Bodyguard for Murdered Rap Artist Tupac Shakur Has Died

Courtesy of TruthAboutTupac.com

by Cathy Scott

Frank Alexander, a bodyguard for the late rapper Tupac Shakur, has passed away.

Alexander was in a car directly behind Tupac and his record producer, Suge Knight, in September 1996 near the Las Vegas Strip when Tupac was shot. A passenger in a white Cadillac pulled next to Suge and Tupac’s BMW, opened fire, hitting Tupac and grazing Knight.

Six days later, Tupac died from a chest wound. Suge, who was admitted to the hospital for treatment, was released the morning after the shooting. Frank two years later co-wrote the book Got Your Back, about his time on tour with Pac.

I got to know Frank over the years and spent time with him during the taping of the documentary Before I Wake and Tupac: Assassination, which Frank executive produced.

One of the coolest gigs Frank and I had together was on August 18, 2002, when we both appeared on comedian Kevin Nealon’s show “The Conspiracy Zone,” where Nealon, according to the show’s site, hosted “expert panelists discussing popular conspiracy theories.” The topic in this case was Tupac’s murder. On the show with us were comedians Kathy Griffin and Christopher Reid.

The oddest thing that evening was during the taping, which was in Burbank with a studio audience, when another guest, who'd also written a book about the Tupac case, publicly called me “a hack.” In writing vernacular, it was meant as an insult. It came out of nowhere, and I’d never met this guy before, so everybody but the name-caller cracked up laughing, including Frank.

On camera, Kevin Nealon turned to me and said, “I couldn’t tell, Cathy. Was he kidding?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered, and Kevin laughed along with us.

Kathy Griffin cracked a joke about it as well, and then the show continued. It was a lively discussion, and the episode was well received.

Afterward, we all went into the Green Room to eat the spread that Kraft Services had set up for us. Frank, with a group of friends, stayed, as did I. Christopher Reid (formerly known as Kid) was fun to talk with; he had mad respect for Tupac.

The irritated author, in the meantime, practically ran out the studio and through the Green Room, stopping only to ask where his driver was, before heading through a back door to the parking lot. We all laughed again, because it seemed so odd.

Frank was in a good mood that night, as were the rest of us – except for the out-of-sorts author (who will remain unnamed). I thought of Frank at the time as on top of his game. His book, co-written with author and journalist Heidi Coder, had been released in June 1998. And it was re-released in paperback a couple years later. In recent years, he’d worked on indie documentaries while working as a security guard.

I interviewed Frank in 1997 for the first edition of my book, The Killing of Tupac Shakur, and again for the second edition in 2002. About Tupac's murder, Frank told me, "I want to see the shooter brought to justice.” That never happened, despite the wide belief and law enforcement intelligence that points to Southside Crips as responsible for the rapper's death.

Frank Alexander passed away the afternoon of April 28 in his Southern California home. According to the Murrieta Police Department, investigators determined that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. The police investigation determined, per incident report No. 1304M-6390 and interviews and evidence at the scene, it was death by suicide. A formal autopsy was scheduled. But a police source close to the investigation told me, “The autopsy is just a formality in our determination. It was a suicide.”

An administrator with TruthAboutTupac.com site, says the loss is a personal one: “Big Frank was my friend and brother. We ate together, prayed together, told jokes and kicked it. He used to say, ‘It’s not how long you know a person that counts but how well you connect during the experiences you share that really matters.’

"The last conversation we had was very deep, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around our loss. I never in a million years thought I wouldn’t see him again.”

TruthAboutTupac.com summed up the loss for all of us: “Rest in Paradise, Big Frank. ONE LOVE.”

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More Questions Than Answers –Justice Requires That Rebecca Zahau Case Be Reopened

by Anne Bremner

A woman screams for help at 11:30 p.m. in a 27-room historic mansion in Coronado, California; a 6-year-old child, Max Shacknai, has fallen two days earlier and is in critical condition; the millionaire boyfriend and father of the child, Jonah Shacknai,  and his girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, have been consumed by the boy’s care and condition in the hospital.

