Titanic star Frances Fischer has written a personal letter of support for convicted killer Rebecca Grossman where she described the disgraced socialite as ‘kind’, ‘compassionate’ and ‘an angel’.
It is one of more than 35 letters sent to an LA judge by Grossman’s friends and family ahead of a sentencing hearing for the former philanthropist who killed two young boys in a horror drunk driving hit-and-run in 2020.
Fischer, who played Kate Winslet‘s mother in the blockbuster 1997 film Titanic, implored the judge to consider leniency for her long-time friend.
The two met after Fischer suffered severe burns during a house fire and the actress sought treatment from Grossman’s husband, who is a renowned plastic surgeon at the specialized and famed burned unit in West Hills, California.
‘I was under the care of Dr. Richard Grossman and his son, Dr. Peter Grossman in 2001 – 2002,’ Fischer wrote in the letter. ‘When I was healing from my many wounds, an angel walked into my life. That angel was Rebecca Grossman.
The actress continued: ‘Rebecca took me under her wing. She was kind and compassionate and was always available if I needed to talk about the emotional repercussions of this accident. It took me a year to recover, and Rebecca was there for me.’
Grossman, 60, is facing two 15-year to life sentences for killing brothers Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8, Iskander, plus four years for speeding, when she is sentenced by Judge Joseph A. Brandolino at an Los Angeles court on Monday.
Actress Frances Fischer was among dozens who wrote letters of support for Rebecca Grossman asking a Los Angeles judge to sentence the convicted socialite to a lesser term
Rebecca Grossman, 60, was convicted in February of two felony counts of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for the hit-and-run death of two young boys
Grossman was convicted by a jury four months ago of double second-degree murder.
Prosecutors said Grossman was driving her Mercedes at up to 81 mph in a 45-mph zone when she plowed into the boys at a marked crosswalk in Westlake Village, California. She then failed to stop at the scene of the crime.
‘The defendant’s actions from September 29, 2020, through today show a complete lack of remorse and narcissistic superiority that leads to only one conclusion, that she is not deserving of any leniency,’ they wrote in their sentencing brief.
‘The defendant has continually shown through her actions that she is deserving of maximum punishment.’
Family and friends, however, have asked the judge to show mercy for Grossman, who they claim has been unfairly portrayed as a careless socialite.
During the trial, prosecutors said Grossman had Valium in her system and had consumed at least two margaritas before she got behind the wheel and raced with her then-boyfriend, former MLB pitcher Scott Erickson, through a residential neighborhood just before the fatal incident.
In a jaw-dropping letter she wrote to the Iskander family, Grossman claimed she panicked and remembers a boy falling from the sky.
‘I told my husband and children that at the same time my airbags deployed, I thought something came down on the top of my car,’ Grossman told the Iskanders.
‘I even reached out to people at satellite companies like NASA and Space X in hopes that maybe there was a video that captured what happened. I did not know what to do.’
Frances Fischer, left, with Kate Winslet in the smash hit movie Titanic. Fischer was severely burned on her hands during a 2001 house fire in North Vancouver where she was shooting for a television series. She sought treatment from Dr. Peter Grossman and became fast friends with Rebecca Grossman
Prosecutors blasted the disgraced mother-of-two and said she refused to take responsibility for the murders and ‘lived a life of privilege and clearly felt that her wealth and notoriety would buy her freedom.’
But defense attorneys asked the judge to consider the ‘exemplary life’ Grossman has led and ‘her own hardships as a child’ growing up in an unstable household.
‘There were innocent victims who suffered from her offense conduct, but as the Court had already recognized, this case is unlike the outrageously egregious conduct underlying most implied malice cases,’ her attorneys wrote in a brief.
They continued: ‘Ms. Grossman does not come before the Court asking to be treated differently from any other defendant; she asks only that she be sentenced in accord with who she has demonstrated herself to be throughout her entire life, including the tragic but unique facts that bring her before the Court for sentencing in a case that includes two counts of implied malice murder.’
Other Grossman supporters who wrote to the judge include former Olympic hockey player Eric LeMarque, who signed his letter as ‘ELE’.
LeMarque was treated by Dr. Peter Grossman after he had to have his feet amputated in 2004. The former Olympiad was lost in the Sierra mountains during a snowboarding excursion and endured subzero temperatures before he was rescued.
‘In the face of this grim reality, I awoke to Peter Grossman praying and holding my Olympic feet that I’d soon learn that day needed amputation to save my life after suffering through 107.3 and 107.5 offered comfort,’ LeMarque wrote to the judge.
‘Subsequently, I met Rebecca Grossman later the same day, whose compassion enveloped me like a maternal embrace. Throughout the ensuing three months of treatment, her nurturing care provided genuine comfort. Even in the years that followed, Rebecca’s unwavering support guided me and my family toward regaining mobility with limbs.
‘Despite portrayal to the contrary, Rebecca Grossman epitomizes kindness, genuineness and humility – qualities that starkly contrast with the unworthy villain she has been depicted as,’ he added.
The Iskanders in their final photo together: parents Nancy and Karim with their sons, Zachary, Jacob and Mark; and baby daughter, Violet
Hockey player Eric LeMarque was an Olympic athlete before he had to have his legs amputated
Eric LeMarque was treated by Dr. Peter Grossman, right, at his famed burn center in California. LeMarque wore in a letter to a judge that the Grossmans were instrumental in his healing and asked for a more lenient sentence for Rebecca
Several of the letters of support also mentioned the young Afghani girl, Zubedia, who the couple took in as she received treatment from the doctor for severe burns.
Zubedia called Grossman her ‘American mother,’ and also implored the judge to show leniency.
‘Please think about the world needs her and please give my American mom a chance to do good out here with so many people who need her,’ Zubedia wrote in her emotional letter.
‘I was going to ask you to allow me to trade places with Rebecca so that she can help people who need her so much and I can serve the jail time. I was told that would not help my mom but I still want you to know that’s how good she is and how much she is needed in the world.’
Prosecutors, however, painted a stark contrast of Grossman and said she even made her daughter Alexis to lie on the stand.
They said in a ‘sheer act of cowardness,’ Grossman convinced her daughter – who was 16 at the time of the crash – to testify that she initially saw Erickson hiding in some bushes while deputies arrested her mother.
She also testified her mother’s former lover burst into their home smelling of booze and yelled, ‘Why did your mom stop?’ and threated to ‘ruin me and my family’ if she told anyone about seeing him near the scene of the crash.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence Erickson was involved in the crash.
They also said Grossman tried to influence witnesses, the jury, her ex-lover and even the judge.
Prosecutors said Rebecca Grossman was having cocktails with her ex-boyfriend Scott Erickson, pictured above, at a local restaurant before they got into their separate cars and raced down the street of a residential neighborhood.
Karim and Nancy Iskander, the boys’ parents, are shown at a court hearing in Van Nuys, Calif
Alexis Grossman with her dad Dr. Peter Grossman are pictured arriving to court. The 19-year old wept and screamed, ‘Oh my God’ after a jury found her mother guilty of murdering two young boys with her Mercedes
In her letter to the judge, Alexis Grossman – now 19 – did not address her testimony, but continued to show support for her mom.
‘My mom does not deserve to be in prison,’ she said. ‘I cannot explain in two pages how extraordinary my mom is.
‘She is my everything, my best friend, my greatest role model, my strength and my hero. So, Your Honor, I beg you to please have the consideration of me, my family and her character with your sentencing.’
