Law & Order: True Crime (2017) s01e06 Episode Script
Episode 6
1 [dramatic music.]
- You lied to me.
- Jamie, please.
You killed your parents! It will be your job to decide what kind of killing this is.
And we will prove that it was done out of fear.
Based on our evidence, it will become apparent that this murder was unjustified and wholly premeditated.
Do you think other kids get massages from their dad? I didn't really get what he was trying to tell me.
I was too young.
What other behavior did you notice? All right, I'm gonna end this line of questioning, right now.
Your Honor, I move for mistrial.
Motion denied.
Once my boys take the stand, they will see the connection between the abuse and the killings.
I will make them see it.
I just wish you could say the things, and then I'll just say "yes" or "no.
" That's called "leading the witness.
" It's not allowed.
We don't want Grandma in the courtroom for any of it.
She shouldn't hear it.
It'll hurt her.
She won't be there.
We talked to your aunt.
[sighs.]
I wish I could just write it down instead of saying it out loud.
[sighs.]
Oh, my God, Erik.
You are so tense.
Did you take your Xanax this morning? [sighs.]
No.
Erik, you made me a promise.
Did you bring any with you? I just I feel nauseous, Jill.
I feel like I'm gonna throw up.
Take some deep breaths and I'll get you some water.
It'll help settle your stomach.
Okay? They are not ready.
It's show time, and they are not ready.
[breathes deeply.]
[sighs.]
We had a puppy at the time, when I was six.
Her name was Tristesse.
I remember her and my dad playing outside and me running out.
Here, pup, pup, pup! [laughs.]
[dog barking playfully.]
[Jose growling playfully.]
It was a good memory.
Do you have a good memory of your mother? Yeah.
I remember her taking care of the birds that would hit the windows and be, like, hurt in some way.
Get him all fixed up.
Oh.
She was just amazing with the birds.
And at this point, did sports become an important part of your life? Yes.
They were everything to my dad.
That's what made him happy, and that's what I wanted to do.
Why did you want to make him happy? So he would love me.
Did you love your mom and dad? Yes.
And on August 20th, 1989, did you and your brother kill your mother and father? Yes.
What do you believe was the originating cause of you and your brother ultimately shooting your parents? Um Me telling [foreboding music.]
[breathes deeply.]
You telling what? Me telling Lyle that [breathes deeply.]
[sighs, sniffs.]
Was it you telling Lyle that something happened? [sniffs.]
My dad My dad Your Honor, can I ask a leading question? No, no, he's in the process of answering.
There's no need.
Can you answer the question? Yes.
Okay.
It was you telling Lyle what? That [chokes.]
my dad had been molesting me.
[cries.]
[mournful music.]
Did your dad used to have talks with you about sex between men? Yes.
It started when I was six, after sports practices.
All through history, men going into battle or competitions would have sex together to form a stronger bond.
Greeks, Romans, samurais.
[uneasy music.]
Do you like the special time with your dad, Erik? At first it was just the legs and butt, and then he started massaging my penis, and he made me do the same to him.
What was he like during these sessions? At first, he was great.
He he had never been so caring and I loved that.
I wanted him to love me.
You said "at first.
" Did that change? [breathes deeply.]
[uneasy music.]
If you tell anyone, I will kill you.
Do you recognize the children in these photos? That's me, with the mole there.
And that's Erik.
It's around Erik's birthday.
Dad took photos of us bending over and stuff.
Did he do other things to you? He got more involved.
When I was, uh, seven, he would put me on my knees and and I would have oral sex with him.
We'd have what we call the "object sessions," and he would stick a toothbrush in my anus.
And then he used something else.
What was it? He raped me.
Did you cry? [cries.]
- Yes.
- Did you bleed? Yes.
Were you scared? [cries.]
Yes.
Did you ask him not to? [breathes raggedly.]
I just told him I didn't want to do this and that it hurt me and he said he didn't mean to hurt me, that he that he loved me.
And that was important to you, that he loved you.
Yes.
Very.
And during this period, did you do something to your brother? [cries.]
God I took him out to the woods.
I took a toothbrush [cries.]
And Oh, God I played with him in the same way.
Oh, God, Erik, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so I'm so sor Oh, God.
Do you remember telling anyone about the abuse? Mom Dad's touching me and doing things down there.
I want him to stop.
Don't exaggerate, honey.
Your father's just punishing you.
That's what fathers do.
Mom I want Dad to stop it.
Don't let your father see you like that.
Put some drops in your eyes, and don't cry at dinner.
When I was 11, he had anal sex with me.
What was he like during those encounters? He was still nice at that point.
He would stop if I said he was hurting me.
Did he stay nice? No.
[sniffs.]
When I was 12, he wanted me to be in pain.
He would stick needles into my legs and butt.
[child crying.]
[ominous music.]
[cries.]
My father stopped when I was ten.
Ah! Was that the end of your sexual abuse in the home? No.
[sighs.]
[whispering.]
Right there.
Could you press a little harder? My mother was very loving when I touched her, but when I was 13, I stopped going into her bed.
How did she respond? She turned on me.
She started picking on me verbally, wishing I was dead.
Were you aware of any other abuse going on in your home? I thought my father was abusing Erik.
Did you decide to do something about it? I decided to confront my dad.
[music.]
Dad I know what's going on with you and Erik.
I heard noises, and I want you to leave him alone.
[scoffs.]
Erik makes up things sometimes.
But okay, it'll stop.
You tell anyone, I'll kill you.
You understand? [gasps.]
[disquieting music.]
If you talk to Lyle about this again, I will tie you to a chair and beat you to death.
[breathes deeply.]
Ah! But he didn't stop.
He just got worse.
And he was doing all kinds of sex to me.
Over the years, did you give those different types of behavior names? Yes.
Oral sex was "knees.
" There was "nice sex" and "rough sex.
" And And then there was just "sex.
" It was some form of intercourse? Yes.
I felt sick all the time, and when I was 17, I just didn't want it anymore.
I just was in a bad state that day, and he walked into my room and I said "no," and he threw me on the bed and went to get a knife and he put it at my throat and he raped me.
Before your father died, in August of 1989, when was the last incidence of what you called "sex"? [sighs.]
