Rebecca Grossman, the socialite convicted of killing two young brothers in a 2020 DUI crash, has filed for divorce from her husband of two decades, Dr. Peter Grossman, while serving her 15-year-to-life prison sentence. The divorce filing, submitted last month, cites "irreconcilable differences" and comes after Dr. Grossman stood by his wife throughout her criminal trial and the subsequent civil proceedings.
Grossman, 63, was convicted in 2024 of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of Jacob and Mark Iskander, aged eight and 11, who were struck and killed as they crossed a street in Westlake Village, California, in September 2020. Her lover, former professional baseball player Scott Erickson, was with her at the time of the crash. Erickson faced lesser charges and has since completed a public service announcement on safe driving.
Despite Dr. Grossman's public support, which included paying legal fees and testifying on her behalf, Rebecca Grossman has initiated divorce proceedings. Nancy Iskander, the mother of the two boys, alleged on social media that the divorce is a ploy to prevent her family from collecting the nearly $200 million in damages a civil jury awarded them.
"Her husband Peter stood by her for five years. Knew she was cheating. Knew she kept texting the lover after she killed them. Paid the lawyers. Walked her into court. Testified for her. Then the civil verdict millions for our family," Iskander wrote in a social media post. "That's when he stopped playing loyal. She signed everything over to him. House into a trust. Divorce timed so we couldn't collect. Five years of 'stand by your wife' was never love. It was protecting the money until the checks came due."
Dr. Grossman, a prominent burn doctor estimated to be worth $10 million to $15 million, is not contesting the divorce, according to court documents. He has requested that the court enforce a pre-marital agreement signed by the couple in May 2000. The couple's two adult children, Alexis and Nicholas, will not be subject to custody arrangements.
During the marriage, the Grossmans accumulated significant assets, including multiple homes and vehicles. Prior to her legal troubles, Rebecca Grossman was a philanthropist who co-founded the Grossman Burn Foundation in 2007. The foundation aimed to provide burn treatment to underserved communities globally. The crash occurred in September 2020, shortly after Grossman and Erickson had been drinking at a local bar. Her speeding Mercedes SUV struck the Iskander brothers while she and Erickson were allegedly racing each other. Erickson, who was driving a separate Mercedes, was not criminally charged with vehicular manslaughter, though he was named in the civil lawsuit. A civil jury found him partially liable for the crash after he admitted to lying to police about his alcohol consumption and revealed a prior DUI conviction.
Attorneys for the Iskander family had previously accused the Grossmans of attempting to hide assets through property transfers to trusts to avoid paying the civil judgment. Rebecca Grossman's attorney maintained that these transfers were lawful. Dr. Grossman, in a deposition, claimed ignorance about his finances, earnings, and business assets, stating "I have no idea," "I don't know," or "I don't recall" when questioned about family trusts and his income, despite filing joint tax returns.