♪ ♪ i know my sister would have fought. we used to tell each other that if somebody ever tried to hurt us, we would do everything we can to leave something behind so the other one can figure it out. i believe that she was murdered. >> this is a very bizarre death. >> it was baffling from the start. a young woman, dead at her millionaire boyfriend's mansion. .

>> my heart started racing. >> you found her hanging? >> i did. >> reporter: detectives ruled ate suicide, but was it? at the scene, knives, ropes, a cryptic phrase. >> her hands were tied, her feet was tied. >> this was sending a message. >> reporter: that wasn't the only suspicious death here. >> no mom wants to hear her son was a victim of a homicide. something happened at the top of the stairs. >> reporter: what went on in that mansion. hear from the man at the emter, in his first television interview. >> you thought you had nothing to hide? >> i knew i had nothing to hide. >> the worst shock in probably my entire life. >> reporter: some places feel secluded, insulated, secure. >> i had to remember saying

that, feeling that, saying nothing bad could ever happen here. >> reporter: here is coronado, california. just over a bridge from san diego. a town of beautiful beaches, people, and homes. like this one on ocean boulevard. except that in the summer of 2011, this mansion became ground zero for a mystery. >> this is a very bizarre death. there's no doubt about it. >> reporter: actually, there's been plenty of doubt and plenty of theorys. >> my sister was dead. and did a lot of things go through my mind? yes. >> reporter: secrets, both suspected and imagined. >> sit possible that other people know more than they're saying? >> yes. >> reporter: it's certainly possible. beyond that, it's hard to say for sure. especially when it seems everyone has a story to tell. and those stories lead to accusations. often with zero proof.

>> people are going to believe what they want to believe, with no evidence. >> reporter: paradise valley, arizona, was home for this family. but the summers they went in coronado were special, for dina and her son, max. >> max loved the beach and the water. he used to tell me on the way to coronado, mommy, this is our place. >> reporter: she and max's dad, jonah, met in 1997. >> we had an instant connection. it's rare you meet someone like that. >> reporter: they married in 2001, a second marriage for jonah, who was already the father of two. he had gotten rich owning a pharmaceutical company. she went back to school to get a ph.d. and then along came max? >> then along came maxi. he's almost to the edge. he did it! how do you feel, max? >> reporter: he was an active

kid who loved sports and performing. for his mother and her camera. during one of those summers in coronado, the mansion on ocean boulevard was on the market. >> and i said, well, let's just go by and look. >> reporter: they bought it in 2007. but soon there was trouble in paradise, and a bitter divorce in 2009 when max was 4. they shared custody and worked to be civil. and it wasn't long before jobba met someone new. >> maxi told me about it. i said well, maybe i should meet her. he said, that would be great, mommy. >> reporter: rebecca was 3 2, born in myanmar. >> you were okay with her spending time with max? >> max said he had feelings for her. at that time, i had no concerns because i trusted that jonah, based on our history, max would be safe there. >> reporter: and safe in coronado, where nothing bad is supposed to happen.

>> reporter: july 11, 2011, max was staying with his dad and rebecca. dina was in coronado, too, at a home just down the street. that's when jonah called her. >> he said dina, you have do get here right away. >> reporter: as rebecca explained to police, jonah has at the gym. 6-year-old max was home with her. rebecca said she heard a crash and found max on the floor near the staircase. the mansion's heavy chandelier has fallen to the floor next to him. rebecca said max wasn't breathing and started cpr. rebecca's 13-year-old sister called 911. >> reporter: police and paramedics arrived within minutes. jonah called dina from the hospital. >> he tells me, thank god that she was able to give him cpr.

he's going to be okay. >> reporter: max was unconscious. dina and jonah took up a vigil at the hospital. jonah's brother, adam, flew in from his home in tennessee. >> you came out to support jonah? >> correct. >> how well did you know max? >> i knew max well. he was a doted upon, just kunld -- kind of a really wonderful kid. >> what was the story you were hearing happened to max? >> they were still trying to piece together what happened. >> at that point nobody was sure what it was? >> i don't think so. but that really wasn't the focus when i got there. >> it was about him getting better? >> right. >> reporter: at max's bedside, jonah asked one of the doctors for his prognosis. >> dr. peterson looked at him and said, i don't know, i don't know.

