Zahau Remains Being Exhumed; Dr. Phil May Aid Re-Examination

Plans to exhume the remains of Rebecca Zahau, , are moving forward.

Anne Bremner, an attorney for the family, said Zahau's loved ones will use donations from an online fund, RebeccaZahauFund.com, to cover the expenses and have secured the services of Dr. Cyril Wecht, who will perform the examination. Wecht, a forensic pathologist and academic, has donated his time.

The family also has sought the aid of an unlikely source—Dr. Phil McGraw, of “Dr. Phil” fame—and will meet with him in November, Bremner said in an emailed statement.

Bremner did not address questions about where the examination of Zahau's body would take place, but suggested that her remains already have been exhumed.

“It is our hope that Rebecca can be returned to her resting place with the truth of this tragedy finally confirmed and justice served,” Bremner wrote.

Snowem Horwath, one of Zahau's sisters,  to allow for further investigation of the case.

Zahau, the girlfriend of Arizona pharmaceuticals mogul Jonah Shacknai, resided with him in his summer home, the oceanfront Spreckels mansion. She was found nude and bound on the property July 13, two days after Shacknai's son suffered head injuries in a fall from a landing near the mansion's stairs.

. The child, 6, died three days after Zahau.

and have been harshly critical of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which conducted the investigation into Zahau's death. Coronado police looked into the boy's death and declared it an accident.

The case has drawn substantial attention nearly from the beginning. It and , in the pages of People and Newsweek magazines . Family members acknowledge that they have pressed to keep the case in the spotlight in an effort to help re-open the investigation.

Related Topics: Anne Bremner, Dr. Phil, Investigation, Jonah Shacknai, Rebecca Zahau, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Snowem Horwath, Spreckels, and Suicide