OPENING STATEMENT PROSECUTION
GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
12 WELCOME TO THE START OF THE TRIAL.
13
AS I BELIEVE YOU KNOW BY NOW, MY NAME IS
14 DAVID CONN. I'M THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY. AND
15 IT IS MY PRIVILEGE, ALONG WITH DEPUTY DISTRICT
16 ATTORNEY CAROL NAJERA, TO BE PRESENTING THIS CASE TO
17 YOU, THE CASE OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
18 CALIFORNIA VERSUS ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ.
19
THIS IS MY OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AN
20 OPENING STATEMENT TO YOU. SO LET ME BEGIN BY
21 TELLING YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT AN OPENING
22 STATEMENT IS.
23
AN OPENING STATEMENT IS AN OPPORTUNITY
24 FOR THE ATTORNEYS TO ADDRESS THE JURY AND TO TELL
25 THE JURY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE EVIDENCE IN
26 THIS CASE IS GOING TO SHOW. IT IS SORT OF LIKE A
27 ROAD MAP, WHICH WILL FOCUS ON KEY PIECES OF
28 EVIDENCE. SO AS YOU LISTEN TO THAT EVIDENCE BEING
1 PRESENTED THROUGH WITNESSES ON THE WITNESS STAND,
2 YOU WILL HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SIGNIFICANCE
3 OF THAT EVIDENCE AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PLACE IT IN
4 PERSPECTIVE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE ENTIRE TRIAL.
5
NOW, LET ME TELL YOU WHAT AN OPENING
6 STATEMENT IS NOT.
7
AN OPENING STATEMENT IS NOT A FULL
8 ACCOUNT OF EVERY FACT THAT IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED
9 TO YOU DURING THE COURSE OF THIS TRIAL. AS IT IS,
10 IT WILL TAKE ME PROBABLY THE REST OF THE MORNING
11 JUST TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT OUR CASE IS
12 GOING TO SHOW. I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME, OR THE
13 NEED AT THIS POINT, TO TELL YOU EVERY SINGLE DETAIL
14 THAT YOU ARE GOING TO HEAR DURING THE COURSE OF THIS
15 TRIAL.
16
ALSO, AN OPENING STATEMENT IS NOT
17 ARGUMENT. I AM NOT PERMITTED AT THIS TIME TO ARGUE
18 THE STRENGTH OF MY EVIDENCE, TO TRY TO CONVINCE YOU
19 TO ACCEPT MY VERSION AND TO REJECT THE DEFENSE
20 VERSION. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE TRIAL BOTH SIDES
21 WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ARGUE THE STRENGTH OF
22 THE EVIDENCE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS BY THE COURT
23 CONCERNING THE LAW.
24
AT THIS TIME WE WILL SIMPLY TELL YOU
25 WHAT THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW, AND I WILL DO THAT AT
26 THIS TIME.
27
IN THIS CASE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ERIK
28 AND LYLE MENENDEZ ARE CHARGED WITH TWO COUNTS OF
1 MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE. WHAT WE INTEND TO PROVE
2 IN THIS TRIAL IS THAT THE DEFENDANTS ARE GUILTY OF
3 PREMEDITATED AND DELIBERATE MURDER.
4
NOW, AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS TRIAL THE
5 JUDGE WILL INSTRUCT YOU IN REGARD TO THE LAW, AND HE
6 WILL GIVE YOU PRECISE LEGAL EXPLANATIONS FOR THOSE
7 TERMS, PREMEDITATION AND DELIBERATION. BUT FOR NOW
8 LET ME JUST SAY THAT PREMEDITATION AND DELIBERATION,
