Two Los Angeles mothers are at odds on opposite sides of California’s embattled criminal justice system: one grieving the loss of her two sons and the other trying to get her conviction for killing them overturned.
Rebecca Grossman, a rich and powerful Los Angeles socialite, sped her Mercedes through a crosswalk and killed Mark Iskander, 11, and his 8-year-old brother, Jacob, as they were crossing the street with their mother and younger brother.
Nancy Iskander, a biotech executive, grabbed her son, Zachary, who was 5 at the time, and dove out of the way. But she and her youngest son witnessed the crash.
“We will continue to speak up until we see justice and see her pay for the murder of two little boys, because they could be anyone’s kids,” she told Fox News Digital. “They’re not just my boys. They’re just [an] innocent 11-year-old, an innocent 8-year-old in a crosswalk.”
Nancy Iskander and her three sons, Mark, Jacob and Zachary (Nancy and Karim Iskander)
Grossman, 60, had prescription drugs and alcohol in her system at the time of the 2020 crash, prosecutors told Fox News Digital. Although she was married to a prominent Los Angeles surgeon, Dr. Peter Grossman, she was racing her boyfriend, former MLB pitcher Scott Erickson, home from a restaurant. Each of them were driving Mercedes-Benz SUVs above 70 mph.
Jurors found her guilty in February, but she has not yet been sentenced. Not only has she never expressed remorse, her “games” in court and from behind bars have antagonized the grieving family for years, Iskander said.
“She had many opportunities to show mercy, and she did not show any mercy on my family,” Iskander told Fox News Digital. “In fact, she only showed hate – all sorts of hate in many, many ways – as if we’re her No. 1 enemy in the world.”
Rebecca Grossman, center, is shown with her husband, Peter Grossman, left, and their daughter as they head to Van Nuys Courthouse West. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Iskander family has accused Grossman of toying with the justice system throughout the process, appealing her charges to the state Supreme Court before trial and then in March attempting to tamper with the jury.
Deputy District Attorneys Ryan Gould and Jamie Castro sent jailhouse phone call transcripts to the court in March that allegedly showed Grossman violating a gag order on the case and openly discussing attempts to interfere with witnesses and influence the judge, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported at the time.
“It feels so unfair not only to lose the kids but also to find yourself in the middle of a fight and with a person who wants to hurt you as much as possible in the middle of it,” Iskander said.
Mark and Jacob Iskander were both killed when Rebecca Grossman sped through a crosswalk while racing home in 2020. (Nancy and Karim Iskander)
Adding insult to injury, Grossman hired defense attorney James Spertus to handle her post-conviction matters – another “game” that the Iskanders say is an attempt to sway the scales of justice in Grossman’s favor. Spertus is a friend of the judge’s, they say, and he is also representing the disgraced former deputy district attorney, Diana Teran, who is under indictment on 11 unrelated felony charges. She happens to be the former supervisor of the unit that prosecuted Grossman.
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Rather than seek Spertus’ removal from the case, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon’s office briefly removed the lead prosecutors instead, a move that caused widespread public backlash.
“It was heart-wrenching for us,” Iskander told Fox News Digital. “It felt we were punished, or we were the victim of another one of her games.”
Jacob Iskander is shown in an undated family photo. (Nancy and Karim Iskander)
Gascon’s top deputy, Joseph Iniguez, backtracked on the move days later and said Gould and Castro would remain on the case, although the chain of command was transferred out of their division to one that hadn’t been overseen by Teran.
Iskander said the family is very thankful for the move and believes the duo will do the best job in court.
“Them being not only familiar with the evidence but also the circumstances, and Mrs. Grossman’s strategies into getting more delays or causing a conflict of interest, they are familiar with that,” she told Fox News Digital. “And then they got to know Mark and Jacob through the years. It’s been four years that we’ve been together. So, I feel like to hand it to someone who never worked on it before, at this point, it doesn’t make any sense.”
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A sign shows Mark Iskander, 11, left, and his brother, Jacob Iskander, 8, outside a Van Nuys court in California. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Grossman is due back in court Friday as part of a bid for a new trial. She faces up to 34 years in prison for her conviction on two counts of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run resulting in death.
While Spertus has alleged prosecutorial misconduct and is seeking a new trial, prosecutors are vying to have him removed from Grossman’s defense due to his attorney-client relationship with Teran.
Spertus denied having any conflict of interest involving his representation of either party. He told Fox News Digital he expects the state attorney general’s case against Teran to fail.
Nancy Iskander and her husband, Karim, leave a Van Nuys court during a lunch break from a preliminary hearing for Rebecca Grossman. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
As for Iskander, she is hoping the case finally comes to a conclusion so she and her family can heal. As part of the process, she and her husband have become devoted to charity by founding an orphanage and a foster care nonprofit while raising money for scholarships for local children through the Mark and Jacob Iskander Foundation.
“A person killed two children. They didn’t do anything wrong. She’s a murderer,” Iskander said. “It should be a straightforward process, right? And I mean, for society, it has to be a straightforward process.”
