Additional Coverage:
- Mom of two boys killed by LA socialite in drunken crash slams her sentence: ‘Was a stab in my heart’ (newsbreak.com)
A devastated mother has voiced her frustration with what she considers the lenient punishment given to a Los Angeles socialite who was sentenced to 15 years to life for fatally striking her two sons with a vehicle. Nancy Iskander witnessed Rebecca Grossman, 60, being sentenced after a six-week trial that ended with her conviction on two counts of second-degree murder in a hit-and-run incident.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino delivered Grossman’s sentence, after which Iskander publicly criticized the outcome in court, calling Grossman “a coward,” as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Iskander has since expressed her outrage over the sentencing, feeling that the judge treated the deaths of her boys as a singular event, thereby diminishing the individual loss of each child.
Iskander lamented to ABC7, “The 15 to life was a stab in my heart,” describing how she felt the judge failed to acknowledge her sons as two distinct individuals, each with their own personalities.
Following an evening in which Grossman and her then-boyfriend, former baseball player Scott Erickson, had reportedly been drinking and taking valium, they engaged in a high-speed race in Westlake Village, California, on September 29, 2020. Grossman, who was under the influence but just below the legal alcohol limit, struck Nancy Iskander’s two sons, 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob, at a speed of 81 mph in a 45 mph zone as they were crossing the road with their family. Nancy, who was ahead on rollerblades along with her youngest son Zachary, on his scooter, had to witness the tragic event unfold before her eyes.
Grossman did not stop after the crash nor did she contact emergency services. During her courtroom statement, Iskander noted that even minimal attention from Grossman could have spared one of her sons, highlighting how close Jacob was to surviving the incident.
In a courtroom attempt at reconciliation, Grossman expressed regret to Iskander, claiming it was her first opportunity to apologize due to prosecutors’ advisories against reaching out. Iskander, however, found Grossman’s apology to lack sincerity, feeling it did not truly address the responsibility for her sons’ deaths. Grossman later tried to shift the blame to Erickson, a claim prosecutors dismissed due to a lack of evidence.