New move in boy's Coronado mansion death

CORONADO, CA - The mother of a boy who died after an incident at his father’s Coronado mansion last summer filed a lawsuit eight months after his death.

Police said 6-year-old Max Shacknai fell down the main staircase of the home last July in what appeared to be a tragic accident.

Almost week later his father, Scottsdale businessman Jonah Shacknai, said Max died “despite heroic efforts on the part of paramedics and hospital staff.”

Max’s mother, Dina Shacknai, filed a complaint against the County of San Diego and the San Diego County Medical Examiner for the release of her son’s autopsy photographs and related documents.

According to the complaint, Dina Shacknai made a request for the autopsy photos on March 16, but the request was denied.

The defendants said the request requires a court order, according to the report. She has now turned to the court.

Jonah Shacknai was not home at the time. Instead, Max was in the care of Shacknai’s live-in girlfriend, 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau.

Zahau was found dead by Shacknai’s brother Adam, who was staying in the guest house days after Max fell down the staircase.

Police said Zahau was found dead hanging nude from a balcony at the mansion, her hands and feet bound. 

After weeks of investigating, detectives ruled her death as a suicide but her family disagrees , claiming she did not take her own life.