i'm not sure if he can walk or walk. it wasn't real, i would have bet my life on it that max was going to be okay. >> there was more bad news on the way. >> reporter: coming up -- what happened in that home? police uncover some disturbing clues. >> they located a female on the property. the victim's hands and feet were bought. >> i guarantee my heart started racing. >> reporter: who was this victim? >> how old is she? >> reporter: soon, detectives would be investigating not just one puzzling death here, but two. >> it was the worst shock in probably my entire life. >> reporter: when the mansion on ocean boulevard continues. n bou. because we're the engineers who built the most reliable network in america. thousands of smarter towers, with the 5g coverage you need.

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>> reporter: the early morning hours of july 13, 2011. as family members kept a vigil by the hospital bed of 6-year-old max shacknai, a breathless man called 911. >> reporter: once again, police raced through the streets of quiet coronado island, and once again their destination was the mansion on ocean boulevard. jonah's girlfriend rebecca was staying there. you wake up, you walk out, tell me what you see. >> the woman hanging at the time, i didn't necessarily think to myself, oh, my goodness, she's bound or whatever. but just rebecca is hanging. >> reporter: naked, bound hand and foot. rebecca zahau was hanging by the

neck from a second floor balcony. >> i said i guarantee you, my heart started racing, this is actually happening. >> reporter: even as he called 911, atam said she thought she was dead. but you tried to do something? >> absolutely. i never occurred to me that somebody would look at this like a crime scene or something like that. that was the furthest thing from my mind. >> so you cut her body down? >> yeah. >> and? >> started cpr. >> to no avail? >> to no avail. >> coronado units arrived on the scene, they located a female on the property who appeared to be deceased. >> reporter: rebecca's sister, mary zahau, was miles away in

her home in missouri. >> i remember him saying rebecca's gone. and i said, what do you mean? i just talked to her last night. >> reporter: in that phone call, rebecca told her sister about what happened to max. it was the same story she told police. >> she said she was in the bathroom and she heard a loud noise, a loud crash, and when she came out, max was there on the floor, and the chandelier was close to him. and he was unconscious. >> how did she describe jonah during those days? >> that he was upset and it broke her heart to see him upset. >> reporter: they met when rebecca worked for an eye doctor, and jonah was a patient. >> he came in for an appointment and started talking and the next thing you know they're going out? >> apparently, yes. >> you are making an expression that makes me think that you thought that was about particularly good idea. >> i never approved of the relationship, if that's what you're asking me. >> because? >> first of all, he is almost

twice her age. >> this would have been one of those bad choices that your parents tried to push you away from? >> potentially. it's just one of those things as an older sister, i was a little cautious about it. i said okay, the guy is, you know, a lot older than you. >> and married before. >> and married before. >> and has a whole other family. >> and just got a divorce and he's a ceo. i said he's way out of our league. >> reporter: her free spirited sister fell for jonah any way. >> did they seem happy, in love? >> i think my sister loved him, in her way. to her, she was somewhat in awe of him to a certain extent. >> reporter: mary says while rebecca and max were close, rebecca gave the impression she didn't get along well with max's mom. and when max had his fall, mary said, rebecca worried how dina would react. >> she was upset about it. and she said, dina is going to kill me?

