WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – The trial of Rebecca Grossman, a socialite charged in connection with the tragic deaths of two young boys in 2020, has begun, with the mother of the victims expected to testify. Nancy Iskander, the mother of 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob, is among those set to take the stand in a Van Nuys courtroom as the trial unfolds.
Grossman, 60, was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death following the incident that took the lives of the two brothers in September 2020.
Prosecutors allege that Grossman was speeding in a white Mercedes-Benz SUV when she struck the boys in a crosswalk, while the defense contends that the deadly crash occurred outside of a crosswalk. Grossman’s attorneys argue that she was not the driver responsible for the tragic collision.
The prosecutor described Grossman as “flooring it to get herself up to 81 mph on a 45 mile-per-hour street” and driving just over 70 mph at the time of impact. He emphasized that she wouldn’t have hit the boys if she had been driving at the speed limit.
The defense, however, maintained that Grossman was going no more than 52 mph at the time of the incident, and that the data used by the prosecution’s expert from the vehicle’s so-called black box was not reliable. They also accused law enforcement of failing to appropriately investigate the crash.
The trial is expected to last about six weeks, and Grossman could face up to 34 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.
The case has drawn significant attention due to Grossman’s social standing as a co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and former publisher of Westlake Magazine. As the trial progresses, further details surrounding the incident and the legal arguments presented by both the prosecution and the defense are likely to emerge.