9 IN ESSENCE, IS SHOWN WHERE THE DEFENDANT THINKS
10 ABOUT COMMITTING THE KILLING, WHERE HE CAREFULLY
11 CONSIDERS, HE WEIGHS HIS ACTIONS, AND HE DECIDES TO
12 GO AHEAD AND KILL. THAT IS MURDER WITH
13 PREMEDITATION AND DELIBERATION AND THAT IS WHAT WE
14 INTEND TO PROVE IN THIS CASE.
15
NOW, IN REGARD TO MOTIVE, YOU WILL BE
16 INSTRUCTED BY THE COURT THAT THE PROSECUTION DOES
17 NOT HAVE TO PROVE THE MOTIVE FOR THE CRIME. WE DO
18 NOT HAVE THAT BURDEN OF PROOF. WE DO NOT HAVE TO
19 PROVE WHY THE DEFENDANTS KILLED THEIR PARENTS.
20
WE WILL ASK YOU AT THE CONCLUSION OF
21 THIS TRIAL, THAT IF WE PROVE TO YOU THAT THE TWO
22 COUNTS OF MURDER WERE COMMITTED WITH PREMEDITATION
23 AND DELIBERATION, THAT IS, WITH THAT MENTAL STATE,
24 WE WILL ASK YOU TO FIND THE DEFENDANTS GUILTY OF TWO
25 COUNTS OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, REGARDLESS OF
26 THE REASON WHY THEY KILLED THEIR PARENTS.
27
AT THIS TIME I WILL NOW DISCUSS WITH YOU
28 THE EVIDENCE WHICH WE WILL BASE OUR CASE UPON AND
1 THE EVIDENCE UPON WHICH WE WILL ASK YOU TO FIND THAT
2 THESE TWO COUNTS OF MURDER WERE PREMEDITATED AND
3 DELIBERATE.
4
WHAT THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE WILL
5 SHOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS THAT ON AUGUST THE
6 20TH OF 1989 KITTY AND JOSE MENENDEZ WERE BRUTALLY
7 SHOTGUNNED TO DEATH BY THEIR SONS AS THEY SAT
8 DEFENSELESS AND UNARMED, SITTING ON THE SOFA OF
9 THEIR BEVERLY HILLS HOME.
10
THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT KITTY AND
11 JOSE MENENDEZ HAD BEEN MARRIED APPROXIMATELY 26
12 YEARS AND THEY WERE THE PARENTS OF TWO GROWN SONS,
13 ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ.
14
JOSE WAS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN WITH A
15 COMPANY CALLED LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND HE WAS A
16 WEALTHY MAN. HE HAD AN INCOME AND A BENEFITS
17 PACKAGE WHICH BROUGHT HIM OVER A MILLION DOLLARS A
18 YEAR.
19
20
KITTY -MS. ABRAMSON: YOUR HONOR, I'M GOING TO
21 OBJECT.
22
THE COURT: YES, COUNSEL. LET'S NOT REFER TO
23 PEOPLE BY THEIR FIRST NAMES.
24
MS. ABRAMSON: I'M GOING TO OBJECT TO ANOTHER
25 ASPECT OF COUNSEL'S ARGUMENT.
26
THE COURT: JUST GIVE ME BRIEFLY YOUR LEGAL
27 OBJECTION.
28
MS. ABRAMSON: EXCUSE ME?
1
THE COURT: WHAT IS YOUR BASIS?
2
MS. ABRAMSON: THAT THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT
3 WE'RE AWARE OF TO SUPPORT COUNSEL'S ASSERTIONS OF
4 EARNINGS.
5
THE COURT: OKAY. OBJECTION OVERRULED, WITH
6 THE UNDERSTANDING THIS IS AN OPENING STATEMENT, NOT
7 EVIDENCE.
8
MR. CONN: KITTY MENENDEZ WAS A HOUSEWIFE WHO
9 WAS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN OVERSEEING THE
10 CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW HOME IN CALABASAS.
11
WE WILL SHOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT
12 AUGUST THE 20TH OF 1989 WAS A SUNDAY, AND ON THAT
13 SUNDAY, AS KITTY AND JOSE MENENDEZ WERE WATCHING
14 TELEVISION, SITTING TOGETHER ON THE SOFA -- THEY HAD
15 JUST FINISHED EATING BERRIES AND WHIPPED CREAM -16 DESSERT GLASSES -- AND THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT
17 DESSERT GLASSES WERE STILL IN THE AREA NEAR THEM.
18 ONE WAS ON THE COFFEE TABLE SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT
19 OF THEM. THE OTHER ONE WAS ON THE COUNTERTOP IN THE
20 KITCHEN NEARBY.
21
IT WAS ABOUT 10:00 P.M. THAT EVENING
22 WHEN ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ BURST INTO THE ROOM WITH
23 SHOTGUNS AND BEGAN SHOOTING THEIR PARENTS TO DEATH.
24
NOW, YOU WILL SEE THE TYPE OF SHOTGUN
25 THAT THEY USED DURING THE COURSE OF THESE KILLINGS.
6 YOU WILL LEARN THAT WE DO NOT HAVE THE ACTUAL
27 SHOTGUN BECAUSE FOLLOWING THE SHOOTING THE SHOTGUNS
28 WERE REMOVED FROM THE CRIME SCENE, TAKEN SOMEWHERE
1 ELSE BY THE DEFENDANTS, AND HAVE NEVER BEEN
2 RECOVERED. WE HAVE OBTAINED, HOWEVER, AN IDENTICAL
3 SHOTGUN. THE PURCHASE RECORDS WILL PROVE THAT THIS
4 SHOTGUN IS IDENTICAL TO THE TYPE OF SHOTGUN THAT THE
5 PARENTS (SIC) USED TO SHOOT THEIR PARENTS TO DEATH.
6
THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT THE
7 DEFENDANTS, UPON ENTERING THE DEN, PROCEEDED TO
8 BLAST THEIR SHOTGUNS INTO THE BODIES OF THEIR MOTHER
9 AND FATHER. THEY SHOT THEIR PARENTS IN THEIR ARMS,
10 IN THEIR LEGS, IN THEIR TORSOS, AND IN THEIR HEADS
11 HUNDREDS OF SHOTGUN PELLETS TORE INTO THE BODIES OF
12 KITTY AND JOSE MENENDEZ.
13
WE WILL PROVE THAT KITTY AND JOSE
14 MENENDEZ HAD NO MEANS WHATSOEVER TO DEFEND
15 THEMSELVES FROM THIS BARRAGE OF GUNFIRE. WE WILL
16 PROVE THAT THERE WERE NO WEAPONS IN THE ROOM. WE
17 WILL PROVE THAT THERE WAS NO PLACE TO HIDE. THERE
18 WAS NO TIME TO RUN. THEY WERE TAKEN BY SURPRISE.
19 THEY WERE DEFENSELESS. WE WILL SHOW THAT THEY WERE
20 AMBUSHED IN A STORM OF GUNFIRE.
21
IT WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO
22 UNDERSTAND THE DESTRUCTIVE FORCE THAT WAS USED IN
23 THESE KILLINGS, AND YOU WILL HEAR TESTIMONY
24 CONCERNING THE NATURE OF THE AMMUNITION THAT WAS
25 USED IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE. YOU WILL LEARN THAT
26 SHOTGUN SHELLS CONTAIN LOADS OF PELLETS, AND IN THIS
27 CASE, THE SIZE PELLETS THAT WERE USED FOR MOST OF
28 THE SHOOTINGS WERE LITTLE METAL ROUND PELLETS ABOUT
1 THE SIZE OF PEAS. WITHIN ONE SHOTGUN SHELL THERE
2 ARE APPROXIMATELY 27 OF THOSE PELLETS, AND THOSE
3 PELLETS ARE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS A 24-CALIBER
4 BULLET.
5
YOU WILL LEARN FROM TESTIMONY FROM
6 EXPERT WITNESSES ON THE STAND THAT A SHOTGUN SHELL
7 OF THAT NATURE THUS SHOOTS THE EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT
8 27 SEPARATE BULLETS.