>> did rebecca seem upset, stressed, any sense that she blamed herself for what happened? >> she seemed stressed, but not inappropriately so. >> because everybody was stressed? >> everybody was stressed. i actually sympathized with her, and maybe even mentioned that of, it's got to be tough on you. how terrible. >> did it at any time make sense to you that rebecca could possibly have been involved to what happened to max in terms of some sort of deliberate, willful way? >> no. nobody talked about it as being a possibility. umm, it was -- i did not even consider it a remote possibility when i went out there. >> you didn't hear anybody blame rebecca, easter to her face or talking about her when she wasn't there? >> nobody, as i said, played the blame game. that's not where -- as far as i knew, where people were at.

it was just a focus on max. i didn't hear anybody try to blame rebecca for anything. >> reporter: soon rebecca's became national news, in large part because of details revealed. >> the victim's hands and feet were bound and she was completely nude. it's yet to be determined if this will become a criminal matter or remain as a death investigation. >> reporter: in other words, did rebecca hang herself or was someone else involved? a neighbor reported hearing screams the night before. was that rebecca? >> there was a scream that somebody heard. did you hear that? >> well, my windows were closed. i did not hear a scream. >> reporter: meanwhile at the hospital, dina says she was only focused on max. she kept watch by his bedside, willing him to open his eyes. it was saturday, july 16th, 2011. five days after max's fall. >> i noticed that his eg was just flat. and i thought -- i thought the

machine was broken. and i'm shaking the machine, and i'm thinking, it's not working, it's not functioning. and then i'm saying, you know, the eeg machine is not working. >> reporter: but it was working. 6-year-old max was gone. and dina walls devastated. >> and it was the worst shock in probably my entire life. >> reporter: a mother in shock and in mourning. but also questioning how exactly had max's fatal fall happened? others led to what led to rebecca's hanging? a history at this mansion was only getting deeper. coming up -- the stunning evidence inside that ocean front estate. ropes, knives, a curious phrase at the scene. >> there was a message painted in black payment on the door leading to the room. >> but to some, the most curious

thing of all was the police theory of what really happened. >> this is a very unusual circumstance. >> we conducted an experiment to determine if it is possible for a person to secure their hands behind their back in the fashion we found her. >> reporter: when the mansion on ocean boulevard continues. n then ocean boulevard continues. except now you have uncontrollable body movements called tardive dyskinesia - td. and it can seem like that's all people see. some meds for mental health can cause abnormal dopamine signaling in the brain. while how it works is not fully understood, ingrezza is thought to reduce that signaling. ingrezza is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential

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>> reporter: in july 2011, a private funeral was held for 6-year-old max shacknai in arizona. just a few days later, rebecca zahau was laid to rest in missouri. back in coronado, the mansion on ocean boulevard was the focus of overflowing numbers of both questions and rumors. >> there's roughly 200 years of experience in the sheriff's homicide unit. they all agree, this is a very unusual circumstance. >> reporter: rebecca was found hanging, naked, bound hand and foot. if it was suicide, it looked like a highly unusual one. and remember, rebecca was in the house when max shacknai fell. >> right now we don't see any

connection between the two incidents. >> reporter: the sheriff's department investigated for two months. coronado held its breath. then at a news conference, sheriff bill gore laid out the facts as his investigators saw them. >> was max's death a homicide? the answer is no. it was a tragic accident. was rebecca's death a homicide? again, the answer is no, it was a suicide. >> reporter: sergeant dave nemeth said the evidence told a sad tale, in which one tragedy led to another. when rebecca checked her voice mail just before 1:00 a.m., sergeant nemeth said she heard a grim message from her boyfriend, max's dad, jonah. >> that message that was left on her phone was to inform rebecca of maxi's grave condition and imminent death. >> reporter: did rebecca blame herself for the child's severe

injuries? and then take her own life? the sergeant showed photos from inside the bedroom where rebecca spent her final moments. there was a rope tied to the bed. the other end looped around rebecca's neck. there were also two nooifs in the bedroom. apparently used to cut the rope. everything was swabbed for dna. >> dna profiles were only from rebecca. >> reporter: so what about rebecca's hands and feet being tied? didn't that show another person was involved? sergeant nemeth said it did not. >> we conducted an experiment to determine if it is possible for a person to secure their hands behind their back in the fashion we found. >> reporter: and even showed a video demonstration. and while tying one's hands in a suicide is uncommon, the medical examiner said it's not up heard of. >> people do it. the thinking is they bind them severals so they won't change

