Hamilton... enters...
his parents'... bedroom.
He strangles... his father...
with a razor rope.
His father... falls to the ground...
in a pool of blood...
A razor rope is so...
Yeah, but look- look, here's why he did it.
"Sometimes my father would tell me I was not worthy
"to be his son."
"Nothing I have ever done was good enough for this man."
So am I gonna get a writing credit for being your secretary?
You'll get a special thanks, mom.
You could write about me, you know.
I used to be pretty exciting.
I know.
You won a beauty pageant.
That's the tip of the iceberg.
I used to hang out with this group of girls called The Party Dolls,
I was gonna be a TV producer...
Right.
I had big dreams.
And?
And I married your father and I changed my life for him.
I became a wife and a mother for him.
I even became a blonde for him.
I wanted to please him.
That's all I've ever wanted.
To please my boys.
Alright.
Ok, alright.
We got six more pages to go.
Ok?
Ok.
It's disgusting.
NOOOOOO!
José and Kitty Menéndez were gunned down
in their Beverly Hills mansion-
It is one of the most sensational
criminal cases in the country-
Police are looking for a motive tonight in the murders
of a prominent show business executive and his wife.
They were found just before midnight last night
shot to death in their exclusive Beverly Hills home.
15-30.
30-30.
It's ok, it's ok.
He'll bounce back.
Menéndez men are fighters.
My oldest boy goes to Princeton.
Oh.
I guess success runs in the family.
You like Duran Duran?
Oh, my daughter's obsessed with them.
Your daughter?
You're not old enough to have a daughter.
30-40.
Come on, Erik. You can do it!
I discovered Duran Duran.
Oh.
Yeah.
And The Eurythmics, too.
In fact, Annie Lennox herself said that my boys
are the most adorable boys she's ever seen.
Game.
Set.
Match.
Carson advances, Menéndez eliminated.
Well, I guess you win some, you lose some, huh?
So Erik.
How many hostages were there
and what is their only hope for release?
Did you read the paper this morning, Erik?
You guys, the food's getting cold.
Your food is disgusting no matter what its temperature is.
How do you expect to be a business man
if you can't speak intelligently about current events?
I'm not a business man, I'm a-
Well, you certainly aren't a tennis player.
Not anymore.
It says eight Americans are being held.
Mmmhmm.
And uh...
Reagan won't negotiate with terrorists.
And what is their new hope for release?
José.
Hijo.
I'm helping him.
I'm helping you, Erik.
Hey?
I still can't believe Lucille Ball died.
She'd have been 78 today.
I really did love Lucy.
Erik?
Erik.
You know I love you.
There you go.
Erik...
Hey!
I'm back!
Hey!
Ah!
You look different!
Who is she?
Shut up.
Oh what, are you playing the field? Huh?
Stop!
So I'm only back a week before school starts
but that gives me just enough time for-
for me to kick your ass at tennis.
Oh! Yeah right!
Oh, we gotta go see the new Bond, too.
Yeah!
I wanna see that, too.
Or we could all go see When Harry Met Sally.
Uh, you should probably go see that
with your girlfriends, mom.
You know, I've been thinking about the Princeton condo,
Lyle, and I found this incredible floral wallpaper
on the cover of Architectural Digest.
Seriously?
Yeah, for the guest bathroom.
Floral? For the guest bathroom.
Yeah, we'll check it out.
I can still make the team.
If you're not gonna be the best at something
then don't bother doing it at all.
Oh, come on.
It was one tournament.
Stay out of it, Lyle.
Face it, Erik.
You're not good enough.
Now, your mom and I have already discussed it.
Since you're not gonna be trying out for the tennis team
we think you should major in business at UCLA.
Business?
Yeah.
You're smart.
You have a good head on your shoulders.
And you have me.
I can teach you everything.
There's no reason why you can't succeed in business.
And you don't have to live in those stupid dorms.
Mom, say something.
Sweetie, you'll be closer to me this way.
Lyle's already left us for Princeton.
If you leave, who will I have left?
You see? It's settled.
You stay here and everybody's happy.
It's stupid.
Leave me alone, mom.
You don't need that thing on your head.
Ugh, will you just focus on yourself?
Ok?!
Lay off the booze and spend some time on a treadmill.
I am sick of you being so mean to me.
Stop.
Stop, ok?
I am sick of it!
Mom! Stop!
Lyle!
It's just a hair piece.
He's my son.
He's supposed to love me.
You're my son, you're supposed to love me!
I wish you would have told me about the hair thing.
I wouldn't have cared.
Shut up.
You haven't told me anything about your summer.
What's going on?
You got a girlfriend, or what?
Hmm?
No?
Ok.
It's still happening.
What is?
Dad.
For how long?
It never stopped.
Why didn't you say anything?
I don't know.
