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Parents of boys killed by Grossman take solace in her murder conviction: ‘We finally can move on’

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Nancy Iskander arrived at the graves of her two young sons a few hours after a jury on Friday convicted Rebecca Grossman of murdering them.

It was the end of a wrenching day. Three years after Grossman sped through a Westlake Village crosswalk in her Mercedes-Benz, hitting Iskander’s sons as she watched in horror, she had finally found some level of closure.

“Someone was held accountable for your murder sons. Sleep tight. Rest in peace,” she wrote on X along with a dusk photo of the marble headstone.

It took jurors a little over one day to convict Grossman on all charges.

In doing so, the jurors appeared to embrace the prosecution’s case that Grossman — the scion of a prominent medical family — was reckless and impaired by margaritas and Valium when she plowed through the residential intersection and hit the children in a marked crosswalk.

The jury convicted Grossman on two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and one count of hit-and-run resulting in death. Those were the maximum charges sought by prosecutors. The jury could have opted for lesser charges, such as vehicular manslaughter with ordinary negligence.

Mark Iskander, left, and his brother Jacob in a family photo.

(Courtesy of the Iskander family)

For Iskander, it was a moment of satisfaction and grief. She had been bearing witness for her boys, testifying in court and demanding authorities take the case seriously.

“My family has been waiting for this for 3½ years now. I’ve been waiting for the trust of the justice system. So today we’re just giving glory to God; the God of Mark and Jacob has been with us through that time and helped us through, carried us,” she said outside court.

She said sitting through the high-profile trial “felt like I am attending the funeral of the boys again, day after day. That’s how it felt, seeing the defendant and defense attorneys.”

But with the conviction, she felt, it was all worth it.

“We were trusting the justice system,” she said. “We have a justice system you can trust from our experience. It’s not a justice system where people get away with things just under the color of their skin or their wealth or anything. You commit a crime, you will be held accountable.”

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1. Mark Iskander 2. Jacob Iskander. (Courtesy of the Iskander family)

On Sept. 29, 2020, when Iskander and her three sons approached the crosswalk, wearing inline skates, she began to cross Triunfo Canyon Road at Saddle Mountain Drive. Her youngest son, Zachary, was next to her on his scooter. Mark, on a skateboard, and Jacob, also wearing inline skates, followed a little over arm’s length behind.

Prosecutors accused Grossman of reaching 81 mph before lightly braking and hitting the brothers at 73 mph, based on the car’s data recorder and the distance Mark was found from the crosswalk.

Prosecutors allege Grossman, 60, had cocktails with her then-boyfriend Scott Erickson, a former Dodgers pitcher, and then raced with him — he in his black Mercedes sport utility vehicle and she in her white Mercedes SUV — along Triunfo Canyon Road until they reached a crosswalk.

(Courtesy of the Iskander family)

Prosecutors also alleged that Grossman traveled a third of a mile after hitting the children before safety features in her car automatically shut it down.

Iskander’s witness testimony was a highly charged moment in the trial, as she described watching Grossman’s SUV plowing into her sons.

“I heard the loud noise, and I heard the driver of that car kept going,” Iskander told jurors. “I started screaming, ‘I can’t find them.’”

“Nobody came back to help,” Iskander said. “She did not come back to the scene.”

“She killed my kids,” Iskander said of Grossman. “They aren’t at school. They are not playing sports. They are at the cemetery.”

Grossman was taken into custody after the verdict. She faces a sentence of 34 years to life in prison based on the conviction. Grossman’s lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, called the verdict unexpected and vowed to appeal.

Nancy and Karim Iskander with their children, Mark, Jacob and Zachary.

(Courtesy of the Iskander family)

Nancy Iskander said it didn’t bring her any joy to see Grossman in handcuffs. Grossman’s daughter was overcome with emotion and yelled, “Oh, my God,” as the first word “guilty” echoed across the courtroom.

“No one wishes that on anyone,” Iskander said. “I promise I do not have any hate for her. My heart broke for her children. … It wasn’t easy, but it will bring me closure.”

Iskander also took time to talk about her sons.

“Well, they were golden-age children. They loved God. They were raised at the church. They were hardworking. They were honest. They cared about the truth,” she said. “And they were spoken for by a prosecution who’s also just that hardworking, honest, who cared about the truth.

