Child killer Rebecca Grossman will not be barred from using phones in prison despite claims she tried to tamper with witnesses and interfere with jurors.
The socialite, 60, was found guilty on February 23 of murder and manslaughter in the September 29, 2020 crash that killed Jacob Iskander, 8, and his brother Mark, 11.
She was speeding on a residential street in Los Angeles’ Westlake Village and was unable to stop after mowing down the two children.
Prosecutors sought to revoke her privileges as a prisoner after a number of recorded phone calls from the Twin Towers prison to her family asking her to release sealed evidence and locate witnesses who said their testimony had been targeted.
But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino denied their request Friday, saying her actions were the result of “naivety.”
Child killer Rebecca Grossman (center) won’t be banned from using phones in prison, despite claims she tried to tamper with witnesses and interfere with jurors
Mark Iskander (pictured left), 11, and his younger brother Jacob (pictured right), eight, died in the 2020 crash
Prosecutors sought to revoke Grossman’s privileges as a prisoner after a number of recorded phone calls from the Twin Towers prison to her family asking her to release sealed evidence and locate witnesses to say their testimony had been targeted
Deputy District Attorneys Ryan Gould and Jamie Castro filed a motion alleging phone calls Grossman made to her 19-year-old daughter Alexis and husband Peter, indicating she may have asked them to locate witnesses and jurors.
She allegedly ordered her teenage daughter to publicly release a sealed body camera video worn by a deputy sheriff, and even wrote a letter to the victims’ mother after she was found guilty.
But Judge Brandolino refused to move her to a part of the jail where she wouldn’t have access to phones or visitors, except her lawyers.
“I don’t consider this to be witness tampering. This is someone who thinks she was transported by railroad,” he said. “She’s angry and naive.”
Prosecutor Castro said Grossman was not naive, but actively tried to tamper with witnesses and violate a court order.
Castro pointed out that she has 10 lawyers and has served four years in court, adding, “She knows better. It is not enough to label it as naivete.’
Grossman’s new attorney Samuel Josephs, a career attorney with a focus on white-collar crime, had argued that she is already in solitary confinement.
He added that her visits and phone calls are the only real contact she has with the outside world.
The socialite’s new lawyers were warned that releasing any evidence under seal would result in financial penalties and would be reported to the state bar association.
But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino denied their request Friday, saying her actions were the result of “naivety.”
Mark and Jacob Iskander died in the horrific crash on September 29, 2020
Grossman was convicted after pleading not guilty to two counts of murder in the hit-and-run deaths
Grossman’s white Mercedes SUV is pictured moments after the crash on September 29, 2020
According to court documents, Grossman told her teenage daughter to publicly share video from a police-worn body camera that was sealed during the trial.
“I want you to unblock the videos,” she said during a phone call the day she was sentenced, and Alexis responded, “I will.”
While her husband Peter said: ‘Anything you want us to release, darling, let us know. We’re going to get it all out there.’
Grossman responded, “I want you to take everything off.”
John Hobson, one of her new attorneys, said his client did not understand the seal was still in place after the trial ended.
Another phone call in February allegedly showed Grossman came up with the idea of tracking down witnesses and having them say their testimony was being coerced.
“If we can get witnesses to come forward and say they were told to say things, it could get us a new trial,” she said.
While her daughter responded, “I’m going to do anything for you, mommy. Everything. And daddy too.’
Prosecutors Gould and Castro said the socialite’s lawyers were trying to tamper with jurors.
They added that a private investigator had contacted members of the jury and said he worked for the defense team.
Grossman’s new attorney Samuel Josephs, an appellate attorney with a focus on white-collar crime, had argued that she is already in solitary confinement
Grossman now faces 34 years to life behind bars for the September 2020 murder of the Iskander boys
A juror came forward and complained that even though jurors were told their identities would be protected, a private investigator tried to ask him questions outside his home on March 11, according to a motion filed Thursday.
“He came to my house looking for me personally,” he wrote in an email to prosecutors.
“He introduced himself, gave me his card and told me in advance that I didn’t have to talk to him if I didn’t want to, and then asked if he could talk to me about the Grossman trial.
“I asked him why, and he told me he worked for the Grossman family and wanted to know more about what influenced the jury’s decision during the trial. I told him I won’t talk to him, and he left.”
Gould and Castro said, “It is clear that the jurors in this case believed that their information would remain private and that they would not be contacted without notice.”
Judge Brandolino told the attorneys to destroy the names of any jurors and other information from the trial and to make no further contact.
Grossman, who faces a prison sentence of 34 years to life, will now be sentenced on June 10.