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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

DEATH BY MERCEDES: $$$ Socialite Mows Down Brothers, Wins Court Victory

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime, News

3.97.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It's a small court victory for convicted socialite Rebecca Grossman against the parents of two young boys killed when a drunk Grossman plowed into them. The family is civilly suing Grossman and her former MLB star lover Scott Erickson for wrongful death.  Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Huey Cotton threw out a motion to fast-track.  The judge’s decision means that trial won't start until the original December 1 date. 

Just after 7 pm, on a September evening, Jacob and Mark Iskander, their siblings, and parents go for an evening stroll to a nearby lake.   The 6 member family is crossing in a crosswalk at a three-way intersection when mother Nancy hears a speeding car barreling their way.  The mom says her husband and daughter were father away from the street. She tries to signal to the two SUVs to slow down.  She tries to pull the children back, only managing to grab 1 of them and dive out of the way.  Jacob and Mark are hit.   Mark Iskander dies at the scene. Jacob dies later at the hospital. According to police, Mark was thrown 254 feet.  

Nancy Iskander tells police that two SUVs  were  "zig-zagging with each other as if they were playing or racing.”  She says the drivers didn’t stop, at the intersection, not even when the 11-year-old was on the hood of the car. Deputies reportedly catch up with a white Mercedes with significant front-end damage a third of a mile from the scene.  Behind the wheel is Rebecca Grossman.  The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department says they believe that vehicle was traveling over 80 miles an hour. Grossman’s breathalyzer test after the crash showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.076% according to local news reports. The legal limit in California is 0.08%.  A blood sample taken three hours after the crash registered at the 0.08% mark.

Rebecca Grossman was charged and convicted of two felony counts each of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death.  Grossman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

  • Mark Klaas - Founder, Klass Kids Foundation www.klaaskids.org  
  • Kathleen Murphy - North Carolina, Family Attorney, www.ncdomesticlaw.com  
  • Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta Ga www.angelaarnoldmd.com
  • Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, former director of MADD, Georgia
  • Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet" featured on "Poisonous Liaisons" on True Crime Network
  • Ray Caputo - Lead News Anchor for Orlando's Morning News, 96.5 WDBO

 

TIPLINE: Mothers Against Drunk Driving 24-Hour Victim Help Line: 877.MADD.HELP or 1-877-623-3435

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

0:04.0

Rebecca Grossman, a multi-millionaire socialite, runs down two little boys in front of their screaming mother who managed to save the other children. In the last hours, Rebecca Grossman

0:26.2

has a courtroom victory. I'm Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. Thank you for being with us.

0:34.9

Wealthy social, multi-millionaire socialite Rebecca Grossman fatally mows down two little boys

0:41.9

crossing a Westlake Village Street in the crosswalk gets a courtroom victory.

0:48.7

The judge, and the judge's wisdom, denies a motion by the little boy's family for an expedited trial

0:57.8

on wrongful death and negligence. What happened the day these beautiful angels were mowed down

1:07.4

out taking a walk with their family? Mark and Jacob Escander, just 11 and 8, were with

1:15.3

their family that September day mowed down and killed by a Mercedes speeding by, driven

1:23.9

by Rebecca Grossman, the chairwoman of the Grossman Burn Foundation.

1:30.5

What happened?

1:32.3

So many questions. Let's start it off. Listen.

1:34.2

Just after 7 p.m. on a September evening, Jacob and Mark Iskender, their siblings and parents,

1:39.6

go for an evening stroll to a nearby lake. The boys enjoy rollerblading and skateboarding.

1:44.7

The six-member family is heading home, crossing in a crosswalk at a three-way intersection

1:48.8

when Mother Nancy heard a speeding car barreling their way.

1:52.3

The mom says her husband and daughter were further away from the street.

1:55.8

She tries to signal to the two SUVs heading their way to slow down.

1:59.2

She tried to pull the children back, only managing

2:01.9

to grab one of them, a five-year-old, and dive out of the way. Jacob and Mark, who were farther out

2:07.0

in the crosswalk, are hit. Mark Iskinder dies at the scene. Jacob dies later at the hospital. According to

2:13.0

police, Mark was thrown 254 feet. 254 feet.

...

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