All language subtitles for Blood.&.Money.S01E06.The.Case.of.the.Menendez.Brothers.Today.1080p.PCOK.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

In the criminal
justice system,

detectives and prosecutors
face daunting challenges

when money
is the motive for murder.

[dramatic sting]

Never thought
32-plus years later,

we'd still be talking about
the Menendez brothers.

It was a case that
captivated the nation.

They've committed
a heinous crime.

This case was a phenomenon.

A crime many believed
had a clear-cut motive.

They wanted the money
and the lifestyle.

It's as simple as that.

My friend's going to spend
the rest of his life in jail.

A trial that recaptured
the attention of millions

across social media during
the pandemic,

which sparked a renewed call
for justice.

This younger
generation is learning

about the Menendez case.

They believe this was
an improper prosecution.

They got what they
deserve for a vicious crime.

These men and women dedicate
their lives to law and order.

It's the toughest thing
I've ever done.

These are
their true stories.

♪ ♪

On August 20, 1989,
José and Kitty Menendez

were brutally murdered.

The Menendez brothers
were convicted

of first-degree murder.

At the time, crime was this,
like, black-and-white thing.

They were sentenced
to life without parole,

and they've been in prison
for more than 30 years now.

Because these are highly
notorious defendants,

they think it's a
free-for-all for inhumanity.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

In 2021, I wrote a story
about the Menendez brothers

and the rise of a social media
fanbase for them.

It's pretty shocking,
just the amount of engagement.

I mean, some of these
videos alone have

2, 3, 4 million views on them.

♪ ♪

It can just really
upend things

that we might consider
set in stone.

What happened?

[voice breaking]
My dad--

- Can you answer the question?
- Yes.

OK.

The young people that
are making posts about this

and talking about it online--

they're trying to,
in their eyes,

overturn a miscarriage
of justice.

[dramatic sting]

[eerie music]

[man shouts]

[sobbing]

[siren wailing]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

I remember it was
just before midnight.

We were patrolling
up in the north end

and we got a call of a
shooting at a residence,

and the whole shift showed up.

It was dark out.

They had the house lights on.

The brothers were ordered
from their front door

to the driveway area,

where they were told to lay
face down and were searched.

Then once they were deemed
to be not a threat,

then we tried to figure out
what was going on.

♪ ♪

People took turns going in
to look at the crime scene,

which was horrific.

♪ ♪

I saw what appeared to
be the mom, on all fours

between the couch and the
coffee table with her hair

slung over in front of her.

I saw the father sitting
on the couch,

slumped back.

♪ ♪

It looked like they
had been repeatedly shot

with a shotgun.

I'd never seen anything
like that before.

And then I'm back outside
dealing with the two brothers.

They seem to be
very distraught.

As a police officer,
you're very compassionate.

It was a horrible scene.

Officer Angel learned
that the victims were

José and Kitty Menendez,

and it was their sons,

18-year-old Erik
and 21-year-old Lyle,

who had called 911.

And I was detailed
to find out who they were,

who the people
in the house were,

and to report back
to the supervisor inside.

♪ ♪

The detective sergeant told me
to bring the two brothers

down to the station
to be interviewed

by the detectives--
in this case, Tom Edmonds.

He was just known
as the ultimate

in detectives,
very dedicated to his craft.

I got called after
midnight to come in.

I got a 20-minute briefing
as to what we knew,

and then went to talk
to the boys

to see if I could get
more information

so we could start putting
an investigation together.

I got Erik in there first.

He was extremely distraught,
crying, acting very fidgety.

He said he had been to a movie
and to the Taste of LA,

which is an event
in Santa Monica.

They went home to get
Erik's false identification

that he had
so they could go to a bar.

That's when they discovered
the murder.

The interview
was relatively short.

I approached him
with kid gloves

and tried to be kind,
because I know how

I would have felt
if I walked in

and found both parents
gunned down.

His brother, Lyle Menendez,

reiterated their whereabouts
that evening.

Investigators then asked

who had motive
to kill their parents.

They said their father
was in a video business

where there was
unsavory characters

that he worked with.

I had never heard of
José or Kitty Menendez.

I later learned that he was
a self-made millionaire

kind of guy.

Investigators delved
into the couple's past

to determine how they
could have made enemies

on their rise to riches.

