Unraveling the Knots: A Sister’s Relentless Fight for Justice in the Murder of Rebecca Zahau: Excerpt
Convinced that Rebecca Zahau’s death was not a suicide, her sister vowed to unravel the truth—no matter the cost.
Unraveling the Knots is the gripping true story of Rebecca Zahau, a vibrant woman whose tragic death in 2011 ignited her family’s relentless pursuit of justice. After Rebecca was found hanged at her millionaire boyfriend’s mansion, authorities quickly labeled her death a suicide, a conclusion her grieving sister, Mary, vehemently refused to accept.
Over the next decade, Mary embarked on a crusade for the truth. Undeterred by setbacks and the immense pressure from the powerful Shacknai family, she meticulously investigated the case, uncovering shocking evidence of a botched investigation and undeniable proof that her sister was murdered.
This is a poignant and unflinching account of a sister’s unwavering love, a family’s fight against injustice, and the enduring impact of a life tragically cut short. With court transcripts, autopsy reports, never-before-seen photos, and more, Mary shares Rebecca’s inspiring story in unprecedented detail, from her days as a young girl in Burma to her last moments in Southern California. As Mary considers her sister’s devastating death, along with a shocking diagnosis of her own, she must confront her grief and the fleeting nature of life. Unraveling the Knots is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of truth.
Excerpt from Unraveling the Knots by Mary Zahau-Loehner.
Copyright© 2025 by Mary Zahau-Loehner. Use by permission of Ballast Books and
Mary Zahau-Loehner.
The murder of my sister became a worldwide story. We were contacted by global, national, and local media outlets. I remember several times getting a message from some reporter at a television news affiliate and thinking, Didn’t I just talk to you? They identified themselves by their network affiliation and then station letters in a way like they expected me to know who they were and where they were calling from. I did not; it sounded like alphabet soup to me. I was conflicted about talking to reporters, but I felt this would be the only way to keep the San Diego Sheriff’s Office accountable. After all, they were refusing to talk to us.
During the funeral, many people approached us saying that something was “fishy” with Rebecca’s death, and they recommended seeking legal advice by hiring an attorney. Obviously, something was fishy—a woman was murdered. But why did we need an attorney? We didn’t kill Rebecca. Attorneys are for people who have done something wrong. What did we do wrong?
Despite my hesitation, we spoke to several attorneys, many of whom were high-profile, recognizable names. Apparently, the attention and potential payout from this case was very alluring to many people. None of this made sense to me. I just wanted the person or people responsible for Rebecca’s death to be arrested and put behind bars. Nevertheless, we agreed to have legal representation as we waited for the results of the investigation and an arrest of the suspect(s).
Our attorney scheduled a media tour from coast to coast. There were countless times I would fly somewhere early in the morning and be back at night since I didn’t want to be away from my kids. My youngest was three months old and still nursing, so it was not up for discussion to be gone one minute longer than was absolutely necessary. Some people speculated we were getting paid for the TV interviews. I’m not sure where that came from, but I am sure that I didn’t ask for or receive one single penny.
Some days, I was just going through the motions thinking, Here we go again—answering the same questions. I often wondered if I was coming up with a different way to say the same thing. If I did, would it be interpreted incorrectly? Already, I felt like I was under the microscope and could not truly understand why. And of course, our attorney reminded me to not say anything involving Jonah Shacknai. He was off limits, while my sister was being portrayed as a gold digger. Everything seemed backward. But this was all new to me. Nothing prepares you for a media firestorm after the death of a family member, especially when her death was so salacious. I just stuck to the basic facts I knew at that time and kept repeating that the San Diego Sheriff’s Office was investigating, stating we would know more once the evidence was examined. I can’t help but shake my head when I think back to those first few months after Rebecca was murdered.
By far the worst interview was for a network morning news program. Doug and I flew out late the night before so the kids would be in bed and we could just slip out. After we arrived, we met with a legal expert and a private investigator who were apparently going to be part of the interview. This was all arranged by the network and their producers. We had to be ready at 5:00 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. interview. I was dead tired from the late-night flight but didn’t hesitate to do whatever they asked because it was for Becky.
