TRIAL STORY: THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS ON TRIAL: THE
REAL STORY {TAPE 2 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
Tape two of two. Continued from T:47246. One in this
series of documentary films that present condensed and
annotated versions of high-profile trials. This episode
follows the joint murder trial of brothers Lyle and Erik
Menendez, who stand accused of killing their parents,
Jose and Kittie, on August 20, 1989. Terry Moran begins
this section by explaining that the defense's emphasis
on the sexual-abuse allegations made by Lyle and Erik
Menendez was part of a larger plan. Using child abuse
to explain later behavior, Moran states, is an emerging
legal theory that is receiving a great deal of
attention. The beginning of this section of the program
also contains two revelations that play a major role in
the outcome of the trial: first, that older brother
Lyle wore a wig that prompted a major, violent argument
with his parents, and, second, that Erik says that he
was still being molested up until the point where he
decided he had to kill his parents for his own safety.
Under cross examination, aspects of the Menendez
brothers' story begin to fall apart. An earlier part of
their testimony included a claim that they had wanted to
purchase a handgun from nearby Big Five Sporting Goods
but were too afraid to wait out the fifteen-day waiting
period so they bought a pair of shotguns. When the
prosecution, led by Pamela Bozanich, gets its chance to
confront the brothers on this claim, the first question
asked is: "Are you aware the Big Five Sporting Goods
store stopped carrying handguns in 1986?" Next, the
prosecution plays the tape of the brothers' confession
to Dr. Oziel, and Judge Stanley Weisberg declares that
reasonable people would not have "feared for their
lives," as the brothers claim; he argues that there is
plenty of evidence to suggest that the young men could
have left home at any time. The judge then clarifies
his statement, indicating that the brothers are guilty
and that it is now up to the jury to decide their degree
of guilt -- that is, whether they should be found guilty
of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or
manslaughter. Commercials deleted.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The
New York Community Trust - Haas Foundation Fund.
Details
- NETWORK: Court TV
- DATE: November 30, 1993
- RUNNING TIME: 0:47:29
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:47257
- GENRE: Public Affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Trials (Murder)
- SERIES RUN: Court TV - TV series, 1991-1998
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Steve Johnson … Executive Producer
- Jamie Alter … Senior Producer
- Mark A. Harris … Producer
- Dorothy Ledden … Associate Producer
- Suzanne Worden … Associate Producer
- Steven Brill … Production (Misc.), Editor-in-Chief
- Terry Moran … Host
- Leslie Abramson
- Pamela Bozanich
- Jill Lansing
- Erik Menendez
- Jose Menendez
- Kittie Menendez
- Lyle Menendez
- Jerome Oziel
- Stanley Weisberg