Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (2024) s01e08 Episode Script

[man] State your name for the record.
[Judalon] Judalon Smyth.
J-U-D-A-L-O-N Smyth. S-M-Y-T-H.
I own a tape duplicating company,
and I also sell and specialize
in crystals and stones,
and I publish a newsletter
for doll collectors.
I have two cats, Shanti Oz and Ishi Kitty.
[door opening]
[Leslie] How did you first meet
L. Jerome Oziel?
[Judalon] I was duplicating some tapes
of seminars about relationships,
and I wanted to go to one.
And at the end, it said to contact
the Phobia Institute of Beverly Hills,
and Dr. Oziel answered.
He said I didn't need a seminar,
I needed one-on-one therapy.
[courtroom murmurs]
[inhales] And your relationship
became sexual, did it not?
Well, our relationship
became rape, brainwashing, hypnotism
- Objection.
- [judge] Sustained.
physical abuse, mental abuse, kidnapping.
- [Pam] Objection.
- [judge] Sustained. Ms. Smyth.
Okay. Wow, I'm talking!
[Judalon scoffing]
[tense music playing]
I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?
He put me on Xanax and Prozac.
He made me take an AIDS test
before we had sex.
It was always in seven months,
that's when the divorce would happen.
And then seven months later, he'd say
he was getting a divorce in seven months.
Can I just ask, is it Men-endez
or Menendez?
Jerry's license was suspended
the entire time.
- He shouldn't have been seeing anybody.
- Objection.
He had his patients pay him in chores
like they were his servants.
- [Pam] Your Honor, objection.
- Just like I was a sex servant.
Objection.
I don't know what you are objecting to.
Was it getting drugs
rammed down your throat?
Because I objected to that too.
- [gavel banging]
- [judge] Sustained, Ms. Smyth.
Sorry, I'm just trying
to answer the question.
- She's a fucking star.
- I know.
She's gonna win this trial for us.
[Leslie] Ms. Smyth,
do you know what this is?
Yes, uh
This is an IOU for 500 sex acts
I had to perform on him.
And you signed that, yes?
Yes, I did, and my cats are the witnesses.
It's their cute little paws.
There.
When did you begin recording Dr. Oziel?
Well, at first, it was just
my answering machine doing it. [chuckles]
I mean, it would just record people.
It was like it had this will of its own.
[Oziel] Hello? Are you still there?
Oh my God.
- [machine beeps]
- I think it's recording us.
But then, because I had all that equipment
for my business,
yes, I did start recording him.
[button clicks]
[Oziel] I'm a Oh yeah. Uh-huh.
I'm gonna increase your dose of Prozac
'cause I'm a hunk o' hunk of burning love.
[button clicks]
- [courtroom chuckles]
- That's him doing Elvis.
[button clicks]
[Oziel] And sometimes when we kiss,
the honesty is too much.
And it makes me want to do you
on the kitchen floor.
- [button clicks]
- [Judalon] That's a love poem.
This is what he considers a love poem.
- [button clicks]
- [Judalon] Mm.
I like that.
I like that a lot, Dr. Daddy.
[courtroom chuckles]
I did a baby voice with him a lot.
[Leslie] Ms. Smyth,
can you take us back to that Halloween?
The one where L. Jerome Oziel
alleges Erik confesses to him?
Well, he knew
I wanted to break up with him,
so he used Lyle and Erik
to suck me back in.
[Oziel] Judalon! I'm I'm serious.
He's on his way over, and I'm scared.
And I need your help.
What?
I brought a loaded gun.
I borrowed it from my neighbor.
[car door slams]
And Ms. Smyth, could you hear
what they were saying inside the office?
No, just Erik crying and Lyle shouting.
[muffled dialogue]
So you didn't hear them
threaten L. Jerome Oziel?
[muffled dialogue]
No. The only thing I heard Lyle say was
[tense music continues]
[Oziel] Oh, Hawaii, huh?
Well, you will have a great time
wherever you go.
I mean, you couldn't go wrong.
[Lyle] Good luck, Dr. Oziel.
"Good luck, Dr. Oziel."
Correct. And Jerry was not scared
after they left.
There's $14 million at stake.
Judalon!