In May of 1989.
And the last incidence of "knees"? In August, 1989, in my bedroom.
I used to have this rescue fantasy, but no one ever came to rescue me.
No one except my brother, Lyle.
[sighs.]
We'll take a short recess.
Witness can step down.
And that's how murderers are made.
All of this squeezing and patting Lawyers are not nursemaids or surrogate mothers.
If you wanted to engage in that conduct, you should've gone into another line of work.
"Another line of work"? Because I'm a woman? That makes no difference to me, but if you're gonna represent your gender in my courtroom, you'll do so by my rules.
I don't represent anyone but my clients, but fine, I will take the court's cue.
Good.
Proceed.
Now, Erik, over the summer of 1989, did you have any hope or dream for an improvement in your life? Uh, I was going to college.
I applied to something like 13 colleges.
Did you get accepted to any of them? Uh, Brown was interested.
I'd get a tennis scholarship.
Uh, it was all I thought about.
It was everything in my life.
And what happened? Dad said he wouldn't pay for Brown, or any schools out of state, and then I got accepted to UCLA, and I wanted to live on campus in a dorm.
You can have a dorm room, but I want you home four nights a week so I can review your work.
But I can go back to the dorm to sleep? No.
[dramatic music.]
You'll sleep here, four nights a week, or I'm not paying for this.
I knew for sure then: The sex it was never going to end, and I felt the hope that I had was gone.
Did you contemplate any other plan? Um I planned to kill myself.
I I thought I was a coward.
I hated myself for it, and I got a razor blade and held it against my wrist, but I didn't have the guts.
How long before your dad died, this happen? It was about ten days before.
Did you consider talking to anyone about your situation? To Dr.
Oziel? No, he would just tell my parents.
Uh, no.
I thought of telling Lyle.
I thought I thought I couldn't do that.
I thought it would be too embarrassing to admit it.
And did anything happen to change your attitude about that? Yes.
- Mom, please.
- You don't need it.
- I need it.
- I don't care what you want, but you're not having it.
Please, Mommy! I need it.
It's not that big of a deal.
No! It's important to me! Who do you think you are? - Ow! - You don't need a goddamn hairpiece! Look.
See? You look fine.
[muttering.]
You don't need a hairpiece [dramatic music.]
I was shocked.
I didn't know Lyle's hair wasn't real.
It made me feel like I could tell him about the stuff with Dad.
It made him more approachable.
[dramatic music.]
Lyle What? Lyle, I need to talk to you.
What do you want? I - What? - Lyle, um that stuff with Dad is still going on.
Do you like it? [breathing heavily.]
Of course I don't like it.
I hate it and I want to kill myself.
Whoa, whoa, okay.
I believe you.
All right? - [sobs.]
- Hey.
Hey.
We'll figure something out.
We decided that I'd talk to our father and I'd make a deal.
I told Erik, you know, "We hold all the cards.
We could ruin him with this.
" I know what's going on with Erik, and it needs to end.
You listen to me.
What I do with my son is none of your business.
Just stay out of it.
Don't throw your life away.
Go back to Princeton and we'll forget this conversation took place.
You're a sick person.
You're not touching Erik again.
I'll tell everyone.
[gasps.]
We all make choices in life.
Erik made his, and now you've made yours.
I thought Dad had no choice, that he would kill us.
Hey, what's wrong? You betrayed me! Lyle thinks he can ruin me.
It's never gonna happen.
Mom.
Mom! Dad is still doing things to me.
He's molesting me.
I've always known.
[dramatic music.]
Do you think I'm stupid? [dramatic musical tone.]
Dad just tried to attack me.
He said he's not going to let you ruin him.
I think they're gonna kill us.
Lyle, Mom bought another rifle this summer.
They have two rifles in their bedroom.
We need to get out of this house.
And go where? I'm not gonna just run away and let Dad find and kill me.
That's crazy.
- Why? - Dad is powerful.
Look who he is.
Look who Mom is.
There's nowhere we can go where they're not gonna just find us and kill us.
Lyle Let's just go to the police, then.
- The Beverly Hills police? - Yes.
You think they're gonna believe us over him? Dad is a rich guy with a lot of power.
I'm nothing! They're not gonna protect us.
No one's going to protect us.
Jesus They're gonna kill us.
Look at him My brother felt that no matter what we did, Dad was too powerful.
Erik was never gonna leave, and I wasn't gonna leave without him, so we decided to protect ourselves.
We needed a driver's license to get the guns.
Uh, Lyle had his suspended in May, and I didn't have mine with me, so I used one Lyle gave me to get into clubs.
It was his roommate's.
I put mine in my room, under my bed.
Did you speak to your parents when you got home that Friday? Yes.
Mom, right away, came and said that Dad wanted us to go on this fishing trip with them the next day.
And what conclusion did you draw from this? Uh We thought that they were gonna kill us on the boat.
I felt less and less in control of it, that Erik was gonna do something to bring it to a confrontation.
So Saturday, we drove around all day.
The plan was to get home too late, that they would have to go without us.
[ominous music.]
But they waited for us.
We had no choice.
We had to go.
The whole time, we stayed at the front of the boat, away from our parents, and I I was terrified.
I thought we might die.
I thought my dad could do it, like he said he would, and nobody would stop him.
And when you returned home that night, did you talk to your parents? Yes.
[ominous music.]
If you'd kept your mouth shut, things would've worked out in this family.
I thought she meant we were over as a family, that Lyle and I were going to be killed.
She'd given that away And I went right to my room.
[lock clicks.]
[frantic knocking.]
Open the damn door! [frantic knocking.]
Open this damn door, Erik! Erik, open this door, now! [knocking.]
Okay, but you're gonna have to come out of this room tomorrow.
The next day, Sunday, I woke up and went into the house.
Hello.
I decided I'd go in and try to sort of see what the atmosphere was like.
[uneasy music.]
Hey, uh, Dad, do you do you have that number to the Anand Amritraj tennis camp in Marina Del Rey? I was thinking I might go.
What does it matter anymore? [turns up TV.]
[indistinct sports commentary over TV.]
I thought it was his sarcastic way of saying, you know, "No point talking about tennis because you'll be dead by then.