Dad said that he would kill me if I told anyone.
I'm not- I'm not anyone, Erik.
I mean, did you- did you tell him to stop?
Did you threaten to tell people?
Did you-
Lyle! Lyle!
What?
I can't.
It's dad.
Hey.
Look at me.
Erik.
Come on, it's me.
Just look at me.
He will never touch you again.
Ok?
I promise.
Erik.
Just get through this day, Kitty.
Tomorrow will be different.
Just get through this day
We need to talk.
I've had a long day, Lyle.
Alright, what is it?
How did you screw up again, this time?
What, did you plagiarize again?
Did you steal from our neighbors again? Huh?
I think that Erik should come to Princeton and live with me.
He's going to UCLA.
Ok, um...
then I can transfer to UCLA and we can live together.
You're getting an Ivy League education.
I'm not gonna let you give that up.
Ok. Um...
look, what I'm trying to say here is...
Erik can't live here anymore.
With you.
Well, that's none of your business, is it?
You will never touch him again.
Shut your mouth!
And if you do everyone will know what you do to him.
SHUT UP!
Just shut your mouth!
Shut your mouth!
What you did to both of us!
So you think you've had it tough. Huh?
Growing up in mansions, going to the best schools.
Wearing the best clothes.
You should have seen how I grew up.
Escaping Cuba, leaving my parents behind.
I was just a kid.
Washing dishes for a living.
But I built a career in this country.
I worked hard to build this life, Erik.
For you, for your thankless brother, for all of us!
And I am not gonna let anyone destroy that!
I love you, Erik.
Whatever happens next is your doing.
Remember that.
Hey.
Shh.
It's ok.
No, it's not.
Not ok.
No, it's- he said-
Hey. Hey, shh.
Don't cry, ok?
Don't you dare let him think that you're weak.
It's ok.
He said whatever happens next is my fault.
Why would he say that?
What does he mean?
What's he gonna do?
He would rather kill us than let the world know
who he really is.
They have guns in their bedroom.
Since when?
I don't know.
I just saw them.
Then we'll get our own guns.
Where were you?
The mall.
The plan's changed.
We're going fishing tonight.
What're you talking about?
It's gonna be freezing out there at night.
It's your father's decision.
He's working late.
No.
They're gonna kill us and they're gonna toss us overboard.
There's gonna be a captain there.
Maybe he's in on it.
Whoo!
We're going to the movies.
You're not going anywhere tonight.
Erik, go to your room.
I need to talk to your brother.
Don't listen to him.
We're going to the movies.
Lyle, we don't have-
Erik, go to your room! Now!
You think anyone's gonna believe your lies, Lyle?
Hmm?
You're just a spoiled brat.
A petty thief.
But me, I'm a success.
People need me.
You need me.
You wouldn't even exist without me, boy.
What's going on?
You know, people make choices in this life, Lyle.
Erik made his and now you have made yours.
Lyle, you've destroyed this family.
You're not going anywhere tonight!
Do you hear me?!
Lyle!
It's going down.
He's not even letting us leave the house.
We have to do it tonight.
I mean, we have to act now.
Tonight?
What about mom?
We have to tell her to leave, Lyle.
Don't you get it, Erik?
She's just as bad as he is.
She's our mother.
She's supposed to- she's supposed to protect us.
Protect you.
She didn't know.
She couldn't have known.
Open your eyes, Erik.
She's worse.
She just- she looked the other way.
She- she let this happen.
You need to stop being so easy on her.
What if we run away?
He'll find us.
Maybe we could call the police.
And what?
For the rest of our lives be known
as the guys that got molested by their father?
No.
They're gonna kill us, Erik.
Tonight.
It's us or them.
Oh my god.
Nooooooo!
Nooooo!!!!!!
Erik! Shoot her!
Stop, please!
Erik please!!!!
SHOOT HER!
Now what?
We killed them.
911, what's the nature of your emergency?
Somebody killed my parents!
What? Who?
Are they still there?
We killed them.
Erik, stay there!
Were they shot?
Yes.
ERIK! Shut up!
Who shot who?
I... I didn't hear anything, I just- I just came home.
An ambulance is on its way.
Ok.
Ok, I gotta go.
Erik, get up.
It's gonna be ok, alright?
Just listen to me.
We left the house at 8:00.
We went to Santa Monica to see License to Kill.
Hey.
We went to Santa Monica to see License to Kill
but the lines were too long ok?
So we went to Century City to see Batman instead.
We- we were going to meet a friend and um...
we had to come back home to pick up Erik's ID
and we just walked in and there was smoke everywhere-
Watch your back. Wait.
Wait!
Hey, stop!
This is going to ruin them.
Do you have any idea who would want your parents dead?
I know that dad made deals with the mob.
He would make a deal with anybody
if it made him some money.
So, the mob? I don't know.