I mean, and I just want
to help them invest it.
And yes, AutoMax is my company,
but it's also a great investment.
And then it got dark.
[tense music playing]
[Judalon gasps and grunts]
- Stop it!
- [Oziel shushing]
[Judalon screams]
No!
[pills rattling]
- [gasping, coughing]
- [Oziel] That's it.
[Oziel grunts]
[Oziel] Swallow. Swallow.
But, other than that,
everything is stabilized?
[male doctor] Yes.
[Oziel] She has tried to do this before.
But I'm her doctor.
I can take it from here.
[Judalon] No.
[exhales deeply]
[gasps]
Now, if you ever leave me,
I will have you committed.
[exhales]
[chuckles]
[Judalon] He kept telling me
that Erik was coming after me.
And I kept having nightmares.
[thunder cracking]
[gun cocking]
And he kept mentioning how Kitty's eye
was dangling from the socket
when they found her, over and over again.
He said my mom was a witch
who was going to poison me.
He used the word "thorns" to hypnotize me.
So whenever he'd say "thorns,"
my mind would just go blank.
[inhales] He raped me.
Two times he raped me.
Has L. Jerome Oziel ever been accused
of assaulting other patients?
Uh Objection. Relevance.
It's extremely relevant, I'd say,
of having sex with them,
of giving them drugs
without prescriptions.
- [Pam] Objection.
- [judge] Sustained.
Of having them also call him "Dr. Daddy."
I said, sustained.
- Strike that from the record.
- [Leslie] Withdrawn.
When you went to the police,
is it true you went there for safety?
For protection against this man who had
raped you, who you feared would kill you?
- Yes.
- [judge] Where are you going, counsel?
- And what did they do about it?
- Absolutely nothing.
Ms. Smyth, are you in love with Dr. Oziel?
[scoffing] God, no.
[courtroom chuckles]
So you're not just saying all this
'cause he wouldn't divorce his wife
and have kids with you?
I did not want kids that looked like him.
[courtroom laughs]
Thank you, Ms. Smyth.
No further questions.
[judge] Let's break here for lunch.
Back at 1:30.
Jurors, I remind you not to deliberate
or discuss the case.
[dramatic music playing]
[deep rumbling]
Did you feel that?
No. Feel what?
Fourteen million, bro. I mean, I always
thought it was gonna be more like 30.
I think that it probably is more like 30,
that we'll get from the estate,
but let's just say it's fucking 14.
- You got legal fees, though.
- Okay, so 13.
I feel I've been thinking ahead
this whole time
'cause I knew this was gonna go our way,
so I got the dream all figured out
for myself. Mr. Buffalo's, the book.
And there's gonna be a movie?
You know that, right?
Erik, they're gonna make
a fucking movie about us.
E!
- Who's gonna play us?
- I don't know, Lyle.
You and I need to figure out a way that
we're in charge of decisions like that.
Okay, yeah.
I'm just saying,
start thinking about your dream, man.
What you want to do when this is all over
because we're almost there.
We fucking did it. We fucking did it!
And all those fuckheads
who say that we're, what
We're serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer?
Dahmer's cousins.
They can eat shit.
They can eat shit.
Brian Bosworth,
he'd be a great fucking Lyle.
I was thinking maybe Rob Lowe
could play you.
He's sexy.
[chuckles]
Um, we should make him audition.
[somber music playing]
[somber music ends]
[rumbling and clattering]
[inmate] What was that?
- [Erik] What the fuck.
- [inmate 2] Did you hear that?
[rumbling and clattering]
[indistinct shouting]
[electrical crackling]
[inmates screaming]
Open the gate! Open the gate!
[inmate 3] Let me out!
[inmate 4] Get out!
- [inmate 5] Come on!
- [man] Go!
Lyle! Lyle!
[rumbling continues]
[indistinct shouting]
Stop
- [phone ringing]
- [Erik crying]
[phone line clicks]
Hello. I need to speak to somebody
at the LA County Men's Jail.
[Tim] Leslie, I smell gas.
We need to get out of here.
Okay, I just need to know
if the building is there.
[Tim] We need to go.
I need to know
if the building is standing.
- Get off the phone. We need to go!
- Can you tell me if it's standing?