“Mark and Jacob didn’t die. Mark and Jacob were murdered,” she added.

She said her family was able to cope with the tragedy because of a large support group. “We’re thankful for our community. We’re thankful to everyone here.” Her son Zachary, who was 5 on the day of the crash, continues to deal with the trauma of losing his brothers.

Iskander’s husband, Karim, said he hoped the verdict would be a turning point.

Jacob, left, and Mark Iskander.

(Courtesy of the Iskander family)

“We finally can move on. Finally. We have been waiting for the closure,” he said.

He also thanked the jury, saying they saw past “the imaginary conspiracy theories and tricks…. and focused on the evidence and they took it seriously.”

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Richard Winton

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February 24, 2024
Tearful mom describes horror as socialite sped through intersection, killing her 2 sons

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Nancy Iskander sobbed at the memory, her voice quivering.

The mother of four recounted how she saw a black sport utility vehicle speeding toward the intersection where she and her three sons were crossing. She grabbed her 5-year-old, Zachary, pulling him to safety, as that SUV barreled through the marked crosswalk in Westlake. The high-powered vehicle flew past.

But another SUV — a white Mercedes — was following closely behind, Iskander said. Her older sons were farther into the intersection, and Iskander said she lost sight of them when she jumped out of the way.

“I saw two cars coming toward us at an insane, crazy speed,” Iskander testified Monday in the murder trial of Rebecca Grossman, who is charged in the deaths of the Iskander children, 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob. “I didn’t see her hit the boys. I saw her pass where the boys were, and I heard the crash.”

Los Angeles County prosecutors say Grossman was behind the wheel of the white Mercedes that fatally struck the brothers in September 2020. Authorities say she was driving as fast as 81 mph and traveled a quarter-mile after slamming into the children before her car shut down.

“I heard the loud noise, and I heard the driver of that car kept going,” Iskander told jurors. “I started screaming, ‘I can’t find them.’

“Nobody came back to help,” Iskander said. “She did not come back to the scene.”

As the first witness in Grossman’s trial, Iskander gave a firsthand account of how a plan for exercise at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown ended in tragedy on bucolic Triunfo Canyon Road on Sept. 29, 2020.

She described finding Jacob near the curb. Authorities say he was thrown about 50 feet in the collision. She said it looked like he was sleeping, and she put her ear to his chest and heard his heart beating. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said in a release.

Mark was 254 feet away — a distance a deputy who specializes in crash incidents previously testified was the farthest he has known a human to be tossed in a crash. His body was crumpled, and he had blood pouring out of his nose, his mother recounted. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Every bone in his body was broken,” she testified.

Mark, left, and Jacob Iskander.

(Courtesy of the Iskander family)

Grossman, 60, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. If convicted of all charges, she faces 34 years to life in prison.

Defense lawyers have argued that Grossman’s erstwhile boyfriend, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, is responsible for the fatalities because his vehicle struck the boys first.

Grossman and Erickson had earlier in the day been drinking cocktails at a nearby restaurant, Julio’s Agave Grill, according to court records. The couple were joined by retired baseball player Royce Clayton, who testified Monday that Erickson drank two margaritas and Grossman one. Afterward, he said, they all agreed to meet at Grossman’s home and watch a presidential debate. He said Grossman did not seem to be impaired when she left the now-shuttered eatery.

Mikaela Kennedy, who worked at Julio’s, told the court that Grossman was served a Casamigos margarita at the restaurant. She, too, said the Hidden Hills socialite did not appear to be impaired when she left the restaurant.

But prosecutors say Grossman was racing Erickson’s high-powered black Mercedes SUV down the 45-mph street and her actions prove implied malice, knowing that her behavior was reckless. Although Grossman was not charged with driving under the influence, her blood alcohol level three hours after the crash registered 0.08%, California’s legal limit. She also had Valium in her system at the time of the fatal incident, prosecutors allege.

Iskander described how Erickson’s black SUV flew toward her and Zachary, who was on his scooter. She said if she hadn’t grabbed Zachary and jumped out of the way, they would have been killed by the black car. But she said she had no doubts that the white SUV struck and killed her two older boys.

