yeah. So Adam now is the only target of the suit. And Rebecca's family believes that Adam knew Max was hurt and thought Rebecca was responsible. So he took care of it.
They think Adam confronted Rebecca that night and it escalated and she was hit on the back of her head before being thrown over the balcony. But at this civil suit, all Rebecca's family attorney has to do is convince nine out of 12 jurors that Adam more than likely did it.
It doesn't have to be solid. It doesn't have to be concrete. And this is a suit. This is for money, not for him to go to prison. Exactly. And so that is what he sets out to do as trial starts in February of 2018. Okay. So this case happened in 2011 and this civil suit just happened in 2018. Okay.
According to the Market Realist, in the end, nine of the 12 jurors determined that Rebecca did not die by suicide. Wow. Okay. And the jury ruled that Adam was liable for her death. But because it was a civil trial, it was damages at stake, not prison time.
So the jury awarded Rebecca's mother $5 million in damages plus $167,000 in compensation for lost financial supports. Okay. In December of 2018, although maintaining their initial ruling after the civil trial results, the sheriff's department reopens Rebecca's case.
So this civil suit like ends. Yep. The jury's like, oh, he did it. And the police are like, no, no, no, no, no. Okay. You can say that there, but we're maintaining our stand that he didn't do it. But then months later, they randomly reopened the case. Okay. Something's going on here. Something is going on. So during all of this, Adam actually files an appeal, obviously for the findings that are accusing him.
like in the civil suit, but Rebecca's family finally agrees to settle for $600,000 and drop the civil suit in 2019, and he agrees. So the civil suit is dropped, they get paid out $600,000,
I'm actually assuming by Jonah Shackney. Yeah, yeah. And then, like, it's dropped, and that's the end of that civil case. I'm surprised they didn't go for more money. Right. Also, in 2019, the police that reopened their investigation...
closed it again and said, nope, we're maintaining our stand that this was suicide. This makes zero sense. Yes. In 2020, Rebecca's family attempts to sue the sheriff's department after they denied the family's request for investigative records.
So in March of 2021, a judge actually agrees to hear arguments for it in court. So he's like, okay, we'll go through with it. We'll hear it. Now, just in November, like literally just last month, the judge required that the sheriff's department produce some answers about the investigation and the shoddy work by the next hearing, which will be in late January, 2022. Holy crap.
So now police are going to have to come forward and answer some questions about the investigation. So it's still going on, basically. It's still going on. And we have no more answers into that. And Dina, the police have, like, never ruled Max's death a homicide or even, like, reopened it. This is crazy. Mm-hmm.
I had no idea any of this was happening. I think it's just one of those cases where it's like Coronado wasn't even big enough to have a homicide unit and then two deaths that are accidental and suicide happen in the mansion within three days. I just, I don't know. I feel like there's no way that Rebecca...
Tied her on. Yeah. I actually feel that way too. After like researching everything, I'm obviously not going to say for certain because nothing's proven in court. And I'm also not blaming anyone. Like I'm not saying Adam did it. I'm not saying Jonah did it. I'm not saying Dina did it. I'm not trying to get sued by Jonah. I'm just saying someone, there's some foul play going on. I do kind of agree as well. I just, there was some journals that were found on Instagram
phone and she was just talking about how she needed to remain strong after everything that had happened and that she wasn't going to let
Dina, she didn't say Dina, but these opposing people get to her that her love with Jonah was enough and that she knows who she is and that she kind of feels bad that she gave up all of her life just to live Jonah's life. And now look at the mess it got her into, but never once were any of the thoughts suicidal or anything like that. Okay. Uh,
But the writing on the door. Yeah, that's no, there's no, I just think there's no way Rebecca did that. And also they're like, oh, well only her fingerprints were on the paintbrush in the tube. But here's the thing. There was no like palette that the paint was squeezed out onto. So the paint was like squeezed onto the brush. Does that make sense? But remember there were no prints on the actual tube, just the cap. So how'd they get the paint out? Something weird's going on. Unless there were prints wiped down and prints planted.
I don't know. I really, I really don't know. And the neighbor said that she heard screaming and she, she continued to say that up until 2020, like she's testified at everything. And the other neighbor said that they saw someone. A woman that they thought was Dina, but she was at the hospital because the cameras. So I don't know, but maybe she still saw someone. Yep.
And that neighbor, the police are like, oh, she couldn't have heard that. She's lying. But the neighbor to this day is like, no, no, no. I heard a young woman saying, help me, help me. Oh, my gosh. That's horrible. So we just don't know. Yeah. It's just a mystery. I guess we'll see in January kind of what. How it plays out. How it's, you know, continues playing out. But I do need to say that Jonah has since remarried, but her identity has obviously remained a secret. Yeah.
And then back in June of 2013, the Spreckles, so two years after this all happened, the Spreckles mansion was put up for sale and sold for $9 million, which was far less than the asking price. Oh yeah. I'm sure no one wanted it. Yeah. And then in most, its most recent sell was actually in 2020 for only $11 million, which you think about it in 2013, it was nine. No one wants it. And I know, okay. 11 million is still a
lot of money. I know that we're like, oh, it's so, you know, but it has been tainted. Like the deaths of it have really stained that house and it just, it's not going to hold the same value, this historic value, the sugar King, it's not going to hold it anymore. It just doesn't have it. So that's kind of the history on that. But either way, it's
Two people died in this case, accidental suicide, homicide. We don't know, but either way, we need to remember Rebecca and we need to remember Max for the tragedies that happened.
In 2011 in the Spreckles Mansion. Crazy. All right, you guys. And that is the case this week. Thank you so much for supporting us. Thank you for loving us. If you want to check out our Patreon to further support the show, that's at patreon.com slash murderwithmyhusband. And we will see you guys next week with another episode. I love it. And I hate it. Goodbye.