A jury has determined that Rebecca Grossman, a convicted child killer, along with former pro baseball player Scott Erickson, must pay $176 million to the family mourning the loss of two young brothers killed in a tragic hit-and-run incident involving the affluent socialite. The verdict was reached on Wednesday.

Both Grossman, aged 64, and Erickson, 58, who once celebrated a World Series victory, were deemed to have acted with ‘malice or oppression’ leading up to the crash. This ruling opens the possibility for additional punitive damages, on top of the already substantial $176 million in compensatory damages.

The decision came after an eight-week civil wrongful death trial, where Grossman and Erickson faced allegations of consuming cocktails and engaging in a car race, which culminated in Grossman fatally striking 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander.

The jury, consisting of eight women and four men, deliberated for two days before deciding on the damages awarded to the deceased boys’ parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, and their surviving son, Zachary, who was five at the time and narrowly avoided harm during the crash.

The awarded $176 million includes $14 million for the parents’ loss of their sons’ ‘love and companionship’ following the incident, and an additional $93 million for the anticipated loss of their children’s love and companionship in the years to come.

Nancy Iskander was awarded $10 million for her ‘severe emotional distress’ since the accident and $25 million for her future emotional distress. 

And the jury said brother Zachary should receive $6 million for past and $28 million for future serious emotional distress.

In response to the Iskanders’ original claim for a total of $439 million in compensatory damages, Grossman’s attorney Esther Holm said that her imprisoned client would be willing to pay ‘reasonable damages’ without specifying an amount.

Erickson’s lawyer, Jeff Braun, offered a payout of $10 million.

The second day of deliberations is underway in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Nancy and Karim Iskander over the deaths of sons Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8, who were struck and killed while crossing a street in Westlake Village in September 2020

In the civil case against convicted killer Rebecca Grossman jurors must decide how much compensation the devastated family of the two young boys should receive – and whether the former Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Erickson  shares responsibility for the fatal crash

Jurors determined that Erickson was ‘negligent’ and that his negligence was a ’substantial factor’ in the deaths of the boys (Judge Huey Cotton, presiding in the case, already ruled in a directed verdict that Grossman was negligent).

And the jury also decided that Grossman and Erickson ‘acted in concert’ leading up to the deadly crash.

On the eight-page, 24- question ‘special verdict form’ jurors had to ponder, they answered ‘yes’ to questions 17 and 18 which asked if Grossman acted ‘with malice or oppression’ and Erickson acted with fraud, as well as malice or oppression.

That means both defendants now face paying separate punitive damages that are awarded as punishment for their ‘despicable’ behavior that led to the deaths of the Iskander brothers.

Those punitive damages will be decided by the jury in a second verdict phase later, after panel members have heard evidence and testimony about the financial status of Grossman and Erickson.

Jurors declared that the Westlake Village crosswalk where the accident happened ‘was not in a dangerous condition,’ rejecting Grossman’s contention that the Westlake Village crosswalk was partly to blame.

Karim and Nancy Iskander are seeking nearly half a billion dollars in damages for the loss of their two boys

Grossman and Erickson were photographed attending a fundraising event in 2020 shortly before the accident. Erickson was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and his criminal case was resolved in February 2022

Grossman’s Mercedes is pictured after the smash. She kept on driving, despite the obvious damage caused to the car after she struck the boys

After Wednesday’s verdict, the Iskanders’ attorney, Brian Panish, told Daily Mail, ‘We’re not done yet – there’s more work to be done.’ 

Grossman’s speeding white Mercedes SUV collided with both children, fatally injuring them, at a pedestrian crossing in Westlake Village, near Los Angeles, in September 2020, after she and Erickson both drank margaritas at a local bar.

Grossman is currently serving 15 years to life in prison after jurors at her February 2024 criminal trial convicted her of two counts each of second degree murder and vehicular manslaughter, plus one of hit-and-run.

Erickson confessed on the witness stand during the civil trial that he lied to police about how much alcohol he had to drink before the deadly crash and admitted that he was convicted of DUI in Nevada 12 years ago.

He also admitted that when police asked him to turn in the vehicle he was driving at the time of the crash, he produced the wrong car for inspection (at the time he owned two black Mercedes SUVs, illegally bearing the same license plate number).

