CORONADO, Calif., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Sheriff's officials defended their investigation into the death of Rebecca Zahau's hanging death in a Coronado, Calif., mansion.
After being questioned by the "Dr. Phil" national television talk show, Sheriff Bill Gore defended his office's decision to not rule Zahau's death a homicide, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
"We feel confident in the result of our investigation, which does not mean if new evidence is brought to our attention, we wouldn't investigate it," Gore said Wednesday.
Zahau was found hanging nude from a rope over the balcony of the Spreckels mansion, owned by her boyfriend Jonah Shacknai, founder and chief executive officer of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., headquartered in Arizona.
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On the show, aired Monday and Tuesday, pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht of Pittsburgh, hired by Zahau's family to conduct a second autopsy, said his findings were inconclusive, but he leaned towards calling the case a homicide.
"It would be an incredible homicide -- who would do that?" Gore asked. "Make it look like a suicide that looks like a homicide? This is a classic scientific case. We just followed the science."
After a seven-week investigation, sheriff officials said they found no evidence another person was responsible for Zahau's July 13 death, citing distress over critical injuries to Shacknai's 6-year-old son, Max, suffered while the boy was under the woman's care to be the reason for her suicide.
The family's attorney, Anne Bremner, said she wants the sheriff's office to reanalyze the case and that she plans to send the state attorney general a CD with additional information about the case.