Rebecca Zahau, the live-in girlfriend of Jonah Shacknai, who loved Max as her own, had had a wonderful career. But she gave it up to care for Jonah and his family and their homes. She was kind, athletic, generous to a fault, and beautiful. On the evening in question, Rebecca had gone to dinner with Jonah and his brother Adam. Adam had just flown in that day from Tennessee. Rebecca returned to the mansion, Adam to the mansion guesthouse, and Jonah reportedly to the hospital. Rebecca had a relatively uneventful telephone conversation with her sister Mary and then was never heard from again. The authorities maintain that she received a telephone call at 12:30 a.m. advising that young Max had tragically taken a turn for the worse. She purportedly retrieved that message at 12:50 a.m. Yet, the message was erased, and her phone records do not show any such incoming call at 12:30.

Adam Schacknai found Rebecca at 6:30 the next morning. She was hanging from a Juliette balcony off one of the mansion’s guestrooms. Her feet and hands were bound, she had abrasions, there was tape residue on her legs, and a turquoise women’s athletic shirt was wrapped around her neck three times and part of the shirt was used as a gag in her mouth. There was blood on her legs. The ropes used in the hanging were tied with expert knots to a bed in the room. Partial footprints were found on the balcony, including two footprints from a man’s boot. Written on a door in paint was the phrase “She save him, can you save her.” But the autopsy cites the language as “She saved him, can you save her. “

The family said Rebecca had never been depressed or suicidal (she had no history whatsoever of psychological or psychiatric disturbance or treatment), the note was not in her handwriting, and she did not know how to tie expert knots like that. And she would never have killed herself, because she loved her family so much and, because of her religious beliefs, did not allow, in any event, to do so in such a violent and appalling manner. There is no recorded suicide involving a woman with circumstances like this one. Women simply do not kill themselves this way. The authorities said it was possible that she could have killed herself this way. They illustrated it with a video demonstration of a woman binding her own hands. But they did not show a demonstration of the rest (binding her feet, gagging herself) could have been accomplished. It would have taken a contortionist – frankly, a Cirque De Soleil performing artist – to accomplish such a “suicide” feat.

Expert pathologists have confirmed that Rebecca died while on her back – not from or while hanging.  Lividity was fixed in her back, not in her legs or feet. Renowned pathologist Dr Cyril Wecht has reviewed the autopsy report and has concluded this is not a suicide and that she had blunt force trauma in four places on the top of her head, inconsistent with the fall and consistent with blows that could have rendered Rebecca unconscious. The bed that was tied to the rope did not drag across the carpet.  It was picked up and moved. Hair clumps and black gloves were found at the scene.  Rebecca screamed for help before getting any call (if indeed there was a call) about Max. Someone was seen lurking around the front door shortly before the screams. News helicopter footage showed the balcony French doors open and no rope on the balcony while Rebecca’s body lay naked on the lawn. Doctors Larry Kobilinsky and Maurice Godwin, both famed criminologists, have weighed in that this was not a suicide as have forensic psychiatrists and suicide experts. A polygraph was administered to Adam Shaknai, and the results were reported as inconclusive. No one else was polygraphed or fingerprinted. Phone journals from eight months prior were cited as being contemporaneous, and a witness said Rebecca was not training as much six months earlier. Her own trainer disputes this. 

After seven weeks of investigation, the case was closed. The investigation concluded, and Rebecca’s death was classified as a suicide. Still, so many questions remain. In fact, there are more questions than answers. We think the investigation should be reopened. What do you think? Doesn’t justice so require?

As disclosure, Anne Bremner represents Rebecca Zahua's family as they press authorities for a more thorough investigation into Rebecca's death. Click here to donate to the Rebecca Zahau Fund.