José Menendez came to Miami
when he was 15 years old,

a Cuban immigrant.

[soft piano music]

Kitty and Josie met at
Southern Illinois University.

And she was pretty
and bright,

and fell in love.

José and Kitty had
two sons, Erik and Lyle,

who they raised in New Jersey.

Uh, this is
a Princeton Day School

yearbook from 1983.

Sixth grade.

You can see here, there's Erik,
and me next to him

in our class picture.

I was raised in
Princeton, New Jersey,

and I grew up with
Erik Menendez.

Erik was focused on tennis
and we jokingly

gave each other's autographs,
because we had decided

that we were both going
to be competitors

and win the gold medal
in the '92 Olympics.

Lyle had aspirations
of going into politics.

I'd been there for the dinner
conversations where

José had made the comments
about, well, you know,

if you want to be a senator,
this is how you got to think

about this, this, and this.

José struck me as
a typical immigrant father.

You've come to this country
to make a better life

for yourself, for your family.

You've got to do everything
to the best of your ability.

José Menendez ended up
working at RCA Records,

and then he got this job
out here on the West Coast

with Live Entertainment.

[upbeat music]

Erik called me and
said, hey, guess what?

I'm moving to LA.

In the fall of 1986,
15-year-old Erik

moved west with his parents,
while 18-year-old Lyle

stayed to attend
Princeton University.

It was all very positive.

Like, there was
nothing negative

that he and I,
in our conversation,

saw in their family
moving to California.

By all accounts,

the Menendez family
found success--

until tragedy struck.

The city of Beverly Hills
has been rocked by

a drama at once
riveting and chilling.

[tense music]

Company might have
been doing business

with people in the mafia.

One of this town's
most ambitious, charming,

promising new executives
and his wife

were savagely murdered
in their home.

I come home,
and my mom and dad

had this look on their face.

And they were just like,
"John..."

♪ ♪

"Erik's parents are dead."

[breathes shakily]

♪ ♪

I couldn't process it.

I--I could not wrap
my mind around

what could have happened.

♪ ♪

Throughout the house,
there were no shotgun rounds,

no bloody clothes,
no bloody footprints.

The detectives conducted a
search looking for a shotgun,

and we didn't find what
we were looking for.

We had policemen
all over the place

trying to find witnesses.

They found a girl
down the street

that said she saw
a car pull up,

and two individuals get out
and go to the trunk,

and then go in the house.

There was no evidence that

this was
a residential robbery.

So it was strictly a hit.

Kill José, kill Kitty.

♪ ♪

It came my way because
there were allegations

that it was a mob hit.

It had me questioning
a lot things,

my awareness
of people around me.

Perfect family
to the outside world.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

In 1989,
as I was driving to work,

I heard about a murder
that had taken place

in Beverly Hills.

And then I got to work,
and they said, it's yours.

♪ ♪

And at the time,
I was working in

the organized crime unit of
the district attorney's office.

Most murder cases are
put together by the police

and given to the DA
to prosecute.

Occasionally,
when you're in a special unit,

you get a murder case
at the get-go.

It came my way because
there were allegations

that it was a mob hit,

and I met with the detectives
pretty early on.

♪ ♪

One of the questions
we asked the family

was for enemies.

And they mentioned a man
named Noel Bloom,

and a business deal
that went sour with José.

Noel Bloom was president
of Live Entertainment.

He preceded José Menendez
in that job,

and who did have some mafia
connections in his life.

And so his name
was put out there

early on in the investigation,
probably within days.

Noel Bloom had
a pretty good alibi,

and that didn't go anywhere
once they looked into it.

Once Noel Bloom
was ruled out,

investigators continued
to explore

José's business dealings.

I had heard that he was
just a nightmare to work with.

He yelled and screamed a lot.
He was brutal to people.

I had been told that
right after his murder,

people were pretty pleased that
he was no longer on the Earth.

He was brutal in business.

And we found out that José
had bought

a pornographic film operation

from some people that were
connected to the mafia

back in New York,
New Jersey area.

We found out who he
had purchased it from,

and we were able
to locate this man

in a hospital in Newark.

When I interviewed him,

he admitted being connected
to the underworld.

We told him about this
murder scene, and he said,

we would have not
made it so messy.

