An attorney for Rebecca Grossman said her client may ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review her convictions that stem from a fatal 2020 crash in Westlake Village.
Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, were crossing Triunfo Canyon Road with their mom and younger brother when the two boys were struck and killed. The family was in a crosswalk when witnesses said they saw and heard vehicles speeding toward them.
In 2024, a jury found Grossman, wife of plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, guilty of two counts of second-degree murder. She was driving 73 mph in a 45-mph zone at the time of the crash, according to testimony in her criminal trial. Grossman, now 63 and in state prison, was sentenced to 15 years to life.
Her attorney Lara Gressley asked the 2nd District Court of Appeals to reverse the convictions, saying her client’s conduct did not rise to the level of murder.
In March, the appellate court upheld Grossman’s conviction, saying that substantial evidence supported the jury’s verdicts. After drinking, Grossman got into her car and raced Scott Erickson through residential streets, according to the justices’ decision.
Gressley then asked the state’s supreme court to review the case, and last week that petition was denied. The California Supreme Court grants review in only a small percentage of cases and does not provide reasons when it declines to do so, the lawyer said.
“While we believe this case presented significant and unresolved legal questions concerning the scope of implied malice murder and other important issues, the Court has elected not to review the matter,” Gressley said, in an email.
Grossman may seek further review in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding any federal constitutional issues presented in the case, Gressley said.
The state court’s decision was announced June 10, the same day a jury awarded $22 million in punitive damages in a wrongful death case against defendants Grossman and Erickson, a former Major League Baseball player and Grossman’s then-boyfriend. The two were driving to Grossman’s home near Westlake Lake in separate vehicles at the time of the crash.
The Iskander family filed the civil suit, and jurors found both to blame in the deaths. After weeks of testimony in a Van Nuys courtroom, the jury initially reached a verdict on June 3, awarding the Iskander family $176 million. A punitive phase of the trial then began and jurors later awarded the additional damages.
On June 16, attorneys appeared briefly in court, most via livestream, including to discuss an outstanding claim related to the Grossmans transferring assets after the wrongful death case was filed.
Attorneys said this week that conversations among parties were ongoing, and the issue may be resolved without another trial. The judge set a tentative trial date for early 2027.
Cheri Carlson is a reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Rebecca Grossman may seek U.S. Supreme Court review, attorney says
Reporting by Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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By Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
