The jury has reached a verdict.
Will the defendant please rise?
In the case of the State of California
versus John Thomas Sweeney,
on the count of second-degree murder,
we the jury find the defendant not guilty.
On the count of involuntary manslaughter,
we the jury find the defendant guilty.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
on behalf of myself, the attorneys, and the two families here,
I want to thank you for your service.
Not for our family, Judge Katz!
Don't thank them on behalf of our family!
Mr. Dunne, you will have your time to speak during sentencing.
It's too late then!
That man strangled our daughter to death.
He should rot in prison for the rest of his life.
Mr. Dunne.
And you withheld important evidence from the jury
about this man's history of violence against women.
He beat my daughter for months and then killed her.
He ripped out chunks of her hair.
Mr. Dunne!
He strangled her for five minutes!
You strangled my daughter.
You son of a bitch!
- Mr. Dunne. Bailiff. - I hope you rot in hell.
And you, how can you sleep at night defending this monster?
Hey, Crocodile.
Hey.
How are you?
You know, I'm okay.
I'm getting out of here. I promise.
The trial prep has started, and Jill, my attorney, she's, I mean...
It's just so hard.
You know, like my parents...
they really don't believe you, Lyle.
They want us to break up.
Jamie...
Forget about that. They don't know what we have.
Hey. You know that I love you.
Right?
I just wanna get this behind me,
so that I can give you everything you deserve, yeah?
And I... I need your help.
Okay?
I need you to watch At Close Range.
What? Is that like a movie or something?
Yeah, with, uh, Sean Penn and Christopher Walken.
It's really, really fucking good.
You should... You should definitely watch it.
Okay. Why?
I need you to do something.
What?
I need you to say that my dad raped you.
What?
No!
- Why not? - Because he didn't.
Right. But no one's gonna know that.
It doesn't matter. I... I can't just lie about something like that.
Will you just please say he came on to you or something?
For the love of fuck! I will pay you.
You want me to say what?
I want you to remember that time you found me locked in the closet.
- I don't remember that. - Yes, you do.
She made me roll in dog shit, and you found me in the closet,
and she gave me that Tupperware container to go to the bathroom in.
Are you sure this was me?
Yes. How the fuck don't you remember this?
That I gave you a handgun?
No. Just that I asked you for one.
Because you were so afraid of your dad?
Yes, because he threatened us and we were afraid for our lives,
so we asked you.
- Yeah, no. - Right, but you told us no.
No. I'm saying no right now. I'm not doing that.
Why the fuck not? It happened. It was absolutely something that happened.
You just have to remember it happened because it did.
Or at least tell other people that you remember it
because you do. Because you do, Brian!
Come on, Brian! What the fuck? What the fuck?!
Brian, you remember it!
Brian, you fucking remember it, Brian!
You fucking remember it!
Sorry.
Let me get this straight. Your father killed your dog.
Yeah. It killed our ferret, so he cut off its head.
And I found it in the freezer.
And if I answered a question wrong, he'd just bash my head against the table.
He would quack at me because he said I walk like a duck.
Made fun of my stutter.
What... what would be the best way to reach out to--
What?
My mom would beat us. That was very scary.
She'd chase us with a knife.
I wish you were never born!
You know what? Let's call it a day.
It's not that I don't believe those stories are true.
It's like I don't believe them the way he tells them, you know?
Well, it's like when I first sat down with him, you know, it took a second,
but he was like this scared little boy who I felt such sympathy for.
But for some reason, when he's on the stand,
he's talking about somebody else.
Well, he just seems like...
a psychopath.
Well, I was going to say a bad actor, but sure.
I mean, do you think he's behind the whole thing?
Lyle just invents the whole story,
convinces Erik to go along with it?
What if it's the other way around?
I'm not saying that's where I'm going.
I'm just talking out loud.
"I saw you on TV the other day, and I just had to write."
"I know you're innocent because I'm psychic."