Tony Buzbee, Grossman’s lead attorney, told jurors during his opening statements Friday that “she did not do anything, but someone else did,” adding that authorities never examined Erickson’s vehicle after the deadly incident.

Iskander on Monday pushed back against the defense’s argument that Erickson first struck Mark and Jacob, sending one of the boys upward into the air before falling into Grossman’s path and bouncing off her car.

“I wouldn’t have missed that, Mark going up in the sky,” the distraught mother said.

Buzbee has said that Erickson, 55, lied to sheriff’s investigators about the vehicle he was driving that night, noting that he “stopped down the road and hid in the bushes and watched” as police investigated the crash before going to Grossman’s house, speaking with her daughter and then going home.

Clayton, who was also supposed to go to Grossman’s house that night, never made it. The baseball coach at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village testified that he learned of the crash after speaking with Erickson by phone a few hours later. When asked whether he was still friends with Erickson, who has denied any wrongdoing, the former Giants shortstop said, “No.”

“I have kids. I just don’t understand how he could be so negligent and be responsible for running down kids,” Clayton said.

Erickson had a misdemeanor charge against him dismissed after making a public service announcement for teens about the importance of safe driving. His lawyer, Mark Werksman, said he does not currently plan to address the issues being raised in the Grossman trial, but added “this may change over the course of the coming days [or] weeks.”

In trying to establish the sequence of events, Buzbee repeatedly asked Iskander what she saw, arguing about how dark it was at the time of the crash, which occurred around 7:10 p.m.

“You did not see the children killed?” the lawyer asked.

“It was too fast,” she replied, but she noted: “If someone else did it, I would have said it.”

Westlake Village cyclist Chris Morgeson told jurors he heard three cars on Lindero Canyon coming up fast, two dark-colored sedans and a white SUV that he considered was driving “reckless.” He said he later saw a similar SUV with front-end damage stopped on the side of Triunfo Canyon Road. He said he never saw a black SUV and he couldn’t describe the driver of the white SUV.

But Iskander testified that she recalled only two vehicles that night. She said her older sons were an arm’s length or a little more away and inside the marked crosswalk, not cutting in front as Buzbee suggested in his opening statements Friday.

“She killed my kids,” Iskander said of Grossman. “They aren’t at school. They are not playing sports. They are at the cemetery.”

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Richard Winton

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January 29, 2024
Rebecca Grossman’s lawyer points finger at ex-Dodgers pitcher as murder trial begins

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A former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and boyfriend of an L.A. socialite charged with murder in the deaths of two young brothers is responsible for the fatalities because his vehicle struck the boys first, defense attorneys told jurors Friday.

More than three years after Rebecca Grossman was charged with the murders of Jacob and Mark Iskander, 8 and 11, opening statements began with the defense pointing the finger at Scott Erickson, who they say was the first to barrel through the Westlake crosswalk where the children were hit.

Tony Buzbee, Grossman’s lead attorney, told jurors “she did not do anything, but someone else did,” adding that authorities never examined Erickson’s vehicle after the deadly incident.

Witnesses are expected to testify they heard Erickson’s high-powered black Mercedes SUV racing down the street and saw it strike both boys, who were hurled through the air after the collision.

Buzbee said he will introduce video evidence showing that after the crash, the former Dodger was still traveling 70 mph, a speed the defense says was more than 20 mph faster than Grossman.

“We will prove that the black car was driven by Scott Erickson, who stopped down the road and hid in the bushes and watched,” Buzbee said. “Scott Erickson’s car hit those children. That’s what … the science in this case will show.”

Prosecutors, however, argued that Grossman, who was trailing Erickson’s SUV, sped through the marked crosswalk on Triunfo Canyon Road at Saddle Mountain Drive at more than 70 mph.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Ryan Gould said the 60-year-old Hidden Hills socialite had alcohol and drugs in her system, which impaired her driving. He said Grossman only stopped after her Mercedes was disabled by safety systems following the collision.

Grossman is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. If convicted of all charges, she faces 34 years to life in prison.