" Did you have any other conversations with your parents that Sunday? Yeah.
My brother and I tried to go to a movie that night.
We're going, Mom.
You're not going out.
- Why not? - Because I said so.
Shut up, Kitty! You're not going out.
Erik, go up to your room.
I'll be there in a minute.
[ominous music.]
No! You're not touching my little brother, not ever again.
I do what I want in this family.
Erik is going to his room, and you're not leaving this house.
You ruined this family.
Hey, come on.
Come on.
Don't waste your time.
They'd never closed the doors before, and there was no reason to make us stay home that night, and I thought it was happening, right then.
I thought they were armed.
I thought they had made a plan and were in the process of killing us.
And we got our guns, we went out to the car [somber orchestral music.]
We thought they would come out of the den with guns any second.
We just burst through the doors [gunshot.]
[gunfire.]
Beverly Hills emergency.
Uh, yeah, yes, please.
Uh - [anguished.]
No! - What's the problem? Uh Uh What's the problem? Somebody killed my parents.
What? Who? - Uh - Are they still On the 911 tape, are you crying? Yes.
And were you also lying on that call? I was.
So you're capable of crying and lying at the same time? Your car at the time was a Ford Escort.
Did you buy a brand-new Jeep after killing your parents? - I did, but - So, is it fair to say that killing your parents made it possible for you to achieve a certain lifestyle? We thought we were disinherited.
We were concerned that we would get nothing - if our parents died.
- Nothing? Never occurred to you to get a job? Objection, Your Honor.
My client wasn't asked if he'd intended to get a job.
Overruled.
- Really? - Really.
- Did you love your mother? - Yes.
And when you put the gun to her cheek and fired, was that love? It was confusion and fear.
You almost got away with it.
- Object - You know, you characterize it that way, and you think it's funny, but my brother's and my life were very miserable for six months before we got arrested, and our lives aren't good now.
They never really have been great.
In some ways, getting arrested, for my brother, was a relief.
We may go off to prison, but, you know, some good things have come of it.
[ominous music.]
[reporters clamoring.]
Pam, what did you think of their testimony? I thought their testimony was compelling, just like I think watching Sir Laurence Olivier act is compelling.
I don't think the general public listening to this will agree with Pam.
Anyone in this community who's been impacted by sexual abuse will have a very different take than hers.
People who have been psychologically traumatized, by sex abuse, for example, have a faster biological response to fear than someone who's never been traumatized.
They also exhibit something called "hypervigilance," where they're constantly searching their own environment for anything that might be dangerous.
And did you find those traits in Lyle Menendez? - Yes.
- And can these traits lead someone to have a sincere, but unreasonable, belief that their life is in imminent danger? - Yes.
- Thank you.
Nothing further.
Approach, Your Honor? Your Honor, since the defense put the defendants' mental state at issue, the People request the court unseal the December 1989 tape of the defendants' session with Dr.
Oziel.
The California Supreme Court ruled that tape was inadmissible, due to patient-therapist privilege.
That no longer applies.
Your clients waived confidentiality when they tendered their mental condition as the centerpiece of their defense.
Tape is in.
Your Honor, you can't overrule the California Supreme Court.
Just watch me.
I'll be unsealing the tape.
[ominous music.]
It'll be an issue for appeal.
It's too late.
Have you heard those tapes lately? Oziel, the great Satan, leading our boys into saying whatever it is he wants them to say so he can blackmail them.
Well, they both sounded, especially Lyle, so cold-blooded.
I know.
Even though there's a reason for it, it is bad.
[over TV.]
With thousands of Halloween revelers dressing up as the infamous Menendez brothers, some to show their support.
The Menendez brothers are survivors, man.
That's all they're guilty of.
- Yeah, yeah! - That's right.
Anyone who's ever been raped or abused knows that Erik and Lyle are the real victims.
- Yeah! - Yeah! Well, at least we have the support of one community.
Screw Weisberg.
We win by being honest, by not turning away from the truth.
Ms.
Abramson, what are you doing? If the tape is in, it's in, Your Honor, but the defense will present it to the jury.
Your Honor, objection.
It is my prerogative, Your Honor.
Overruled, Ms.
Bozanich.
Proceed.
This tape was recorded on December 11th, 1989, by Dr.
Jerome Oziel.
On it, you will hear his voice, along with the voices of Erik and Lyle Menendez.
How much did you feel that you were killing your dad because of what he was doing to you each, and how much did you feel you were killing your dad in part because of what he did to your mom? My father should be killed.
There was no question, based on what he was doing to my to my mother.
Erik, Lyle's doing all the talking.
Do you have anything to say on this? My father and my mother were two people I loved.
Doesn't matter what they actually were.
I would've taken any other choice.
I may not have had a choice at the time, but I regret it now.
I think Erik's biggest pain is that you miss having these people around.
I miss not having my dog around, if I can make such a gross analogy.
[desolate music.]
No emotion.
He might as well have been cutting steak.
Let's get Mama out of here.
She knows what she heard.
Mama knows more than you think.
You're right, Jill.
The tape doesn't mention abuse, but it also doesn't say that they killed for money.
They were trying very hard not to tell Oziel about the abuse.
Oh, that's I think that's the call.
Uh, hello? Yes, this is Leslie.
Uh, yes, we'll be right there.
[emotional music.]
[breathes deeply.]
Oh, I want to see him so badly.
We have to wait till she signs the papers.
Oh Would you like to meet your new son? Yes.
[laughs breathlessly.]
- Ay, mira.
- So handsome.
He took seven hours to come out.
Oh, he's beautiful.
- Oh, Leslie, he's so precious.
- His name is Aidan.
Oh, that is such a nice name.
This is my baby.
All rise! Judalon, there was $14 million involved in this, but you did what you did, and that's what you did.
And what do you think Dr.
Oziel meant? - No.
Shut up.
- That the brothers were very rich and that Jerry Dr.
Oziel was in the position to get a lot of money out of them, - and now he wasn't - Shut up, shut up, shut up! Because they'd been arrested.
Thank you.
Nothing more.
Miss Smyth, you stated earlier that you went to Dr.