Shit.
[tense music playing]
- Leslie, I just talked to Lyle.
- Oh, thank God. You got through?
Yes, he's fine. They're both fine.
Tossed around, but they're doing okay.
[rumbling]
[alarm blaring]
[Jill] They don't stop.
How is it by you? You're in Westwood?
Cheviot Hills,
but the house is a new construction,
and I thought it was gonna collapse.
I got hold of Weisberg,
he said there's no way it'll be safe
to continue here.
He's open to other options, said we can
likely use the courtroom that's downtown.
Well, at least it's an easier commute
for Erik and Lyle.
Malkovich, dude. John fucking Malkovich.
That is who played me
on Saturday Night Live.
Norma saw it, said it was fucking awesome.
We are fucking famous.
And it's not just the trial, it's us.
Our ratings are through the fucking roof.
They're off the charts, Erik.
You know it's okay to cry
when you get up on the stand, right?
Yeah.
[bus rumbles]
[chuckling] I mean
Here I am telling you,
you're the actor and the screenwriter.
Not that you're acting
No. I know what you mean.
I just mean with, like,
the lemon, the cinnamon.
It's okay to, like,
get emotional or whatever.
Lyle, I've got this.
You'll bring us home today.
[judge] Please state your name.
Erik Galen Menendez. M-E-N-E-N-D-E-Z.
[mic feedback]
Mr. Menendez, you're aware of
the idiosyncrasies with that microphone?
- [mic feedback]
- What?
If you're too close, it pops.
If you're too far away, we can't hear you.
[Erik] Yes, that's that's right.
Okay. So if you could just put yourself
at a middle distance.
Okay.
I think you need to come in.
[chair squeaking]
- [Leslie] Okay. That's too close, Erik.
- Okay.
- [Leslie] Just
- [Erik] Okay.
[Leslie] Okay. Just right there.
Good.
Come on, Erik. Let's go.
- I just I felt like I wasn't important.
- [mic popping]
You're popping the mic.
- I figured he'd punish me in some way
- [mic popping]
because when
[Leslie] Erik, you need to sit back.
You're popping the mic.
- She was recording my calls
- [mic feedback]
- and she tapped my phone because
- Back up from the mic.
- [mic popping]
- She tapped
She tapped my phone.
- Well, she would put a she used to put
- [mic feedback]
- The microphone's too low. That's why.
- [Leslie] Okay.
Deputy Wolf, can we find a position
for that mic?
Can you just sit back in the chair?
- [Erik exhales deeply]
- [Leslie] Sit back.
Just try to keep it there.
Okay?
Okay. Go on.
There was Tupperware in the closet.
He's fucking this up.
He looks like a fucking psycho.
In the middle between what and what?
In between my bedroom
and my parents' bedroom.
Sit back from the mic.
Just back up from the mic.
Just like that. Just back up.
You need to sit back
'cause you're popping the mic.
So just put your back
against the back of the chair.
Leave it there. Okay?
And you were 11?
- I was 11.
- [mic feedback]
The reason you're having trouble is
you're not facing it.
You need to face the mic.
Okay. I know. I
I need to use the restroom.
I need a break.
Okay. We'll take a recess.
[Leslie] What do you believe
was the originating cause
of you and your brother
ultimately shooting your parents?
Um
Me telling
[Leslie] You telling what?
[sniffs] Uh
Me telling Lyle that, uh
Is you telling Lyle what?
My dad
[stammering] My
My My, uh
Okay. It was you telling Lyle what?
[sobs quietly]
My dad [inhales deeply]
[Erik sobs]
[sobbing] My
- Can you answer the question?
- Yes.
My dad My dad had been molesting me.
And did you want something
from your brother?
Is that why you told him?
I just wanted it to stop.
[somber music playing]
Were there different kinds
of molestation, Erik?
- And
- Yes. Yes.
And would you tell us,
what were the names you gave?
Uh Knees.
Knees?
- That was one kind?
- [Erik] Yes.
[Leslie] Okay. What was another type?
[Erik] Um Nice sex.
[Leslie] Into the mic.
[Erik] Nice sex.
[Leslie] What was another kind?
Um
Okay. What was another type?
[sobbing] Um
[stammering] Rough sex.
[Erik sniffs]
[Pam] Mr. Menendez,
after you and your brother
shot your parents,
you did a lot of lying.
Objection. Argumentative.
Overruled.
You lied. You lied to, uh, reporters.
You lied to family members.
You lied to detectives.
But now, you're telling the truth.
Is that a question?
- Are you telling the truth now?
- [Erik] Yes.
- About everything.
- [Erik] Yes.
- [Pam] You're not lying?
- No.
- [Pam] About anything.
- No.
Great. And did you truly go
to the Santa Monica Big 5
on, uh, the morning of August 18th
to buy handguns?
Yes, yes. Without a doubt, I did.
[Pam] And, uh, you and Lyle
looked in the case,
and then you were told you couldn't leave
the store with the handguns
because there was a 15-day wait.
Is that right?
Yes.
Now, Mr. Menendez, did you know that
Big 5 stopped carrying handguns in 1986?
[indistinct whispering]
No, I do not know that.
Oh. Okay.
- Mrs. Bozanich, there were guns there.
- [Pam] Uh-huh.
And we did look at them.
And the guy said that we could not leave
the store with them. So, I I
[inhales and exhales deeply]
Now, this all happened in 1989?
Yeah. Yes.
Uh-huh. Now, um, Mr. Menendez,
you have lied in the past,
but you're not lying now?
No.
Okay.
No further questions.
[somber music ends]
[Lyle] Why'd you say that?
Hmm?
Why'd you say we tried
to buy a gun at Big 5?
Lyle, I told you
because that's what I remembered.
I was telling the truth.
No, we tried to buy fucking handguns
at a gun store on Sepulveda in West LA.
The Big 5 in Santa Monica sold BB guns
right next to the fucking fishing rods.
That's why we had to drive down
to San Diego, you fuck.
Okay, well, I'm so sorry, Lyle.
I wasn't looking at a fucking map.
I didn't have a Thomas Guide in my lap.
I went there and gave
the performance of a fucking lifetime.
You go and they catch you in a lie.
I wasn't lying.
How can you say that?
I was up there for hours.
You looked like a psycho. You looked
like you wanted to fucking kill somebody.
Yeah, because of that microphone.
It's an inanimate object.
Why are you fucking with it?
Leaning in and leaning out.
Just sit still.
Sit in one fucking spot.
Answer the questions like we practiced.
I will not let you blame me for this.
This is not my fault. You did this.
You made me do this.
This whole thing. It was your idea.
You didn't just say that.
I did this?
Me?
You're the one that's obsessed
with Billionaire Boys Club.
You're the one who wrote a screenplay
about murdering your parents.
Which, I'm sorry,
at the risk of repeating myself,
what in the fuck kind
of lame-ass title is Friends?
Who's gonna watch
something called Friends, Erik?
How fucking dare you, you piece of shit!
I could've gone up on that witness stand
and I could've said this all happened
because Mom and Dad
were recording your phone calls
and found you saying a bunch of gay shit.
They found out you and Craig Signorelli
were gobbling each other's dongs
and a bunch of other fucking unholy shit.
Could've said you came to me
and you fucking begged me
to help you do something about it.
- I'm not gay, Lyle.
- Yeah, well, you fucked us.
You made this happen.
This is your fault.
[exhales, chuckles]
Really?
Says the guy who blew our dad's head off
and shot our mom in the face.
Erik, let's not forget
what they did to us, okay?
They got exactly what they deserved.
[tense music playing]
[baby crying in distance]
[door opens]
The delivery went great. Easy.
[Tim] And he's healthy?
Your son is perfect.
Healthy. Seven pounds, five ounces.
Would you like to hold him?
[shushing]
[female vocalizing]
[Leslie] Hi.
[female vocalizing]
[Leslie sniffs]
[shushing]
[female vocalizing]
[Lyle] Kirk Cameron's a good actor.
[grunting] He's just not sexy. You know?
Like, Lyle Menendez has sex appeal.
Check this out.
You know who this is?
- Timber Dawn.
- That's my girlfriend.
What? Fuck you.
- [inmate] No fucking way.
- Swear to God. I'll show you the letters.
[rumbling and rattling]
[rumbling intensifies]
[chains clanking]
[Lyle] I'm getting tired
of these aftershocks.
Gonna be over soon.
They're getting further and further apart.
- [inmate grunts] Yeah.
- All right, you ready?
[Leslie sighs]
Hey, sweetheart.
Congratulations.
How's the new baby?
[click tongue]
He's beautiful.
But today is about you.
Let's go get you out of here, okay?
The burden of proof in this case
is on the prosecution.
Beyond a reasonable doubt.
Now, you're going to be instructed
on imperfect self-defense,
which means that when somebody
has an honest and in-good-faith belief
that they are in danger
and they defend themselves,
they cannot be convicted
of more than manslaughter.
Now, the prosecution is gonna say
that this was about money.
But you heard from Marta Cano that
the boys knew they were out of the will.
And they knew they weren't getting
that $5 million life insurance policy
because Jose wouldn't take the physical.
So if they had waited two weeks,
they would have gotten that $5 million.
So why not just wait
if it was all about the money?
The prosecution is gonna point
to the fact that they bought shotguns.
Does that mean they were planning
to shoot their parents?
Let me ask you this.
If you live in a neighborhood
and there's been a lot of burglaries
and you buy a gun,
are you planning to kill?
No. You're defending yourself.
If they were planning to kill,
why wouldn't they just wait two weeks
for handguns?
Why buy two great booming shotguns?
The prosecution is hoping that you're
going to forget about Cousin Andy,
who Erik told when he was 12,
how his father massaged his penis
and how it hurt.
And he had to ask him if that was normal.
Or how about Cousin Al,
who said that Jose
made Erik and Lyle shower together.
How he beat them black and blue.
How when the abuse started
at the age of six,
Erik went from being a totally happy kid
to completely withdrawn.
Or Cousin Diane,
who said that Erik and Lyle
would have to fight for the privilege
of not having to sleep with their mother.
Or Coach Wadlington,
who testified, and I quote,
"Jose Menendez was the worst parent
and the harshest person he had ever met."
[dramatic music playing]
"Erik and Lyle,
they win us glory and bring us fame,
and they'll be
our perfect little lab rats."
Pins and tacks like this into his thigh
and scraped along his penis.
It's ironic that Jose and Kitty
should die under the trophy case
because that's all
those boys were to them. Trophies.
They did not talk in this family.
Perverted sexual experiments
and serious abusers
are very possessive of their experiments.
Well, the problem is that children that
have been abused the way these two were,
they don't always turn out
to be such perfect little products.
We don't respect children very much
in this country.
We think they lie. We think they make
things up. We think they fantasize.
Well, no wonder children who were abused
have a hard time trusting adults.
If my clients' names
were Lila and Erika Menendez,
would it make any difference to you?
Because if it would, it shouldn't.
Boys are not supposed to be the victims,
but sometimes they are.
And you must not
you must not blame the victim.
I realize I've given you
a long closing argument.
[dramatic music continues]
And that is because the minute
I am finished, Erik is out of my hands.
And I don't want to let him go.
Just like Jill doesn't want
to let go of Lyle.
You know, people have asked me
what I want out of all of this.
And
my answer is not necessarily a legal one.
I want to see Erik
walking down the street.
No handcuffs.
No shackles.
Just walking.
Free from all of this.
Whatever happens now
depends on you.
You've been a remarkable jury.
And I thank you.
Fucking got this, dude.
Done.
The, uh, Cuban chick and the Black chick,
they're, like, looking at each other?
- [Erik chuckles]
- There's no way they say "guilty."
Yeah, I mean
I don't know.
Could be a mistrial.
We'd have to do the whole thing again.
[Lyle] Erik, it's too expensive.
This trial cost, what,
millions of taxpayer dollars?
And for what? To try to convict
two people who, like, America loves?
Fuck off.
People aren't gonna let them come for us
again. People will flip the fuck out.
[exhales deeply]
I don't know.
Just kind of feels like
Like what?
[rumbling]
[water sloshing]
[mysterious music playing]
Like something shifted.
[mysterious music ends]
The whole city's on edge.
First the riots, then the earthquake,
now waiting on this verdict.