their mind midway through. it's unusual, but it does happen. >> reporter: the location of the apparent suicide note was also uncommon. >> there was a message paint leading into the room. we will not reveal what the message said. >> reporter: the investigation left some people unsatisfied. none more so than rebecca's family. >> i know in my heart she did not commit suicide. >> reporter: also unsatisfied, dina shacknai. sheriff investigators illustrated their findings with this graphic. they said max was riding his scooter on the second floor landing. somehow fell over the railing and hit or grabbed the chandelier and took it down with him. >> that sounds to me, is max a stunt man, bruce lee? that's ridiculous. >> why is it ridiculous? he's 6 years old. when i was 7, i jumped off the garage holding an umbrella as a

parachute. >> no, no. he was very athletic, he was very coordinated and he was a very careful person, a thoughtful person. >> reporter: dina didn't just insist something wasn't right, she opened her checkbook and hired her own experts. including dr. judy melanack, a suspected forensic pathologist, who reviewed the autopsy photos and disagreed with the official conclusion. >> max had too many injuries to be explained with an accidental fall. >> reporter: she thought max's injuries indicated he had been assaulted before he felt. what's more, she questioned whether the fall itself could have happened, as the sheriff's department described it. measurements showed the railing was 32 inches high. 6-year-old max was only 45 inches tall. >> his center of gravity was too low, even on the scooter, his center of gravity is too low.

>> reporter: it pointed to a chilling alternate scenario -- someone assaulted max and he somehow went over the banister. in other words, this was a homicide. >> i would much rather have them say this is an accident and here's why. no mom wants to hear that her son was a victim of a homicide. that's not something that somebody wants to hear. because then you have to deal with the fact that your son or daughter's last minutes were, he was in fear, he was scared, he was hurt. and that is horrible. >> reporter: and if someone killed max, the doctor's theory focused on one person. >> i think rebecca was somehow involved. but how much she was involved and to what degree she took that to the grave. >> reporter: that alarming suspicion was only the beginning. because it wasn't just dina who was investigating. rebecca's sister, mary, was equally convinced rebecca would never hurt max or kill herself out of guilt.

two women coping with terrible tragedies. neither willing to accept the sheriff's department's conclusions. mary was about to make some incredible accusations, and she wouldn't back down. coming up -- could rebecca have been killed? a second autopsy magnifies the mystery. >> deep bruising and internal bleeding, which couldn't be explained by the hanging. >> but could be explained by what? >> somebody knocking her down from behind and hog-tieing her, a struggle. >> reporter: a twist was coming. >> did you have anything to do with rebecca's death? >> absolutely not. >> you thought you had nothing to hide? >> i knew i had nothing to hide. >> when "the mansion on ocean boulevard" continues. sion on oc boulevard" continues ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel ♪ [man: coughing] ♪ it's a new dawn, it's a new day... ♪ no matter how you got copd it's time to make a stand.

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hooer's what's happening. joe biden marked his first memorial day weekend as commander in chief by honoring the nation's sacrifices in a

deeply personal manner, he paid tribute to those lost, while remembering his late son, beau, a veteran who died six years ago today. benjamin netanyahu could soon be ousted. the leaders of the two opposition parties announced they would form a coalition government, just days after a cease-fire ended fighting between israel and hamas. now back to "dateline." ♪ ♪ the official investigation was over. the crime scene tape and evidence markers long gone. that said, an unofficial search for clues was just beginning. online message boards buzzed with theorys from the far fetched to imbecause able. through it all, mary didn't buy the official finding of suicide.