The interview started with an attack. The television journalist asked the questions by turning them into more of a statement. She spoke down to me as if I was just a poor migrant from a third-world country with half of a brain, not the American citizen with a graduate degree in medicine who owns a home and is raising a family that I am. Her first words were to the effect of, “You don’t know your sister’s death was not a suicide?” In my head I was thinking, Of course not—I wasn’t there. The sheriff is figuring that out. Why is she talking about suicide? The only people who said suicide were the people I’m not allowed to mention, Jonah and Adam Shacknai. We don’t even know about the crime scene because I’m told nothing despite my calls to SDSO. Now I’m being asked by this lady on television about proof.
Well, because of the zero contact we’d received from the SDSO, I wouldn’t even know my sister was dead if I hadn’t seen the body. What did I know? Not much. I wasn’t the family’s point of contact for SDSO; they were only communicating with Jonah Shacknai, who would then give us minimal updates. Oops, I can’t mention Jonah Shacknai. So, the legal ringer I was left with gave me only a few sterilized words to say, and the lack of information left me no details. What was the question again? I said very little during that segment; at the same time, it was very obvious to me whom she’d gotten her information from and what narrative she wanted to push. It was clear some sort of campaign to dilute the truth was already underway, but why? The reporter seemed to know more than we knew at the time.
The overwhelming majority of the public was extremely supportive, which I am very thankful for. However, with a story this big, some creeps were able to crawl out of the woodwork. A small number of people would comment on social media pictures saying, “She [Rebecca] got what she deserved” or that the family “obviously wants money.” No one deserves what happened to Rebecca, and no amount of money will bring her back. I never responded to any of those jabs since I had more pressing matters to deal with, like a three-month-old child, my son who was old enough to know something was wrong but too young to understand, and the tasks of managing my grieving parents, maintaining my medical practice, and waiting for law enforcement to find my sister’s killer.
In hindsight, I would have eliminated 70 percent of the interviews we did. Without the crime scene details or other information, I realize we were just being put on display for the world to gawk at or judge. Since we weren’t getting any response from the SDSO, media interviews seemed to be the only way we could get information. Almost every time, the reporter had more details than we did.
During the initial interrogations by the SDSO the day after my sister’s death, the detectives said they wanted to interview my youngest sister who had stayed with Rebecca earlier that week in Coronado. They said they would contact us when they were ready to meet with my thirteen-year-old sister. She had been ordered by Jonah Shacknai to fly home the day after Max’s accident. It was Tuesday, July 12, 2011, the last day Rebecca was seen alive.
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Mary Zahau-Loehner graduated as a board-certified family nurse practitioner in 2005 and has been working in dermatology since 2008. She earned her master’s in nursing from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, where she was later a professor in the clinical nursing program. Mary is also a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the Society of Dermatology Nurse Practitioners. Outside of work, she is a professional bodybuilder and is passionate about weightlifting and going to the gym. She volunteers at her church and enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and spending time with her family and Alaskan Malamute, but much of her free time since 2011 has been spent fighting for justice for her sister Rebecca. She currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband, Doug, and their two children.
Rebecca Zahau was born on March of 1979 in the chin hills of Burma. She was raised with a strong Christian upbringing. Rebecca moved to multiple countries throughout her childhood, first to India then to Nepal where she spent most of her young life, then 1995 to Germany as a young teenager, and finally to the United States in her 20s. She was close with all her siblings and raised with a Christian faith. Rebecca graduated High School while in Germany. Rebecca grew up learning multiple languages (Zahau, Nepali, German, and English).
Rebecca maintained a close relationship and stayed in close contact with all of her siblings. Rebecca took on the role of keeping the family together and operated as mediator between her parents and siblings. Rebecca had a creative personality and picked up guitar and painting on her own.
After High School, Rebecca attended Calvary Baptist College in Austria. There, Rebecca met some of her closest lifelong friends and moved to the United States soon after. Rebecca enjoyed working at ophthalmology clinics and maintained that position until just before her death in 2011. Rebecca had passion for hiking, running, outdoor activities, and working out in a gym. Her daily routine always included a form of workout.
Her dedication to fitness and health as well as her commitment to helping her friends paints a picture of someone who not only physically takes care of herself but also selfless and generous with her time and energy. It’s admirable how she motivated others to reach their goals, like learning to swim herself just to support her friend’s triathlon training. Rebecca can be described as a health-conscious person. She was a social butterfly who had a positive and uplifting influence on the people around her. We miss her warm personality and her laughter everyday.
On July 13th 2011 Rebecca Zahau was taken from her family prematurely, leaving a void in the lives of her loved ones.
Category: Contemporary Women Writers
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