LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California socialite was found guilty Friday of murder and other charges in the hit-and-run deaths of two young brothers in a crosswalk more than three years ago.
Authorities alleged that Rebecca Grossman, wife of a prominent Los Angeles burn doctor, fatally struck Mark Iskander, 11, and brother Jacob, 8, while speeding behind a car driven by then-lover Scott Erickson, a former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher.
Prosecutors charged Grossman with two felony counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death.
The deadly crash occurred on the evening of Sept. 29, 2020, in Westlake Village, a city on the western edge of Los Angeles County.
Grossman was not charged with being under the influence, but former baseball player Royce Clayton testified he had joined her and Erickson at a nearby restaurant where Erickson had two margaritas and Grossman had one, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Prosecutors presented evidence that the data recorder in Grossman’s white Mercedes showed she was speeding at up to 81 mph (130 kph) and tapped her brakes, slowing her to 73 mph (117 kph), less than two seconds before a collision that set off her airbags.
Grossman’s lead defense attorney, Tony Buzbee, repeatedly blamed Erickson for the deaths, suggesting the retired baseball player’s car hit Jacob, hurling him to a curb, and then hit Mark, throwing him into the path of Grossman’s Mercedes, the Times reported.
Buzbee did not immediately return a request for comment after the verdict was read.
An attorney for Erickson has said the former ballplayer denies contributing in any way to the tragedy. Erickson was initially charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless driving but it was dismissed after he made a public service announcement, the Times said.
The victims’ mother, Nancy Iskander, testified that the black SUV did not hit her sons but could have hit her and her 5-year-old…
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