Can we go?
Can we go home?
You shouldn't go back to the house yet.
Your father's business associates got you a hotel.
We can drop you off there.
I can't tell you how much I miss speaking to my father.
Getting his advice on everything from business to girls.
And my mother, um...
I can't- I can't believe I won't ever hear her voice again.
I didn't know what to write for this.
I couldn't find the right words.
Um... so, uh, I thought my father should have the final word.
He always seemed to like that.
This is from a... a letter he sent me recently
while I was at Princeton.
"I urge you, as you go through life,
"to enjoy the fruits of your work
"and the good fortune of your heritage
"and think of your family, your country,
"and your fellow citizens.
"I believe that both you and Erik can make a difference.
"I believe that you will."
I love you all.
What everyone wants to know is who and why?
José Menéndez was a successful businessman
who had risen through the ranks of the entertainment industry.
Rumors have been swirling about ties to the mob
in a business deal gone bad.
Others believe the murders were ordered by none other
than Fidel Castro.
With no clues or leads,
the police are left scratching their heads.
Lyle.
Don't worry.
I'm in charge now.
Didn't this cost a fortune?
You deserve it, Erik.
So I had dad's computer completely wiped.
If there was a new will it's gone now.
What?
Don't look at me like that.
Hey, the inheritance is the least of what we deserve
after what he did to us.
So how about we start thinking about getting you a new car?
I don't need a new car.
Yeah, sure you do.
Hey, eye on the ball.
I think it's about time I head back to Princeton.
I got this idea for a new business.
It's a restaurant chain.
Can't you do that from here?
I mean, my whole life's out there, you know?
A life I created without them.
Yeah, but...
I'm here.
You're gonna be fine.
Look, dad's gone now, ok?
He can't hurt you anymore.
Plus, grandma's here,
and the police don't suspect us, so...
What?
I miss her.
I miss mom.
I miss both of them.
"Enjoy the fruits of your work
"and the good fortune of your heritage."
As dad would say.
What do you wanna do?
I want to play tennis.
Then play tennis.
But dad said I was...
I wasn't good enough to go pro.
Dad wanted you to be weak.
Look, you can do anything you wanna do.
Anything.
Hire the best coach money can buy.
I mean, you can travel to any tournament.
Alright?
Come on.
I'm very sorry this happened to you, Erik.
I truly am.
I know you're aware I kept your parents updated
about our sessions.
They were very pleased with our progress.
They would want you to continue our therapy, Erik.
And make sure that this... set-back doesn't undo
all the good work that we've done together.
I know we had discussed medication before
and I think perhaps you could use it more than ever now.
There's no shame in taking medication
to help you get through emotional distress, Erik.
Let yourself feel your grief and your pain.
But please, don't feel any shame.
Thank you, Dr. Oziel.
I'm just gonna go up there and get him.
Just give him another minute.
We need him to trust us and talk.
All we have right now is a suspicion.
"This letter is so hard for me to write
"but I hope it helps you understand
"why I can't continue."
I'm sorry.
The only reason I lasted this long was for my children.
I love them so much.
Erik.
Mr. Menéndez?
Are you ready now?
Can you answer the question please?
Huh?
I'm sorry, what was the question?
Were you able to find the ticket stubs to Batman?
Have you read this?
No.
"It's a hard thing for Erik and I to decide,
"whether or not we want it to be solved.
"The baton has been passed.
"I feel like I must carry on the burden."
What do you think your brother meant by that?
I- I'm... uh, I think he just feels that he needs
to step into my father's shoes.
Mr. Menéndez,
do you think Lyle could have had a part of this?
You think he could have hired someone to do this?
No.
Erik.
What did I tell you I would do
if you ever run away?
You'd...
hurt me.
Wrong.
I will find you and I will kill you.
She's not real, she's not real, she's not real.
Shouldn't you get that?
What if it's one of your patients?
I'm with one of my patients.
It's probably my wife.
Um, Dr. Oziel, it's Erik.
Can I see you?
Today?
If I- If I tell you something, you can't tell anyone, right?
Like, there's laws or rules-
Erik, you can trust me.
What is it?
We did it.
We... we killed my parents.
Wait.
Who are you calling?
You can't call the police!
You said I could trust you!
I'm calling Lyle.
Lyle, it's Dr. Oziel.
You can't tell anybody!
You need to come back home.
You... he'll kill me.
Please.
Lyle, I'm sorry-
Stop apologizing, Erik.
It's over.
You said it.
Now I have to fix this.
He's my therapist.
I had to tell him.
I couldn't live like this anymore-
Live like what?
Like you had the entire world at your disposal
and no one hurting you anymore?
It's fine. It's fine.
Just... let me take care of it.
How?
Just let me do all the talking.
Anything Erik said to you is bound by
client therapist privilege.
