BEHIND BARS—Rebecca Grossman’s prison photo was released this week by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Rebecca Grossman has been transferred to Central California Women’s Facility, a state prison for female inmates in the city of Chowchilla, to serve her sentence of 15 years to life for the 2020 vehicular murders of Mark and Jacob Iskander in Westlake Village.
Located in Madera County, the Chowchilla women’s prison is about 250 miles northwest of Los Angeles and houses 2,244 inmates—113% of its design capacity.
Records show the 61-year-old Grossman made the move on June 20 from Twin Towers Correctional Facility, the downtown jail operated by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department where she had been held following her convictions on February 23.
On June 10, the day of Grossman’s sentencing, her legal team filed a notice of their intention to appeal her verdicts.
She was found guilty on two counts each of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and one count of hit and run resulting in death, after a six-week trial.
At the sentencing hearing, Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino denied a request by defense attorney James Spertus that Grossman’s bail be reinstated and she be freed ahead of an appeal. Brandolino had expressed his concern, when he denied Grossman’s bid for a new trial, that the murder convictions might be vulnerable to challenge before a higher court.
The judge’s decision to sentence Grossman to concurrent prison terms— one of 15 years to life for each of the two murders, plus three years for hit and run—drew strong criticism from Nancy Iskander, the mother of Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8. Prosecutors and the victims’ family and friends had asked for the maximum penalty, 34 years to life.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation gives Grossman’s parole eligibility date as March 2035. This is subject to change: inmates can earn credits for taking part in rehabilitation programs and potentially come up for parole sooner, while bad behavior can push eligibility dates back. Prosecutor Ryan Gould has said Grossman could be up for parole in as little as seven years.
At Grossman’s sentencing, Gould told the judge she has shown no real remorse: “She says, ‘Sorry for your loss,’ she never says, ‘Sorry for killing Mark and Jacob.’ How can someone be rehabilitated if they won’t take responsibility for their own actions?” Iskander recently told Fox News she plans to confront Grossman about finally accepting accountability: “My plan is to give her a visit in prison, in a few months or maybe a year, and I will ask her that question directly. I will say, ‘Are you able to say, ‘I am sorry I killed them?’
“This will allow me to forgive, because I need to get through what she’s done,” Iskander said.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Chowchilla women’s prison “embraces the California Model, showcasing a commitment to rehabilitation, positive experiences, and transformative change throughout the prison.” This includes a peer mentorship program among inmates.
In a lawsuit filed in December of last year, scores of women who were incarcerated at Chowchilla and the California Institute for Women in Chino alleged sexual abuse by prison guards. Inmates at Chowchilla and their advocates have also protested inadequate cooling during sweltering summer temperatures.