Watch live testimony from Jonah Shacknai, the boyfriend of Rebecca Zahau, in the player below:
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -The boyfriend of a woman who authorities said committed suicide by hanging herself at his Coronado mansion a day after his 6-year-old son was critically injured in a fall at the home testified Thursday that it is "inconceivable" that his younger brother had anything to do with her death.
Jonah Shacknai, testifying in trial of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Rebecca Zahau's family against 54-year-old Adam Shacknai, was asked if he had ever seen his brother be violent.
"Never," Jonah Shacknai said. "It is inconceivable."
Jonah Shacknai testified that he was at Rady Children's Hospital visiting his son Max the morning of July 13, 2011, when he got a text from Adam asking him to call back.
"He asked me if I was sitting down and he told me Rebecca had taken her life," Jonah Shacknai testified. "I was speechless."
Jonah Shacknai said police told him not to go home to Coronado.
"I couldn't believe it," Jonah said of Zahau's death and his son's fight for his life. "It was unfathomable."
After Max fell from a second-story landing at the mansion on July 11, 2011, Jonah Shacknai said he thanked Zahau for being there to care for his son after the accident.
Zahau's mother and older sister filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Adam Shacknai, alleging he confronted the 32-year-old Zahau a day after
Max was injured. The boy died five days later.
The attorney for the plaintiffs, Keith Greer, alleged that Adam Shacknai delivered four blows to the head of Zahau, rendering her partially or fully unconscious. Greer also alleged that the defendant sexually assaulted Zahau, tied her hands and feet, put a noose around her neck and threw her body
off a second-story balcony.
Greer said the plaintiffs should be awarded unspecified monetary damages for loss of companionship and emotional support.
Adam Shacknai's attorney, Dan Webb, told the jury that there was no evidence that his client -- who has lived and worked in Memphis for 30 years -- had anything to do with Zahau's death. Adam Shacknai said Zahau encouraged him to come to San Diego to support his brother at his time of need.
The attorney said four law enforcement agencies investigated Zahau's death for two months and determined that she committed suicide.
Interactive timeline of Rebecca Zahau case | Lead investigator testifies in wrongful death lawsuit | Coronado death investigation photos
Watch testimony from earlier in the day in the player below:
