Rebecca Nalepa, gf of Medicis CEO Jonah Shacknai found dead at his home

The girlfriend of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. founder and chief executive Jonah Shacknai was found dead at his California home Wednesday in what authorities deemed suspicious circumstances. Medicis Pharmaceutical best known product is the injectable filler Restylane for wrinkle and lip augmentation. 

• Millionaire's six-year-old son dies after mysterious accident at mansion where his father's lover was found hanging naked
• Girlfriend found hanging naked from balcony with orange electrical cord tied around feet and hands
• Little boy had fallen down staircase days before while in her care. Miss Nalepa, a Burmese woman who had been in a relationship with Mr Shacknai for two years, was reportedly looking after the little boy at the time.
  
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• She left job last year to spend more time with boyfriend and his children
• The 54-year old tycoon described as ambitious and driven head of $700million-a-year cosmetic drugs firm

The deceased woman was identified by officials as 32-year-old Rebecca Nalepa. Her body was discovered early Wednesday by Mr. Shacknai's brother Adam, who is staying in a guest house on the Coronado, Calif., property, according to Captain Tim Curran of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Adam Shaknai and Ms. Nalepa appear to have been the only people on the property at the time of the incident, according to authorities.

Jonah Shacknai's oceanside home in Coronado, Calif.

Jonah Shacknai wasn't home when Ms. Nalepa was found in the morning or when the Coronado Police arrived at the scene, according to authorities.

Capt. Curran wouldn't comment on Jonah Shaknai's location but said the sheriff's department feels "comfortable that we know where he was." Attempts to contact the chief executive were unsuccessful.

The authorities aren't identifying any suspects or persons of interest, Capt. Curran said. Everyone speaking with the police is being considered a witness at this point, he said, and so far everyone is cooperating.

The brother told officers that he found Ms. Nalepa with a rope around her neck and hanging from a balcony off the main house, Capt. Curran said, adding that Adam Shacknai cut down Ms. Nalepa before police arrived on the scene. Capt. Curran said police found Ms. Nalepa nude, with her feet and hands bound behind her.

"We have not determined if this is criminal or if this is a death investigation," Capt. Curran said. "Whether it is a homicide or a suicide, it is one of the most bizarre and unusual cases we have ever seen."

Capt. Curran wouldn't discuss whether there were signs of struggle in the house or injuries to Ms. Nalepa, citing the ongoing investigation. An autopsy was being conducted Thursday; the San Diego County Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death, a process that could take several weeks.

On Monday, local police had responded to an emergency call to the same house after Mr. Shacknai's 6-year-old son fell down stairs. The boy, whose mother is Mr. Shacknai's second wife, suffered severe injuries and remains hospitalized.

Lea Corbin, a spokeswoman with the Coronado Police Department, said the boy's fall has been deemed a "tragic accident," and there is no ongoing investigation. Ms. Nalepa and a young girl, described as 13 or 14 years old, were the only people home at the time, Ms. Corbin said.

Capt. Curran said the two incidents appear to be separate, and investigators haven't found any connection between the cases.

Jonah Shacknai, 54, founded Medicis and has been chairman and chief executive since 1988. The Scottsdale, Ariz., company makes dermatological and aesthetic pharmaceutical products, including acne treatment Solodyn as well as Dysport, which competes with Allergan Inc.'s Botox. Medicis had $700 million in revenue last year.

In a statement after the death was reported on Wednesday, a Medicis spokeswoman expressed sadness at the "tragic incident at a California property owned by Jonah Shacknai." She requested that the family's privacy be respected and declined further comment on the news or Mr. Shacknai. Medicis shares, which hit a 6 ½-year high Wednesday, fell 3.7% to $38.56 in 4 p.m. composite trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr. Schaknai received total compensation valued at $6.3 million last year, owns houses in California and Arizona, and has been divorced twice, according to public records.

According the company's website, Mr. Shacknai served as chief aide to the House of Representatives' committee with responsibility for health policy and other legislative positions from 1977 to 1982. He later was a senior partner at the law firm Royer, Shacknai, and Mehle, representing pharmaceutical and medical device companies, before founding Medicis.

Mr. Shacknai serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Whispering Hope Ranch Foundation, a ranch centered around special needs children.

More about Jonah Shacknai

• The 54-year old Jonah Shacknai founded pharmaceutical giant Medicis and has been chairman and chief executive since 1988.
• The company makes dermatological and aesthetic pharmaceutical products and took $700million in revenue last year.
• Shacknai has two other children from a previous marriage to Kimberly James, a pharmaceuticals sales representative for rival firm Johnson & Johnson.
• The couple married in April 1993 in Bel Air, California, before filing for divorce in 1999.
• She later told a psychologist that on their honeymoon he asked her if she thought the marriage was a mistake.
• Family Court records show the couple reached a joint-custody agreement in 2001 for two children: a 14-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy.
• Shacknai later married Dina Romano, the boy's mother, and the couple divorced in 2008.
• Land records show that Shacknai, whose Scottsdale, Arizona-based company is the maker of the acne treatment Solodyn and wrinkle-filler Restylane, purchased the 27-room landmark property known as the Spreckels Mansion in October 2010.

ABC News documentary; March 3, 2018