You breathe one word of it to anyone,
your license will be revoked.
I'll make sure of it.
And that will just be the beginning.
I can help you and Erik.
We don't need any help.
We're fine.
Erik doesn't look fine to me.
Well, it'll take some time, you know.
You don't understand.
You don't understand what our dad was like.
What he trained us to be.
I mean, if anything he would probably be proud of us
for what we did.
I can't be here.
We killed them-
-because we thought we would eliminate the problem.
Lyle... Lyle...
Now we have another problem.
Lyle?
Lyle, let's go.
Please.
Erik.
Erik!
I'd really like to see you both tomorrow.
I just want to help you heal.
Then stay out of our lives.
Good luck, Dr. Oziel.
I'm sorry, Lyle.
I'm so sorry.
I messed up.
I- I couldn't handle it anymore.
I had to talk to-
Stop, stop, stop.
I'm- I'm the one that should be sorry.
I never should have left you.
We're gonna figure this out, ok?
The most important thing is that we're in this together now.
You're- you're not alone anymore.
I think I'm going crazy,
and I don't know if what I'm seeing is...
was ever real.
It happened, but it's in the past now.
It's over.
The night we killed them
I remember you shot dad in the head-
Don't-
But I killed-
Stop, Erik.
I killed mom, didn't I?
Stop. Just stop.
Don't think about that night.
It's over.
Just think about the future.
Think about tennis.
When are you gonna sign up for a tournament?
We still need to look at your footwork.
But I won.
I kicked his-
You're not paying me to stroke your ego.
Alright.
But you were a beast out there.
Thank you.
It felt good.
Felt really good.
You know, for the first time in my life
I'm really looking forward to the future.
I wanna know why we're not turning them in.
We both heard them confess.
As I explained to you,
we have nothing to gain by turning them in.
But if we don't, well, think of the opportunity.
Ok, I'll go get us some lunch.
Just lie down for a bit.
Think about something else.
Hello?
I need to report a crime.
It's about the Menéndez case.
I'm starving.
I can cook you lunch.
No, no.
That's ok, grandma.
You go get some rest.
We're going to Cheesecake Factory.
Yeah, ok.
Love cheesecake.
Get out of the car!
What's going on, Lyle?
Get out of the car, now!
Just do what they say, ok?
Ok.
Get down on the ground.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you
in a court of law.
Today at approximately 1:20pm
Beverly Hills police detectives arrested Joseph Lyle Menéndez, 22,
for the August murders of his mother and father,
Maria Louise "Kitty" Menéndez and José Enriqué Menéndez.
His brother, Erik Galen Menéndez, 19,
also wanted for the same crime, is being sought
and believed to be out of the country.
What?
No... I don't- I don't understand.
I- You know, I- I have to go.
I have to go.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry.
Grandma.
Erik?
Mom?
I don't know what to do.
My life is over.
Oh, it doesn't have to be.
This is all my fault.
I trusted Dr. Oziel.
I... I trusted him.
And... I'm the reason that Lyle's in jail.
Erik you can still save yourself.
Don't you think there's a reason this happened
while you were out of the country?
I can't.
I can't do that to Lyle.
Your brother takes care of himself.
He's always been that way.
He's like your father.
They always have a solution.
A plan.
That's not true.
Lyle took care of me.
He saved me.
You're too loyal.
Don't make the same mistakes I made.
I'm not like you.
You stayed with him.
Disappear.
Start a new life.
Forget we ever existed.
All of us.
Don't go home, Erik.
You'll regret this decision.
I never had a choice.
You were free.
I wasn't free, mom.
I was never free.
Neither were you.
Welcome home.
Following the surprise arrests of Erik and Lyle Menéndez,
everyone wants to know what motivated these affluent boys
to murder their own parents?
Was it for money?
Shortly after the double homicide
the brothers reportedly went on a shopping spree.
Step forward.
Take your clothes off.
Hurry up.
I don't have all day.
Run your hands through your hair.
Now turn around and show me the backs of your ears.
Now squat.
Squat.
Expose your buttocks.
Cough.
Erik... Erik...
♪ Beautiful dreamer...
♪ say unto me...
♪ starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee... ♪
♪ sounds of the world early that day... ♪
♪ lulled by the moonlight
♪ have all passed away...
♪ Gone are the cares of life's busy throne, ♪
♪ Beautiful dreamer wake up to me. ♪
Erik.
Hey.
I wasn't sure if you'd come back.
I would never abandon you.
I know, I know.
I just-
We're in this together.
You have nothing to worry about in here, ok?
I'm gonna take care of you.
Good to see you.
Hello?
Hi.
Uh, this is Erik Menéndez.
Is Leslie Abramson there?
This is Leslie.
What can I do for you, Erik?
I need a good lawyer.
Well, I'm a very good lawyer.
