Hopes nine years enough for ‘her heart to change’
The mother of two boys hit and killed by Rebecca Grossman is expressing her disappointment in the socialite’s recent sentencing.
On Monday, Grossman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the hit-and-run murders of Jacob and Mark Iskander in 2020.
Prosecutors had sought the maximum sentence, which was more than twice what she received.
The surprising sentence reopened old wounds for the boys’ mother, Nancy Iskander.
“It was the hardest day of the whole trial,” Iskander said. “I would compare it to September 29, 2020, almost the same pain.”
In an interview at the family home Wednesday, Iskander told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell that the sentence handed down by the judge was not severe enough and did not honor the life of both her boys.
“He counted them both as one,” Iskander said. “They were two, I promise. They were two.”
In February, the 60-year-old socialite was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter, as well as one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death.
She could be eligible for parole in as little as nine years.
“All I can say about that is that I hope nine years is enough time for her heart to change. I’m not sure,” Iskander said.
Through a four-year legal ordeal, Grossman has never admitted guilt for running down 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob.
Still, through all the trauma and heartbreak, Iskander says she has love for the person who upended her life.
“I love her, I love her family, I love her kids, she’s a human being,” she said.
The co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and wife of prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, Iskander says the woman responsible for the death of her sons has offered to establish a building near her husband’s burn hospital and name it after them.
Nancy says that is not something she is willing to entertain.
“That is not something I would accept from her at all,” Iskander said. “She does not get to honor their memory. I’m sorry, that I will not allow.”
Instead, the Iskander family has created their own foundation to honor Jacob and Mark; Nancy hopes it will be a fitting tribute and do some justice in honoring their memory.
“It goes through my mind every day, are they proud? It’s so important, and I can’t ask them,” she said.