♪ ♪

We wouldn't have
killed the wife.

And he said José and them did
a standard business operation.

José made money,
they made money,

and they parted
as great friends.

While detectives hadn't
fully eliminated the mafia,

they began looking into
Menendez family connections

while in New Jersey and
made an unexpected discovery

about Erik and Lyle.

There were rumors
throughout--among the family,

the whole Menendez family--

that the boys were going
to be disinherited.

This was a red flag
all the way.

According to family members,
José had grown wary

of his inheritance
ending up in the hands

of his sons' girlfriends.

He was also disappointed
in his sons' recent brush

with criminal behavior.

We did a background check
on them

and learned that they had had
a problem out in Calabasas,

doing residential burglaries
of their friends.

They stole, like,
$100,000 in cash and jewelry,

and they got caught doing that.

That's weird.

I mean, that's a weird thing to
do when your father is making

the kind of money he was.

José Menendez, he was
embarrassed that his sons

were involved in this--
these burglaries,

and he made a deal with the
district attorney's office.

He fixed it so that
Erik would plead guilty

to these burglaries,

and then Erik would only face
juvenile charges.

And he ended up
getting probation

and had to see a psychologist
for six months,

and Lyle was not
mentioned in it at all.

Lyle was supposed
to be the golden child.

And it was protect Lyle,

which I'm sure
was hard on Erik.

♪ ♪

Investigators also learned
that José had

a $650,000
life insurance policy

that the brothers inherited
right after his death.

They just went shopping immediately.

They bought
a Porsche Carrera motorcar,

and they bought Rolexes.

They bought a Jeep.

Erik hired a tennis coach.

He was going to go to UCLA,

but then he decided,
well, he wouldn't go to UCLA.

He was this hot tennis player,
and he hired a guy

for $60,000 a year
to be his coach.

This didn't show signs
of very deep sadness,

in our mind.

People were trying
to make a big deal about

when they went on this
big spending spree.

They were spending
money before,

but just somebody else
was signing the check.

Lyle went to Princeton,

and Lyle bought a restaurant
there after the murders,

a Buffalo wings restaurant.

He spent
half a million dollars

and he thought
this would be the beginning

of him being a big businessman
like his father.

Erik and Lyle were
never people to just

sit there and do nothing.

It was,
you've got to stay active.

You've got to be productive.

♪ ♪

They wanted away
from their parents,

but they wanted the money
and the lifestyle.

It's as simple as that.

And I kept saying to the cops,
find me those guns.

Because once we can hook
them up with any guns,

we can prove that
they're the killers,

and not somebody else.

Investigators pushed
together evidence

to implicate the brothers.

But seven months
after the murders,

no new leads had been
released by police,

creating more questions
than answers

for the public and the media.

It was just
in the news constantly.

I couldn't escape it.

I don't know who killed them,

but I know it wasn't
Erik and Lyle.

Erik stopped by
my parents' house,

and he was like,
I just wanted to say hi to you

and let you know I'm OK.

And my dad told me when he,
you know--

when he talked to Erik, he was
like, all he wanted to do

was give him a hug 'cause
he just felt so horrible.

Um...

♪ ♪

During the investigation,

the case was on
the back burner

because we didn't have any
good information going.

This investigation
wasn't easy at all,

up until the point
where a young lady

by the name of Judalon Smyth

appeared in
the detective bureau

While investigators
hit a dead end

trying to build a case against
the Menendez brothers

in March 1990,

a woman named Judalon Smyth
came forward

with explosive information.

She said that she was the
girlfriend of a psychologist

named Dr. Jerome Oziel,
and she had been dating him,

and she did not
like him anymore.

But he had told her that
the boys had confessed

that they had murdered
their parents.

And not only
had they confessed to it,

he had it on audiotape.

[dramatic music]

When the brothers did
the burglary in Calabasas,

their attorney said,
go talk to Oziel,

and it will be better
for you that you're

trying to deal
with your problems

in a therapeutic setting.

So that's what they did.

And then after the murders,
Erik went back.

Because Erik, emotionally,
had a lot tougher time

with what he'd done
than his brother,

or at least he felt the need
to go see Dr. Oziel.

Dr. Oziel actually violated
client-doctor relationships,

but I also knew
there was good potential

that it would help our case.