Thank you.
Nice to meet you.
I've got good news, kid.
My god!
Are you ok?
Listen, if they're not treating you well
I can speak to the guards.
It's ok.
Um, you said you had good news?
Yeah. Ok, well, your therapist, you know,
the one who betrayed you
and the code of ethics of his profession?
Well, he's been accused by his mistress of drugging
and sexually assaulting her.
Now, I'm gonna fight the use of the tapes he illegally made
of your confession but even if we lose that battle, Erik,
we will win this war because he's their star witness
and I will destroy him.
So there's hope?
There's always hope if I'm on your team.
And Lyle's lawyer?
Pretty good, too.
Ok, Erik.
Why don't you tell me what happened?
Ok.
It's ok.
It's alright.
I don't need anything right now, you know?
I don't need anything other than the time to get those tapes
thrown out because that is all they have.
No tapes, no case.
How long will that take?
Oh, who knows?
It gives us a lot of time to get to know each other.
It's ok.
We lost.
They can't use all the tapes but two of them are theirs.
What about patient therapist privilege?
Well, the state supreme court ruled that Oziel
reasonably felt threatened, which overrode that privilege.
We didn't threaten him!
Erik, they have a case now.
A strong one.
Erik, it's been three years.
You don't trust me yet?
I do, but-
Ok, well trust me when I tell you the only hope
we have now is motive.
Erik, why did you do it?
Nice.
I wanna tell Leslie.
About what?
Dad.
About what he did to us.
Are you nuts?
We don't have a case.
And they have those tapes.
Do you know what they'll do to us in here if they find out
our dad molested us?
I'm tired of keeping secrets.
I'll tell you what.
You can tell her he beat you up, ok?
Leave out the rest.
The last time you told anyone else the truth
you put us in prison.
I'm not the one who confessed on tape.
That was you.
My... my father, he uh... left me.
Just took off when I was 14 years old.
He didn't say goodbye.
Just left.
Sent a very nice postcard though from Florida.
I still haven't forgiven him.
Those are wounds that linger.
I'm a- I'm a criminal attorney, Erik, but I don't-
I don't see myself as representing criminals.
I- I represent victims.
You know what people are saying about you.
That you did it for the money.
Well, I don't think that.
I have spoken to everyone in your family and not one of them
has a single kind thing to say about your father.
Not even his own mother.
And I get it, ok?
I get that you're protecting him.
I even get that even thought you killed him you still love him.
There's no shame in it.
There's no shame in still loving him.
Or in still being afraid of him.
Tell me, Erik.
Tell me what he did to you.
Come here.
Are you ready to stop being a victim, Erik?
Yeah.
I'm ready.
opening statements today
in the trial of two Beverly Hills brothers accused of
murdering their wealthy parents.
After three years of legal back and forth
the Menéndez brothers are finally headed to court
and there's a very important witness: a camera.
TV cameras in the court
will bring the trial out of the court room
and into the living rooms of the general public.
All rise.
Please be seated.
Lyle and Erik Menéndez are cold-blooded killers.
There were 15 wounds to their parents' bodies.
15.
And two of them were contact wounds.
Shots fired directly at their head.
Erik Menéndez told his therapist, Dr. Oziel,
that he had been disinherited by his father.
Lies and cover-ups.
They even hired a man to wipe their father's computer.
Objection, irrelevant.
I'll allow it.
Erik Menéndez even wrote a screenplay
about a son who kills his father.
Objection, the screenplay in question hasn't been admitted
into evidence.
Sustained.
They purchased Rolex watches, a Porsche,
condos, a restaurant.
It was almost the perfect murder.
Almost.
The real victims in this case
are not José and Kitty Menéndez,
but their sons, Lyle and Erik.
Erik will tell you why he killed his parents.
He will tell you the painful story of his life.
He will tell you how his father, José Menéndez,
groomed him as a child for his own sexual gratification.
He will tell you of repeated acts of forcible
oral copulation, sodomy, and rape.
The Southern California murder trial of Lyle
and Erik Menéndez has taken another strange twist.
The defense now contends the brothers killed their parents
because years of abuse rewired their brains.
Mr. Menéndez used a variety of objects:
needles, wooden implements, knotted ropes, and tacks.
They are calling it the "abuse excuse".
The shocking claim by the defense that the brothers
endured years of physical and emotional abuse
at the hand of their father.
Prosecutors say the brothers acted out of simple greed
for the inheritance.
What the jurors will make of this is anyone's guess.
I do.
Kitty told me she wished her sons had never been born.
She said José only cares for the boys.
We were kids and Lyle told me his father was touching him.
You know, down there.
Lyle said he told his mother but that she didn't believe him.
Erik asked me if my dad ever gave me massages.
And at that point did you know what that meant?
No, I didn't.