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Candy,
and I'm a divorced mother of two who struggled with weight my whole--"
"Hi, Lyle, I'm just writing to say I believe you."
"You couldn't have done the things they say you did,
or if you did, you certainly had a good reason."
"I could tell from your eyes the very first time I saw you."
"If you need anything, anything at all,
maybe just even somebody to talk to, give me a call."
"All my love, Norma."
This is a call from the Los Angeles County Corrections from--
Lyle Menendez.
Hello?
Hi.
Norma?
Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening.
Me and Jamie, we were never right for each other.
And now she's making stuff up, like I told her to say stuff.
It just goes to show you, some people are...
Some people are bad news.
Yeah. Not you, though.
You sound hot.
I miss Tony.
There was no time to be depressed when he was around.
What do you miss most about him?
The sex or...
What?
Remember when I told you that my dad and this man, they were, uh...
That he was my dad's lover.
The one who... He told you your dad was planning on killing you?
Yeah, um...
So that didn't happen. I... I, uh...
I made it up.
I just made it up.
Can I ask why?
Why did you make that up?
Erik?
Erik, did Lyle tell you to make that up?
I gotta figure out what's going on with this whole Oziel thing.
It's a massive hole, you know?
Like, why didn't I tell him about the sex stuff with my dad?
Yeah. That's... Yeah.
I wish I could write a fucking book.
That's just my story.
Explain what it's felt like my whole life to be Lyle Menendez.
There's just no way that anybody would say that I deserve to go to prison.
Lyle, that's a really good idea. I could even help you write it.
Lyle, I'm going to ask you to relive that day.
Which one?
The last day. The last day your parents were alive.
Yeah, okay. Um...
I played some tennis.
Uh, but I was pretty distracted.
Because you thought your mom and dad were gonna kill you.
No, I knew that they were going to kill us.
It was just a matter of when.
Which is why the boat trip was so scary.
Yeah, I think if the captain hadn't been there,
then, yeah, that's probably when they were gonna do it.
They probably would've shot us, and then thrown us in the water
and said we drowned.
But, Lyle, I really want you to walk me through that Sunday.
The day it... The day it happened.
Yeah, okay.
We need to get out.
Where are they? Where the fuck are Mom and Dad?
I don't know. I mean, I think they're downstairs. The TV's on.
Let's just... Let's just get the fuck out of here.
Meet me at the car. I need you to be there in one minute, okay? Stay calm.
Where you going?
- We're just going to the movies. - Oh, no, you're not.
You're not leaving this house.
We just wanna go to the movies.
You're staying right here, and you, Erik, get upstairs. Get upstairs.
No. No. You're not gonna touch my brother.
You're never gonna fucking touch my brother ever again.
Your brother is my son, and I can do whatever I want with him. Move away.
Move away.
You're just gonna fucking stand there and you're gonna let him do it!
You don't get to talk to me. You don't get to say anything!
You ruined this family.
Kitty, let's go.
Let's go.
What did you think they were going in there to do?
I thought they'd grab their guns.
Where are their guns? Are their guns upstairs?
I don't know. Do we... Do we go check?
Here.
No, there's not enough time. Um, grab your shotgun and meet me at the car.
But that's not what happened, is it?
No, but that's what we thought was going to happen.
I don't believe it.
What?
I don't believe a word you are saying if I am the jury.
Okay.
When you first told me that story, you felt every emotion again,
which meant I felt it too.
I was right there with you.
But for some reason, when you sit in that chair,
I feel like you're making it all up.
- I'm trying to get the story straight. - No. Forget the story. That's my job.
You put a shotgun to your mother's face. Did you not?
Why did you do that?
We were, I guess, trying to put her out of her misery.
No, you're not a farmer, Lyle.
She is not your prized sow.
Why did she deserve to die?
- Because she let him rape us. - Yes!
Thank you.
Because she let him rape you.
I need to feel the pain of that, Lyle.
The jury needs to feel that.
This woman, your mother, let him rape you.
You are up for the death penalty.
Show me what that felt like.
So, like, the... [inhales deeply] ...emotions?
Yes.
So, do you want me to cry?
Because I can do that.
Yes.
I just wanted to help her.
I loved her so much.
And I felt so bad for her.
I was the one who found her suicide note.
So, I was the only one who really knew what she was...
planning on doing to herself.
And I told her that she should leave him.
That we would side with her in the divorce. And that I just...
I wanted to help. So, if she needed to move back to Princeton
and live with me, that was okay.
And I told her that I would help her stop taking so many fucking pills.
And I told her that things would be okay.
And I wanted everything to be okay, and I wasn't.
I was a fucking liar because not everything was okay.
But I loved her.
I loved her, and I still do.
I love my mom.
I love my mommy.
Very good, Lyle.
Now we're talking.
Oh!
Okay.
Ms. Abramson.
Don't worry. It's just large print so I can read it.
I won't be going as long as the prosecution did.
This trial... This trial isn't going to be about who.
It's not going to be about what, when, or where.
This trial is going to be about why.
Why did Erik and Lyle Menendez kill their parents?
It's a simple question.
But the answer you are about to hear
over the next few weeks and months
from over 50 witnesses and experts,
the answer is far from simple.
You will learn in gruesome, shocking detail
how Jose Menendez was a sexually perverted sadist
who molested his sons.
How, in fact, Kitty Menendez enjoyed sexually molesting her children, too.
What did these boys, these children, do to deserve abuse like that?
What did they ever do?
Well, I will tell you what Erik and Lyle are guilty of.
The only thing they are guilty of
is loving the mother and father who tortured them.
So when Erik and Lyle endured
the horrific ordeal of shooting their parents,
it was not out of malice or revenge.
It wasn't about fancy cars or brand-new clothes.
It wasn't about money.
They fired those guns in self-defense.
They shot the mother and father they loved
so that Jose and Kitty Menendez wouldn't kill them first.
It's such an interesting angle.
What a coincidence it's exactly the same defense you used
in the Arnel Salvatierra case.
And he walked on a manslaughter charge.
I guess that's why they hired you.
Oh! Wait a minute. That wasn't their defense to start with.
They pled not guilty.
You didn't make up the sexual abuse, did you?
Because it sure worked last time.
You know what, Dominick?
I'm very sorry about what happened to your daughter.
That man should not have walked free.
And he wouldn't have if I had anything to do with it.
But you should realize, he gave you something.
He gave you a career and a fucking point of view.
For that, you should thank him.
But still, what if they did think their lives were in danger that night,
that their parents were going to kill them?
Ah, the old imperfect self-defense theory.
Well, darling, I've got some real estate near the San Andreas Fault
I'd like to sell you.
And what a story.
It's a Greek tragedy.
Brothers tormented and abused for years,
and fearful for their lives, kill their parents
in a desperate act of self-defense.
It's also utterly preposterous and riddled with plot holes.
If Jose and Kitty were planning on murdering their sons that Sunday,
why was Kitty inviting her friend Karen Wiere over to the house
to play bridge that very same night?
Well, even if you and Peter get back from Santa Barbara late, give us a ring.
Maybe you can still come over.
And were Lyle and Erik really scared
that their parents were going to murder them during that boat ride?
You guys ready to catch some sharks?
When there were three other people on that boat as well.
I thought this was going to be private.
Hmm...
Also, did you know Kitty and Jose were flying to Princeton
the week they were killed
to help Lyle furnish the new condo they just bought him,
which suggests they maybe weren't planning to kill him?
Kitty Menendez was filling out Erik's college registration
the night they were murdered.
Now, for sake of argument,
let's say Lyle and Erik did murder their parents in self-defense
because they were afraid for their lives.
Wouldn't they then call the police and tell them the truth?
Wouldn't they confess and come forward with all the terrible family secrets
they've been hiding for years?
Wouldn't they behave
as if they had one shred of guilt over what they'd done?
But no, that's not what happened.
What did they do instead?
They lied right from the very beginning.
Okay. You're gonna... Are you sure you can do it? Because they're gonna know.
No, they're not gonna fucking know, Erik!
Hey. Hey.
- We fucking got this. We fucking got this. - We're gonna fucking do this.
- We fucking got this. - Yeah, we're gonna fucking do this!
- I love you so much, Lyle. - I love you, too.
I love you so much, E, okay?
Don't screw it up, okay?
Beverly Hills Emergency.
Somebody killed our parents.
They lied and lied and lied
and kept on lying at least 50 times by my count.
They lied to the public, their friends and relatives, to the press.
And then they lied to make sure they got their share of the inheritance money.
But what about the relatives?
They testified that Jose was abusive,
that living in that household was a nightmare.
My brother could be very possessive.
Lyle was not allowed to express his opinions.
What about Erik?
He thought he was weak.
Too tender.
He'd tell him he wasn't worthy of the name Menendez.
Sometimes he would do things to hurt him, make him cry,
then taunt him and call him "sissy."
He wanted to toughen him up.
How many summers would you estimate you spent with your cousins?
I spent eight summers with them.
And when you stayed with your cousins over those summers,
did you ever see any evidence of sexual abuse?
No, not directly.
But I did know that Lyle and Erik took showers with their dad
after tennis lessons.
And as soon as Jose took either one of the boys into their room,
he'd lock the door.
And Kitty made it clear, you did not go down that hallway. Ever.
Look, I'll concede the point.
Growing up Menendez was no picnic.
But who at this table didn't experience some form of abuse
when they were growing up?
By today's standards, I certainly was a victim of child abuse.
My father beat me mercilessly
with straps, hangers, a riding belt.
I'm partially deaf because of one of his beatings.
He thought I was a sissy, too.
But I didn't murder him.
I escaped the old-fashioned way.
I moved out, started my life.
But, Nick, you weren't sexually abused.
Neither were the Menendez brothers.
Neither Lyle or Erik ever mentioned
that they were sexually abused to Jerome Oziel.
That's a fairly sizable omission.
If you're already confessing to murdering your parents,
why not come clean about all of it?
So you think it's bullshit? They're making it all up?
According to a Menendez relative I've been talking to--
Which relative?
Sorry, Linda, I have to protect my sources.
But, according to him,
the brothers came up with the sexual abuse angle
after reading several books about parricide and incest.
Those books would give them all the details they'd need
to convince a jury it had happened to them.
And from Leslie's perspective,
the sexual abuse angle could also serve
to deflect attention away from...
Erik's sexuality.
Wait. You... you mean to say that Erik is, uh...
Well, I was chatting the other day
with my new favorite lunch buddy, Pam Bozanich, and she said...
Everybody knows Erik's gay.
It's like a big, open secret nobody wants to talk about.
My team knows it, the defense knows it,
but any time it's even hinted at in court,
Leslie goes fucking ballistic.
What makes you think he is?
Well, we've heard he's been receiving blowjobs from some of the other inmates.
Well, that doesn't make you gay. That just makes you popular.
Also, he did pose for some rather homoerotic photos with a gay photographer.
Okay, so maybe Erik is gay,
but being in the closet doesn't make you a murderer, Nick.
It doesn't even make you a bad person.
No, it doesn't.
But just maybe
the brothers were hiding an even deeper, darker secret.
A secret that had nothing to do with Jose.
And maybe that's what Kitty knew about.
Erik! How many times have I told you?!
Do not leave your sweaty tennis shorts on the floor.
You're gonna stink up the whole house!
Nick, are you saying that Lyle and Erik
were... together with each other?
It's the idea of transference.
It's easier to accuse Jose of sexual abuse
than to acknowledge the real incestuous relationship.