Graphic testimony is expected from Nancy Iskander, who was crossing the street on Sept. 29, 2020, with three of her children when she heard the roar of approaching engines on the quiet 45-mph street. She testified during a preliminary hearing in 2022 that she threw up her right hand in a desperate effort to stop the oncoming vehicles and grabbed her 5-year-old son, Zachary, pulling him to safety. She could not reach Mark and Jacob, who were farther into the street. She said she and Jacob were on inline skates, Zachary was on his scooter and Mark was on his skateboard as the family crossed the residential boulevard. Her husband and daughter were jogging nearby.

Gould told jurors on Friday that Grossman, who prosecutors say was speeding home behind Erickson after the two had been drinking at a nearby restaurant, “knew what she was doing was incredibly dangerous.”

Two tests of her blood-alcohol level returned readings of 0.08%, California’s legal limit, and 0.074%/0.075%, court records show. Valium was also found in her blood sample. She is not charged with driving under the influence.

“She acted with implied malice,” the necessary element prosecutors need to prove second-degree murder, Gould said. “If she was doing the speed limit, she wouldn’t have hit Mark and Jacob; they would have had time to cross.”

Prosecution witnesses are expected to testify they saw the speeding SUVs, with one describing the sound of the powerful vehicles “like an 18-wheeler.”

“They make the right-hand turn, and then they punch it,” Gould told the jurors.

The black box on Grossman’s SUV showed she was going 73 mph at impact, and the distance the boys were thrown — Jacob about 50 feet and Mark 254 feet — supported a speed of more than 70 mph at impact, Gould said. Mark died of traumatic blunt force injury, and Jacob was internally decapitated, he told jurors.

Gould said Grossman did not stop for over a third of a mile from the intersection and only did so because her Mercedes’ airbag deployed, triggering a fuel shutoff and a call to a safety operator.

He played a tape of Grossman telling an operator: “I was driving down the road, all of a sudden, my bag exploded.” When a 911 operator on the line with the Mercedes representative asked, “Did they hit a person? They said the two kids were hit on Rollerblades?” Grossman replied, “No.”

But Buzbee argued his client was not the one to fatally strike the children, suggesting the Iskander brothers “weren’t in the crosswalk,” and instead were cutting a corner. He said the front-end damage to her vehicle was caused when one of the boys — first hit by Erickson — bounced onto her SUV. He also promised an expert would testify why Grossman’s airbag deployed while Erickson’s did not.

“We will show that the investigation was absolutely terrible,” the lawyer told a jury panel of nine men and three women. “We will show a black AMG Mercedes … is the car that hit the children first,” adding that “multiple eyewitnesses heard two impacts.”

He said Grossman’s driving was not impaired — she had “a drink and a half in two hours” — and the amount of Valium in her system was barely detectable. He previously argued the pedestrian crossing was a known danger and said video from a nearby home security system the night of the crash will let jurors “see how dark it was.”

Buzbee said Erickson, 55, lied to sheriff’s investigators about the vehicle he was driving that night, noting that he “stopped down the road and hid in the bushes and watched” as police investigated the crash before going to Grossman’s house, speaking with her daughter and then going home.

Erickson has denied any wrongdoing in the fatal crash and had a misdemeanor charge against him dismissed after making a public service announcement about the importance of safe driving.

“We will emphasize science over emotion,” Buzbee said.

Clad in a navy blue cardigan, white blouse and glasses, Grossman kept her gaze firmly on the jury during opening statements. She hugged her son, daughter and husband — Dr. Peter Grossman, director of the Grossman Burn Center — during a break. Peter Grossman has said he and his wife were separated at the time of the fatal crash.

“This case is about two families,” Buzbee said. “But no one from our side will try to minimize the tragedy.”

“Use your courage and find Mrs. Grossman not guilty.”

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Richard Winton

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January 26, 2024
Suspect in 'bone-chilling' homeless killings charged with 4 counts of murder

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The man wanted in a series of shootings that left three homeless men dead across Los Angeles last week was charged Monday with four counts of murder, prosecutors said.

Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was charged with four counts of murder, one count of robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was expected be to arraigned in a downtown courtroom Monday afternoon.

“I want to extend my deepest appreciation to the incredible men and women of law enforcement who worked tirelessly to bring justice to our community and arrest this individual,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement. “The swift actions of law enforcement undoubtedly saved lives this week.”

