Rebecca Grossman’s teenage daughter cried as she left court after her mother was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of two young brothers she ran over with her car.
Alexis Grossman, 19, sobbed as she left Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.
He has been present throughout his mother’s trial for the hit-and-run murders of 11-year-old Mark and eight-year-old Jacob Iskander.
Grossman fatally struck the brothers while speeding behind a car driven by her then-lover Scott Erickson, a former pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, before fleeing the scene.
Alexis was in the packed courtroom to hear her sentence as Judge Joseph Brandolino condemned her mother’s “incredibly selfish behavior.”
Rebecca Grossman’s teenage daughter cried as she left court after her mother was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of two young brothers she ran over with her car.
Alexis Grossman, 19, sobbed as she left Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.
The teenager abandoned the process hand in hand with her brother Nick, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground.
The brothers followed their father, Dr. Peter Grossman, who also supported his wife during the trial.
Wearing a pair of black trousers and a baggy black shirt, a devastated Alexis shed tears as she left the emotional hearing.
Just before the judge handed down the sentence, Grossman spoke directly to the Iskander family and was barely coherent because he was speaking so loudly and crying.
The children’s mother, Nancy, stood up and was about to leave the court when Grossman begged her to stay, saying he wanted to talk to her.
She begged him: ‘Please don’t go. I’ve waited almost four years to contact you.’
Nancy leaned back in her seat and rested her head in front of her as Grossman continued to speak directly to the grieving mother.
Grossman continued: ‘All I’ve ever wanted to do is tell him how sorry I am. And yes I wrote. I don’t know if the prosecution ever gave them to you. …They said I would tamper with witnesses if I contacted you. … I am very sorry that I was not able to do it because I was threatened by the prosecutor.
The teenager abandoned the act hand in hand with her brother Nick, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground.
The brothers followed their father, Dr. Peter Grossman, who also supported his wife during the trial.
The Iskander boys, Mark and Jacob, ages 11 and 8, died at the scene after Grossman’s Mercedes hit them at high speed.
‘I just wanted to be a human being. When I couldn’t be a human being and talk to you from father to father, from mother to mother… I wanted to leave this world because I didn’t want to be here anymore and you have to believe me. And I believe God is in this room right now and I believe He knows the truth.
‘He knows that if he had seen anyone, he would have thrown me against the brick wall. He wanted God to take my life. I don’t know why God didn’t take my life.
‘I wish he would take my life. And if I could give my life right now and say to God, ‘Could you bring back Mark and Jacob?’, I would tell God to take my life. Very sorry!’
Struggling to catch his breath, Grossman continued, saying he did not flee the scene but rather stood by his car for 20 minutes and was in a “state of denial.”
‘I just had a break with reality and everything was moving in slow motion. My pain is nothing compared to your pain. Not even a fraction. “So I wish there was something I could do.”
After she spoke, Grossman laid his head on the table and continued to gasp and sob loudly.
Karim Iskander listened to Grossman, but did not look directly at her. He caressed her wife’s back as she continued to sob silently into her hands.
The sentencing came after months of moving testimony, including from Jacob’s best friend, Bodie Wallace, who told the court that the song ‘10,000 Reasons’ bothers him now as he thinks about the many reasons Grossman never apologized for immediate.and LA Times reports.
Upon hearing his comments, Grossman lost control again and doubled over sobbing in his chair.
Citing a lack of remorse for their actions, prosecutors had asked for the maximum penalty of two consecutive sentences of 15 years to life in prison, one for each child.
Just before the judge handed down the sentence, Grossman spoke directly to the Iskander family and was barely coherent because he was speaking so loudly and crying.
Mark and Nancy Iskander leave court after Grossman’s sentencing on Monday
Erickson played with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2005 for one year, then finished his career with the New York Yankees in 2006.
However, prosecutors noted that he could be eligible for parole in six or seven years if he gets credit for good behavior.
Grossman’s defense attorney, Samuel Josephs, asked the judge to consider leniency, arguing that the charges are at the “lower end” of malice cases.
“This was an absolutely tragic accident,” Josephs said. “What Ms. Grossman did at the scene is consistent with someone in complete shock.”
Josephs also added that it was actually the prosecution who told his client not to contact the family, and that now the prosecution was trying to “weaponize this.”
He said prosecutors and the media have unfairly portrayed Grossman as a socialite and highlighted his work in the community and with female burn victims.
Her son Nick also asked the court for leniency, telling the judge: “My mother is not the bad person that the media has portrayed.”
“Nothing compares to what the Iskanders are going through, but since the accident, I feel like the world hates my mother and everyone is against our family.”