‘Murder Of A Jewish American Princess’ True-Crime Limited Series In Works From Cari Lynn & Everywhere Studios
12.04.2022 - 21:49
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: The headline-grabbing true story of the 1981 killing of Elana Steinberg at the hands of her husband in Scottsdale, AZ, and the sensational murder trial that followed, is getting the small screen treatment. Murder of a Jewish American Princess, based on Shirley Frondorf’s nonfiction book, Death of a Jewish American Princess: The True Story of a Victim on Trial, is being developed into a true-crime limited series. Murder of a Jewish American Princess hails from journalist/author Cari Lynn, who penned the pilot, and Tom Mazza’s Everywhere Studios, which plans to shop the project to prospective buyers shortly.
Per Lynn and Mazza’s official description, the series is “based on the brutal 1981 murder in Scottsdale, Arizona, of Elana Steinberg, who was labeled in the courtroom and the media as the quintessential “Jewish American Princess.” Defense lawyers used the moniker to paint a picture of a beleaguered husband, Steven Steinberg, at his wits end, with no recourse other than to murder his wife. Despite the preponderance of evidence against him, the defense worked: Steven Steinberg walked out of the courtroom a free man.”
Steinberg was charged with killing his wife by stabbing her 26 times. He did not deny killing her, but claimed he was sleepwalking at the time and not sane, and therefore not responsible for her death in a legal sense. Bolstered by defense testimony from psychiatrists, he was acquitted by the jury.
Lynn first learned about the story after being introduced to Steven Steinberg at her brother’s wedding, then discovered Frondorf’s book.
“I was outraged by this story and how much this still resonates today,” said Lynn. “It’s about what happens when facts cease to matter, and about the ease of words to