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Will Casey Anthony Commit Suicide As A Final Act of Control If She Gets Death Penalty?

by Dr. Lillian Glass

In examining Casey Anthony’s behavior, her body language ,and communication patterns throughout the years, it is my view that there are significant signals of sociopathy or psychopathy. According to the characteristics set forth by Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare in his Hare Scale of Psychopathy, Casey Anthony appears to fit most of the characteristics seen below:

Factor 1: Aggressive narcissism

1. Glibness/superficial charm
2. Grandiose sense of self-worth
3. Pathological lying
4. Cunning/manipulative
5. Lack of remorse or guilt
6. Emotionally shallow
7. Callous/lack of empathy
8. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Factor 2: Socially deviant lifestyle

1. Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
2. Parasitic lifestyle
3. Poor behavioral control
4. Promiscuous sexual behavior
5. Lack of realistic, long-term goals
6. Impulsiveness
7. Irresponsibility
8. Juvenile delinquency
9. Early behavioral problems
10. Revocation of conditional release

Traits not correlated with either factor:

1. Many short-term marital relationships
2. Criminal versatility

When a sociopath or psychopath is cornered and there is no way out for them, they often become severely depressed. Because of that, it is not uncommon for them to commit suicide. That is  what happened with Craigslist Killer, Philip Markoff (right). He knew there was no way out of his predicament. So he found a way to kill himself in his jail cell and as a final act of control, write messages in his own blood on his cell wall. This could possibly happen with Casey Anthony as well.

Sociopaths and psychopaths do not commit suicide for the same reasons non-psychopaths or non-sociopaths would commit suicide. Instead, they commit suicide as a final act of control. So if Casey is found guilty of the crime of murdering her daughter Caylee and is sentenced to death by the State, she may very well attempt suicide and succeed. In doing so, it may serve as her final act of defiance and control. She may commit suicide as an act of controlling her own death on her own terms.

While many may believe that Casey is too narcissistic to kill herself, that may not  at all be the case. If and when she is housed in a prison’s death row, Casey will get a rude awakening.

Right now, she is the center of attention, and she appears to be loving it. She gets to show off her different outfits and hair styles in the courtroom. For Casey, it is important to her that she always look good. That is why you always see her grooming her hair or adjusting her clothing. She also gets the pleasure of seeing her crush and attorney Jose Baez, and whomever else she fancies at the moment. She gets the pleasure of sharing a smile or a laugh with Jose. Most of all , she gets the joy of seeing her parents agonizing over her in the courtroom, while she purposely ignores them. She gets the thrill of knowing that her every move is televised and scrutinized by the press and that she is the subject of websites, news articles and television shows. There is no doubt that she flourishes with all of this attention bestowed upon her.

But if she is found guilty and sentenced to death, all of that external attention will suddenly disappear. Instead, she will experience hours and hours of complete isolation and boredom. There will be a disturbing lack of visual and auditory stimulation on a regular basis.

So stimulus-seeking Casey, who needs all of that attention to survive, may have a terrible time dealing with and tolerating her newly imposed boredom. Because the lack of stimulation may be so intolerable and such torture for her, it would be highly possible for her to attempt to take matters into her own hands and kill herself because she may feel there is no way out.

Even though Casey would no doubt appeal her conviction, the legal process would be agonizingly slow. It could take years. There would not be daily, weekly or even monthly visits from attorneys. Even though she will no doubt continue to receive countless letters from fans who support her innocence, or receive marriage proposals from emotionally disturbed people who are captivated by her beauty, it may not be enough to sustain her.

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A Crime of Passion

by Katherine Scardino

His name was Earl and he was deaf. Completely deaf. Earl Handy, Jr. grew up in the small East Texas town of Nacogdoches, home of Stephen F. Austin University, a four-year, state-supported college. But Earl did not go there. Earl did not go anywhere like that. He went to public school, and it was certainly not the School for the Deaf. He did not understand that being deaf was not his fault. It was a malady that a person can endure, perhaps with great persistence and teaching. Earl could have accepted and learned to live with the circumstances handed to him, but that did not happen for Earl.

Earl worked hard in school when he was there, but he never was good enough for anything he loved doing. He tried to play football, basketball and other sports, but he was deaf and no one knew how to communicate with him. He eventually learned sign language, which was very helpful. Unfortunately, however, not many people in the “hearing” world knew how to sign, including Earl’s family. He was alone, paranoid, and confused. His language learning skills ended at the age of 4. He wrote using personal pronouns, like “me sad,” and “me do not understand.”