Prosecutors also filed special circumstances allegations claiming Powell committed multiple murders. If convicted as charged, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Authorities say Powell, 33, of Los Angeles, began the string of attacks before dawn on Nov. 26. About 3:10 a.m., 37-year-old Jose Bolanos was shot while sleeping on a couch near 110th Street and Vermont Avenue.

Roughly 24 hours later, Powell shot 62-year-old Mark Diggs on San Mateo Street near the Arts District as Diggs pushed a shopping cart and looked for a place to charge his phone, prosecutors said.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, a third victim — identified only as a 52-year-old Latino man — was shot and killed in Lincoln Heights, police said.

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday that police had not identified a motive in the slayings, but Powell had not robbed the victims and had “no interaction” with them. He described a video of Diggs’ slaying as “bone-chilling” and said Powell shot the man with no warning or provocation.

Robbery-Homicide Division Capt. Scot Williams said investigators are “looking into every aspect of Powell’s life” to discern a potential motive for the shootings, “but at this point, it is a mystery.”

Powell was arrested Wednesday night in Beverly Hills during a traffic stop after his car was linked to a fatal shooting three days earlier in San Dimas.

Nicholas Simbolon, an employee of the Los Angeles County chief executive’s office, was killed in what police have termed a “follow-home robbery.” Simbolon’s wife found the 42-year-old with a gunshot wound, slumped inside his Tesla in the garage of their home in the 1800 block of Hawkbrook Drive, according to Sheriff Robert Luna, who said the shooter stole a few things during the targeted attack.

Police say Powell fled the scene in a 2024 BMW M440i. The vehicle, which costs upward of $62,000 and which authorities say Powell owns, was spotted in Beverly Hills three days later by officers who initiated a traffic stop and took Powell into custody. He wasn’t linked to the killings of the homeless victims until late Friday or early Saturday.

Court records show Powell has an extensive criminal and legal history in California.

In 2013, a woman filed for a restraining order against him in Los Angeles, though it was quickly dropped. Three years later, another woman in San Bernardino filed for a restraining order, which was dismissed after a few weeks.

In 2017, he was convicted of driving with a suspended or revoked license.

While most of the crimes Powell is accused of committing were low-level offenses, he was charged in 2018 with assault with a deadly weapon after stabbing a man with a knife, according to San Bernardino court records reviewed by The Times.

He pleaded guilty to a lower-level felony in that case and served nearly 400 days in jail, according to court records.

In 2019, he was convicted of trespassing.

Moore said investigators will try to reconstruct Powell’s movements to see if he left “a path of destruction behind him that we have not yet determined.” Luna said that based on his criminal history, “he didn’t just start doing this a week ago.”

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James Queally, Noah Goldberg, Richard Winton

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December 4, 2023
Man accused of killing the brother of ex-Laker Michael Cooper is charged in two more violent crimes

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The man suspected of gunning down the brother of former Lakers star Michael Cooper at a park in Pasadena on Saturday also has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm in two other recent incidents in the city, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Wednesday.

Aaron Miguel Conell, 24, was charged Monday in the fatal shooting of Mickey Cooper, 64, at Washington Park, the same site where he allegedly shot another man in the neck. Authorities have charged Conell with one count of attempted murder in the earlier incident, which occurred around 2 a.m. on Oct. 29. Officers responded to gunshots and found a man with life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

Seven days later, around 9:30 p.m., Conell is accused of walking up to a car at a Pasadena gas station and pointing a gun at a man in the driver’s seat. He is charged with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in that incident.

Conell was arrested Saturday, the same day he’s accused of killing Cooper at the park that is “10 houses away” from where Michael Cooper, 67, said he and his younger brother grew up.

“The reason my brother was there is that it was a safe haven for him, a place where he felt comfortable and safe,” Michael Cooper said. “And it had been until that tragic night.”

Conell faces 50 years to life in state prison if convicted on each count of murder, attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm. His bail has been set at $4.25 million.

Pasadena Police Department detectives said at a news conference Wednesday that Conell also is a suspect in two additional shootings.

Police said that none of the incidents are connected and that Conell — who has never been convicted of a felony and no gang affiliation — seemed to commit the alleged violent acts without a motive.

“Aaron Conell is diabolically evil, that’s the only motive we’ve come up with so far,” said Pasadena police Lt. Keith Gomez, who’s in charge of the robbery-homicide unit.

