Son Convicted of Strangling Beverly Hills Widow Violet Yacobi for Inheritance

Beverly Hills Police Detective Mark Schwartz responded to an unattended death call at the home of 67-year-old widow Violet Yacobi on Oct. 10, 2017. Her son Daniel and daughter Dina told police they found her body on the marble entryway below the staircase around 7:30 p.m. Initial reports suggested suicide due to depression after her dog's death, her cleaning lady's cancellation, and the one-year anniversary of her husband's death.

Detective George Elwell, now retired, arrived and doubted she fell over the railing. Crime scene photos showed her body under the staircase, feet hidden from the top view. Elwell noted, "I'm not an expert in physics, but anything that's gonna go over that that has any kind of weight to it, momentum's gonna take it away from the staircase a little bit." Dust covered the entire 3-foot railing with no disturbance, despite Violet standing about 5 feet tall. "For her to accidentally fall over was just not reasonable," Schwartz said.

Injuries included marks under her chin, unnatural neck marks, and vomit nearby. Elwell said, "Did she choke? Was she strangled?" Daniel had told other detectives, "I saw bruising everywhere ... to me it looks like she was strangled." No rope or belt appeared near the body, and family rejected suicide, citing a recent family dinner.

Schwartz considered cultural taboos in their Russian Jewish community and possible cover-up for insurance or shame. Both detectives noted Daniel's odd behavior: animated searching in the foyer like Columbo, nervous eagerness, and inconsistencies. Daniel claimed he called Dina after losing keys, they arrived simultaneously, and he did chest compressions while she did mouth-to-mouth. Dina later said only she did compressions.

Lividity and stomach contents indicated death on Oct. 9 evening, nearly 24 hours earlier. Friends like Galina Blackman described Violet as family-focused, with successful children: Daniel a dentist, Dina in physical therapy.

Autopsy on Oct. 13 ruled asphyxia by neck compression, a homicide. In a voluntary interview, Daniel repeated his story but showed no surprise at strangulation. Detectives confronted him on body movement and inconsistencies. He denied animosity or killing her, claimed no stop at the house after Inglewood work, but struggled with route details.

Elwell told him, "I see right through you." Daniel insisted a great relationship with constant texts, but his phone showed a month-old bank balance photo, not baby pictures. Detectives pegged him as suspect with money motive; he stood to inherit half the $13 million fortune, including an $8 million house.

Neighbor Dean Summers recalled Daniel's complaints a year prior: "I hate my life. I hate being married. I hate what I'm doing for a living. I hate my mother. I hate my father." He felt financially trapped. Sister-in-law Dr. Elena Spektor tipped obsession with estate control.

Video showed Daniel texting Dina during questioning to align on CPR story; she corrected him. Cellphone records disproved his alibi, placing him circling Violet's Beverly Hills house Oct. 9, including alley stops. Nest footage showed him home by 8 p.m., bald without toupee, searching "latent fingerprints on human skin" 40 minutes later.

On Feb. 12, 2018, detectives arrested Daniel at home. He asked for his toupee. Denied bail, he awaited trial over seven years due to delays, starting July 2025.

Prosecutor Shane Michael cited petechiae, jawline and neck abrasions, DNA under nails, Facebook coordinates, traffic cams tracking his white Jaguar, and searches for choke holds, falling stairs, and death stats from August 2017. Rib and spine fractures fit rear choke. No fall-consistent injuries like skull or limb breaks appeared.

Defense forensic pathologist Dr. Lary Simms claimed no strangulation evidence, calling petechiae sunspots, marks skin folds, and spotting brain AVM causing disorientation and fall. He matched chin abrasion to railing pattern. Prosecution disputed, noting osteopenia, no bleeding from fall, and dueling experts.

After three weeks of testimony, the jury deliberated nearly five and a half hours over two days in late August 2025 and found Daniel Yacobi guilty of first-degree murder for financial gain, mandating life without parole.