And the key, in my book,
was Judalon Smyth

told us that the shotguns
were bought in San Diego.

♪ ♪

There's only so many
gun stores in San Diego.

Les and I went to the Big Five
as our second store,

and when you buy a gun,
it's in a big ledger.

And we went to the
proper date sequence,

and we noticed the name
Donovan Goodreau.

We knew Donovan Goodreau was
Lyle's friend from Princeton.

He didn't go there,

but he hung out with
the Princeton kids.

Goodreau had called police
right after the murders

to ask what had happened,

which is when they learned
who he was.

Donovan Goodreau was
interviewed by the police

and quickly ruled out
as the purchaser of the guns.

He was back east when
the guns were purchased.

So no, he was not
in San Diego that day.

We learned that
Donovan Goodreau lost his ID,

or it was stolen.

Goodreau said he had
last seen his ID

in Lyle's dorm room
that spring

and suspected the brothers
still had it.

The Menendez boys
had bought two shotguns,

two Mossberg 12-gauges,

and a box of ammunition

using Donovan Goodreau's stolen
or found identification.

That's enough
to file the case.

♪ ♪

[dramatic sting]

♪ ♪

The day of the arrest,
Lyle and his pals

were going to lunch
in the Jeep,

and they were southbound
from his house.

But we had a radio car
pull them over

and take him into custody
in a full felony pullover--

face down on the pavement
and the whole number.

[sirens whoop, wail]

My immediate response was,
this is bogus.

And how are they
accusing, you know,

my buddy and his brother
for this?

This is ridiculous.

I tried to call Erik
after I got the news.

[phone ringing]
I got voicemail.

Erik is a world-class
tennis player

and had been playing
in tournaments.

And in this present tournament,

we'd learned that he was,
in fact, in Israel,

from his attorney,

and the attorney set it up
for him to come back.

Erik Menendez was taken into
custody on the tarmac at LAX

by our detectives.

People kill their parents
all the time.

Rich people from
Beverly Hills don't.

And that's why this case
was a phenomenon.

[energetic music]

I've heard of very
few murders that were

more savage than this one was.

[tense music]

We had to have two juries because

if defendant number one confesses

and implicates
defendant number two,

you can't put that statement on
unless you can clean it up,

or he has his own jury.

So both Lyle and Erik
had made

all these statements
that implicated the other,

so we had two juries.

Leslie Abramson was
the lead counsel for Erik.

A lot of people in LA that
will tell you that, I mean--

that Leslie Abramson was one
of the best attorneys to have

if you have a homicide case.

When modern audiences
are encountering

the footage of the trial,

one of the main stars
of that footage

is Leslie Abramson.

You owe us as jurors
one thing only--

that you must entertain
the possibility

that we're telling the truth.

Jill Lansing was
the lead counsel for Lyle.

She was a well-respected
public defender

and went into
private practice.

And the first line out of the
mouth of Jill Lansing was...

Lyle and Erik Menendez

killed their parents.

You don't hear that much
from a defense attorney.

We're not disputing
where it happened,

how it happened, who did it.

The only thing
that you are going

to have to focus on in this
trial is why it happened.

What we will prove to you
is it was done out of fear.

When the defense made
their opening statement,

you could hear
the judge breathing.

It was that quiet
in the courtroom.

And I thought,
oops, we're in trouble.

On July 20, 1993,
the Menendez trial began.

There was so much public
interest in this trial

because of all the elements--
rich kids

killing their parents,
Beverly Hills.

You know, there was
an unbelievable amount

of interest, much more than
a normal murder trial.

[dramatic music]

In this particular case,
they had already confessed.

But I said, I will go in
with an open mind

and listen to what they present
and be fair.

Certain incidents happened
right before the parents died

which led these children
to believe

that they were about
to be killed.

And they acted.

The argument on why
the Menendez brothers

did what they did was
quite likely the first time

that many Americans
had ever heard

this sort of argument
being made.

This trial will take you
behind the façade

of the rich houses,
the fancy cars,

the wealthy friends,

and impressive
social engagements.

It will take you
to the life

that was experienced
by Lyle Menendez

and his brother
as they grew up.

Perfect family
to the outside world.

But inside that home,
it was a disaster.