>> was she fragile, easily upset, is she the kind of person that would fall apart after a crisis in >> not at all. if she is very upset to where she doesn't want to deal with the situation or feel like she can't handle it, she will go work out until she can come up with a solution and then come back to deal with the situation. if she doesn't think she can, then she will move on. >> reporter: so when detectives said that voice mail, the one jonah shacknai left with the grim news about max may have caused rebecca to hang herself, mary wasn't having it. >> i wasn't about to have my sister's name smeared that this crazy woman committed suicide. >> not plausible she could have been hugely upset and distraught and worried and blaming herself over the significant injury to a boy that was under her care, a

boy she really loved and had taken care of? >> no. she was upset about it, but she definitely would not kill herself. >> reporter: was all this just about how rebecca would be remembered? after her death came some revelations. things even mary hadn't known about. like in 2005 in california when rebecca didn't show up for work and vanished. her boyfriend reported her mising to the local police department. rebecca turned up few days later saying, it was just a misunderstanding. >> you're persuaded if she did sort of mysteriously disappear back then for a day or two, it was something that she willingly did and not some sign of mental fragility? >> i really don't know what happened at that time. >> reporter: now she said she needed to know how rebecca died. she had rebecca's body exhumed and dr. wecht performed a second

autopsy. his conclusion? homicide. was rebecca murdered? her family thought so. and eventually the case found its way to this man. >> it was intriguing from the beginning. >> reporter: san diego attorney keith greer. >> dr. wecht did identify deep bruising and internal bleeding, which couldn't be explained by the hanging. >> wait one second, but could be explained by what? >> somebody knocking her down from behind, and hog-tieing her. a struggle. >> reporter: plus the force of falling nine feet from the balcony should have caused more severe injuries to rebecca's neck. greer, like dr. wecht, believed someone killed rebecca and placed her body at the end of the rope. and he began to develop a theory as to who. >> the writing on the door is the key to the case. >> reporter: remember the message painted on the door? investigators initially declined to reveal what it said.

greer eventually found out. the message scrawled in black acrylic paint read, she saved him, can you save her? greer believed the message was not written by rebecca, it was written about her. >> she saved max. at the time you have to look at this in context. >> reporter: remember, rebecca said she did cpr on max after he fell. >> so at the time those words were written, max was still alive. >> max was alive -- >> and maybe because of her efforts. >> it wasn't maybe, it was exactly because of her efforts. that's why it's the key to the case. because i know whoever committed the murder knew that rebecca had saved max. >> reporter: it was, he said, a small circle. mostly family. >> i had an eyewitness who put dina shacknai at the scene of the murder that evening. >> reporter: dina, the grief stricken mom. could she have blamed rebecca

and then sought revenge? remember, mary recalled her sister saying, dina's going to kill me. >> where were you when rebecca zahau died? >> i don't know what time rebecca zahau died, but i was at the hospital all night. >> reporter: in 2013, keith greer filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the zahau family. based on his eyewitness, he named dina as a defendant, along with her twin sister, nina. there was also a third defendant, the man who called 911, jonah's brother, adam shacknai. >> did you have anything to do with rebecca's death? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: greer disagreed. he pointed to those knots tied around rebecca's wrists and ankles. >> figuring them out in the first place is really hard. tying them almost impossible. >> reporter: greer believed whoever tied the knots had to be an expert, possibly a sailor.

and adam shacknai worked on the mississippi river as a tug boat captain. >> he ties things off, he uses a figure eight, and then closes it with a single hitch or two. guess what? knots are tied on both her legs and her hands, figure eights, tied off, with a single him or two. >> reporter: sheriff investigators had questioned adam extensively after rebecca's death. >> you didn't hold anything back from investigators? >> nothing. >> you helped them to the extent that you could? >> yeah, exhaustively. >> you thought you had nothing to hide? >> i knew i had nothing to hide. >> reporter: and when investigators determined there was no evidence placing adam at the scene -- >> they cleared you? >> they did. >> did you think this was over at that point? >> yeah, i did. >> reporter: it wasn't over. rebecca's sister was determined to hold someone accountable. >> i'm guessing that somebody

said to you that filing a lawsuit, a civil lawsuit, to find answers in a criminal matter is generally an extremely unsatisfying way of pursuing justice. >> that may be, but my only recourse was the lawsuit. >> reporter: soon, they would start to get answers. just not the ones they expected. coming up -- where was dina the night of rebecca's death? >> this eye witness was adamant, it was very clear, no doubt about it. >> powerful new video evidence. and the dna evidence? where was it? >> adam shacknai admits that morning he cut rebecca down. he gave cpr pumps to her chest. >> and there's no dna? >> zero. >> when "the mansion on ocean boulevard" continues. ean boulevard" continues because we're the engineers who built the most reliable network in america. thousands of smarter towers, with the 5g coverage you need. broader spectrum for faster 5g speeds.

