Rebecca Nalepa Zahau
San Diego police said on Friday that Rebecca Zahau's death was caused by her suicide, but what was only referenced and not revealed until this point was a mysterious message she left in the home of Jonah Shacknai.
Medical Examiner Investigator Dana Gary has since told San Diego's CBS News 8 that the suicide note was painted in black on the bedroom door. The paint was found on Zahau's hands and the rope around her neck.
The message: She Saved Him Can You Save Her.
Rebecca Nalepa Found Dead
"I noted black painted writings on the bedroom door that led into the room with the balcony," said Gary, declining to speculate on the words' meaning.
Zahau (a.k.a. Rebecca Nalepa) was found naked, hands and feet bound, hanging by a makeshift noose in the courtyard of Shacknai's mansion in Coronado, Calif.
Her body was discovered July 13, just hours after she accessed her voicemail on which was a message about the grave condition of Shacknai's 6-year-old son Max, who was in the hospital after falling down a staircase days earlier.
The child later died from his injuries.
Nevertheless, "These deaths were not the result of any criminal acts," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said at a press conference Friday.
Zahau's autopsy showed a "tape residue" on both of her legs and a long-sleeved, blue T-shirt wrapped three times "around her neck outside of the … reddish-orange rope" around her neck, said the report, obtained by CBS News 8.
Shacknai, a pharmaceutical CEO, dated Zahau for several years.
He was not home at the time of her death. His brother, Adam Shacknai, was staying in the guest house when he found Zahau hanging.
Adam cut the rope and attempted to administer CPR. He then called 911.