At that point I got the feeling that he was actually trying
to find out if any of these massages were normal.
Was there something else he told you about the massages?
Like where they were?
Yes.
He did.
He told me his father was massaging his dick.
He used that word?
Yes, he did.
And I remember very specifically him asking me
to make a promise to him never to reveal that to anybody.
Andy's testimony was good.
Yeah.
But I- I still don't understand why you couldn't
show the jury the letter I wrote him.
The judge said it doesn't necessarily prove sexual abuse
and so he ruled it inadmissible.
Didn't he read it?
Yeah, I know.
Erik, look.
This is- this is a letter written to your cousin
when you were a child.
I mean, as far as I'm concerned this is hard evidence
of the abuse.
"It's still happening, Andy.
"But it's worse for me now.
"I never know when it's going to happen
"and it's driving me crazy."
"Every night I stay up think...
"thinking he might come in. I'm afraid.
"So afraid."
Just wait until they hear my testimony, Erik.
I already know they're gonna eat it up.
There's not gonna be a dry eye in the house.
I told Norma she could call me "Trial Lyle".
Why are you talking to a journalist, Lyle?
What, Norma?
She writes little newsletter,
I wouldn't exactly call her a journalist.
Will you just not worry about anything, ok,
and just let me handle this?
I was talking to Jaime too, and she said she'd testify
that dad made a pass at her, so...
Ain't the truth enough?
Check mate.
Who's your older brother, Erik, hmm?
Who's the one who saved you from dad?
You are.
But-
But what?
Lyle.
You did it, too.
Erik, come here!
What?
Did what?
You took me into the woods and you hurt me.
Just like he did.
Erik.
say when you told her
about what your dad did to you?
She told me that I had to stop it.
And that I was... I was exaggerating.
That my dad has to punish me when I do things wrong.
And um...
she told me he loved me.
And, as a child, did you ever tell anybody else
what had happened with your dad?
No.
Why not?
Because I was afraid.
My dad told me not to.
What did he tell you about telling people?
He told me it was our secret...
and that bad things would happen to me if I told.
I told him I never would.
How old were you when he stopped?
Eight.
So when this was going on between six and eight,
during that time did you ever tell your brother?
No.
Did you do something to your brother?
Yes.
What did you do to your brother?
I took him out to the woods sometimes and...
I would play with Erik in the same way.
I was just doing what my dad taught us to do.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry, Erik.
It's gotten to the point where some people will do
just about anything to get into Judge Weisberg's court room
just to see and hear the Menéndez boys-
The Beverly Hills brothers,
who admit to killing their rich parents,
are attracting a following-
Exceeding up to 1,000 letters a week each,
from devoted fans.
Your fan mail, Menéndez.
"Dear Erik, I don't know why I'm writing this letter.
"I watched you listen to your brother's testimony
"and you looked so alone and I just wanted you to know
"that you're not alone."
Her name is Tammi with an "i".
She has pretty handwriting.
She does have nice handwriting.
Grandma, I... I don't want you to come tomorrow.
The stuff I'm gonna say, it...
Shh.
I don't want to hurt you anymore than I have.
Shh.
No, no, no.
You- you don't deserve this.
I don't care what you say in that court room tomorrow.
I will be there for you
and your brother every day no matter what.
Uh, grandma, Leslie says that um...
abuse is sometimes a cycle.
Did something... happen to dad when he was a kid?
Um, he was unbuckling his pants and he pulled out his penis
and told me that he wanted me to massage his penis
with my mouth.
And did you do that?
Yes.
Erik, was this the beginning of what you called "knees"?
Yes.
And what happened ultimately in this episode?
I would give him a m... a massage.
On my knees.
Until he started to have an orgasm.
Had he ever done that before,
while you were giving him a mouth massage?
He had done it, just not in my mouth.
Then I started to pull away as I'd always done
and he came on a towel or a sheet.
So... so I started to pull away and he said "no, swallow".
And he held my head to him.
And therefore, did he ejaculate in your mouth?
Yes.
Did you swallow?
Partly.
Did this upset you?
Yes.
I was crying.
And did he say something to you afterward?
Yes.
He said "why can't you be like your brother?"
And what did that mean?
I just thought it meant why do you have to cry all the time?
Why can't you be stronger?
And what happened after?
I threw up in the bathroom.
I threw up almost every time that he would...
come in my mouth.
Now, how far away from your parents bedroom
was this bathroom where you were throwing up?
Eight feet.
Ten feet.
And your mother, Erik, when you were throwing up,
did your mother ever come to you?
No.
Did your mother ever do something peculiar
with respect to your body?
Yes.
What was it that your mother started to do?
She sat by the bed and she'd dig down my pants
so she could examine me.
Uh, in my genitals.
She called it "checking me out".
She'd say "let me check you out".