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of her son, max, dina shacknai lived alone in the arizona home she once shared with her family. >> how were you even standing upright today? >> max. my son. my love for him was so great. we were a perfect fit. we were lucky. i still feel lucky. >> even though he's gone? >> yeah. i told him every day, maxi, i love you more than anything in all the universes, and i'm the luckiest mommy that ever lived in this world because i have you. he knew that very well. and i can say that today maxi, i am the luckiest mommy that ever lived in the universes because i still have you, because love doesn't disappear just because a person is not right, you can't see them. >> in the years following max's death, dina continued to investigate, and hired a woman named tara schneider. >> you're convinced that max died not as the result of an

accident but a murder? >> yes, homicide. >> tara has no luft background. she calls herself an intelligence analyst. she and dina have floated several theorys over the years. the current theory? whoever killed max, it was not rebecca zahau. these days, their suspicion is focused on information from a neighbor that's never been verified. the story of a wild party at the mansion the night before max's fall. >> he has not been interviewed by the police and he's not come forward. >> what connection it might have to max's death you have no idea what that is? >> i don't, but i think it should be explored. >> reporter: she said police never spoke with the neighbor, but we did. and he doesn't remember anything about a party. and max's dad, jonah shacknai, who was in the house that night, told us there was no party. jonah says he never doubted the official investigation. but wanted to reput the theorys offered by dina and others.

his lawyers hired the investigative firm krol. the report says the evidence is consistent with an accidental, tragic fall. and there is no evidence of foul play, malice, or other nonaccidental occurrence. >> how many people said to you, you need to let this go and move on? >> many. so many. >> reporter: even if she had wanted to move on, it really wasn't possible. because dina, remember, was being sued by the family of rebecca zahau who blamed dina in part for rebecca's death. through it all, dina stuck to her story, that she had been at max's bedside at the hospital the night rebecca died. even though the zahau's attorney had an eyewitness willing to testify he saw dina outside the mansion that night. >> this eyewitness was adamant, he was very clear new york doubt about it. >> and turned out to be dead bang wrong.

>> turned out to be wrong. >> reporter: in april 2017, after four years of litigation, this security camera came to light. it's from the hospital where max shacknai was being treated. the same night rebecca zahau died. clearly visible, dina shacknai. >> at some point you look at that footage from the hospital and you realize, i'm on. and my witness is wrong, dina wasn't there, she was at the hospital, provably. >> absolutely. i got mad. i got really mad. >> reporter: greer called a press conference to publicly eat some crow. >> when these pictures come out, though, you can't repute them. >> reporter: he removed dina from the lawsuit, along with her sister, nina. >> and the zahau family attorney apologized to you. was that enough? >> he made a public apology. i would say not as many people saw the public apology who saw continuous accusations against us. >> reporter: greer pushed forward any way, with just one defendant, adam shacknai. >> that says to me this is some

scatter shot attempt, and you are suing everybody that comes into your line of sight, looking for a sympathetic injury. >> that's it. and a lot of people looked at it that way. >> why shouldn't that shatter the credibility of the rest of your case? >> i think the reality is, we always had adam involved all through the process. >> reporter: in the lawsuit, greer outlined quite a detailed and unsubstantiated narrative. he argued rebecca was killed not to avenge max but during a sexual assault. greer's theory is that it began when rebecca stepped out of the shower and found adam in her bedroom watching her. >> she gets uncomfortable, tries to escape, she screams for help about 11:30 that night. >> reporter: greer says that explains the screams heard by a neighbor. >> right after that, adam hits her on the head and knocks her partially unconscious. he grabs the black payment and