But the 6ft 4in ex-MLB pitcher vehemently denied any responsibility for the horrific pile-up. He claimed he was not racing Grossman, insisted that he was not under the influence of alcohol and disputed eye-witness accounts saying he was going 80-100 mph just before the crash

He testified that he saw the two boys at the crosswalk as he drove through without hitting them and he didn’t see their mother Nancy grab Zachary, then five, and leap for their lives to avoid being hit by his black Mercedes SUV as he sped through the intersection ahead of Grossman.

Grossman’s criminal case attorneys tried to blame the deadly crash on Erickson – who didn’t show up at his ex girlfriend’s 6-week criminal trial.

But he was only charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and that was dismissed after he made a public service announcement on the importance of safe driving.

Despite the lack of criminal charges against Erickson, the Iskanders named him as a defendant in their civil action, saying he bore equal responsibility with Grossman for the fatal crash.

Grossman’s lawyers in the civil trial called the crash a ‘tragic, horrible accident,’ said she didn’t see the boys on the crosswalk, that ‘there were other factors involved’ – like poor signage and lighting at the intersection – and that she wasn’t ‘impaired’ with alcohol and drugs as the Iskanders claimed.

Erickson was having a love affair with Rebecca when she was separated from her plastic surgeon husband Dr. Peter Grossman, who is also a defendant in the lawsuit as the owner of the Mercedes she was driving at the time of the crash. 

MILWAUKEE — For the Giants, every aspect of their game was clicking seamlessly, right down to the smallest details.

Even the orange Gatorade in the dugout seemed to be just right.

“Sometimes they mix it too strong or too weak,” said Ron Washington, a seasoned veteran with a discerning palate for the sports drink. “Today, it’s just right.”

In fact, everything seemed perfect.

That sentiment extended to Logan Webb’s performance. Almost perfect.

In a 1-0 over the Brewers, the Giants ace didn’t allow a base runner until issuing a walk to start the sixth inning and took a no-hitter into the seventh, when a flare off the bat Brice Turang snuck inches over the glove of a diving Matt Chapman, who extended as far to his left as he could. 

Webb had to settle for one of the most sterling showings of his career — by far his best of the season — and a much-needed performance to flip the Giants’ fortunes after dropping seven of their past eight to enter the game with the worst record in the majors.

It didn’t end without drama: Christian Yelich doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and reached third with one out, but Keaton Winn got Turang to swing through a fastball above the letters for the second out and stranded the tying run 90 feet away with a groundout of William Contreras to preserve the spectacular effort by Webb.

He finished seven shutout innings, surrendering just the one walk and one hit while striking out four and using his sinker to induce a dozen mostly soft ground-ball outs.

The no-hit bid risked overshadowing another feel-good moment that ended up being just as decisive in determining the outcome. 

Up until the seventh, the only activity in the Giants’ bullpen came when they were at the plate in the top of the fifth, as rookie outfielder Victor Beritcoto’s first home run landed among the group of relievers and bounced into the stands, providing the only run San Francisco would need.

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What it means

Webb’s season, like the Giants as a whole, has been a frustrating one to this point. His 4.82 ERA is the highest since he established himself in the majors in 2021. The Giants were just 2-7 behind him in his first nine starts, and a knee issue forced him to the IL for the first time.

Turns out, the time off was a good thing. Really good. Just what Webb needed. Almost perfect.

Who’s hot

Webb, perhaps, was extra motivated by watching his close friend and former teammate, Kyle Harrison, dominate the Giants the previous night. Or maybe he looked at the 4.94 ERA the Giants’ rotation took into the game and decided something needed to be done about it.

He could just like facing the Brewers.

In seven previous starts against them, Webb was 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA. The only team he’s had more success against in as many starts is the Reds, who happened to be the victims of the Giants’ last no-hitter, thrown by Blake Snell at Great American Ballpark in 2023.

Who’s not

Webb was back to normal form in his second start back from the first stint on the injured list of his career. Unfortunately for the Giants, so was their lineup.

Robert Gasser, a left-hander called up from Triple-A before the game, matched zeros in the run column — if not the hit column — for the first four innings, and the Giants weren’t able to provide any insurance following Bericoto’s home run in the fifth.

They were held to three or fewer runs for the sixth time in their past nine games, stranding at least eight men on base for the fourth time during that stretch.

Up next

Adrian Houser will look to build on Webb’s effort in the series finale as the Giants try to salvage a split in the four-game series against the NL Central leaders before finishing their road trip with three games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.