multiple times, including the sheriff s department. is it possible that rebecca was depressed and you missed it? no. reporter: in march 2018, the wrongful death lawsuit began in san diego. defending adam was dan webb, a former u.s. attorney and a veteran of many courtrooms. there will be no evidence that shows that adam shacknai had anything to do with the death of rebecca zahau. reporter: in particular, no dna or fingerprints from adam were found at the death scene. plaintiff s attorney keith greer called several experts who testified the lack of physical evidence could show adam cleaned up after himself. there was nothing on the doorknobs whatsoever, as far as prints. again, that s conclusive with being wiped down? yes. reporter: and a handwriting expert who looked at that message on the door. the writing on the door is more [ inaudible ]
Transcripts for MSNBC Dateline 20200802 07:53:30 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
the staircase. the mansion s heavy chandelier had fallen to the floor next to him. rebecca said max wasn t breathing, and she started cpr. rebecca s 13-year old sister xena, who was visiting, called 911. my sister s trying to resuscitate a a um, a boy. i m sorry she? he can t breathe. reporter: police and paramedics arrived within minutes. jonah called dina from the hospital. and he tells me, thank god that she was able to give him cpr. i think to myself, thank my god. reporter: he s gonna be okay? he s he s gonna be okay. reporter: max was unconscious. dina and jonah took up a vigil at the hospital. jonah s brother adam flew in from his home in tennessee. you came out to support jonah? correct. reporter: how well had you known max? i knew max well. he was a really wonderful kid. reporter: at max s bedside, jonah asked one of the doctors
reporter: once again, police raced through the streets of quiet coronado island. and once again, their destination was the mansion on ocean boulevard. jonah s girlfriend rebecca was staying there. jonah s brother adam had spent the night in the guest house. you wake up. you walk out. tell me what you see. a woman hanging. at the time, i didn t necessarily think to myself, oh, my goodness, she s bound, or whatever. but just rebecca s hanging. reporter: naked, bound hand and foot, rebecca zahau was hanging by the neck from a second-floor balcony. i said i guarantee you, my heart started racing. this is actually happening. okay. how old is she? i d say about 30. 30? okay. when was the last time you saw her? last night. reporter: even as he called 911, adam says he thought she was dead.
closes it with a single hitch or two. guess what knots are tied on both her legs and her hands? figure eights tied off with a single hitch or two. reporter: sheriff s investigators had questioned adam extensively after rebecca s death. reporter: you didn t hold anything back from investigators? nothing. reporter: you helped them to the extent that you could. yeah, exhaustively. reporter: you thought you had nothing to hide. i knew i had nothing to hide. reporter: and when investigators determined there was no evidence placing adam at the scene reporter: they cleared you. they did. reporter: did you think this was over at that point? yeah, i did. reporter: it wasn t over. rebecca s sister was determined to hold someone accountable. reporter: i m guessing that somebody said to you that filing a lawsuit, a civil lawsuit, to find answers in a criminal matter is generally an extremely unsatisfying way of pursuing justice.