he paints this phrase on the door. >> reporter: she saved him, can you save her? >> if i want to kill somebody and make it look like a suicide, i'm not going to write a cryptic phrase behind, i'm going to write a phrase that says, i'm sorry, i'm guilty, i did it. >> it wasn't staged to be a suicide. >> reporter: adam shacknai have any marks or scrapes to suggest he had been in a struggle? >> none, none. >> reporter: same with adam's dna. >> fretty hard to get rid of your dna. >> hard to get rid of dna. adam shacknai admits that that morning he cut rebecca down. he loosened the ropes on her wrist to check her pulse. he gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, cpr pumps to her chest. and how many fingerprints are found on the knife, the rope, her body, how much? >> none. >> zero.

zero. >> reporter: zero of adam's that is. rebecca's dna and fingerprints were everywhere. according to greer, that means adam, who had no criminal history, knew exactly how to wipe down the scene. somehow removing his own fingerprints and dna but leaving just rebecca's. of course, it could also mean that adam simply wasn't there when rebecca died. which is exactly what law enforcement came to believe. >> i'm guessing that if you walked in a court on any case and opposing counsel said, there is no evidence here. there is no fingerprints, and there is no dna, and that is the proof of the case that i am bringing, you would think to yourself, i've got a ground ball here. >> the absence of evidence isn't the evidence of absence. and so we know it's murder because it's wiped down. we know it's not suicide. >> what is wrong with the idea that rebecca was crushed and depressed over max's injury and

blamed herself and realized that everybody else was going to blame her too or thought they might do that and took her own life? >> out of guilt and honor, and the way it was done doesn't fit that. if there was a note that said i'm sorry, everybody, i loved dear max. i wasn't there for him. i'm sorry for all of you. >> and i feel responsible. >> and it's too much for me to bear, it would be one thing. and then overdosing on ambien, which was available there, may have fit. but this was sending a message. this was stripped naked, hung out in front of the world with no, you know, direct note saying what happened. this -- the honor theory just didn't work. just didn't fit. > reporter: would a jury agree? he had to prove adam shacknai was somehow responsible for rebecca's death. that his own actions made hi libel. in a wrongful death, the bar is

below beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the standard in a criminal case. it is, however, still a challenge. and when the case went to trial, keith greer would be up against a top notch defense team. >> did you feel overmatched? >> i was so outgunned it was pathetic. coming up, two families connected by tragedy, prepare to go head-to-head in a courtroom. >> did you attack her? >> no. >> did you sexually assault her? >> no. >> did you tie those knots on her body? >> no. >> would a jury believe him? >> i sat down and said mary, i'm sorry, this is probably not good news. >> when "the mansion on ocean boulevard" continues. >> when "the mansion on ocean boulevard" continues not just unpredictable relapses. all these other things too. it can all add up. kesimpta is a once-monthly at-home injection... that may help you put these rms challenges in their place. kesimpta was proven superior at reducing the rate of relapses, active lesions,

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so, break free from the big three. xfinity internet customers, switch to xfinity mobile and get unlimited with 5g included for $30 on the nations fastest, most reliable network. the plaintiff's attorney, he's got a good imagine nation. >> reporter: adam shacknai said it's simple, he had nothing to do with the death of rebecca zahau.

>> were you present when rebecca died? >> no. >> did you attack her? >> no. >> did you sexually assault her? >> no. >> did you tie those knots on her body? >> no. >> are those the kind of knots that only a sailor or somebody that worked on boats around the water would know? >> no, those were common knots. >> reporter: investigators found no evidence that adam was present when rebecca died and they cleared him. that didn't stop rebecca's family from suing in civil court. >> the lawsuit, the long string of accusations, what do you think is going on here? >> it's denial. it's -- they don't want it to be seen that their sister committed suicide. >> reporter: we asked rebecca's sister, mary, about tha >> a lot of times families do not want to admit that someone committed suicide because they blame themselves for not maybe having seen the signs. is that what you're doing here? >> nope. and i have been accused of that