The consensual one.
Imagine the guilt and shame the brothers would feel
if their secret ever came out.
And perhaps they killed their parents so that it never would.
Look, my main point here is that regardless of what happened to them,
Lyle and Erik aren't entitled to forgiveness.
Leslie and her team think that if they can distract us from the facts,
keep certain evidence out of the courtroom,
confuse us with outlandish legal theories,
drum up enough sympathy,
and portray the brothers as hapless lads straight out of a Charles Dickens novel,
we'll all fall for it,
and they'll get the Hollywood ending she thinks they deserve.
But when you savagely snuff out another person's life...
it shouldn't matter how crummy your childhood was.
You should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
That's the ending the Menendez brothers deserve.
And I pray for the sake of justice
it's the ending they get.
Mr. Dunne, we're about to head out.
Anything else you need?
What's your name?
Paul. Paul D'Emilio.
Well, Paul, there's a slice of completely untouched tiramisu here.
I'd hate for it to go to waste.
I wish I could,
but I've got a photo shoot tomorrow and I think I have to go shirtless.
The sacrifices we make for our vocation.
Mr. Dunne, I just wanted to say
I'm so sorry about what happened to your daughter.
I loved her in Poltergeist.
It was, like, one of my favorite movies as a kid.
Haven't seen it in years.
Can't bring myself to watch it.
Uh...
What the hell. A bite or two of tiramisu won't kill me.
I can work it off at the gym in the morning before the shoot.
May I?
By all means.
I'm assuming you don't have kids.
Not yet. One day, maybe.
My ex-wife and I had two daughters before Dominique,
but they both died in infancy...
which made Dominique our miracle daughter,
our angel,
who we always assumed would bury us.
That's the way it's supposed to be, right?
I was... convinced
that would be the most difficult moment
of the entire ordeal...
...of our entire lives.
But I was wrong.
Far worse was watching the trial of John Sweeney
and how the defense tried to make him out to be the victim.
How old were you?
I was about five.
I remember my dad flying into a drunken rage
and squeezing my mother's neck.
I was terrified he was gonna kill her.
And was he ever violent toward you?
Yes.
Multiple times.
The abuse was endless.
Well, let me tell you about abuse.
He strangled Dominique... for five minutes.
My girl... fought...
for five minutes.
The bastard even admitted it right there on the lawn.
- I killed her. I tried to kill myself. - Hands where we can see them!
He spent three and a half years in prison.
Got a job as a chef in Santa Monica.
That's... That's not justice.
No, it's not.
That's why
I never believe a word that comes out of a defense attorney's mouth.
They'll lie, cheat, steal, anything to win.
Even if it means desecrating the memory of the real victims.
Which is like murdering them a second time.
How was the tiramisu?
Clearly, it was very good.
Clearly.
I could stay longer if you want.
It's getting late, Paul.
And, um, Lyle Menendez takes the stand tomorrow.
But thank you... for listening.
And good luck with your shoot.
The defense calls Joseph Lyle Menendez.
Raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly state
that the testimony you shall give in this matter is the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
- I do. - Please be seated.
Were your parents Mary Louise Menendez and Jose Menendez?
Yes.
Did you love your mom and dad?
Yes.
And on August 20th, 1989,
did you and your brother kill your mother and father?
Yes.
Why did you kill your parents?
Because we were afraid.
Do you remember firing a very close shot at your father?
I believe so. I don't remember.
I remember the picture.
The picture you saw here? You're talking about your dad's head wound?
And at some point, was your gun empty?
Yes.
And was there something about your mother you learned then?
Where you saw something or you heard something?
You could, uh, sort of see behind my dad moving.
Seemed like moving.
Uh, and, um...
I... reloaded.
You reloaded?
- Is that a yes? - Yes.
And what did you do after you reloaded?
Um... I, uh...
I... I reached over and I shot her close.