9
WE WILL SHOW YOU THAT 12 SHOTS WERE
10 FIRED IN THAT ROOM; ONLY ONE MISSED. ELEVEN SHOTS
11 WENT INTO THE BODIES OF KITTY AND JOSE MENENDEZ. OF
12 THOSE 11, 9 WERE THE TYPE OF SHOT THAT I ALREADY
13 DESCRIBED TO YOU CALLED BUCKSHOT
14
IN ADDITION TO THAT THERE WERE TWO
15 ADDITIONAL ROUNDS THAT WERE FIRED THAT WERE BIRD
16 SHOT. AND BIRD SHOT CONSISTS OF MUCH TINIER
17 PELLETS, SO THAT THERE IS A GREATER NUMBER OF SUCH
18 PELLETS IN A SHOTGUN SHELL. TWO SUCH SHOTS WERE
19 FIRED IN THIS CASE.
20
THE PROSECUTION, AS A PART OF THEIR
21 CASE, MUST PROVE THIS WAS AN INTENTIONAL KILLING
22 WE WILL ASK YOU AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS TRIAL TO
23 CONCLUDE THAT, BASED UPON THE NUMBER OF SHOTS THAT
24 WAS FIRED INTO THE BODIES OF KITTY AND JOSE
25 MENENDEZ, AND BASED UPON THE NATURE OF THE INJURY
26 AND THE PARTS OF THE BODIES THAT THOSE SHOTS WERE
27 FIRED INTO, THAT THIS WAS, IN FACT, AN INTENTIONAL
28 KILLING ON BOTH PARTS OF THE DEFENDANTS AGAINST EACH
1 OF THEIR PARENTS.
2
NOW, FOR YOU TO MAKE A FINDING THAT
3 THESE WERE INTENTIONAL KILLINGS, IT WILL BECOME
4 NECESSARY FOR YOU TO LOOK AT PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE
5 BODIES. IT WILL BECOME NECESSARY FOR YOU SEE
6 PHOTOGRAPHS, BOTH TAKEN AT THE CRIME SCENE WHILE THE
7 BODIES WERE STILL IN THE POSITION IN WHICH THEY WERE
8 RECOVERED AND OBSERVED BY THE POLICE, AS WELL AS
9 PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY THE CORONER BEFORE THE
10 AUTOPSIES WERE CONDUCTED. WITH THE CLOTHING OF THE
11 VICTIMS REMOVED YOU WILL THEN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO
12 SEE THE FULL DESTRUCTIVE FORCE OF THE AMMUNITION
13 THAT WAS USED IN THIS CASE.
14
DEPENDING UPON THE DISTANCE AT WHICH THE
15 SHOTGUN SHELL IS FIRED FROM ITS TARGET, AND
16 DEPENDING UPON THE TYPE OF SURFACE THAT IT STRIKES,
17 SHOTGUN SHELLS, YOU WILL LEARN, CAN LEAVE DIFFERENT
18 KINDS OF WOUNDS. ONE TYPE OF WOUND IS A SCATTERED
19 EFFECT, WHERE YOU SEE ON THE BODY OF THE VICTIM
20 SEPARATE INDIVIDUAL PELLET DEFECTS, SEPARATE ENTRY
21 WOUNDS; AND YOU WILL SEE SUCH WOUNDS, FOR EXAMPLE,
22 ON JOSE MENENDEZ. YOU WILL SEE IN THE AREA OF HIS
23 LEFT ELBOW HE HAD THESE SEPARATE PELLET WOUNDS. YOU
24 WILL SEE THAT SHOTGUN SHELLS ARE ALSO CAPABLE OF
25 TEARING OUT AN ENTIRE PORTION OF THE BODY WHEN THEY
26 ARE CLOSE TOGETHER, WHEN THE PELLETS ARE FIRED AND
27 ARE STILL IN A TIGHT PATTERN AND WHEN THEY PASS
28 THROUGH A SURFACE, WHICH ALLOWS FOR SUCH
1 DESTRUCTION.
2
YOU WILL SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN REGARD TO
3 JOSE MENENDEZ' RIGHT ARM, WHERE THAT EFFECT TOOK
4 PLACE, WHERE A BIG CHUNK OF HIS RIGHT ARM WAS
5 INFLICTED WITH A HORRIBLE WOUND BECAUSE OF THE
6 SHOTGUN SHELL.
7
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WOUND TO JOSE
8 MENENDEZ, HOWEVER, IS NOT THE WOUND TO HIS ARMS, BUT