Michael Cooper expressed his appreciation to the Pasadena Police Department for the swift identification and arrest of Conell. He said he’d been part of the Pasadena community his entire life.

“This was the park where my brother and I would play basketball in the late ’60s and through the ’70s and ’80s,” said Cooper, who won five NBA championships during his 12-year career with the Lakers that ended in 1990.

He said Mickey was a gentle, loving person who was addicted to drugs. Mickey would sleep at Washington Park because it was so familiar to him.

Cooper said his brother was welcome to stay with him or at their grandmother’s home but that he often preferred the park.

“We are going to miss Mickey, but I like to feel he’s in a better place,” Cooper said. “My brother had an addiction he just couldn’t shake. Over the last year, we tried to get him a lot of help. He may have appeared homeless, but he wasn’t. He had a home up in Altadena at my grandmother’s house.

“I tried to bring my brother to my house several times. But that’s still not a reason for him not to go to that park, go to sleep and wake up and find himself in this situation.”

Michael and Mickey were raised in Pasadena primarily by their grandmother, Ardessie Butler, after their parents, Marshall and Jean, divorced when the boys were young. Jean, who had 10 siblings, worked as a registered nurse, and the boys grew up in a hectic household.

They attended Pasadena High School and Michael was drafted by the Lakers out of the University of New Mexico. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1986-87 and later became an assistant coach with the Lakers, the head coach of the WNBA Sparks, the head coach of the USC women’s basketball team and head coach of the Culver City High boys’ basketball team.

“I want to express deep condolences to the family of the individual who died and unwavering support for the wounded victim,” L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said. “These violent senseless acts have no place in our communities, especially at a public park where families could be present.

“We continue in our commitment to combating gun violence and will vigorously pursue justice for the victims and their families, while ensuring the safety and security of all of our residents.”

Gomez said that a 9-millimeter semiautomatic firearm was recovered from Conell’s vehicle, and that evidence indicated it was the gun used in both Washington Park shootings. City officials said the park is relatively safe during daylight hours but that it has become increasingly dangerous at night.

Justin Jones, the Pasadena City Council member who represents the Washington Park area, said he grew up a block from the park and that “recently residents have expressed concern about activities occurring in the park.”

City and law enforcement officials have scheduled a town hall meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss ways to improve safety at the park. Michael Cooper said that, as a native of the city, he deeply appreciated the efforts of law enforcement and that Mickey’s being killed for seemingly no reason was difficult to process.

“I remember back in the ’80s when we won, we had a championship parade here,” Cooper said. “And today I stand here [grieving]. … Mickey didn’t bother anybody. He loved everybody.”

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Steve Henson

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November 22, 2023
Former Costa Mesa nanny sentenced to 700-plus years for molesting boys under his care

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A Costa Mesa man and former nanny convicted of molesting or showing pornography to 17 young boys under his care was sentenced Friday to more than 700 years in prison, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 34, was found guilty last month of 34 felonies — including 27 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14, two counts of oral copulation by a child under 10, two counts of distributing pornography to a minor, one count of possessing child pornography, one count of using a minor for sex acts and one count of an attempted lewd or lascivious act with a minor.

The victims ranged from 2 to 12 years old.

Zakrewski’s total sentence was 705 years to life, plus two years and eight months, prosecutors said.

Zakrzewski worked as a professional nanny, branding himself as “the original Sitter Buddy” on his website. Between Jan 1, 2014, and May 17, 2019, Zakrzewski would sexually assault the children he was hired to watch, often filming the abuse, according to prosecutors. He would instruct the children not to tell their parents of his actions.

Zakrzewski was first reported to authorities in May 2019, when a Laguna Beach family told police he had inappropriately touched their 8-year-old son. Over the course of the investigation, 16 additional victims would come forward.

Prosecutors said Zakrzewski molested 16 of the boys and showed pornography to the 17th.

In a statement, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said Zakrzewski’s actions robbed 17 children of their innocence.

“Children are not born knowing how to lie, but this master manipulator taught these very young children to lie — and to keep secrets from their own parents,” Spitzer said. “The sexual exploitation of children is meant to destroy the smallest of souls.”

In a statement read during sentencing, Zakrzewski did not apologize for his actions, according to the district attorney’s office.

