- Rebecca Grossman will not be banned from using phones in prison despite claims she tried to tamper with witnesses and interfere with jurors
- The socialite, 60, was found guilty of second-degree murder over the September 2020 crash that killed Jacob Iskander, 8, and his brother Mark, 11
- Prosecutors attempted to have her jail privileges revoked following a number of recorded calls from the Twin Towers jail to her family
Child murderer Rebecca Grossman will not be banned from using phones in prison despite claims she tried to tamper with witnesses and interfere with jurors.
The socialite, 60, was found guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter on February 23 over the September 29, 2020 crash that killed Jacob Iskander, 8, and his brother Mark, 11.
She was speeding on a residential street in Westlake Village and failed to stop after mowing down the two children.
Prosecutors attempted to have her prisoner privileges revoked following a number of recorded calls from the Twin Towers jail to her family asking them to release sealed evidence and track down witnesses to say their testimony was directed.
But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino denied their motion on Friday and said her actions were the result of ‘naivety’.
Child murderer Rebecca Grossman (center) will not be banned from using phones in prison despite claims she tried to tamper with witnesses and interfere with jurors
![Mark Iskander (pictured left), 11, and his younger brother Jacob (pictured right), eight, were killed in the crash in 2020](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/12/64942291-13230625-Mark_Iskander_pictured_left_11_and_his_younger_brother_Jacob_pic-a-14_1711198778212.jpg)
Mark Iskander (pictured left), 11, and his younger brother Jacob (pictured right), eight, were killed in the crash in 2020
![Prosecutors attempted to have Grossman's prisoner privileges revoked following a number of recorded calls from the Twin Towers jail to her family asking them to release sealed evidence and track down witnesses to say their testimony was directed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/13/81656629-13230625-Grossman_now_faces_34_years_to_life_behind_bars_for_the_Septembe-a-15_1711198809179.jpg)
Prosecutors attempted to have Grossman’s prisoner privileges revoked following a number of recorded calls from the Twin Towers jail to her family asking them to release sealed evidence and track down witnesses to say their testimony was directed
Deputy District Attorneys Ryan Gould and Jamie Castro filed a motion providing calls Grossman made with her 19-year-old daughter Alexis and husband Peter that suggest she may have asked them to hunt down witnesses and jurors.
She is said to have told her teenage daughter to publicly release a body-camera video worn by a deputy that had been sealed and even wrote a letter to the victims’ mother after she was found guilty.
But Judge Brandolino refused to move her to a part of the prison where she would not be allowed access to phones or visitors, except her attorneys.
‘I don’t see this as witness tampering. This is someone who believes she was railroaded,’ he said. ‘She is upset, and she is naïve.’
Prosecutor Castro said Grossman was not being naïve but actively trying to tamper with witnesses and violate a court order.
Castro pointed to how she has 10 attorneys and spent four years in court and added: ‘She knows better. To characterize it as naivety isn’t good enough.’
Grossman’s new lawyer Samuel Josephs, who is an appellate lawyer with a focus on white-collar crime, had argued she is already in solitary confinement.
He added that her visits and calls are the only real contact she has with the outside world.
The socialite’s new defense lawyers were warned that releasing any evidence under seal would lead to financial sanctions and them being reported to the state bar.
![But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino denied their motion on Friday and said her actions were the result of 'naivety'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/12/58658453-13230625-Grossman_is_also_accused_of_using_these_calls_to_detail_criminal-a-12_1711198768606.jpg)
But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino denied their motion on Friday and said her actions were the result of ‘naivety’
![Mark (left) and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8 respectively, were killed in the horrific crash on September 29, 2020](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/13/81331221-13230625-Mark_left_and_Jacob_Iskander_11_and_8_respectively_were_killed_i-a-18_1711198861880.jpg)
Mark and Jacob Iskander were killed in the horrific crash on September 29, 2020
![Grossman was convicted after she'd pleaded not guilty to two counts of second degree murder in the 'hit-and-run' deaths](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/13/80999911-13230625-Grossman_was_convicted_after_she_d_pleaded_not_guilty_to_two_cou-a-19_1711198871102.jpg)
Grossman was convicted after she’d pleaded not guilty to two counts of second degree murder in the ‘hit-and-run’ deaths
![Grossman's white Mercedes SUV is pictured moments after the crash on September 29, 2020](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/13/80761967-13230625-Grossman_s_white_Mercedes_SUV_is_pictured_moments_after_the_cras-a-16_1711198846490.jpg)
Grossman’s white Mercedes SUV is pictured moments after the crash on September 29, 2020
Grossman told her teenage daughter to publicly share a deputy-worn body-camera video sealed in the trial, according to court documents.
‘I want you to unblock the videos,’ she said in a call on the day she was convicted and Alexis replied: ‘I will.’
While her husband Peter said: ‘Everything you want us to put out, honey, let us know. We’re going to put it all out.’
Grossman replied: ‘I want you to put everything out.’
John Hobson, one of her new attorneys, said his client did not understand the seal was still in place after the trial had ended.
Another phone call, placed in February, allegedly shows that Grossman came up with the idea that witnesses should be tracked down and made to say their testimony was coerced.
‘If we can get witnesses to come forward and say they were told to say things, this can get us a new trial,’ she said.
While her daughter replied: ‘I’m going to do everything for you, Mom. Everything. And so is Dad.’
Prosecutors Gould and Castro said the socialite’s attorneys attempted to tamper with jurors.
They added that a private investigator contacted members of the jury and did say he worked for the defense team.
![Grossman's new lawyer Samuel Josephs, who is an appellate lawyer with a focus on white-collar crime, had argued she is already in solitary confinement](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/12/82807075-13230625-image-a-11_1711198760720.jpg)
Grossman’s new lawyer Samuel Josephs, who is an appellate lawyer with a focus on white-collar crime, had argued she is already in solitary confinement
![Grossman now faces 34 years to life behind bars for the September 2020 murders of the Iskander boys](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/23/13/81580615-13230625-Grossman_has_had_her_had_her_2_million_bond_revoked_and_has_been-a-22_1711198901542.jpg)
Grossman now faces 34 years to life behind bars for the September 2020 murders of the Iskander boys
A juror came forward to complain that despite jury members being told their identities would be protected, a private investigator tried to ask him questions outside his home on March 11, according to a motion filed on Thursday.
‘He came to my house looking for me personally,’ he wrote in an email to prosecutors.
‘He introduced himself, gave me his card and told me out front that I didn’t have to talk to him if I didn’t want to and then asked if he could talk to me about the Grossman trial.
‘I asked him why, and he told me he was working for the Grossman family and wanted to know more about what in the trial influenced the jury in their decision. I told him I won’t talk to him, and he left.’
Gould and Castro said: ‘It is clear that the jurors in this case believed that their information would remain private and that they would not be contacted without having been given notice.’
Judge Brandolino told the defense attorneys to destroy the names of any jurors, other information from the trial and to not make any further contact.
Grossman, who is facing 34 years to life in prison, is now set to be sentenced on June 10.