Dr Phil: How Did Max Schacknai Die? Did Rebecca Zahau Kill Young Boy?

Dr Phil: Did Rebecca Zahau Kill Max Schacknai?

It’s believed that Rebecca Zahau committed suicide after the death of her boyfriend’s son, Max Schacknai. Max was under Rebecca’s care when he fell from a two-story balcony. His mom, Dina, is searching for answers and believes her six-year-old son may have been killed.

Dina asked Dr Judy Melnik to look into the death. She said that reports from the biomechanics experts did not match her findings. Max’s center of gravity was too low for him to have fallen accidentally over the bannister. She then looked into his injuries, which she also found to be very different from the reports of what went down.

A big inconsistency in the story was about Max’s Razor scooter. The police said that Max was riding at a high speed on the second landing, which caused him to fly over the bannister. The second landing has a high pile carpeting, not conducive to  riding a scooter on. There is no way he would have gotten to a high speed on a scooter on carpeting.

Was Max Schacknai Pushed Over The Bannister?

Another point of interest for Dr Melnik was the marks on Max’s back and lack of injury on his hands. She believes that Max hit the bannister with his back and was lifted over, he did not fall on his own. Also, Max reportedly grabbed the chandelier on his way down. Dr Melnik believes that Max would have injury to his hands, which were completely clean and mark free.

“When Max fell, it was initially assumed to be an accident. It was only when he came to the hospital did the doctors at the hospital say, ‘This is too much injury. It doesn’t match up.’ The doctors at the hospital blew the whistle and said, ‘We’re going to call Child Protective Services.’ I wasn’t the first one to raise concerns, they were,” she explained.

Rebecca had too many inconsistencies in her story. Rebecca claimed that Max said the dog’s name, “Ocean.” Dr Melnik believes that Max’s head injuries were too great for him to talk at all.

Dr Phil said that the inconsistencies could have been explained by shock. He is a trained forensic psychologist and said shock is common in situations like this one.