“I prided myself on bringing smiles to your children and all the good times we shared were 100% genuine,” he said, according to the office’s statement.

Prosecutors said multiple parents cried and covered their ears as he spoke.

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Jeremy Childs

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November 18, 2023
BMW driver accused of killing 4 Pepperdine students out on $4-million bond

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The driver accused of killing four Pepperdine students in a high-speed Malibu crash almost two weeks ago has been released on bond, according to jail records.

Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, faces four counts of malice murder and four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said at a recent news conference, adding that the charges stem from Bohm’s “complete disregard for the life of others.”

Prosecutors say Bohm was speeding along Pacific Coast Highway at 104 mph before the fatal collision.

Bohm pleaded not guilty to the eight felony charges Wednesday in a Van Nuys courtroom, where his bail was initially set at $8 million but the amount was lowered to $4 million during his arraignment. He was released on bond on Friday.

Bohm was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence following the Oct. 17 crash, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Maria Navarro said. But he was released hours later.

In a news release at the time, the Sheriff’s Department said he was “released to allow detectives time to gather the evidence needed to secure the strongest criminal filing and conviction.”

Bohm was re-arrested on Thursday and booked on suspicion of four counts of murder. In the days between arrests, investigators collected additional evidence — including toxicology test and search warrant results and speed analyses — before submitting the case to the district attorney’s office.

Not much information about Bohm is available in public records. He attended Chaminade Prep and Oaks Christian, two pricey private schools with annual tuition of more than $20,000.

The BMW driven in the accident was paid for by his parents, Christopher and Brooke Bohm, who lived in a home in a gated Malibu community that was valued at more than $8.7 million, according to the Daily Mail.

Brooke Bohm filed for divorce in 2017, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court documents.

The four people killed — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams — were sisters in the Alpha Phi sorority and seniors at Pepperdine University. Authorities believe they were standing near several parked vehicles in the 21600 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when Bohm’s BMW barreled into the cars and then struck the women shortly before 9 p.m. on Oct. 17.

Investigators said they have determined that Bohm was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, but the onboard computer of his car shows he was traveling at 104 mph before he lost control in the deadly collision, according to law enforcement sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly. It was that data, along with statements made by Bohm, saying he was aware of the posted 45-mph speed limit on that stretch of PCH, that led to the charges against him, sources say.

But Bohm’s attorney, Michael Kraut, says his client was not traveling that fast. He also has forwarded a claim to prosecutors alleging that another vehicle was involved in the crash. Last week, Kraut said his client is the victim of a road-rage incident on the night of the crash.

“They ignored evidence of a second car,” Kraut told The Times. “My client was getting away from the guy chasing him.”

Kraut said another driver “came into the lane and clipped him,” and Bohm “hit the brakes.”

“The evidence turned over showed at max [he was going] 70 mph,” Kraut said, citing the information he has received in the case, and adding that his client has “totally cooperated” with the investigation and passed a field sobriety test.

L.A. County sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Arens told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday that he had “no evidence” that the crash stemmed from an alleged road rage incident.

The collision has renewed calls for safety improvements on PCH, particularly in the area of the crash, which some call “Dead Man’s Curve.”

Times staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report.

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October 30, 2023
Driver sped at 104 mph in Malibu crash that killed 4 Pepperdine students, D.A. says

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The driver accused of killing four Pepperdine students in a Malibu crash last week was charged with murder, with prosecutors saying he was speeding at 104 mph before the fatal collision.

Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, faces four counts of malice murder and four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said during a Wednesday news conference, adding that the charges stem from Bohm’s “complete disregard for the life of others.”

“When you are driving at 104 mph in [a] 45-mph [zone], the only conclusion is you have a complete disregard for life,” Gascón said.

The four people killed — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams — were sisters in the Alpha Phi sorority and seniors at Pepperdine University. Authorities believe they were standing near several parked vehicles in the 21600 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when Bohm’s speeding BMW barreled into the cars and then struck the women shortly before 9 p.m. Oct. 17.

Bohm was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence following the crash, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Maria Navarro said. But he was released hours later. In a news release at the time, the Sheriff’s Department said he was “released to allow detectives time to gather the evidence needed to secure the strongest criminal filing and conviction.”