And she'd look at my penis.
She wouldn't really give me much of a reason about why.
That's good.
I checked you out because I wanted to know you were ok.
Your father had mistresses,
and who knows what diseases he was bringing home.
Why didn't you help me?
I don't know.
I- I was weak.
I- I couldn't.
I can't look at you.
Just get through this day, Kitty.
Tomorrow will be different.
Just get through this day, Kitty.
Tomorrow will be different.
That's what I used to tell myself, too.
But it was never different.
I'm sorry, Erik.
I'm so sorry.
As soon as I started firing I didn't see anyone.
How can that be?
Maybe it's because the room was dark?
There was so much noise.
So much... fire.
Maybe I don't want to remember.
I don't know why.
But I don't remember what happened that night.
When I entered that room.
Erik.
I don't remember.
What's wrong, sweetie?
"Dear Erik, I don't know how to tell you this, Erik,
"but I found my husband in bed with my daughter.
"On some subconscious level I always knew.
"Maybe that's why I empathize with you so much.
"I hate that people don't believe you."
I've never even met her.
All I wanna do is hold her and protect her from her pain.
Tell her.
Tell her everything I never told you.
911, what's the nature of your emergency?
Someone killed my parents!
What? Who?
Are you still there?
Erik, Erik, stay there!
Were they shot?
Erik, shut up!
Who shot who?
I- I didn't hear anything, I just came home...
An ambulance....
At the same time you're crying, you're also lying.
Aren't you?
Yes.
You were asked a number of questions
and you were crying, correct?
At the same time you were crying you were also lying, correct?
Correct.
You learned to lie as a child, didn't you?
I would... I would say I did.
And you almost didn't get caught in this case.
You know, you characterize it in that way
and you think it's funny but...
in some ways, in getting arrested,
and for my brother, in some ways is a relief
and the changes that have happened are a relief.
If the defendants had come from a poor background,
if they had come from South Central Los Angeles,
you would have no trouble
finding them capable of violence,
and yet if they had come from South Central Los Angeles
would they have had daddy's money to make up this defense?
Look at the defendants.
Look at their crimes.
José and Kitty were cold-bloodedly slaughtered
by their two sons.
This is the woman who gave birth to them.
This is what they did to their mother.
Noooooo!
No!
Erik, shoot her!
Erik, please!
SHOOT HER!
This?
This is what José Menéndez did to his child.
This is the kind of daily abuse Erik Menéndez
was subjected to from the time he was six years old.
Ask yourself, how would you respond to a lifetime
of this kind of abuse?
What would it drive you to do?
There really is good and evil in this world.
Erik Menéndez?
He's a good person who did a bad thing and you cannot-
you cannot judge the sinner by the sin alone.
I'm going to ask you to base your decision on common sense.
We've heard hours of graphic testimony from Erik Menéndez
and there's a common sense explanation for it.
Erik Menéndez is a homosexual.
Now, if the defendant
were engaging in consensual homosexual sex,
wouldn't that explain how he could describe
such graphic sexual encounters with his father?
In Los Angeles, two juries resume deliberations tomorrow
in the highly-publicized trial of the Menéndez-
Two Los Angeles Juries are deliberating the fate
of the Menéndez brothers who admit they shot
their wealthy parents to death in 1989.
... like a Hollywood melodrama,
but the real life murder trial of Eric and Lyle Menéndez
is still without an ending this morning.
It's so obvious that Erik's a pansy.
How is it obvious?
Come on. Look at him.
The guy was sleeping with his brother.
Lyle wasn't sleeping with Erik.
He was repeating a pattern of behavior he learned
from his abusive father.
"Pattern of behavior".
Ok, if two dudes are doing it, they're queers.
Simple as that.
So let me get this straight.
Straight.
By your logic, if a boy is being molested
by his father then he's gay?
Ok, no, that's not what I meant, but once he turns 18
if he keeps doing it with his dad then yeah.
Definitely gay.
Ok.
By show of hands, how many think that Erik and Lyle lied
about the bulk of their testimony?
"I know this sounds silly but with the trial about to be over
"I'm going to miss seeing you.
"I have a dream that next week you'll be released
"and you'll come to Minnesota to see me."
I have to go.
Can I have Tammi's letter?
What, mom?
Nothing.
I'm just glad to see you like a girl.
I never thought you'd have a normal relationship.
Well, she's a married woman in Minnesota
and I'm in jail.
Hardly normal.
Well, it's a step in the right direction.
For good luck.
After four weeks of deliberations,
has the jury finally reached a verdict?
The court finds based upon the statement of the foreman
and all the jurors that the um... jury is hopelessly deadlocked
and declares a mis-trial in this matter.
This is great news.
Is it?
Doesn't this mean we have to do all of this all over again?
It's ok.
We're out of the woods, kid.