[rumbling]
[Dominick] Uh-oh. Oh!
You know who's terrified
of the earthquakes?
Erik Menendez.
In fact, he's on suicide watch.
Told you! I can't do that.
[Dominick] Completely losing it,
evidently.
[laughing]
He just writes all night long
some kind of, uh, science fiction novel.
"And once again, he had escaped safely
through the warlock's portal
and back to the 17th dimension."
[Dominick] He's painting, too.
And guess what?
He's good.
A little handier with a shotgun
than most artists I know.
Oh, and here's the best part.
Erik's got a girlfriend.
[woman] "I'm not sure how it would work."
"I'm not sure how these feelings have
taken me over in the way that they have."
"But I do know that they are genuine."
"I feel like
I've known you forever, Erik."
"And that I'm going to know you
for the rest of my life. All my love."
Tammy.
[male] Who are these women
who wanna date these psychopaths?
What does she get out of it?
Well, this one's not getting
conjugal visits, if that's what you mean.
Which, I imagine, suits Erik just fine.
- [rumbling restarts]
- [Dominick] Oh!
[exhales] Do you feel that?
Jesus Christ, they just don't stop.
- [rumbling]
- Tim! Tim!
[dog barking in distance]
What? It's okay. It's okay.
We're okay.
Just breathe.
- [Leslie exhales deeply]
- Everything's fine.
Ugh.
[Leslie exhales deeply]
My nerves are just shot. [chuckles]
I'm so raw.
I mean, that wasn't even a big one.
[chuckles] Was it?
It was not.
[Leslie exhales deeply]
I forgot how helpless they are.
They just can't relax. It's like
[breathing shakily]
You never know what's coming.
[Tim] Yeah, I know.
[baby cooing]
But the thing that's coming
that you're worried about
isn't another earthquake.
I do think Lyle was a genius
on the witness stand.
Maybe an evil genius.
But I can't say the same about Erik.
I watched that jury,
and I don't think he connected with them.
And how about that Judalon?
[Judalon] Hey, Mr. Dunne? Mr. Dunne.
Hi. Hi.
Judalon Smyth.
Hi.
So, look. Demi got her cover.
And Michelle Pfeiffer got hers.
And look, I get it. They're stars.
Wait. Eh
You mean the cover of Vanity Fair?
Well, I guess what I'm wondering is,
do you have Graydon Carter's direct line?
Because no matter how many times I call,
I get the same bitch at the front desk.
[male 2] If you had to guess.
First degree voluntary manslaughter
Do they just get off entirely?
[sighs]
I honestly do not know.
But this I do know
If that jury lets them go free,
those two dead souls will walk the earth
[mysterious music playing]
and haunt them.
Karma's gonna come for them.
[bailiff] All rise.
[courtroom shuffling]
Thank you.
[papers shuffling]
After much deliberation,
this jury unfortunately remains deadlocked
and unable to reach a verdict.
This is what we call a hung jury.
[courtroom murmuring]
So I'm afraid
I'm going to declare a mistrial.
[courtroom gasps]
[judge] Please, everybody,
just hang on, please.
Hang on, please. Come on, folks.
- This is a good thing, though. Right?
- Order, please.
- This is a good thing?
- [gavel banging]
So if we're not guilty, then what?
- Let's talk about it later.
- Yeah, but how does this happen?
Blame the men.
[mysterious music intensifies]
- [judge] Order, please.
- [gavel banging]
- [mysterious music ends]
- As you know,
we are going to have to
do this all over again.
And you ladies, my heroes
[ladies chuckle]
you are the ones that came around
to believe Erik was either not guilty
or guilty of manslaughter.
So I want to pick your brains a little.
[inhales] What was it? What did we miss?
What did those men hear
that just made it so they would not budge?
And what do you think they needed to hear?
Well, I felt, towards the end,
like Erik and Lyle were my sons.
And I just think, you know,
that, um, maternal instinct,
maybe men just don't have it.
I just don't think
you would kill your parents like that
unless something bad happened.
I mean, I don't think this.
I think they think it.
I think they think that
sexual abuse doesn't happen to boys.
Okay. What else?
Were we I'm sorry.
You said we Could we call him?
