Nancy Iskander, mother of boys killed by celebrity Rebecca Grossman: Apology was not sincere

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (KABC) – Two days after celebrity Rebecca Grossman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the hit-and-run death of Mark and Jacob Iskander, the boys’ mother expressed her disappointment at the verdict and Grossman’s attempt at an apology in court.

Nancy Iskander spoke to Eyewitness News about this heartbreaking ordeal and how she is trying to help her family and use the tragedy to improve the lives of other children.

“When your child is happy, you are happy; when your child is sad, you are sad,” she said.

“If your child dies, you die. I have no doubt: a part of me is dead. And it’s dead because of her. And I have to function and take care of little children while I’m half dead.”

Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8, were killed in September 2020 while walking with their mother and youngest brother, Zachary, across a crosswalk in Westlake Village. Rebecca Grossman collided with Mark and Jacob, killing both of them, and fled the scene.

Grossman was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

Nancy Iskander was dismayed by the verdict because the judge had treated the deaths of the two boys as if they had been one life and allowed the hit-and-run portion of the charge to be served concurrently.

They didn’t have a unified life, she said. They were two boys with different personalities and interests.

“The 15-day life sentence was a stab in my heart,” Iskander said.

“In two different ways: First, he lumped the two boys together as if they were one and the same. But they weren’t. If you ask parents, they’ll tell you their children are not the same person. They’re different. They have two different personalities.”

“Especially children who had their whole lives ahead of them. You can’t count two for one. That’s extremely unfair.”

“Maybe if (Grossman) had been a little less drunk or had she been paying a little more attention, she could have avoided one of them. Jacob only needed one step, exactly one more step, to survive and not get hit by her car.”

Grossman spoke in court on Monday. Nancy Iskander tried to leave the courtroom – she thought she would hear insincere words – but Grossman asked her to stay. She returned to her seat.

“I have waited four years to express my condolences to you,” Grossman said in court. “I wanted to express all my pain to you. I am so sorry I did not reach out to you. The prosecutors warned me not to. I just wanted to be human and talk to you parent to parent and mother to mother. I wanted to leave this world. I did not want to be here anymore.”

“I promise I never saw anyone. I believe God knows the truth.”

“If I could bring Mark and Jacob back, I would give my life. I’m so sorry. I’ve wanted to talk to you for so long. I’m sorry that didn’t happen. I didn’t run away. My car stalled. My pain is nothing compared to your pain. I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”

But to Nancy Iskander these words seemed insincere.

“I’ll tell you first what made me leave my seat. I expected her to be herself. Not sincere, not true, not apologetic.”

“So I wanted to leave. When she begged me, I wanted to give her a chance to talk. Maybe something had changed.”

“But when she started talking, it was exactly what I expected. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t ‘I’m sorry I killed her.’ It was ‘I’m sorry for your loss.'”

In honor of Mark & Jacob’s legacy

The Iskander family has been involved in numerous charitable projects to honor the memory of Mark and Jacob, helping disadvantaged children with academic and mental health problems.

The grade & Jacob Iskander Foundation has built an orphanage in Egypt, awards scholarships to students in Southern California and is currently establishing a care agency here that will soon receive a license.

Nancy Iskander says the foundation was created to help other children and support their own families in healing.

“Immediately after the collision and after the boys left us, I realized that the only way we could heal our wounds was by serving and helping others,” she said.

“You feel like you’re broken for life and you’re not going to live another day. So we decided to help others. I wanted Zachary and Violet, my children who survived that tragic day, to learn from it and know that tragic things can happen in life, but if you work hard you can turn them into blessings.”