Dead girlfriend of Medicis CEO Shacknai found bound, naked at his home

Dead girlfriend of Medicis CEO Shacknai found bound, naked at his home

2011-07-15 06:37:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

CORONADO, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) -- The girlfriend of Medicis Pharmaceutical CEO Jonah Shacknai was found dead at his home in California on Wednesday, a police spokesman said on Thursday. She was found bound and naked.

Captain Tim Curran of the San Diego Sheriff's Department said officers responded to the mansion of Shacknai on Wednesday morning after a 911 call was made at approximately 6.48 a.m. local time. The call was made by a relative of Shacknai.

"The reporting party, later identified as Adam Shacknai, told responding officers he found Nalepa with a rope around her neck and hanging from a balcony off the main house. When the Coronado units arrived at the scene, they located a female adult on the property who appeared to be deceased," Curran said. The victim was identified as Rebecca Nalepa, the girlfriend of Shacknai.

"The victim's hands and feet were bound and she was completely nude," the spokesman said. "The responding officers provided medical aid until the Coronado Fire Department arrived on scene a few moments later and determined the victim to be deceased."

According to police, the condition of the victim and the scene itself showed suspicious circumstances that initiated the response of homicide investigators. However, the case is currently being treated as a suspicious death and not as a murder.

An autopsy on Nalepa was carried out on Thursday morning. "Because of the unique and bizarre circumstances of this incident, it has yet to be determined if this will become a criminal matter or a death investigation," Curran added.

The bizarre death comes just days after Shacknai's six-year-old son from his second wife fell down stairs, the Wall Street Journal reported, although the incident was deemed a tragic accident. The boy suffered severe injuries and remains hospitalized.

According to Medicis' website, Shacknai founded the company in 1988 and remains as chairman and chief executive officer. His profile also says Shacknai served as chief aide to the House of Representatives' committee with responsibility for health policy, and in other senior legislative positions.

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