On Tuesday, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld the Feb. 23, 2024 conviction of Rebecca Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, for the second-degree murder of 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his 8-year-old brother Jacob Iskander. Grossman was involved in a hit-and-run at a crosswalk in Westlake Village on Sept. 29, 2020, killing both brothers. Grossman was found guilty by jury for two felony counts of murder, two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death.
Grossman filed an appeal in June 2024 with her attorney, Lara Gressley, arguing that the defendant’s conviction for manslaughter, rather than second-degree murder, was incorrect, as the defendant did not act with “implied malice”. According to the Los Angeles Times, “[Gressley] argued that prosecutors failed to prove such malice and that the judge never clearly defined that term.”
Grossman’s 2024 conviction of manslaughter was derived from the evidence that she was driving at 81 mph in a 45 mph zone when she hit the Iskander brothers crossing Triunfo Canyon Road with their parents and two other siblings in a well-marked crosswalk. Grossman had been drinking at a nearby restaurant earlier with former Dodgers player Scott Erickson, although she was not charged with driving under the influence.
According to the boys’ mother, Nancy Iskander, as well as several eyewitnesses, both Grossman and Erickson’s cars were seen “racing” down the residential street at incredibly high speeds. “They were coming towards us and changing lanes, switching lanes as if they were racing or playing,” Nancy Iskander said. Grossman’s Mercedes-Benz SUV traveled another half a mile after hitting the children, and the car only stopped when her power was cut off, and airbags had been released.
Nathan J. Hochman, Los Angeles County District Attorney, reaffirmed Grossman’s conviction, stating that her decision to speed on a residential street after drinking at a bar proves her malice, as she knew her actions could be deadly. “The legal standard is clear: Driving at excessive speeds through a pedestrian crosswalk after consuming alcohol absolutely demonstrates the requisite state of mind for second-degree murder,” Hochman said. “The outcome of this case shows that the law applies to everyone, and money or connections offer no immunity from accountability.”
Six years after the tragedy, Nancy Iskander and her family are still in the process of healing. “I am definitely thankful and happy that the conviction was upheld, but I’ll be moving on in life, now that that’s behind me, knowing that Mark and Jacob are not coming back,” Nancy Iskander told Eyewitness News on Tuesday. “I always knew that they were not going to come back. It’s just another reminder that they were murdered.”
Grossman is currently serving her sentence in California State Prison, with a maximum penalty of 34 years.