Oziel, wanting to be married and to have children.
Hasn't it been your primary motive in all of this to strong-arm Dr.
Oziel into marrying you? - Incorrect.
- You did testify that you wanted marriage and children.
I did not want children who looked like Dr.
Oziel.
[laughter.]
You bitch.
Our children would have been gorgeous.
Ms.
Pisarcik, is there anything you'd like to say concerning Erik's testimony about his brother's hairpiece? Erik knew about Lyle's toupee long before the murders.
We laughed about it in the spring or early summer of 1989, when I visited Lyle in LA.
Let me take you now to the months after Lyle Menendez's arrest in 1990.
Did he ask you to do some research for him at the Santa Monica courthouse? Yes, he asked me to look up law cases.
He gave me the names and numbers of cases with child molestation where the kids had killed their parents and gotten off.
It was at that point that I began to doubt Lyle's innocence.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
What months would you consider spring and early summer? I'd say March through June.
You were waitressing in New Jersey during those months, correct? Yes, but I visited Lyle in LA.
See, I have here your timecards.
You worked six days a week.
When did you find time to fly to Los Angeles and joke with Erik about Lyle's toupee? - I'm not sure.
- All right, I'll move on.
When you did legal research for Lyle at the Santa Monica courthouse, what books did you use? I'm not sure I remember.
Uh, was it a book like this, with the cases and judges' opinions? Yeah, just like that one.
How many published cases did you find in which molested children were acquitted of killing their parents? Maybe three? Now, you see, that's not possible.
Did you know that only convictions are published in these books, not acquittals? [dramatic music.]
[phone ringing.]
Hello.
Lansing residence.
Oh, hi! Who's there? Orange who? [laughs.]
That's funny.
Mommy.
- Mm? - It's Lyle.
You're telling Lila knock-knock jokes again? [laughs.]
The summation is going well.
I'm halfway through the third draft.
I like that.
I'll try to work it in, but, Lyle, please get some sleep.
I need you relaxed tomorrow, okay? Good night.
Dominick Dunne has lost his mind.
- Shh, shh, shh.
- Listen to this: "If Jose did stick needles and tacks into his son's thighs and buttocks" - Sh-sh-sh.
- "Didn't Erik bleed?" "Didn't he have scabs? "I tried sticking a thumbtack into my buttocks - and I bled.
" - Shh.
Dominick Dunne sticking a tack in his scrawny butt that's a lovely image.
[baby fusses.]
He's the best.
Reminds me why I do this.
[dramatic music.]
[baby fusses.]
[makes kissing noises.]
This is why we're here.
We're not here to try Jose and Kitty Menendez for being bad parents, or Jose Menendez for being an alleged child molester, and we're certainly not here in the malpractice trial of Dr.
Oziel.
We're here because the defendants did this to their parents.
In 1989, these brothers were not intimidated children, but selfish, greedy, arrogant men.
Erik was afraid, all right.
Afraid he'd have to get off his butt and work, like all the rest of us.
Even if you believe in the child abuse, it doesn't mean Lyle Menendez is not guilty of cold-blooded, first-degree murder.
Put yourself in that room.
Think about what it smelled like, felt like, in that darkened den.
Only one verdict is possible.
Erik Menendez is guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
[dramatic music.]
The defense isn't asking you to say that what these brothers did was right, or even reasonable, but if you believe they were genuinely afraid, the crime they're guilty of is manslaughter.
These crimes weren't planned.
They used the loudest guns they could buy on a summer's night, when their neighbors had their windows open.
They made no plan to dispose of the guns and the bloody clothing, and they left shotgun shells in the car and parked the car in front of their house when they went to call the police.
After a lifetime of terror, these children were terrorized.
After a lifetime of threats, they felt threatened.
It may be hard for you to believe that these parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, would have killed their sons, but is it so hard to understand why these children would believe that their parents would kill them? These photographs, tragic as they are, were put here by the prosecution for no other reason but to so inflame you against the defendants that you would forget to ask the most important question: Why did this happen? I look at these photos, and I ask "Where are the photos of Jose Menendez "bending his 12-year-old son over the bed "so that he can "go all the way, in spite of Erik's screams?" There is such a picture.
Unfortunately, it only exists in Erik's mind.
I cannot show you the photos of the crimes Jose Menendez committed against Erik, but you heard some of the things he liked to do to his little boy, and one of them was to take tacks like this and stick them in his thighs and his butt and to run needles along his penis.
[uneasy music.]
There is one issue facing the jury: Viewed through his entire life, based on what happened that week, is it possible Erik and his brother honestly believed that their parents were going to kill them? I don't ask you to pity Erik, but I do ask you to understand how his childhood put him on a collision course with violence.
[dramatic music.]
I want to tell you a story from my life.
When I was a child, my mother hit me with a wooden coat hanger.
I was so mad, I hit her back.
Was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life, but it happened in an instant, from a wellspring of panic and fear, like this panic and fear.
Lyle protected his little brother.
If he had protected his little sister named Erika, would it make a difference to you? It shouldn't.
I ask you not to turn away from the pain and to see it for what it was and what it did to Lyle Menendez.
I ask you to return a verdict of involuntary manslaughter.
I apologize if I can't just wind it up and sit down.
I don't want to let go of Erik.
I have had him in my hands all this time, and now I have to give him up to you.
You know, if people were to ask me, after three and a half years of thinking about Erik every single day, what it is I want out of this I want to see him walk down the street Not in chains or shackles.
To fulfill my dream, you would have to come in with a verdict of "not guilty.
" [sighs.]
If you don't feel you can do that, I would ask that you come in with a verdict of involuntary manslaughter, because I believe that's what the evidence shows.
Thank you.
You've had him a long time.
How 'bout I take over? Tonight? No, not a chance.
It's been six hours.
We haven't heard a peep.
You don't really expect a quick verdict, do you? Your friend in the deputy's office maybe he heard something from his buddies in Van Nuys? Les You gotta at least take this night off.
It's out of your hands.
I know how you hate that.
Yeah.
[sighs.]
[dramatic music.]
Oh.
Oh, look, Aidan.
We have five stars out tonight.
That's almost a record for LA.
