Rebecca Grossman: NY socialite accused of 'illegal prison conduct' and possible conspiracy with family
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA: Rebecca Grossman, convicted in the hit-and-run collision resulting in the deaths of two young brothers in Westlake Village, is confronting further legal challenges.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office alleges that the 60-year-old NY socialite has engaged in illegal conduct and potential criminal conspiracies while incarcerated at the LA Twin Towers Correctional Facility following her conviction on Feb 23.
Citing alleged misuse of phone privileges by Grossman, prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to revoke her phone access and restrict visitors, except for her attorney.
Additionally, prosecutors have accused Grossman's defense team of unlawfully obtaining personal information about jurors, allowing a private investigator to contact at least three jurors who reported harassment and unauthorized contact.
Prosecutors filed motion against Rebecca Grossman
According to the Los Angeles Times, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Gould and his colleague Jamie Castro filed a motion on Monday.
This motion detailed several calls that Rebecca Grossman had with her daughter and husband since her conviction on February 23.
In these calls, Grossman told her daughter, Alexis, to make public a video from a deputy's body camera.
This video was sealed by the judge. Grossman also told Alexis to ask someone to talk to the judge about getting a new trial.
She also encouraged finding witnesses and getting them to say their testimony was directed. Last month, the jury found Grossman guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, and one count of hit and run.
This was for the 2020 deaths of Mark and Jacob Iskander, who were 11 and 8 years old. Grossman could face 34 years to life in prison. Gould and Castro wrote in their motion that two jurors reported that three others on the jury were contacted by a private investigator named Paul Stuckey.
The judge had sealed the jurors' personal information. Stuckey does not work for the Iskanders or the prosecution but for Grossman.
The prosecutors said the investigator could only have found the jurors if he had their personal information.
This information was sealed by Judge Joseph Brandolino. The defense could ask for a juror’s identity, but that hasn’t happened in this case. The prosecutors asked the court to return all the juror information. They also asked the judge to stop Grossman from contacting the Iskanders.
Nancy and Karim Iskander, the boys' parents, said they got a letter from Grossman on March 13. Gould and Castro said in the motion that Grossman used her phone privileges for improper conduct.
These calls included admitting to violating the court's order about sharing evidence on the Internet and with the press. The calls also discussed potential criminal plans. This included trying to get more protected information and interfering with witnesses and their testimony.
They also tried to influence the judge's decision on Grossman's sentencing.
Timeline of conversation made by Rebecca Grossman while detained in jail
Phone conversations made by inmates at Twin Towers jail, where Grossman is detained and other Los Angeles detention facilities are recorded by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
On February 23, the day Grossman was convicted, she spoke with her daughter, instructing her to unblock certain videos.
Her daughter agreed to do so, and Grossman's husband expressed readiness to disclose whatever she wanted to share, “Everything you want us to put out, honey, let us know. We’re going to put it all out.”.
Grossman confirmed her desire for everything to be made public.
Prosecutors claim this conversation pertains to body-camera footage from a sheriff’s deputy at the crash scene.
The video was previously available on a webpage associated with Grossman’s defense but was removed after prosecutors alerted the judge, who sealed all evidence not presented at trial.
Gould, the prosecutor, also alleges that Grossman instructed her husband to contact a Fox 11 news reporter regarding the video on February 24.
However, her husband advised against discussing matters over the phone.
During another conversation, Grossman discussed with her husband a board member of the Grossman Burn Center, where he serves as medical director.
This individual's patient testified at trial, claiming to have witnessed Grossman's white Mercedes SUV striking one of the boys.
Grossman expressed dissatisfaction with the influence exerted by her husband’s colleague over the witness's testimony.
In a separate conversation, Grossman instructed her husband to have a man named Tom contact the judge to inquire about a new trial.
On February 24, Grossman discussed the potential of securing witnesses to testify to being coerced, which she believed could lead to a new trial.
She encouraged her daughter to locate and speak with a witness who was not called by the defense attorneys and who allegedly saw a black car, rather than a white one, strike the boys.
Grossman expressed dismay over the jury's unanimous conviction, asserting they were biased against her from the start.
She questioned the credibility of each witness's testimony, citing inconsistencies.
The following day, February 25, Grossman urged her husband to contact her then-boyfriend, Scott Erickson, and prompt him to confess via video, reiterating her defense team’s trial strategy.
Her husband expressed frustration saying, “I know he needs to confess, but right now, I can’t even talk about the case. But that guy needs to [know] you’re in jail for him, and it drives me crazy.”
Grossman persisted, urging her husband to ensure Erickson's confession, citing concern for her family.