Tracy Smith

Welcome to Postmortem.

I'm CBS News correspondent Tracy Smith filling in as host.

And today we're discussing the death of 67-year-old Violet Yacobi.

On October 10th, 2017, Violet was found dead in her Beverly Hills home.

And responding officers initially suspected it might be a suicide.

But when the autopsy report determined she died from asphyxia due to neck compression or strangulation, her case turned into a homicide investigation.

Joining me today is 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty, who reported on this case.

It's always great to talk with you, Erin, and I'm excited to get your take on this.

I definitely want to dig into it.

But first, a reminder to everyone, if you haven't watched or listened to this episode, Beverly Hills 911, go check it out now and then come back for our conversation.

All right, let's get into it.

On the evening of October 10th, 2017, Violet's son Daniel and daughter Dina arrived at their mother's home in Beverly Hills, California.

They discovered Violet on the floor of her entryway beneath a large curving staircase, and Daniel called 911.

Let's take a listen to some portions of that 911 call.

Wow.

But initially, investigators believed Violet's death might have been a suicide.

Why is that?

And as investigators dug deeper, what else did they learn about the Yacobi family?

You know, it sounds like they're living the American dream.

Murders don't happen very often in Beverly Hills.