Lyle's father grabbed him and
socked him square in the face,

and said, if you ever embarrass
me again, I will kill you.

There is a jury instruction
that says that if you have

an honest but
unreasonable belief

and the need
for self-defense,

you get a voluntary manslaughter.

♪ ♪

You're not convicted of either
first or second-degree murder.

So I knew that's what
they were going for.

♪ ♪

What do you believe was
the originating cause

of you and your brother
ultimately winding up

shooting your parents?

Um, me telling...

You telling what?

Me telling Lyle that, uh...

[breathes shakily]

- OK.
- [crying]

My dad...

- Can you answer the question?
- Yes.

OK.
It was you telling Lyle what?

That my dad had
been molesting me.

♪ ♪

I was completely
caught off guard.

Um, I was devastated.

Were you seeking help
from your brother?

Yes.

I didn't doubt that.
Families keep dark secrets,

and there are secrets
that every family has.

But it had me questioning
a lot of things about myself,

my awareness
of people around me.

I went all the way down
that path of, like,

could I have done something?

Should I have noticed something
to have prevented this?

I believed every word
he said.

Lyle said that he
was sexually assaulted

and even raped by his father

between the ages
of four and six.

[crying]
I just told him, I don't--

I don't...

I just told him that
I didn't want to do this,

and that it hurt me.

And he said that
he didn't mean to hurt me,

that he loved me.

And that was astounding
because Lyle was, you know,

presented as kind of
a hard guy, the tough guy,

the guy who wouldn't
break down.

Now you had tears
flowing down his eyes,

and I thought, you know,
it was believable.

It stopped for you with
your dad when you were eight.

When you were about 13,

did you think that it might
be happening to someone else?

Yes.

And who did you think
it was happening to?

Erik.

I told him that I knew what was
going on with him and Erik,

and that I heard noises,

and that I wanted him
to leave Erik alone.

Did he tell you it stopped?

He did.

[pensive music]

On August 15, 1989,

Lyle learned the abuse
had never stopped.

When Lyle came home
that summer,

Erik confessed to Lyle
that the molestation

was still going on.

And Lyle got infuriated,
and he--

very protective
with his younger brother.

So he confronted José.

He said, um,

"What I do with my son
is none of your business."

Then he--he said that, uh,

"Let me tell you
what's going to happen.

He said, "You're going
back to Princeton

"and your brother's going
to UCLA, like we planned.

And we're going to forget this
conversation ever took place."

And, uh, I swore and told him
he was a----ing sick person.

And I told him no,
and that he wasn't going

to touch my brother again,
and I threatened him.

How did you threaten him?

I told him that
I would tell everybody

everything about him.

And, uh, that was a mistake.

When the Menendez brothers
took the stand,

they testified that
fear and tension

exploded in the household

after José was threatened
about the abuse.

[dramatic sting]

You were confronted by
your father in your bedroom?

Yes.

Uh, he was banging
on my door saying,

open the goddamn door now.

He was saying that he had
told me never to tell Lyle,

and that he had warned me
not to do that.

And now Lyle was going
to tell everyone,

and he was not going
to let that happen.

And did he ever tell you
what the consequence

would be of telling anyone?

He would kill me.

The brothers testified
that on Friday, August 18,

they bought two shotguns
for protection.

In the subsequent days,
they planned

to stay out of the house
as much as possible.

But on Sunday, August 20,
everything came to a head.

They were going to go
to a movie that night,

and they were told they
couldn't go out, which--

they always went out
different places,

but they were told
they had to stay home.

Mom said something like,
you ruined this family.

It was clear that something
was going to happen.

Why? What did you see?

Just from my mom's face, if
you know her different looks.

And she has many
different looks.

What was this look,
Mr. Menendez?

It was just a stone,
resolved look.

And I just freaked out.

Did you go get your gun?

I did.

What did you do?

I got my gun.

They broke in the doors
to the den,

and Erik went first.

What do you remember
happened?

I just remember firing.

And then Lyle went in.

You could hear
things breaking,

and you could hear the
ringing noises from the booms,

and there was the smoke
from the guns.

And, uh,
it was basically just chaos.

The brothers testified
that after the shooting,

they thought the police would
come because of the noise--

but no one showed up.

We talked about the fact
that nobody had come,

so then we started to talk
about what we wanted to do.