multiple times, including the sheriff's department. >> is it possible that rebecca was depressed and you missed it? >> no. >> reporter: in march 2018, the wrongful death lawsuit began in san diego. defending adam was dan webb, a former u.s. attorney and a veteran of many courtrooms. >> there will be no evidence that shows that adam shacknai had anything to do with the death of rebecca zahau. >> reporter: in particular, no dna or fingerprints from adam were found at the death scene. plaintiff's attorney keith greer called several experts who testified the lack of physical evidence could show adam cleaned up after himself. >> there was nothing on the doorknobs whatsoever, as far as prints. >> again, that's conclusive with being wiped down? >> yes. >> reporter: and a handwriting expert who looked at that message on the door. >> the writing on the door is more -- [ inaudible ]

>> reporter: greer also claimed rebecca had been sexually assaulted with a knife prior to her murder. the expert testified a steak knife found in the bedroom had we are blood on the handle. >> that's nowhere in any of the sheriff's records. they never considered that. >> reporter: the defense called a forensic technician who testified she did find the blood on the knife and with it a simple explanation. a recent cut on rebecca's right hand. when greer asked her if it could have come from a sexual assault? >> i didn't see any evidence of that. >> reporter: no evidence, a point the defense hammered home. >> no fingerprint evidence that was identified or directed towards adam shacknai. >> of all the items i tested, he was excluded on all items. >> reporter: adam's brother, jonah, took the stand. he called rebecca's death unfathomable, but said adam was not responsible.

>> is there anything that adam has ever done in his life that would cause you to believe that he ever would have done the acts that he's accused of in this case? >> never anything. it's inconceivable. >> reporter: adam took the stand, too. >> did you hit rebecca on the head? >> i never hit rebecca on the head or anywhere else for that matter. >> then did you devise this scheme to cover up your wrongdoing by painting the saying on the door and making it look like she had been hanged by someone else? >> absolutely, positively not. >> reporter: the case went to the jury. >> did you feel confident as deliberations began? >> i felt we could possibly win very convincingly. >> reporter: less than four hours later, a verdict. >> i sat down next to mary, and i said, i'm sorry, this is probably not good news, the jury coming back this quick. it's probably going to be a defense verdict. we know we did our job, you didn't let rebecca die in vain.

>> reporter: all the things you say when you know you're going to lose. >> exactly. >> reporter: this was it, a decision. and even keith greer was in for quite a plot twist. >> number one, did adam shacknai touch rebecca zahau before rebecca zahau's death with the intent to harm her? the answer is yes. number two, did that touching cause the death of rebecca zahau? answer is yes. >> reporter: yes. meaning that the jury found adam shacknai responsible for rebecca zahau's death. >> i just broke down. i was just like, okay. i'm not crazy. i'm not the only one who believes that adam murdered my sister. >> reporter: that's not quite what the jury said. finding someone libel in a civil case is not the same as finding them guilty of murder. what's more, the verdict in this case did not have to be unanimous, and it wasn't. nine jurors found adam responsible, three did not.

the jury did award the zahau family $5 million. >> courtrooms are supposed to be a place why justice is dispensed. was this about justice? >> no, it wasn't. >> reporter: since this was about criminal case, adam didn't go to jail. he returned home to tennessee and filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied in january 2019. then in february, adam's insurance company and rebecca's family reached a settlement of $600,000. and the case was dismissed. after the civil trial, the sheriff's department took a fresh look at rebecca's death. eight months later, that review also concluded that rebecca died by suicide. dina shacknai would like to see authorities reinvestigate her son's case. >> do you think they will reinvestigate max's death? >> i think it a et cetera the right thing to do. do i think it will happen? i really don't know. >> reporter: how does a mother

ever truly accept the tragic loss of a child? the ripples keep on spreading to this day, in a place where nothing bad was supposed to happen. there was a party. it was a football player that had been shot. >> he was killed on his birthday. i was like it's too? that can happen. why him? >> no one saw a thing. >> it's at night, it's dark, nobody knows where the bullet comes from. >> nothing is making it any easier. >> it's hard to know which decoration to. go >> we just don't know. >> but someone knew. >> she called me and