Oh Let's you and me say a little prayer together, okay? [dramatic music builds.]
- You lied to me.
- Jamie, please.
You killed your parents! It will be your job to decide what kind of killing this is.
And we will prove that it was done out of fear.
Based on our evidence, it will become apparent that this murder was unjustified and wholly premeditated.
Do you think other kids get massages from their dad? I didn't really get what he was trying to tell me.
I was too young.
What other behavior did you notice? All right, I'm gonna end this line of questioning, right now.
Your Honor, I move for mistrial.
Motion denied.
Once my boys take the stand, they will see the connection between the abuse and the killings.
I will make them see it.
I just wish you could say the things, and then I'll just say "yes" or "no.
" That's called "leading the witness.
" It's not allowed.
We don't want Grandma in the courtroom for any of it.
She shouldn't hear it.
It'll hurt her.
She won't be there.
We talked to your aunt.
[sighs.]
I wish I could just write it down instead of saying it out loud.
[sighs.]
Oh, my God, Erik.
You are so tense.
Did you take your Xanax this morning? [sighs.]
No.
Erik, you made me a promise.
Did you bring any with you? I just I feel nauseous, Jill.
I feel like I'm gonna throw up.
Take some deep breaths and I'll get you some water.
It'll help settle your stomach.
Okay? They are not ready.
It's show time, and they are not ready.
[breathes deeply.]
[sighs.]
We had a puppy at the time, when I was six.
Her name was Tristesse.
I remember her and my dad playing outside and me running out.
Here, pup, pup, pup! [laughs.]
[dog barking playfully.]
[Jose growling playfully.]
It was a good memory.
Do you have a good memory of your mother? Yeah.
I remember her taking care of the birds that would hit the windows and be, like, hurt in some way.
Get him all fixed up.
Oh.
She was just amazing with the birds.
And at this point, did sports become an important part of your life? Yes.
They were everything to my dad.
That's what made him happy, and that's what I wanted to do.
Why did you want to make him happy? So he would love me.
Did you love your mom and dad? Yes.
And on August 20th, 1989, did you and your brother kill your mother and father? Yes.
What do you believe was the originating cause of you and your brother ultimately shooting your parents? Um Me telling [foreboding music.]
[breathes deeply.]
You telling what? Me telling Lyle that [breathes deeply.]
[sighs, sniffs.]
Was it you telling Lyle that something happened? [sniffs.]
My dad My dad Your Honor, can I ask a leading question? No, no, he's in the process of answering.
There's no need.
Can you answer the question? Yes.
Okay.
It was you telling Lyle what? That [chokes.]
my dad had been molesting me.
[cries.]
[mournful music.]
Did your dad used to have talks with you about sex between men? Yes.
It started when I was six, after sports practices.
All through history, men going into battle or competitions would have sex together to form a stronger bond.
Greeks, Romans, samurais.
[uneasy music.]
Do you like the special time with your dad, Erik? At first it was just the legs and butt, and then he started massaging my penis, and he made me do the same to him.
What was he like during these sessions? At first, he was great.
He he had never been so caring and I loved that.
I wanted him to love me.
You said "at first.
" Did that change? [breathes deeply.]
[uneasy music.]
If you tell anyone, I will kill you.
Do you recognize the children in these photos? That's me, with the mole there.
And that's Erik.
It's around Erik's birthday.
Dad took photos of us bending over and stuff.
Did he do other things to you? He got more involved.
When I was, uh, seven, he would put me on my knees and and I would have oral sex with him.
We'd have what we call the "object sessions," and he would stick a toothbrush in my anus.
And then he used something else.
What was it? He raped me.
Did you cry? [cries.]
- Yes.
- Did you bleed? Yes.
Were you scared? [cries.]
Yes.
Did you ask him not to? [breathes raggedly.]
I just told him I didn't want to do this and that it hurt me and he said he didn't mean to hurt me, that he that he loved me.
And that was important to you, that he loved you.
Yes.
Very.
And during this period, did you do something to your brother? [cries.]
God I took him out to the woods.
I took a toothbrush [cries.]
And Oh, God I played with him in the same way.
Oh, God, Erik, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so I'm so sor Oh, God.
Do you remember telling anyone about the abuse? Mom Dad's touching me and doing things down there.
I want him to stop.
Don't exaggerate, honey.
Your father's just punishing you.
That's what fathers do.
Mom I want Dad to stop it.
Don't let your father see you like that.
Put some drops in your eyes, and don't cry at dinner.
When I was 11, he had anal sex with me.
What was he like during those encounters? He was still nice at that point.
He would stop if I said he was hurting me.
Did he stay nice? No.
[sniffs.]
When I was 12, he wanted me to be in pain.
He would stick needles into my legs and butt.
[child crying.]
[ominous music.]
[cries.]
My father stopped when I was ten.
Ah! Was that the end of your sexual abuse in the home? No.
[sighs.]
[whispering.]
Right there.
Could you press a little harder? My mother was very loving when I touched her, but when I was 13, I stopped going into her bed.
How did she respond? She turned on me.
She started picking on me verbally, wishing I was dead.
Were you aware of any other abuse going on in your home? I thought my father was abusing Erik.
Did you decide to do something about it? I decided to confront my dad.
[music.]
Dad I know what's going on with you and Erik.
I heard noises, and I want you to leave him alone.
[scoffs.]
Erik makes up things sometimes.
But okay, it'll stop.
You tell anyone, I'll kill you.
You understand? [gasps.]
[disquieting music.]
If you talk to Lyle about this again, I will tie you to a chair and beat you to death.
[breathes deeply.]
Ah! But he didn't stop.
He just got worse.
And he was doing all kinds of sex to me.
Over the years, did you give those different types of behavior names? Yes.
Oral sex was "knees.
" There was "nice sex" and "rough sex.
" And And then there was just "sex.
" It was some form of intercourse? Yes.
I felt sick all the time, and when I was 17, I just didn't want it anymore.
I just was in a bad state that day, and he walked into my room and I said "no," and he threw me on the bed and went to get a knife and he put it at my throat and he raped me.
Before your father died, in August of 1989, when was the last incidence of what you called "sex"? [sighs.]
In May of 1989.