The brothers decided
to hide the truth,

not wanting to reveal
what prompted the killings

or what they had done.

They started thinking about
fingerprints on the shells,

so they picked them all up.

And the weapons,
they had ditched them

on a hill up in Mulholland.

They weren't overly sophisticated,

so they got caught.

♪ ♪

[stereo clicks]

The cross-examination
dealt a lot

with their preparation,
which shows premeditation,

and the lies
they told to people.

[stereo clicks]

Yes.

Um, yes.

You emphasize that they are
pathological, practiced liars.

And therefore, ladies
and gentlemen of the jury,

they're lying to you, too.

I didn't believe
the prosecution.

I believed the testimony
of all the people

that were connected
to the family.

And Lyle would
have been about

- five years old at this time?
- Yes, yes.

José stood up, uh, grab him.

How did he hit Lyle?

With his closed fist.

[somber music]

There was an avalanche
of family members and coaches

and family acquaintances
on the stand

who all pushed this fact

that the boys were molested
and mistreated

their whole life.

- He was afraid.
- Why?

Because he and his dad had
been touching each other,

and he indicated that it was
in his genital area.

And it drew great
sympathy, I think,

from people watching the trial,
and a lot of emotion.

He told me his father
was massaging his (BLEEP).

- He used that word?
- Yes, he did.

How could
that many people

give the same synopsis of what
was going on in that household?

He was saying it
very seriously,

and I took it very seriously.

♪ ♪

The uncertainty
of their youth

that came across,
because of what a monster

that their father was--
I believed it.

But that said, you know,
you talk to Pam Bozanich,

and she didn't believe it
from the get-go.

One of the relatives came to
me before the trial started.

And this relative said that
she had been to visit Lyle

in the county jail,
and that Lyle had told her

what the defense
was going to be.

And she said, "But, Lyle,
you know that's not true."

And he says to her, "Well,
that's how it's going to be."

So she looks at me,
and I said,

"Well, I can't call you
as a witness, right?"

And she said,
"No, I won't testify to that,

but that's what he told me."

♪ ♪

They didn't get together
and make this story up.

And the main thing
that convinced me

was the grandmother.

Grandmother Maria Menendez
sat in the courtroom every day

for the whole time
we were there,

and she was there
to support the boys 100%.

If one of my grandchildren
did that to one of my children,

I would disown them.

Why would that woman
be so supportive?

She knew they were
telling the truth.

In December of 1993,

after five months of trial
and 101 witnesses,

jury deliberations began.

We took a first vote.

Six women, manslaughter.

Six men, first-degree.

The men said
the boys were lying.

Women believed
totally different.

I think Erik's jury went
16 days of deliberation

and Lyle's went,
like, 25 days,

which was
the longest deliberation

in the history of a jury
in California.

We were so far apart.

One man pounded on the table
and called me a white bitch.

We were hopelessly deadlocked.

♪ ♪

It came down that
they have a hung jury,

and so it's being
declared a mistrial.

We didn't have a chance
to talk to the jurors

at any length at all.

They merely told us
that at one point

it was nine for
voluntary manslaughter

and three for
second-degree murder,

and it switched and
ended up as it did.

And Erik's jury broke not
entirely on gender lines,

but all five first-degree
votes were men.

I just couldn't process that.

How was it a hung jury?

I believed the defense.

There was a lot of
criticism of the fact

that the jury hadn't convicted.

I'm angered and frustrated
and all of that at the outcome

of the last, uh, two juries.

An awful lot of people, when
they heard the abuse excuse,

they did not buy it,
they did not at all.

There was a lot
of money to conjure up

a very fancy defense.

[dramatic sting]

[pensive music]

Second trial,
which was totally different

from the first trial,
was not televised.

There were no cameras.
They had one jury.

There were
very few witnesses called

in the prosecution case,
and then a number of motions

were filed by the other DAs

to limit the scope
of the defense case.

For one thing,
the judge is already making

indications he's going
to severely limit the defense.

He's going to limit our right
to put on the facts,

which is quite extraordinary.

While the brothers
remained in jail

the year and a half
between trials,

aspects of the justice system changed.

In between trial number one
and trial number two,

the chief justice of the
California Supreme Court

issued a decision
that your fear

and your use of self-defense
has to be immediate.

