Socialite Rebecca Grossman has been sentenced to 15 years to life after being found guilty of killing two young boys.
On September 29, 2020, 11-year-old Mark and eight-year-old Jacob Iskander were crossing a road with their family in Westlake Village, California at around 7:10pm when two cars sped towards them.
The driver of the first vehicle was American baseball coach Scott Erickson and the second, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, Rebecca Grossman.
The are pair reported as having been drinking cocktails earlier in the day, before getting behind their wheels and speeding down the road.
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Erickson is reported as having swerved and avoided colliding with the family, however, Grossman, following behind, hit the two young boys.
The socialite was allegedly driving at as fast as 81mph just before she hit them, a crash expert testified, Los Angeles Times reports.
Grossman was subsequently convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of hit-and-run driving.
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Prosecutors argued Grossman 'drove at extreme speeds on surface streets, was impaired and had both alcohol and valium in her system' and since the crash has 'show[n] a complete lack of remorse and narcissistic superiority that leads to only one conclusion, that she is undeserving of any leniency', as per ABC 7 Chicago.
However, during her sentencing Grossman maintained she didn't see the boys on the night of the crash, the area the family was crossing a three-way intersection with a marked crosswalk but no stoplight. She also denied being 'under the influence of alcohol or impaired' and was not 'racing' with Erickson.
Grossman reportedly said: "I never saw anyone. I would have driven into a brick wall. ... I don’t know why God did not take my life."
Grossman also said in a letter to judge Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino, as quoted by the New York Post, that she is 'not a murderer,' requesting he 'recognize that true fact'.
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She continued: "My pain, my recognition of the pain the Iskanders suffer, and the pain I watch my family endure, are punishments that I already suffer and will for the rest of my life.
"Please consider this suffering when you consider what more punishment to impose on me in this case."
Grossman added to the Iskanders: "I've waited four years to say I'm sorry to you... I would have wanted God to take my life that night. If I could just bring Mark and Jacob back, I would give my life."
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However, Nancy Iskander - the boys' mother - said she saw Grossman outside the hospital on the night of the crash, claiming she 'looked [her] in the eye' and said nothing.
Grossman responded claiming her lawyers advised her from contacting the Iskanders.
Grossman's legal team argued for her to be let off with probation with a suspended sentence or a short time in prison, however, prosecutors pushed for the maximum of 34 years to life in state prison.
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Taking into consideration Grossman's philanthropic work, Judge Brandolino ordered Grossman to pay $47,161.89 in restitution to the Iskander family and handed her 15 years to life in prison.
A foundation has been set up by the Iskander family and their community in Mark and Jacob's memory to 'make sure that the love and kindness that Mark and Jacob left us with, is not only remembered, but multiplied' supporting 'orphans in Egypt, impoverished youths and foster children'.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Topics: California, Crime, US News
Poppy Bilderbeck