- [phone clicks]
- [Leslie] Hi, Erik. It's your gals.
[ladies] Hi, Erik.
We just wanted to say
My name is Tina, by the way.
It's so nice to meet you officially,
even though I feel like I know you.
But I just wanted to say
that we're all really, really sorry.
And we don't feel
like justice was served here.
[woman] Yeah, that's right.
Erik, did you hear that?
Leslie, can I just talk to you, please?
[dramatic music playing]
Sure.
One sec.
Hi. How you doing?
You sound so down.
[exhales]
Yeah.
I I am.
Well, keep your spirits up, okay?
We are gonna win this. I promise you.
[Erik] No, you can't promise that.
Oh, Erik.
[Erik] Something's different.
You know?
Like in the media,
they've all turned against us. You know?
I'm getting all this hate mail now.
That never used to happen.
So
[inhales and exhales deeply]
I don't know.
Just feels like something's different.
I don't know what it is, but, uh
[inhales and exhales deeply]
just kinda seems
like it's it's all over.
[inhales]
No. I'm not gonna let you
get down like that, okay?
I'm not. We're gonna win this.
No, it's okay. I'll talk to you later.
[phone slams]
[phone beeps]
Thank you. Get home safe, everybody.
- Thank you. Bye.
- Bye.
[woman speaking indistinctly]
[woman] Actually, Ms. Abramson,
um
if you really do want to know what
the issue was, or one of the issues
I think the other ladies didn't wanna say.
Well, please, tell me.
Uh, well, the big thing with the men
um, I mean, they really didn't like
Erik or Lyle, that's true.
But you were the thing.
I I mean, for what it's worth,
they didn't like you.
Oh. [laughs]
[laughs]
Well Thank you
for telling me that. It's fine.
[woman] Oh, of course.
Um
thank you again.
[footsteps retreating]
[Jill] We just have some bad news.
A lot of it.
[inhales] Okay.
I don't know another way to put it. Um
The easiest place to start is
there's no money.
I'm not really worried about money.
You should be because there's none of it.
And unless Leslie and I
start working pro bono
There is money.
- Trust me. There is not.
- There's gonna be money.
[Lyle inhales] So let's just
get through this,
and what I'd like you to do
is keep a log of your hours,
and then we will pay you.
I will pay you.
[both chuckling]
Listen, there's gonna be a book.
I'm writing a book.
And my friend Norma is helping me,
although she's really more of
kinda like a secretary type position.
But she is just completely
obsessed with me.
She's definitely in love with me.
It's really quite special.
Uh And, yeah, she's helping me write it.
She's writing the book, Lyle.
[inhales]
We're both working on it,
but yeah, it is my book.
No, I mean, the book's coming out.
Because you let her record you.
So, now she's releasing the recordings.
[Jill inhales deeply]
That's the book.
No, it isn't.
Lyle, you told her everything.
[dramatic music playing]
"I told you I can move a jury
because I've been practicing crying."
"And I'm getting so good at crying."
"We need to come up with a story
about Oziel
and why we didn't tell him
about the sex stuff."
"Or we could say he's blackmailing us."
[dramatic music intensifies]
"I obviously overreacted that night."
"Referring to the night of the murders."
Then she says, "Lyle told me
about all the types of child abuse
he planned to use in the trial."
That is a fucking lie!
That is a fucking lie, Jill!
I never fucking said that.
She recorded you!
- Do you know what this means?
- No.
It means you can be cross-examined
about everything that you said
if you testify.
[exhales deeply]
Okay.
- So
- So you can't testify.
Not in the second trial.
Lyle, this guts our defense.
So, you are going to have to rely on Erik.
[whispering] What?
No. No. No.
[Jill] Lyle, um
I no longer feel like I can defend you.
And I want to help you find
a good public defender.
But I will not be working
on your second trial.
I am sorry.
- Fuck.
- [dramatic music ends]
[Leno] According to the latest reports,
they are broke.
- [audience laughs]
- You know, so I said to myself
I said, "Would people really
Would people really donate money
to the Menendez brothers?
Donate to the Menendez brothers' case?
the Menendez brothers.
" the Menendez brothers?"
What kind of talk is that?
[Leslie] So, it's all on you now.