Bohm was re-arrested Tuesday night and booked on suspicion of four counts of murder. In the intervening days between arrests, investigators collected additional evidence — including toxicology results, search warrants and speed analyses — before submitting the case to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on Monday.

Investigators determined that Bohm was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, but the onboard computer of his car shows he was traveling at 104 mph before he lost control in the deadly collision, according to law enforcement sources not authorized to discuss the case publicly. It was that data, along with statements by Bohm that he was familiar with the stretch of PCH and that he was aware of the posted 45-mph speed limit, that led to the charges against him, sources say.

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October 25, 2023
Off-duty pilot booked on 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut down plane’s engines

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An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot was booked Monday on 83 counts of attempted murder after he tried to “disrupt the operation” of the engines of a plane he was aboard, according to the airline.

Joseph Emerson, 44, a pilot for Alaska Airlines, was on a Sunday flight operated by Horizon Airlines from Seattle to San Francisco when he tried to take over the aircraft, the airline said. Emerson was riding in the “jump seat,” which is an additional seat that is often used for flight attendants to sit in during takeoff and landing.

Horizon Airlines is a regional carrier owned by the parent company that owns Alaska Airlines.

He made it into the cockpit before he was subdued, according to the Port of Portland Police.

The flight was diverted to Portland International Airport. It landed around 6:30 p.m., and Emerson was arrested by the Port of Portland Police.

“The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines. The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident,” a spokesperson for Alaska Airlines said in a statement. “All passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight. We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests’ calm and patience throughout this event.”

Along with the attempted murder counts — one for each occupant of the plane — Emerson was booked on 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft, according to online court records.

“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit, and he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issues in the back right now,” the pilot told Seattle-area air traffic controllers, the Mercury News reported. “I think he’s subdued. Other than that, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and are parked.”

The Port of Portland Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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October 23, 2023
White Creek woman indicted for allegedly trying to kill cops

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WHITE CREEK — A White Creek woman has been indicted for her alleged role in an incident where her husband is accused of firing multiple shots at police.

Jane Jenkins, 43, is facing felony charges including two counts of first-degree attempted murder and three counts of second-degree attempted murder for the incident that took place on July 7.

State police responded to 210 Jermain Hill Lane at about 10:43 p.m. for a report of a landlord-tenant dispute.

Police said 38-year-old Matthew Parant, who rents a home on the property, got into a dispute with the property owner and got a rifle from inside his home. He then is accused of firing shots at officers and the property owner.

Parant then barricaded himself in the home as numerous law enforcement agencies responded to the scene. The State Police Crisis Negotiations Unit responded and communicated with Parant for several hours to no avail. He left his residence just before 4:30 a.m. and attempted to flee the scene in a van when he was taken into custody.

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No one was injured in the incident.

Parant was arraigned in Washington County Court on Sept. 16 on felony charges including three counts of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree attempted murder and reckless endangerment. He also faces two counts of misdemeanor second-degree menacing and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Authorities said previously that a woman on the property was not cooperative with the investigation.

Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan said on Thursday that Jenkins is being charged as an accomplice to Parant. He would not discuss the specifics about her case.

The attempted murder counts allege that she intended to cause the death of a state police trooper, Washington County Sheriff’s deputy and the landlord, court documents showed.

Jenkins denied any involvement in shooting at officers in a court filing. She alleged that the property owners had driven by that morning to take photographs and/or record her and Parant. Jenkins said the landlord had indicated they wanted to move the couple to another home on the property, so they could rent it out as an Airbnb.

Jenkins also alleged that there were issues at the property such as a leaky roof, mice and bird infestation and problems with appliances.

Jenkins denied any wrongdoing.

“I stayed in the residence the entire time. I did not participate in my husband’s conduct, (or) condone his behavior,” she wrote in a statement.

In addition to the attempted murder counts, Jenkins was also charged with a felony count of first-degree reckless endangerment and misdemeanors of second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

She was arraigned in Washington County Court on Sept. 23 and is free on bond.

Jenkins’ attorney, Brian Premo, did not return a message seeking comment.

Michael Goot is night and weekend editor of The Post-Star. Reach him at 518-742-3320.

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September 29, 2022