Who is Rebecca Grossman's husband? Unrepentant socialite pleads NOT GUILTY to killing Iskander brothers
Rebecca Grossman, the 58-year-old wealthy Los Angeles socialist and philanthropist, and co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation with her husband, Dr Peter Grossman appeared before Judge Joseph Brandolino in Los Angeles court to be charged with murder for a hit-and-run that killed Nancy Iskander and Karim Iskander's two sons -- eight-year-old Jacob and 11-year-old Mark -- while she was allegedly racing in her Mercedes. The two young boys were killed on September 29, 2020, in Westlake Village.
Grossman pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first-degree murder. In a pronunciation Grossman’s latest attorney, Tony Buzbee, said the 58-year-old is “overcharged” and that her legal team will not allow her to be “bullied.” “The prosecution’s continued insistence to make this a murder case by overloading my client, a pillar of this community, with murder is nothing more than a transparent effort to force her to plead,” Buzbee said. "Such playing skills hinder progress in this important case. We will not allow Rebecca to be bullied like this.” Her lawyer blamed the car accident on a “poorly marked, unguarded and unlit” crosswalk.
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Friday's hearing was short but the nearly two years leading up to it have been far too long for Nancy Iskander. "Well it was another step, another arraignment, another time I see the defendant pleading not guilty and not taking responsibility for the murder of the boys," Iskander said. "It’s another burden we carry, right? So the loss of the boys was one thing and this is yet another loss we carry of the time we have to wait to see any justice," Iskander said.
"Mark wanted to be a neurosurgeon, Jacob wanted to be my bodyguard," she said. "He was a tough guy and a runner and he would say 'mom, you should never worry about any attacks because I’m your bodyguard.' But I had to see him die," Iskander added.
On the night of the accident, the boys were walking with their family at about 7.10 pm and crossing a three-way intersection with a marked crosswalk but no stoplight. In the preliminary hearing, Iskander testified that neither Grossman’s white Mercedes-Benz nor her boyfriend Scott Erickson’s black SUV stopped and that Mark was carried a considerable distance down the road by Grossman’s car before she stopped. Mark died on the scene, and Jacob died hours later at the hospital. Prosecutors said that Grossman had been drinking prior to the crash, and posted a blood-alcohol level of .08. They also claimed that she hit the boys at more than 70 mph in a 45 mph zone and continued driving, only stopping when her car eventually broke down.
Who is Rebecca Grossman's husband?
Rebecca Grossman is the wife of well-known plastic surgeon Dr Peter Grossman, 59, who is the founder of Grossman Burn Foundation and ex-publisher of Westlake Magazine. Protesters criticized the Grossmans who believed that because of their wealth and "connections" they were able to stay out of jail.
At a March hearing, Judge Shellie Samuels apologized to the parents of the victims, Nancy and Karim Iskander, for the many continuations and postponements in the case, the most recent of which was Grossman’s need to hire a new attorney. Search and hire after her previous attorney fell ill. “This case has gone on for far too long,” the judge said. “My apologies for the delays.”
On September 14, Samuels rapped Grossman for failing to show up to her previous five scheduled court hearings, all of which were continued. “We can’t keep this up. This is a serious case. These victims lost two children. It is bad for them that this takes so long. The family suffers," she said.
Grossman's former partner Erickson, who was also involved in the accident, had been charged with reckless driving but had not been charged with any other offenses related to the brothers’ deaths.