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Socialite Rebecca Grossman says she is the target of a ‘lot of hate and anger’ and has contemplated suicide since she killed two young brothers with her Mercedes in an upscale neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2020.
Grossman, 58, is waiting a double murder trial for the deaths of Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, eight.
At 7.10pm on September 29, 2020, she hit the boys with her Mercedes.
She had been seen drinking earlier that day at a Mexican restaurant with retired Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, but was not over the legal limit to drive at the time.
She insists that it was a terrible accident, but prosecutors are pursuing murder charges. One troubling aspect of the case is witness testimony that Grossman and Erickson might have been racing their cars in the street.
Grossman however insists this isn’t true and says the accident was caused by a poorly lit, poorly signaled crosswalk.
Rebecca Grossman, 58, is shown with her husband, Dr. Peter Grossman, in 2017. She is awaiting trial on double murder charges for the deaths of two young brothers, who she ran over with her Mercedes in 2020
Mark Iskander, 11, and his younger brother Jacob, eight, were killed in the crash in 2020
The black box from her vehicle shows she was driving at 73mph at the time of the accident – well over the 45mph limit.
The boys had been with their parents and siblings at the time. The parents were able to stop their two younger siblings from being hit, but couldn’t reach the boys in time.
Mark died at the scene and Jacob died in a hospital a few hours later.
In an interview with Los Angeles Magazine this week, she said she is misunderstood by the public and the police.
‘There is a lot of hate and anger out there… and that hate stems from believing everything that’s been put out there about who I am: that I have no remorse, that I’m this monster, that this hasn’t affected my life, that I just go about my every day as if this never happened.
‘That’s just not true,’ she said.
Grossman’s Mercedes after the incident. The black box showed she was traveling at 73mph – well over the 45mph limit
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Grossman in court earlier this year. She pleaded not guilty to murder charges and is now appealing to California’s Supreme Court to have her charges reduced to vehicular manslaughter
Mark and Jacob were out walking with their parents and siblings when they were killed. The parents were able to stop their two younger siblings from being hit – but couldn’t reach them in time
Grossman claims the accident was caused by a poorly lit, poorly signaled crosswalk. Above, the crosswalk
She insisted that she and Erickson are just friends and not lovers, as had been suggested by the boys’ parents, and said she had become so tormented with guilt that she contemplated suicide.
‘The thought of taking the easy way out crossed my mind. It still does from time to time,’ she said.
Grossman’s husband is famous L.A. burn surgeon Dr. Peter H. Grossman.
Together, they founded The Grossman Burn Center, where comedian Jay Leno was recently treated.
He told the magazine: ‘She cries every day. She is in an emotional prison that she may never be able to get out of.’
Grossman’s daughter has also set up a website to try to prove her innocence.
The family deny police reports and claims that she tried to flee the scene after the accident.
They say she doesn’t deserve to be tried for murder, and previously tried to have her charges downgraded to vehicular manslaughter. A judge denied their request.
In addition for the crime itself, Grossman has been widely criticized for what has been perceived by some as an attempt to skirt justice.
Court proceedings have been delayed due to her failure to appear in court, her lawyer’s death. She is free in a $2million cash bail.
Grossman is appealing to California’s Supreme Court, claiming her rights have been violated with the murder charges. A pre-trial hearing has been set for January 10.