Gil Garcetti is the district attorney in Los Angeles
and that's where he is this morning.
With only five of Erik's jurors and three of Lyle's jurors
voting for first degree murder,
why do you want to re-try this case?
Very simply
I have a professional and ethical responsibility
to seek justice.
And in this case you had two cold-blooded,
willful, premeditated, deliberate murders.
A mother and father, by their sons.
Justice deserves that I go forward and seek
first degree murder
because indeed that's what these murders were.
Ok.
Here we go again, kid.
We have a lot of work to do-
Leslie, I can't.
I can't.
I can't afford you anymore.
I told you, the money is gone.
Shut up. Shut up.
Listen, I'm never gonna abandon you, ok?
I have way bigger problems than a pay cut.
A big pay cut.
Yeah, well, money doesn't buy happiness, right?
Ok.
This is gonna be a very different trial.
Less theatre.
More justice.
And I'm not allowing any cameras in that court room.
Good.
The media was just a distraction.
I'm glad you approve, Ms. Abramson.
I've also decided that all testimony regarding the abuse
will be inadmissible except for the defendants.
What?
What- how- how is that justice?
Ms. Abramson, you are presenting a case
based on battered women syndrome.
The defendants are men.
With- judge, with all due respect
they were battered people!
They were battered!
You can't be a battered woman, Ms. Abramson, if you're a man.
I don't understand.
It means the jury won't hear from your cousins or your aunt
or anyone else who corroborated your father's abuse.
I just don't know.
I don't know what happened to Weisburg, you know?
He used to be fair.
He was humorless but fair.
Rodney King, that must have really done him in, you know?
When you preside over a big case like that that goes bust,
well you just don't want to lose another one
and that's exactly what's happening, Erik.
Alright?
He's just- he's just handing... handing Garcetti a re-election,
'cause I'll tell you something,
that man would not be re-elected unless he puts you behind bars.
I'm sorry Erik, I'm really sorry.
You deserve better than to be a pawn in a political game.
There's uh... there's something else.
Norma Novelli, Lyle's girlfriend,
she taped all their conversations Erik.
She's publishing it as a book.
He tried to get her to corrupt a witness and uh,
he just doesn't come off looking that great.
He can't testify anymore.
And no one in your family can testify about the abuse.
You're... you're on your own this time.
Calm down, Erik.
You destroyed our case, Lyle.
Why did you talk to Norma?
How is it any different than you talking to Tammi?
Every other day.
The difference is I trust Tammi.
I think I might even-
What, love her?
If she cares about you so much, huh?
How come she hasn't come to visit you here yet?
Hmm?
For all you know she's some old creepy dude somewhere.
You don't even know if she's real.
You asked people to lie.
Yeah, for us, Erik.
For us.
To try to help our case.
Well, you didn't.
Hey.
Who do you trust?
Leslie or me?
Who's the one that saved you from dad, Erik?
From mom?
Shoot her!
SHOOT HER!
Erik, please!
I didn't kill her.
You did.
I was just doing what you wanted me to do.
I saved you.
Hey!
Don't you see, Lyle?
We did what dad wanted.
He would have been proud of us.
You said so yourself.
He set us up to do this.
We didn't end his life.
We destroyed our own.
I told you not to tell anyone.
Who's gonna protect you now?
Huh?
Who's gonna protect you now?
No!
Who's gonna protect you now?
Earthquake!
Everybody down!
They have been saying for years they did it.
The argument was the reason.
In their first trial,
jurors didn't quite know who to believe,
but a second jury has had no problem.
We the jury in the above and entitled action find the defendant
Joseph Lyle Menéndez guilty of murder.
We find the murder to be in the first degree.
We the jury in the above and entitled action find the defendant
Erik Galen Menéndez guilty of murder.
We find the murder to be in the first degree.
I love you.
Can we appeal?
There's no point, grandma.
We're spending the rest of our lives in prison.
Here.
Tell me what you think.
"I love you"?
Is this the first time you've told a woman you love her?
I love you, Erik.
Do you forgive me?
Menéndez, you're being transferred.
Where?
Let's go.
I forgive you.
Hey, what's going on?
You're being transferred.
Already?
Are we staying together?
Erik-
Come on, answer me.
Wait!
Wait, wait, wait!
Give me a second to say goodbye! Hold on!
Wait! Erik!
Please, can we have a little more time?
Erik!
"Dear Tammi, I need you to know that I would give my own life
"to change what happened that night.
"I know that what I did, that one single moment,
"devastated my parents' lives and so many other lives.
"I have tried everything I can to ease my guilt
"but there's no use.
"Remorse is useless.
"I know I will be haunted for the rest of my life
"and I know that despite your belief in me
"and your forgiveness of me I am unworthy of you.
"I love you.
"Erik."
"PS. Will you marry me?"