And the last incidence of "knees"? In August, 1989, in my bedroom.
I used to have this rescue fantasy, but no one ever came to rescue me.
No one except my brother, Lyle.
[sighs.]
We'll take a short recess.
Witness can step down.
And that's how murderers are made.
All of this squeezing and patting Lawyers are not nursemaids or surrogate mothers.
If you wanted to engage in that conduct, you should've gone into another line of work.
"Another line of work"? Because I'm a woman? That makes no difference to me, but if you're gonna represent your gender in my courtroom, you'll do so by my rules.
I don't represent anyone but my clients, but fine, I will take the court's cue.
Good.
Proceed.
Now, Erik, over the summer of 1989, did you have any hope or dream for an improvement in your life? Uh, I was going to college.
I applied to something like 13 colleges.
Did you get accepted to any of them? Uh, Brown was interested.
I'd get a tennis scholarship.
Uh, it was all I thought about.
It was everything in my life.
And what happened? Dad said he wouldn't pay for Brown, or any schools out of state, and then I got accepted to UCLA, and I wanted to live on campus in a dorm.
You can have a dorm room, but I want you home four nights a week so I can review your work.
But I can go back to the dorm to sleep? No.
[dramatic music.]
You'll sleep here, four nights a week, or I'm not paying for this.
I knew for sure then: The sex it was never going to end, and I felt the hope that I had was gone.
Did you contemplate any other plan? Um I planned to kill myself.
I I thought I was a coward.
I hated myself for it, and I got a razor blade and held it against my wrist, but I didn't have the guts.
How long before your dad died, this happen? It was about ten days before.
Did you consider talking to anyone about your situation? To Dr.
Oziel? No, he would just tell my parents.
Uh, no.
I thought of telling Lyle.
I thought I thought I couldn't do that.
I thought it would be too embarrassing to admit it.
And did anything happen to change your attitude about that? Yes.
- Mom, please.
- You don't need it.
- I need it.
- I don't care what you want, but you're not having it.
Please, Mommy! I need it.
It's not that big of a deal.
No! It's important to me! Who do you think you are? - Ow! - You don't need a goddamn hairpiece! Look.
See? You look fine.
[muttering.]
You don't need a hairpiece [dramatic music.]
I was shocked.
I didn't know Lyle's hair wasn't real.
It made me feel like I could tell him about the stuff with Dad.
It made him more approachable.
[dramatic music.]
Lyle What? Lyle, I need to talk to you.
What do you want? I - What? - Lyle, um that stuff with Dad is still going on.
Do you like it? [breathing heavily.]
Of course I don't like it.
I hate it and I want to kill myself.
Whoa, whoa, okay.
I believe you.
All right? - [sobs.]
- Hey.
Hey.
We'll figure something out.
We decided that I'd talk to our father and I'd make a deal.
I told Erik, you know, "We hold all the cards.
We could ruin him with this.
" I know what's going on with Erik, and it needs to end.
You listen to me.
What I do with my son is none of your business.
Just stay out of it.
Don't throw your life away.
Go back to Princeton and we'll forget this conversation took place.
You're a sick person.
You're not touching Erik again.
I'll tell everyone.
[gasps.]
We all make choices in life.
Erik made his, and now you've made yours.
I thought Dad had no choice, that he would kill us.
Hey, what's wrong? You betrayed me! Lyle thinks he can ruin me.
It's never gonna happen.
Mom.
Mom! Dad is still doing things to me.
He's molesting me.
I've always known.
[dramatic music.]
Do you think I'm stupid? [dramatic musical tone.]
Dad just tried to attack me.
He said he's not going to let you ruin him.
I think they're gonna kill us.
Lyle, Mom bought another rifle this summer.
They have two rifles in their bedroom.
We need to get out of this house.
And go where? I'm not gonna just run away and let Dad find and kill me.
That's crazy.
- Why? - Dad is powerful.
Look who he is.
Look who Mom is.
There's nowhere we can go where they're not gonna just find us and kill us.
Lyle Let's just go to the police, then.
- The Beverly Hills police? - Yes.
You think they're gonna believe us over him? Dad is a rich guy with a lot of power.
I'm nothing! They're not gonna protect us.
No one's going to protect us.
Jesus They're gonna kill us.
Look at him My brother felt that no matter what we did, Dad was too powerful.
Erik was never gonna leave, and I wasn't gonna leave without him, so we decided to protect ourselves.
We needed a driver's license to get the guns.
Uh, Lyle had his suspended in May, and I didn't have mine with me, so I used one Lyle gave me to get into clubs.
It was his roommate's.
I put mine in my room, under my bed.
Did you speak to your parents when you got home that Friday? Yes.
Mom, right away, came and said that Dad wanted us to go on this fishing trip with them the next day.
And what conclusion did you draw from this? Uh We thought that they were gonna kill us on the boat.
I felt less and less in control of it, that Erik was gonna do something to bring it to a confrontation.
So Saturday, we drove around all day.
The plan was to get home too late, that they would have to go without us.
[ominous music.]
But they waited for us.
We had no choice.
We had to go.
The whole time, we stayed at the front of the boat, away from our parents, and I I was terrified.
I thought we might die.
I thought my dad could do it, like he said he would, and nobody would stop him.
And when you returned home that night, did you talk to your parents? Yes.
[ominous music.]
If you'd kept your mouth shut, things would've worked out in this family.
I thought she meant we were over as a family, that Lyle and I were going to be killed.
She'd given that away And I went right to my room.
[lock clicks.]
[frantic knocking.]
Open the damn door! [frantic knocking.]
Open this damn door, Erik! Erik, open this door, now! [knocking.]
Okay, but you're gonna have to come out of this room tomorrow.
The next day, Sunday, I woke up and went into the house.
Hello.
I decided I'd go in and try to sort of see what the atmosphere was like.
[uneasy music.]
Hey, uh, Dad, do you do you have that number to the Anand Amritraj tennis camp in Marina Del Rey? I was thinking I might go.
What does it matter anymore? [turns up TV.]
[indistinct sports commentary over TV.]
I thought it was his sarcastic way of saying, you know, "No point talking about tennis because you'll be dead by then.