Like, right now.

Not, we went to the car
and loaded the guns.

There was no self-defense

that was really applicable
in this case.

Given the effectiveness
of the defense

in the initial trial,

the prosecutors were able
to kind of plan for that.

One thing that we have asked
the judge to do is to limit

the so-called abuse excuse,
to limit evidence

that has nothing to do with
this case.

From what I understand
and what I heard,

the jurors on the second trial

didn't hear half of what
we heard on the first trial.

The second trial
wasn't covered heavily

like the first trial.

But there were 30 or 40 cameras
outside in Van Nuys

waiting that day when they
announced the verdict.

[tense music]

On March 20, 1996,

the verdict for the second
trial of the Menendez brothers

was announced.

I really can't comment
upon, uh--

Excuse us.
Move out of the way, please.

Lyle and Erik Menendez,
both guilty

of the first-degree murders
of their mother and father.

The jury recommended
life in prison

without parole for
gunning down their parents

6 and 1/2 years ago.

People throughout
this country wondered why

the defendants were not
convicted in the first trial.

It's very gratifying
to see to it

that justice was done
in this case.

♪ ♪

I was--I was devastated.

[somber music]

All I kept thinking was,

my friend's going to spend
the rest of his life in jail.

He and I are never going
to hang ever again.

The probation department recommends

that they can be kept together,

and that they will be an asset
to any institution they are in.

Whether you agreed
with the verdict

and the sentence or not,

the bottom line is
they did murder their parents.

I still believe
that the Menendez brothers

did what they did out of fear,

because they felt that they
were going to be killed.

I certainly never felt
that what I did

was justified or right.

It was just a question of,
how wrong was it?

While opinions
remained divided

after the Menendez brothers'
conviction,

their story was far from over.

In 2017,

a television network runs
a tell-all documentary

with Erik Menendez
describing the case

from his point of view
in prison.

And then that ends up on
a major streaming service

a few years later, and it
really started catching on

for a lot of younger viewers,

especially in the wake
of the MeToo movement

and the notion that
sexual abuse victims

had not been treated fairly
by culture,

and by
the criminal justice system.

As Millennials and Gen Z
were introduced

to the Menendez murders
during the COVID pandemic,

the brothers were catapulted

into the social media limelight.

And when this
younger generation

is learning about
the Menendez case,

they're able to draw on

a very kind of
vivid primary source,

which is the recording
of this trial.

All right.
You may proceed.

Thank you.

Court TV put the trial
on their streaming service

during the pandemic.

The Menendez
TikTok defenders believe that

even though this case
has been adjudicated

and they've been
through appeals,

they should have been convicted
of manslaughter

rather than
first-degree murder.

Because if they had been
convicted of manslaughter,

they would be
out of prison by now.

A problem at the trial
was the gender bias.

That because we were
dealing with males

in an incest family, that--

the sort of perception
is that, well, maybe

it was, uh,
something that he wanted,

something that
he allowed to happen.

Um, that he shouldn't be
allowed to feel afraid.

There are
letter-writing campaigns

to California politicians
and prosecutors

to revisit their sentence.

Supporters also
bring attention

to the good
the brothers are doing

as cause for their release.

They are leading
therapy groups in prison

for, you know,
their fellow inmates,

trying their best
to make amends

and to do some good
in the world.

In the world of prisons
and life without parole,

we've learned that
life without parole

certainly does not
necessarily mean that.

Uh, things get changed,
you know, down the line.

As far as I understand,
the Menendez brothers

do know about the support and
continue to make various moves

in the criminal justice system,
and their supporters

see some
sliver of hope for having

a real, actionable outcome.

I believe as a society,

we need to continue moving
forward in our understanding

of human nature,
and I applaud the TikTokers

for their desire for that.

I'm not afraid of
the Menendez brothers,

but my sense of justice would
be offended if they got out.

They've committed
a heinous crime

and they don't,
in my opinion,

deserve to be
released on parole.

Justice was served.

They got what they deserve
for a vicious crime

where two people got murdered.

I don't think
they'll get out.

They've tried appeals
several times.

But it would be nice if
they had a little good part

of this life we're in.

My hope is that
Erik and Lyle find peace,

in whatever that means
for them.