Death on Ocean Boulevard : Inside the Coronado Mansion Case

Title: Death on Ocean Boulevard : Inside the Coronado Mansion Case 

Author: Caitlin Rother 

Publisher: Citadel Press 

Release Date: April 27, 2021 

Genre(s): Unsolved murder, hanging

Page Count: 368 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 

Read book blurb here

The image of the Spreckels Mansion is an apt metaphor for this true crime story of death and terrifying loss. At first glance the historic mansion looks impressive, but inside there is mold on the bathtubs, the carpet is in need of replacement, the decor is somewhat dated - appearances can be deceiving.

On the surface, Rebecca Zahau was living the good life with her millionaire boyfriend Jonah and his teenage kids, as well as sweet adorable six-year-old Max. But on July 11, 2011, Max falls face-first from a second story staircase onto the floor below and is taken to the hospital in critical condition. Two days later, Rebecca is found dead .... nude, bound in red rope, hanging from an exterior balcony. Max dies of his injuries on July 16, 2011, having never regained consciousness. 

What happened those summer days in Coronado have never been fully solved, despite a jury in a civil case finding Jonah's brother Adam responsible for Rebecca's death, and the San Diego Sheriff's department declaring Rebecca's death a suicide.  And ... Max may have simply tripped and fell over the bannister, although a trauma doctor believes he was suffocated prior to his fall. 

Caitlin Rother begins by sharing her husband's 1999 death by suicide, as well as some unsettling events from Rebecca's past which creates a framework of sorts for the larger mystery. As Dr. House would say, "everybody lies" and with that unsteady foundation in place, we move on to investigate the case. 

Rother's narrative at times is a bit unclear and while she gives us brief sketches of the major players, at times I found myself trying to remember exactly who some of those players were.  There is also a lot of repetition along the way. But then again, there are a lot of details about the case, most of which are still highly disputed.  As Sheriff Gore stated: "Sometimes family members hear what they want to hear" or as Rother says:

"What comes out in a trial is not a single truth. Each side tries to win its case by presenting witnesses who offer conflicting interpretations of the same evidence [...]. I came away convinced that the whole truth had not come out - from either side."

Rother's book provides some new information and theories of the case and overall, I felt she did a good job of balancing all the various "truths" about what happened those summer days in 2011. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the case and anyone seeking to learn more about the inner workings of investigation and analysis.  4 stars. 

I recieved an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

At Any Cost : A Father's Betrayal, a Wife's Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice

Title: At Any Cost
Author: Rebecca Rosenberg and Selim Algar
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Page Count: 304
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Please note that "At Any Cost" does not provide much in the way of an in-depth discussion of Rod Covlin and Shele Danishefsky or their respective backgrounds or personalities but rather focuses primarily on the long years it took to bring this case to trial and the subsequent courtroom drama. 

I mention this only because my initial perception of the book was that it was more of a "true crime" work and I had hoped to learn more about the respective personalities in this case. But, what the authors give us is an absolutely heartbreaking story of a woman murdered by her faithless ex-husband, who killed her to get her estate (valued at almost $6M) and the subsequent alienation (and essentially brainwashing) of their two young children. 

Because Rod Covlin is simply such a horrible person, I would have liked to learn more about his upbringing, his school friends, his relationship with his incredibly supportive parents, etc. Rod was incredibly lucky in that a seriously incompetent investigation by New York's "finest" compromised evidence, as well as no initial autopsy due to Shele's strong Jewish faith. And finally, the NYC DA wasn't terribly interested at first in bringing the case to trial. 

But despite this perfect storm of incompetence, the case was finally brought to trial, almost 10 years after Shele's murder, and where this work really shines is in detailing how the case was presented to the court, how the attorneys presented their case, and how all the circumstantial evidence was woven into a strong net to finally catch Rod Covlin. 

The heartbreaking remainder of this case is what has happened to Shele's beloved children, Anna and Myles, who were manipulated and gaslighted by Rod, and continue to believe in his innocence. The crime has been solved, but what lingers is still so sad and unsettled. 3.5 stars for "At Any Cost." 

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.