" Did you have any other conversations with your parents that Sunday? Yeah.
My brother and I tried to go to a movie that night.
We're going, Mom.
You're not going out.
- Why not? - Because I said so.
Shut up, Kitty! You're not going out.
Erik, go up to your room.
I'll be there in a minute.
[ominous music.]
No! You're not touching my little brother, not ever again.
I do what I want in this family.
Erik is going to his room, and you're not leaving this house.
You ruined this family.
Hey, come on.
Come on.
Don't waste your time.
They'd never closed the doors before, and there was no reason to make us stay home that night, and I thought it was happening, right then.
I thought they were armed.
I thought they had made a plan and were in the process of killing us.
And we got our guns, we went out to the car [somber orchestral music.]
We thought they would come out of the den with guns any second.
We just burst through the doors [gunshot.]
[gunfire.]
Beverly Hills emergency.
Uh, yeah, yes, please.
Uh - [anguished.]
No! - What's the problem? Uh Uh What's the problem? Somebody killed my parents.
What? Who? - Uh - Are they still On the 911 tape, are you crying? Yes.
And were you also lying on that call? I was.
So you're capable of crying and lying at the same time? Your car at the time was a Ford Escort.
Did you buy a brand-new Jeep after killing your parents? - I did, but - So, is it fair to say that killing your parents made it possible for you to achieve a certain lifestyle? We thought we were disinherited.
We were concerned that we would get nothing - if our parents died.
- Nothing? Never occurred to you to get a job? Objection, Your Honor.
My client wasn't asked if he'd intended to get a job.
Overruled.
- Really? - Really.
- Did you love your mother? - Yes.
And when you put the gun to her cheek and fired, was that love? It was confusion and fear.
You almost got away with it.
- Object - You know, you characterize it that way, and you think it's funny, but my brother's and my life were very miserable for six months before we got arrested, and our lives aren't good now.
They never really have been great.
In some ways, getting arrested, for my brother, was a relief.
We may go off to prison, but, you know, some good things have come of it.
[ominous music.]
[reporters clamoring.]
Pam, what did you think of their testimony? I thought their testimony was compelling, just like I think watching Sir Laurence Olivier act is compelling.
I don't think the general public listening to this will agree with Pam.
Anyone in this community who's been impacted by sexual abuse will have a very different take than hers.
People who have been psychologically traumatized, by sex abuse, for example, have a faster biological response to fear than someone who's never been traumatized.
They also exhibit something called "hypervigilance," where they're constantly searching their own environment for anything that might be dangerous.
And did you find those traits in Lyle Menendez? - Yes.
- And can these traits lead someone to have a sincere, but unreasonable, belief that their life is in imminent danger? - Yes.
- Thank you.
Nothing further.
Approach, Your Honor? Your Honor, since the defense put the defendants' mental state at issue, the People request the court unseal the December 1989 tape of the defendants' session with Dr.
Oziel.
The California Supreme Court ruled that tape was inadmissible, due to patient-therapist privilege.
That no longer applies.
Your clients waived confidentiality when they tendered their mental condition as the centerpiece of their defense.
Tape is in.
Your Honor, you can't overrule the California Supreme Court.
Just watch me.
I'll be unsealing the tape.
[ominous music.]
It'll be an issue for appeal.
It's too late.
Have you heard those tapes lately? Oziel, the great Satan, leading our boys into saying whatever it is he wants them to say so he can blackmail them.
Well, they both sounded, especially Lyle, so cold-blooded.
I know.
Even though there's a reason for it, it is bad.
[over TV.]
With thousands of Halloween revelers dressing up as the infamous Menendez brothers, some to show their support.
The Menendez brothers are survivors, man.
That's all they're guilty of.
- Yeah, yeah! - That's right.
Anyone who's ever been raped or abused knows that Erik and Lyle are the real victims.
- Yeah! - Yeah! Well, at least we have the support of one community.
Screw Weisberg.
We win by being honest, by not turning away from the truth.
Ms.
Abramson, what are you doing? If the tape is in, it's in, Your Honor, but the defense will present it to the jury.
Your Honor, objection.
It is my prerogative, Your Honor.
Overruled, Ms.
Bozanich.
Proceed.
This tape was recorded on December 11th, 1989, by Dr.
Jerome Oziel.
On it, you will hear his voice, along with the voices of Erik and Lyle Menendez.
How much did you feel that you were killing your dad because of what he was doing to you each, and how much did you feel you were killing your dad in part because of what he did to your mom? My father should be killed.
There was no question, based on what he was doing to my to my mother.
Erik, Lyle's doing all the talking.
Do you have anything to say on this? My father and my mother were two people I loved.
Doesn't matter what they actually were.
I would've taken any other choice.
I may not have had a choice at the time, but I regret it now.
I think Erik's biggest pain is that you miss having these people around.
I miss not having my dog around, if I can make such a gross analogy.
[desolate music.]
No emotion.
He might as well have been cutting steak.
Let's get Mama out of here.
She knows what she heard.
Mama knows more than you think.
You're right, Jill.
The tape doesn't mention abuse, but it also doesn't say that they killed for money.
They were trying very hard not to tell Oziel about the abuse.
Oh, that's I think that's the call.
Uh, hello? Yes, this is Leslie.
Uh, yes, we'll be right there.
[emotional music.]
[breathes deeply.]
Oh, I want to see him so badly.
We have to wait till she signs the papers.
Oh Would you like to meet your new son? Yes.
[laughs breathlessly.]
- Ay, mira.
- So handsome.
He took seven hours to come out.
Oh, he's beautiful.
- Oh, Leslie, he's so precious.
- His name is Aidan.
Oh, that is such a nice name.
This is my baby.
All rise! Judalon, there was $14 million involved in this, but you did what you did, and that's what you did.
And what do you think Dr.
Oziel meant? - No.
Shut up.
- That the brothers were very rich and that Jerry Dr.
Oziel was in the position to get a lot of money out of them, - and now he wasn't - Shut up, shut up, shut up! Because they'd been arrested.
Thank you.
Nothing more.
Miss Smyth, you stated earlier that you went to Dr.
Oziel, wanting to be married and to have children.
