Family of Rebecca Zahau seeks justice 14 years after her death
(FOX 5/KUSI) — Since July 2011, Mary Zahau-Loehner has made it her mission to get to the truth about the cause of her sister Rebecca's death.
The 32-year-old was found gagged and bound with her arms and legs tied from behind, and hanging naked from a balcony at her billionaire boyfriend Jonah Shacknai's Coronado mansion.
Homicide detectives, under the leadership of former Sheriff Bill Gore, called it a suicide, but it was a conclusion that Zahau-Loehner never believed.
'It's almost 14 years now since she's been gone. My sister did not commit suicide and I know that her murder has been covered up,' Zahau-Loehner said.
'My sister's case from the beginning is a very simple easy murder to solve.'
For the past two years, Zahau-Loehner has poured her heart out into her recently published book, 'Unraveling the Knots.'
It's a deep dive into her sister's case, including never-before-seen pictures, autopsy reports, court transcripts and more.
2021 book details the Coronado Mansion case
When it comes to the sheriff's office's investigation and subsequent reviews, she doesn't hold back.
'What I am trying to reveal with the book is the corruption of the San Diego Sheriff's Office. The lies about the case. The lies to the family,' Zahau-Loehner said.
Within the book's nearly 300 pages and 25 chapters, Zahau-Loehner picks apart some of the agency's evidence that she says was left behind and glossed over.
'They know there was a partial male fingerprint in there if they claim that they couldn't investigate back then. Then I would like with the current technology to restest it again,' Zahau-Loehner said.
There is also a piece of evidence that Zahau-Loehner says was overlooked.
'The dryer sheet in the room was not even collected, and it's a well-known concept that dryer sheets are used to remove fingerprints,' Zahau-Loehner said.
She also points out flaws with the office's video re-creation of how knots were tied around Rebecca's wrists.
Zahau-Loehner said the direction and the type of knot is wrong, and that officials haven't even bothered to try to recreate the entire scenario.
Zahau-Loehner believes they simply wanted to make this look like a suicide to close the case.
'They did a bunch of busy work to make it look like they worked and did something, but they didn't do anything,' Zahau-Loehner said.
In a statement, a representative of the sheriff's office said, 'Our sympathies continue to go out to all those affected by Rebecca's passing. At this time, there is no new information which would lead the San Diego County Sheriff's Office to re-open this investigation.'
Rebecca's death wasn't the only one at the historic Spreckels Mansion.
Days before, her boyfriend's young son, Max, fell over a staircase railing and was hospitalized with severe trauma.
He died after Rebecca did and his death was ruled an accident. Sheriff's investigators have suggested Rebecca killed herself because she was distraught over Max's fall.
'There was definitely a conspiracy as far as what should happen with the case,' Zahau-Loehner said.
However, Zahau-Loehner claims Rebecca's boyfriend's brother, Adam, was liable for her death because he wanted revenge for her not watching over the boy.
In a 2018 civil trial, a jury did find Adam liable, giving Rebecca's family $5 million in damages.
While they never cared about the money and knowing it would not bring Rebecca back, Zahau-Loehner has this message: 'Confess your murder. It will give you peace on this earth and it will give you forgiveness and a better life and really bring closure to the family.'
Zahau-Loehner is hoping the medical examiner will change her sister's manner of death to undetermined or murder, and she's asking the current Sheriff, Kelly Martinez, to hand the case over to the FBI or another agency for a full investigation.
A representative of the Department of the Medical Examiner said that after an attorney for the Zahau family requested a review of Rebecca's death in 2022, staff pathologists and a medical examiner who originally worked on the case reviewed it again.
In September of 2023, Chief Medical Examiner Steven Campman issued a letter that stated, 'After reviewing the totality of the evidence, the conclusion of this office has not changed.'
With her new book, Zahau-Loehner is hoping readers will get to really know Rebecca from their childhood in Burma to her final days here in San Diego.
'She's a daughter, she's an aunt, she's a sister and she is loved by her family, her friends and I think people forget that,' Zahau-Loehner said.
In a cruel twist of fate, Zahau-Loehner is battling non-smoker's lung cancer. She raced to finish the book in her late sister's honor before her own life ends.
More FOX 5 coverage of Rebecca Zahau
'I don't know what God's timeline is and I don't know if I'll get to see justice on this earth while I'm still alive, but I would love to do so,' Zahau-Loehner said.
Zahau-Loehner also has an inspiring thought for those who have followed Rebecca's story: 'Don't give up when you know the truth. No matter how hard it is you always have to fight for the truth and you always have to fight for justice.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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