Rebecca Zahau: murder or suicide?

[Charlie Wilkes]

Rebecca Zahau died at the home of her boyfriend, a wealthy businessman, under unusual circumstances. She was found nude, with her hands and feet bound, hanging from a courtyard balcony with a rope around her neck.

At the time of Zahau's death, her boyfriend's 6-year-old son was in a coma that resulted from an accident that took place while the boy was in Zahau's care. The child later died.

Police have concluded that Zahau's death was a suicide. Zahau's family believes she was murdered.

Here are a couple of links:

http://www.760kfmb.com/story/16068012/mixed-dna-all-over-zahau-death-scene-some-evidence-not-tested

http://www.cbs8.com/story/15982091/exclusive-max-shacknais-aunt-talks-about-coronado-mansion-deaths

 

[fuelair]

Would like to see exactly how they believe she tied her own hands in a way they could not reach the noose . Also, good to know they do not bother testing all DNA material found at a crime scene (potential).

Wasn't there, no idea what actually happened, but those kinds of info do tend to make me curious.

 

[Draca]

Murder.

It is actually ridiculous to say this was a suicide.

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

Murder.

It is actually ridiculous to say this was a suicide.

Who murdered her, how did they do it, and why did they stage it in such a way as to raise so many obvious doubts?

 

[DrDave]

Where's the poll?

 

[slingblade]

Who murdered her, how did they do it, and why did they stage it in such a way as to raise so many obvious doubts?

I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.


I do think that if a person hangs themselves, they won't be able to bind their own hands behind their back, except possibly in a cursory, unsecured fashion. So were I to see someone hanged, and noted they were securely bound, I would feel safe in assuming they were murdered.

That doesn't mean I'd then know the details of it.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Suicide.

Where is the Planet X option?

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

Suicide.

Where is the Planet X option?

What does that mean?

 

[slingblade]

What does that mean?

It's a forum meme, meant to denote the "none of the above/other" option, usually phrased in a more or less witty fashion.

ex:

1) Dogs should be fed table scraps;
2) Dogs should never be fed table scraps;
3) On Planet X, dogs feed you.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

The stories linked in the OP really don't give enough detail about how she was bound for me to decide how suspicious this one is. If the binding really was so significant, why aren't those crying foul concentrating on that rather than on things like them not testing every spot of blood, when all the ones they did test turned out to be menstrual blood.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

The stories linked in the OP really don't give enough detail about how she was bound for me to decide how suspicious this one is.

That's the problem I have with it too.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

I do think the police need to be very careful (in general) about jumping to a suicide conclusion. In the past when this has happened, possibly vital evidence has been lost because of premature conclusions. See for instance the deaths of Errol and Jason McGowan:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/feb/28/race.world

 

[SkepticScott]

I do think that if a person hangs themselves, they won't be able to bind their own hands behind their back, except possibly in a cursory, unsecured fashion.

That sounds like some sort of a twisted engineering challenge. Consider this:
* tie a loop of light rope tightly around each wrist
* thread the free end of each rope through the loop around the other wrist, with the ropes going behind your back. That way, when the ropes are pulled, your arms are pulled together behind your back.
* Tie off these ropes so they're about 12" longer that the noose will be when you're hanging.

Either a suicide or a murderer could do this, so it doesn't help decide.

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

It's a forum meme, meant to denote the "none of the above/other" option, usually phrased in a more or less witty fashion.

ex:

1) Dogs should be fed table scraps;
2) Dogs should never be fed table scraps;
3) On Planet X, dogs feed you.

Perhaps in this case the options are as follows:

1) Police: It was a suicide.
2) Zahau family/Anne Bremner: It was a murder staged to look like a suicide.
3) Planet X: It was a suicide staged to look like a murder.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Perhaps in this case the options are as follows:

1) Police: It was a suicide.
2) Zahau family/Anne Bremner: It was a murder staged to look like a suicide.
3) Planet X: It was a suicide staged to look like a murder.

The Planet X option is supposed to be funny.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Hmmm, I don't think you have quite got the idea of the Planet X option...

 

[slingblade]

Perhaps in this case the options are as follows:

1) Police: It was a suicide.
2) Zahau family/Anne Bremner: It was a murder staged to look like a suicide.
3) Planet X: It was a suicide staged to look like a murder.

Nope. Planet X doesn't give you any reasonable option, because it is the
"I don't know, or none of the above and unnamed in this poll" option.

Your #3 there is simply the third option. It's not the Planet X option.

 

[alphahelix]

Don't know bout planet X but

The Planet X option is supposed to be funny.

In Soviet Russia ropes tie you!

 

[Quinn]

Neither of the OP's linked articles mentioned how her hands were "bound." Was it with rope? Cable ties? Handcuffs? Some of those are way more plausibly self-secured than others.

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

Nope. Planet X doesn't give you any reasonable option, because it is the
"I don't know, or none of the above and unnamed in this poll" option.

Your #3 there is simply the third option. It's not the Planet X option.

OK, yes, it's an option of terrestrial origin. I'll try to apply this tutorial in another thread, but perhaps not right away...