Hasn't it been your primary motive in all of this to strong-arm Dr.
Oziel into marrying you? - Incorrect.
- You did testify that you wanted marriage and children.
I did not want children who looked like Dr.
Oziel.
[laughter.]
You bitch.
Our children would have been gorgeous.
Ms.
Pisarcik, is there anything you'd like to say concerning Erik's testimony about his brother's hairpiece? Erik knew about Lyle's toupee long before the murders.
We laughed about it in the spring or early summer of 1989, when I visited Lyle in LA.
Let me take you now to the months after Lyle Menendez's arrest in 1990.
Did he ask you to do some research for him at the Santa Monica courthouse? Yes, he asked me to look up law cases.
He gave me the names and numbers of cases with child molestation where the kids had killed their parents and gotten off.
It was at that point that I began to doubt Lyle's innocence.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
What months would you consider spring and early summer? I'd say March through June.
You were waitressing in New Jersey during those months, correct? Yes, but I visited Lyle in LA.
See, I have here your timecards.
You worked six days a week.
When did you find time to fly to Los Angeles and joke with Erik about Lyle's toupee? - I'm not sure.
- All right, I'll move on.
When you did legal research for Lyle at the Santa Monica courthouse, what books did you use? I'm not sure I remember.
Uh, was it a book like this, with the cases and judges' opinions? Yeah, just like that one.
How many published cases did you find in which molested children were acquitted of killing their parents? Maybe three? Now, you see, that's not possible.
Did you know that only convictions are published in these books, not acquittals? [dramatic music.]
[phone ringing.]
Hello.
Lansing residence.
Oh, hi! Who's there? Orange who? [laughs.]
That's funny.
Mommy.
- Mm? - It's Lyle.
You're telling Lila knock-knock jokes again? [laughs.]
The summation is going well.
I'm halfway through the third draft.
I like that.
I'll try to work it in, but, Lyle, please get some sleep.
I need you relaxed tomorrow, okay? Good night.
Dominick Dunne has lost his mind.
- Shh, shh, shh.
- Listen to this: "If Jose did stick needles and tacks into his son's thighs and buttocks" - Sh-sh-sh.
- "Didn't Erik bleed?" "Didn't he have scabs? "I tried sticking a thumbtack into my buttocks - and I bled.
" - Shh.
Dominick Dunne sticking a tack in his scrawny butt that's a lovely image.
[baby fusses.]
He's the best.
Reminds me why I do this.
[dramatic music.]
[baby fusses.]
[makes kissing noises.]
This is why we're here.
We're not here to try Jose and Kitty Menendez for being bad parents, or Jose Menendez for being an alleged child molester, and we're certainly not here in the malpractice trial of Dr.
Oziel.
We're here because the defendants did this to their parents.
In 1989, these brothers were not intimidated children, but selfish, greedy, arrogant men.
Erik was afraid, all right.
Afraid he'd have to get off his butt and work, like all the rest of us.
Even if you believe in the child abuse, it doesn't mean Lyle Menendez is not guilty of cold-blooded, first-degree murder.
Put yourself in that room.
Think about what it smelled like, felt like, in that darkened den.
Only one verdict is possible.
Erik Menendez is guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
[dramatic music.]
The defense isn't asking you to say that what these brothers did was right, or even reasonable, but if you believe they were genuinely afraid, the crime they're guilty of is manslaughter.
These crimes weren't planned.
They used the loudest guns they could buy on a summer's night, when their neighbors had their windows open.
They made no plan to dispose of the guns and the bloody clothing, and they left shotgun shells in the car and parked the car in front of their house when they went to call the police.
After a lifetime of terror, these children were terrorized.
After a lifetime of threats, they felt threatened.
It may be hard for you to believe that these parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, would have killed their sons, but is it so hard to understand why these children would believe that their parents would kill them? These photographs, tragic as they are, were put here by the prosecution for no other reason but to so inflame you against the defendants that you would forget to ask the most important question: Why did this happen? I look at these photos, and I ask "Where are the photos of Jose Menendez "bending his 12-year-old son over the bed "so that he can "go all the way, in spite of Erik's screams?" There is such a picture.
Unfortunately, it only exists in Erik's mind.
I cannot show you the photos of the crimes Jose Menendez committed against Erik, but you heard some of the things he liked to do to his little boy, and one of them was to take tacks like this and stick them in his thighs and his butt and to run needles along his penis.
[uneasy music.]
There is one issue facing the jury: Viewed through his entire life, based on what happened that week, is it possible Erik and his brother honestly believed that their parents were going to kill them? I don't ask you to pity Erik, but I do ask you to understand how his childhood put him on a collision course with violence.
[dramatic music.]
I want to tell you a story from my life.
When I was a child, my mother hit me with a wooden coat hanger.
I was so mad, I hit her back.
Was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life, but it happened in an instant, from a wellspring of panic and fear, like this panic and fear.
Lyle protected his little brother.
If he had protected his little sister named Erika, would it make a difference to you? It shouldn't.
I ask you not to turn away from the pain and to see it for what it was and what it did to Lyle Menendez.
I ask you to return a verdict of involuntary manslaughter.
I apologize if I can't just wind it up and sit down.
I don't want to let go of Erik.
I have had him in my hands all this time, and now I have to give him up to you.
You know, if people were to ask me, after three and a half years of thinking about Erik every single day, what it is I want out of this I want to see him walk down the street Not in chains or shackles.
To fulfill my dream, you would have to come in with a verdict of "not guilty.
" [sighs.]
If you don't feel you can do that, I would ask that you come in with a verdict of involuntary manslaughter, because I believe that's what the evidence shows.
Thank you.
You've had him a long time.
How 'bout I take over? Tonight? No, not a chance.
It's been six hours.
We haven't heard a peep.
You don't really expect a quick verdict, do you? Your friend in the deputy's office maybe he heard something from his buddies in Van Nuys? Les You gotta at least take this night off.
It's out of your hands.
I know how you hate that.
Yeah.
[sighs.]
[dramatic music.]
Oh.
Oh, look, Aidan.
We have five stars out tonight.
That's almost a record for LA.
Oh Let's you and me say a little prayer together, okay? [dramatic music builds.]