Death of Rebecca Zahau

Rebecca Mawii Zahau (March 15, 1979 – July 13, 2011), also known as Rebecca Nalepa, was a Burmese American woman who was found hanging at the beach house home of her boyfriend in Coronado, California, United States, on July 13, 2011, and pronounced dead by first responders called to the residence. Her death occurred two days after 6-year-old Max Shacknai, the son of her boyfriend Jonah Shacknai, had fallen from the staircase of the same property. At the time, he was in critical condition in the hospital. Rebecca and her then teenaged sister, Xena, were the only known people present at the time of Max's fall. Subsequently on July 16, 2011, Max Shacknai died of his injuries.

San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore announced on September 2, 2011, that Zahau's death was a suicide while the younger Shacknai's death had been ruled an accident, and that neither was the result of foul play.

Members of Zahau's family disputed this finding and filed a US$10 million (equivalent to $12.2 million in 2023) wrongful death lawsuit against numerous named and unnamed (listed as 50 generic "Does") defendants, before reducing their focus to Jonah Shacknai's brother Adam. In April 2018, having heard evidence which only had to meet the less stringent standards of a civil case, the jury in that civil trial found Adam Shacknai responsible for Zahau's death and awarded the Zahau family a judgment totaling $5.2 million (equivalent to $6.2 million in 2023).

Within two weeks of the conclusion of the civil trial, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office began a review of its investigation and resubmitted to the County of San Diego Medical Examiner's Department for it to further review. In November 2018, having reexamined all the evidence, and noting that the Zahau family refused to submit its supposed evidence to assist in the review, the Chief Medical Examiner reported that the extensive investigative findings had been "correctly concluded", and restated that the "cause and manner of" Zahau's death was suicide. The Zahau family, knowing that Adam Shacknai was appealing the civil judgment arguing procedural errors and juror misconduct, immediately launched a public relations campaign accusing the county officials of making an incorrect decision. In February 2019, prior to final arguments in Shacknai's appeal being presented to the judge, the Zahau family chose to enter a settlement for $0.6 million judgment (equivalent to $0.7 million in 2023), resulting in the civil case being dismissed with prejudice and vacating the original $5.2 million judgment.