Lyle, taking your attention to when you were six,
did your father ever take photographs of you and your brother?
Yes.
Your Honor, can you please ask the witness to speak up?
Yes. Mr. Menendez, if you wouldn't mind speaking a bit closer to the mic.
I'm sorry, Your Honor.
Mr. Menendez, this envelope says "Erik's Sixth Birthday" on it.
- You recognize this photograph? - That's me.
And this one?
That is my brother.
- You recognize the mark on your brother? - The, uh, birthmark.
The brown birthmark.
And when your father would take photos of this nature...
did he seem to take photos of your faces?
Uh, no. He would take photos of our genital area,
um, of like, your lower half of your body, and, uh...
or if you're bending over.
And between the ages of six and eight...
did your father ever have sexual contact with you?
Yes.
How did it start?
Just, um...
It just started with, uh...
After sports practices, he would, um, massage me.
Um...
And he, uh, would show me and fondle me
and ask me to do the same with him.
And he would put me on the ground.
And would, you know, guide my movements.
And I would have, uh...
oral sex with him.
Did you want to do this?
And at some point, did he do other things to you?
Yes.
Um...
He...
Yeah, he would use objects,
a toothbrush...
and a, um... some sort of shaving utensil.
What did he do with them?
We would have object sessions.
Uh, he would lay me on the bed, and... I would be naked,
and he had a tube of Vaseline, and he just...
He played with me.
And at some point,
did your father try to anally penetrate you with something else?
Uh, he did. He...
raped me.
Did you cry?
Yes.
- Did you bleed? - Yes.
Were you scared?
Very.
Did you ask him not to?
Yes.
I said that I didn't... I'm sorry.
I said that I didn't want to do this and that it hurt.
And he said he didn't mean to hurt me, and that he loved me.
- Did you tell your mom? - Yes.
- What did you say to your mom? - I told her to tell Dad to leave me alone.
That he keeps touching me.
What did your mom say?
She said, "Stop that. And that you're exaggerating."
"Your dad has to punish you when you do things wrong."
And she said that he loved me.
And did you ever tell anyone else?
No. No, because I was afraid,
and my dad didn't want me to.
He said that bad things would happen if I told anyone,
that he would, um, kill me.
Did you tell your brother?
No.
Did you do something to your brother?
Yes.
What did you do to your brother?
Sometimes I would, when I felt, um...
I don't know...
I took a toothbrush and...
played with Erik in the same way.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I don't know what happened in there. That was unbelievable.
It was actually unbelievable!
And the room bought it!
They bought it. I really think that they fucking bought all of it.
I...
Uh...
I'm so sorry, Pam. You'll have to excuse me.
See, I told you I could move the jury.
Ten to two. That's how it's gonna go.
Because that was the greatest testimony ever given in a courtroom.
I was like a white knight.
Yeah. Oh, I agree.
And I'm not going to stop at just a book.
I'm gonna take this whole fucking thing and turn it into a screenplay
and make a movie.
You know who could play me? Richard fucking Grieco.
Honestly, sky's the limit.
Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the jury wrote the judge a note and said,
"We don't need to fucking hear anymore. Okay, let's just wrap this shit up."
I could probably produce 10,000 letters from people saying
that they would be willing to let me stay in their homes. 10,000.
I mean, even a fucking priest said that he would take me in.
Yeah, yeah, a fucking priest.
I owe you an apology.
No need to apologize, Dominick. Just quit stalking me.
I'm sorry. I... I had no idea.
I believe him,
which means one of two things.
Either those two boys endured the most sickening abuse imaginable
and their parents got exactly what was coming to them,
or you were able to coach that performance out of a lying, murderous psychopath.
I don't know which one of those possibilities scares me more.
In either case, congratulations, I guess.
Dominick.
I'm really sorry.
She was a beautiful girl.
And she had her whole life ahead of her.
You know what her last words to me were?
"I love you, Daddy."
At least I'll have that forever.