But, you know, in a way,
I think that makes our lives simpler.
You've always been more sympathetic.
Well, that's not true.
[Leslie] Yes, it is.
You're a much better witness than Lyle.
[Leslie inhales]
[inhales] Well, we can't argue
self-defense now, so
[Leslie] No.
The, uh, judge [scoffs]
doesn't want another hung jury.
So, imperfect self-defense
is off the table.
Well, that was the truth.
- That's what it was.
- Okay.
That was our whole defense.
We'll argue something else.
I mean, I know you don't like hearing
this, but, Erik, there is no evidence
that you were the one
to kill your mom or your dad.
You may have shot at them,
but it was Lyle that killed him.
He administered the fatal blow
to the back of your dad's head.
And I'm just saying, he went outside to
reload while your mother was still alive.
Do you know how much people hate you?
[somber music playing]
No, do you know, though?
Like, you didn't do a good job.
You put me in glasses that I don't need.
You put us in pastels.
It didn't work.
- Erik
- None of it worked.
And now everybody fucking hates us.
My life is over.
- No, it isn't. It is
- Shut the fuck up!
Just shut your fucking mouth!
You don't fucking know.
You don't fucking know.
Okay? I know.
How how are you gonna help me?
How are you gonna fix this?
You can't.
[banging on door]
[buzzer blares, door opens]
[metal door clangs]
[guard] Get up.
Cleaning the whole cell block today.
Why?
[guard] We got a VIP coming in.
[reporter] OJ Simpson is in
that Ford Bronco with Al Cowlings.
OJ, according to CHP,
has a gun to his head,
and is saying that he wants to be driven
to his mother's.
[reporter 2] Again, we're on
the 405 northbound,
and, uh, just past Manchester.
I think he's probably
in La Tijera right now.
Uh, Highway Patrol and the LAPD,
and at least a dozen police cars
are Code 3, lights and sirens pursuing,
or or I should say following OJ Simpson
as he continues to travel
of what we would assume to be
towards his Brentwood home.
[guard] Can we call you Juice?
[OJ] You are the guards.
Call me whatever you want.
- [OJ exhales]
- [cell door buzzing]
[OJ] Juice is fine with me.
[door clangs]
[guard 2] Make yourself at home, okay.
[guard 1] We'll let you
get situated, Juice.
[OJ] Yeah, you guys got anything to eat?
- [guard 1] We'll get you something.
- [OJ] Thanks, man.
[guard 1] My man.
[dramatic music continues]
[chuckles quietly]
[clears throat]
Uh hey, hey.
OJ?
- OJ?
- [OJ] Yeah, who is that?
I'm I'm Erik. Erik Menendez.
[OJ] No shit?
Yeah.
- [OJ] Like, one of the brothers?
- Mm-hmm.
[OJ] Your other brother in there with you?
No, he's, um He's in a different wing.
[OJ] Shit, man.
Y'all been in here for a while.
Yeah, like three years.
[OJ exhales]
Um, you know, we're about to have
a whole other trial.
[OJ inhales] I tell you what,
I'm not going to be in here long.
Because I didn't fucking do it.
You know? Nicole hit me.
Do you hear what they're saying
out there about me?
- Yeah.
- [OJ chuckles]
Yeah, I I did.
I heard that, uh Well, is this right?
That, um, Robert Shapiro is your lawyer?
[OJ] Yeah.
I mean, I'm getting a bunch.
You know what I'm saying.
Yeah. But, uh, I just wanted
to tell you that, um
[Erik inhales deeply]
Well, he was our lawyer, too.
And, actually, he, uh
Well, you should just watch out for him
because he kind of fucked us.
Like, I could've stayed in London.
And I wouldn't be up
for the death penalty, probably.
But he was the one
that told me to come home, so
[OJ] Thanks for the advice.
[Erik] Did you see all those people
lined up on the 405?
Like, that was crazy.
[OJ] Yeah. Folks love OJ.
I guess it's hard not to think
that people are gonna stop
paying attention to us,
and just kind of pay attention to you.
[dramatic music ends]
- Could I tell you one more thing?
- [OJ] Yeah. Sure.
You should consider a plea bargain.
[mysterious music playing]
[mysterious music ends]