Menendez brothers now6/4/2023 Kitty Menendez was described as depressed, prone to hysterical fits and suicidal over her husband's extramarital affairs. They all described Jose Menendez as a success-obsessed tyrant who completely dominated his sons' lives, publicly humiliating them whenever he felt their conduct was unsatisfactory. Lansing and Leslie Abramson, Erik's attorney, called over 30 relatives, neighbors, teachers and sports coaches to the stand. "What we will prove to you is that it was done out of fear." "We are not disputing where it happened, how it happened, who did it," Jill Lansing, Lyle's lawyer, said in her opening statement. Nevertheless, they pleaded not guilty, claiming that they had acted in self-defense after years of suffering sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of their parents. A week before the trial began on July 20, 1993, however, the brothers admitted to the killings. Throughout the three years before the Menendez brothers were brought to trial, they repeatedly denied shooting their parents. In an unusual arrangement, the brothers were to be tried simultaneously by the same judge but before two separate juries. If convicted of first-degree murder, Erik and Lyle would face death in California's gas chamber. Oziel dictating his notes from the session would be admissible as evidence. After two years of grappling over the issue, the state Supreme Court ruled that only a tape of Dr. Oziel's life, thus voiding any claim to confidentiality. Judge James Albracht, however, ruled that the Menendez brothers had threatened Dr. Under California law, such recordings are confidential under the protection of the patient-therapist relationship. A legal battle quickly erupted over whether or not the tape could be admitted as evidence. The most incriminating evidence was said to exist in a tape of one of Dr. Prosecutors charged that the pampered sons had murdered their parents because of an impatient desire to collect their inheritance. Erik, who had spent part of his inheritance on a personal tennis coach, surrendered to Los Angeles police upon his return from a tournament in Israel. Lyle Menendez was arrested a few days later. Jerome Oziel, the psychotherapist who had been treating the brothers. In March 1990, police, using search warrants, confiscated the records of Dr. Spent over a half million dollars on new cars, watches, and a restaurant business soon after their parents' funerals. It seemed unlikely that anyone would pump 15 shotgun rounds into the Menendez couple unless that person were trying to make a statement.Īs time passed, however, the police took a closer look at the Menendez sons, who were heirs to their parents' $14-million fortune. Jose Menendez, a 45-year-old Cuban immigrant and self-made millionaire, had dealings throughout the film and music distribution industry, including a production interest in Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo" movies. Organized Crime Hit?ĭetectives weighing the ferocity of the homicides thought the killings had the look of an organized crime hit. Bizarre as it may sound, this bloody "fact" would be the least disputed feature of one of the most controversial court battles of the decade. Unexpectedly, their sons Lyle and Eric allegedly burst through the door with 12-gauge shotguns, killing their parents. On the evening of August 20, 1989, with bowls of strawberries and ice cream in their laps, entertainment magnate Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty, were watching television in the den of their Beverly Hills mansion. SIGNIFICANCE: The Menendez brothers' trials, claiming self-defense for brutally murdering their parents after enduring years of sexual and emotional abuse, revealed another, more sinister, motive for their crime: a vast inheritance upon their parents' death. Sentence: 2 consecutive life sentences for both Lyle and Erik Memendez Verdict: First trial: Mistrial second trial: guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances Place: Both Trials: Los Angeles, Californiaĭates of Trials: First trial: July 20, 1993-Janusecond trial: August 23, 1995-March 20, 1996 Chief Defense Lawyers: First trial: Leslie Abramson, Jill Lansing second trial: Leslie Abramson, Jill Lansing, Barry LevinĬhief Prosecutor: First trial: Pamela Bozanich second trial: David Conn
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