Rebecca Grossman will not testify in her own defense, she testified Tuesday at her murder trial, where she is accused of running over and killing two young brothers while speeding in her white Mercedes.
When Judge Joseph Brandolino asked the wealthy socialite if she had discussed with her attorneys whether or not she should take the witness stand, she responded “yes.”
And when he asked her what her decision was, she told him, in a barely audible whisper, that “she will not testify.”
Grossman, 60, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the tragic deaths of eight-year-old Jacob and 11-year-old Mark Iskander at a marked crosswalk in Westlake Village in September 2020.
She faces a maximum sentence of 34 years to life in prison if convicted and also faces two additional counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, plus one count of hit-and-run resulting in death.
Rebecca Grossman (right) leaves court with her husband Peter Grossman
Rebecca leaves court with her husband Peter Grossman and their two children (center and right)
Erickson, pictured in 2018. Erickson was allegedly racing with Grossman just before the accident.
Grossman, who was wearing a black cardigan over a white shirt and black pants, with her hair up, in Van Nuys court on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Her husband, plastic surgeon and burn specialist Dr. Peter Grossman, was in court, as he has been every day of the trial, with Rebecca, who has been free on $2 million bail since her arrest. more than three years ago.
While prosecutors say it was Grossman, driving his white Mercedes SUV, who killed the Iskander children, his defense claims it was the black Mercedes SUV driven by his lover, former professional baseball player Scott Erickson, 56. , who he was supposedly running with just before the accident, that was the culprit.
His attorneys also claim that Erickson, who owns two black Mercedes SUVs, both with the same Nevada license plate, lied to police about which car he was driving the night of the accident.
And Grossman’s teenage daughter, Alexis, told the court Friday that she saw Erickson after the crash, hiding behind a tree while her mother talked to police and then he threatened to “ruin her and her family” if she told him. to someone who had seen it. evening.
Erickson was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and his case was resolved in February 2022 when a judge ordered him to make a public service announcement to high school students about the importance of safe driving.
Grossman’s lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, rested his defense Tuesday, and prosecutors called several “rebuttal” witnesses to address testimony conflicts raised by the defense.
John Grindy, a former police officer and now an accident reconstruction expert, disputed defense expert Dr. Justin Schorr’s claim that “you can’t do a full accident reconstruction without the black car,” referring to the black Mercedes SUV. Erickson’s that was just in front of Grossman’s. car before the collision.
“I disagree,” said Grindy, who said having just Grossman’s white Mercedes, plus evidence from the scene and witness statements were enough to “determine the speed and impact” on the crash.
Grindy criticized Dr. Schorr for not considering conflicting witness testimony in his conclusions, saying that “witness statements are important, they are one piece of the puzzle.”
But when Buzbee showed a graph showing inconsistencies between witness accounts of which car hit each child, whether the black or white Mercedes was in front, and whether there was the sound of one or two hits at the impact of the collision. , Grindy admitted that some of the witness testimony was “confusing.”
Rebecca Grossman will not testify in her own defense, she testified Tuesday at her murder trial, where she is accused of running over and killing two young brothers while speeding in her white Mercedes.
The wealthy socialite (center in photo) was accused of running over and killing two young brothers in Westlake Village in 2020.
The attorney asked if he had tried to find and inspect Erickson’s black truck or talk to Erickson himself, and Grindy responded, “No.”
Buzbee asked a similar question to the prosecution’s rebuttal witness, Michael Hale, another accident reconstruction expert, asking: “Were you ever asked to find Erickson’s car and see what the front end looked like?” the answer, again, was “No.”
Hale is the prosecution’s expert who examined the black box of Grossman’s white Mercedes and previously told the jury of nine men and three women that she was driving 81 mph just before the crash and hit the brakes hard enough to slow her down. at 73 mph at the point of impact with the boys.
On Tuesday, again on the witness stand, he stood by those numbers and added that Grossman was “full speed” two seconds before the tragedy.
A police officer who was at the scene of Grossman’s accident on Tuesday cast doubt on her daughter Alexis’ claim that she had seen her lover Scott Erickson, “hiding behind a tree,” watching while her mother spoke to police. about the accident.
The prosecution’s rebuttal witness, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Cody Gaudet, told the jury that he did not see Erickson, or anyone else, hiding, and that if he had, I would have noticed.
“If there was someone hiding behind a tree, it would immediately catch my attention.”
Dep Guadet added that no member of the public called to say they had seen anyone “hiding in the bushes or hiding in the trees.”
“If there was someone doing something suspicious like that, we would have gone to investigate.”
Dep. Gaudet also said he had not seen a damaged black pickup truck parked nearby.
And, when asked if anyone else had reported seeing Erickson’s black SUV or “a black SUV with a damaged front end” near the crash scene, Dep. Gaudet responded, “Not that I know of.”
Grossman, pictured earlier in the Van Nuys courtroom, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Rebecca Grossman’s tearful teenage daughter, Alexis seen at far right, told Friday at the wealthy socialite’s murder trial how she saw her mother’s lover, Scott Erickson, hiding behind a tree.
Erickson played with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2005 for one year, then finished his career with the New York Yankees in 2006.
Grossman, 60, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the tragic deaths of Jacob, 8, and Mark Iskander, 11, in a marked crosswalk in September 2020.
Grossman’s white Mercedes SUV appears in the photo moments after the accident.
When Buzbee asked him if he ‘made any effort to find Scott Erickson…’ Or find his car to see if there was any damage to the front? Gaudet replied: “No.”
Alexis Grossman, who was 16 at the time of the tragedy, told court Friday that she was driving to pick up a pizza when she saw police lights flashing and saw her mother, near her white Mercedes SUV, being questioned by police.
‘I stopped and ran towards her shouting “mummy, mummy”. But the police told me I couldn’t talk to my mom and she told me to go home.’
Alexis, now 19 and a sophomore at Clemson University, said she walked back to her car and that’s when she turned around and “saw Scott Erickson.” He was behind a tree in the bushes and stuck his head out and we made eye contact.”
She told lead defense attorney Tony Buzbee that she didn’t see Erickson’s black Mercedes SUV and didn’t talk to him because “I was so surprised to see my mom surrounded by police. She was freaking out, having a panic attack.
He drove the short distance back to his mother’s house in Westlake Village, where, shortly after arriving, ‘the front door burst open and Scott Erickson walked in and said, “Why did your mom stop? Why did your mom stop?
‘He seemed very angry. He was frantic. I could smell the alcohol on it. He was crazy. He was scared.
‘He shouted: “Don’t say anything. Don’t tell anyone you saw me or I will ruin you and your family.
‘He’s a big guy. He’s a baseball player and he was scary,” added Alexis de Erickson, a former professional pitcher who is 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds.
“I was afraid he might do something to hurt me or my family because of what he said.”
During cross-examination, Alexis told the court Friday that he did not tell police or anyone except his parents and his family’s attorney, who later died, that he had seen Erickson that night until Buzbee took over as defense attorney. principal in the case just before the trial began. in January of this year.