Earl eventually married a woman named Donna who learned to sign so she could communicate with Earl. At first, she seemed to truly love him. They even had a child, Jacob, who is now three years old. To everyone on the outside, the family seemed happy. Earl had never been so happy. He had a wife and son whom he loved dearly. Earl had a job and worked every day to provide for the family. Unfortunately, Donna eventually grew tired of a husband who could not talk and (of course) found another man. Donna took Jacob and left Earl one day while he was at work. He came home and his dream was gone. Where was she? Earl looked and looked, but he could not find her. A few days later, he learned where she was. Donna had moved out of their home, rented a mobile home in another part of their small town, and moved another man, Joe, into her home. Donna signed a lease for the mobile home and set up a new life living with Joe. Earl did not understand. "How can she do this?" he said to himself. "Where is Donna? Me sad.”

The situation began swirling inside Earl’s head. He could no longer think sensibly. He felt as if everyone was against him and everyone had left him. He was more alone than any hearing person could imagine. His parents, as bad as they were, were now dead. He had a grandmother, but she was in another city. No one was there to help him or talk/sign with him so that he could understand how to handle his loss.

Early one morning, Earl took a knife from the kitchen, went to Donna’s new mobile home and waited outside. Earl waited until he saw someone had gotten up from bed -- and it happened to be Joe. Joe walked outside the mobile home, and Earl jumped him. Earl beat Joe with his fist and stabbed him with his knife. Earl then ran inside the house with desperate thoughts screaming inside his head, “Where is Donna? I want my wife to come home!” Earl saw Donna, and a struggle between them ensued. During the struggle, Donna was stabbed in the chest. Donna died and Joe lived. Donna’s older son called the police. When officers arrived, Earl was sitting in the kitchen of the mobile home. The officer entered the trailer and Earl saw him. Earl still had the knife in his hand. The officer screamed at him to put down the knife, but Earl could not hear him. Earl held the knife up as if to say to the officer, “Shoot me! Donna is dead. I don’t care what happens to me. Shoot me!!” The officer hesitated, and Earl stabbed himself in the abdomen. Then, the officer tasered him, and Earl fell to the floor. He was then arrested and eventually charged with capital murder.

A crime of passion. The words “crime” and “passion” do not seem to go together in the same phrase. In the nonlegal world, the word “passion” is associated with the powerful emotions of either love or hate. But, in my world, a crime of passion is a mind out of control. The penal code says that during the punishment phase, which occurs after a jury has heard all the evidence in a trial and has reached a verdict of guilty, the jury may hear evidence raised by the defendant as to whether “he caused the death under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause.” If the jury finds in the affirmative, the possible sentence is then lessened.

Can you imagine being poor, uneducated, paranoid, confused, and in a world of total silence? Add being in prison for either the majority of the rest of your life or, alternatively, in prison for absolutely every single day for the rest of your life. Earl never grasped that concept.

I saw Earl last week. My investigator, co-counsel and I, along with an interpreter, went to visit him in prison. He looked bad. His hair had not been combed. He had not bathed with soap or brushed his teeth in so long that his breath and body odor were almost more than we could stand in such a small room. We got the officer on duty there to explain why Earl was in such a condition. The officer said simply, “All he has to do is fill out this form.” I explained to him that “Earl has no hearing. He cannot understand what you are saying to him. You do not know sign language. Can’t you see that? What is wrong with all of you? Can’t you see that he is dirty, unkempt, and smells bad. Why would you let him get to this point?” The officer on duty gave me a small plastic bag containing tiny, thin bars of soap, smaller than the ones you get in cheap hotel rooms. Also in this plastic bag was a tiny toothbrush and a tiny tube of toothpaste. As it was explained, the supplies were supposed to last a week.

Last Friday morning, I received a phone call. " Earl is dead," the caller said.

“Oh, my God! What happened? I just saw him three days ago.”

Earl wrapped a bed sheet tightly around his neck and tied it to a steel bar in his cell. Then, he simply sat down and let himself slowly suffocate. He wrote a suicide note. “Me sad. I don’t know nothing State of Texas. In jail nothing my mind lost.” After eight months behind bars, Earl finally understood.

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