9 THE WOUND TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD. WE WILL SHOW
10 YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE
11 HORRIBLE WOUND THAT HE RECEIVED TO THE BACK OF HIS
12 HEAD.
13
I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN BY SHOWING YOU ONE
14 PHOTOGRAPH, WHICH IS THE CRIME SCENE, TAKEN FROM A
15 DISTANCE. THAT IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF KITTY AND JOSE
16 MENENDEZ AS THEY WERE SEATED, OR AT LEAST AS JOSE
17 MENENDEZ WAS SEATED, AT THE TIME THAT HIS BODY WAS
18 OBSERVED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND IT ALSO SHOWS
19 THE BODY OF KITTY MENENDEZ ON THE FLOOR.
20
YOU WILL SEE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT
21 THIS IS THE CONDITION IN WHICH JOSE MENENDEZ, AND
22 HIS WIFE KITTY MENENDEZ, WERE FOUND AT THE TIME THAT
23 THE POLICE ARRIVED AND OBSERVED THE BODIES.
24
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOU WILL SEE THAT
25 THE WOUND TO JOSE MENENDEZ, TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD,
26 WAS WHAT WE CALL A CONTACT WOUND. AND THIS MEANS
27 THAT ONE OF THE TWO DEFENDANTS IN THIS CASE PLACED
28 THE FRONT OF THE SHOTGUN, THE TIP OF THE SHOTGUN, TO
1 THE BACK OF THE HEAD OF JOSE MENENDEZ AND SQUEEZED
2 THE TRIGGER AT THAT TIME.
3
THE ENTIRE LOAD OF THE SHOTGUN SHELL
4 WENT INTO HIS HEAD, ONCE AGAIN. THAT WAS THE
5 EQUIVALENT OF FIRING 27 BULLETS INTO THE BACK OF
6 THEIR FATHER'S HEAD.
7
THE WOUND TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD WAS SO
8 DESTRUCTIVE IT IS WHAT THE CORONER CALLS AN
9 EXPLOSIVE DECAPITATION.
10
AND, ONCE AGAIN, I WARN YOU THAT THE
11 PHOTOGRAPHS ARE NOT EASY TO LOOK AT. THEY'RE
12 HORRIBLE WOUNDS. THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH WHICH DEPICTS
13 THE WOUND TO THE BACK OF JOSE MENENDEZ' HEAD. YOU
14 CAN SEE THAT THE WOUND WAS SO LARGE AND THE
15 DESTRUCTIVE FORCE TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD WAS SO
16 GREAT THAT WHEN THE CORONER'S INVESTIGATOR WAS
17 REMOVING HIS BODY FROM THE CRIME SCENE, HIS BRAIN
18 FELL OUT OF HIS HEAD.
19
WE WILL SHOW YOU THAT THE WOUNDS THAT
20 THE DEFENDANTS INFLICTED TO THEIR MOTHER WERE EVEN
21 WORSE IN TERMS OF THE TOTAL OVERALL IMPACT UPON HER
22 BODY.
23
YOU WILL SEE THAT KITTY MENENDEZ WAS
24 SHOT MANY MORE TIMES THAN JOSE MENENDEZ. YOU WILL
25 SEE THAT THE DEFENDANTS SHOT THEIR MOTHER HERE IN
26 THE EYE, IN THE AREA OF THE RIGHT EYE AND HER NOSE;
27 ONCE AGAIN, WITH THE EQUIVALENT OF APPROXIMATELY 27
28 BULLETS. WHAT YOU WILL SEE IS THAT A SECOND SHOT
1 WENT INTO THE AREA OF HER RIGHT JAW, IN HER CLAVICLE
2 AREA. THAT IS THE COLLAR BONE. AND, ONCE AGAIN,
3 THE EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT ANOTHER 27 SHOTS, FOR A
4 TOTAL OF 54, JUST TO THE UPPER AREA OF THE RIGHT
5 SIDE OF THE FACE ALONE.
6
YOU WILL SEE THAT THE DEFENDANTS SHOT
7 THEIR MOTHER IN HER RIGHT HAND, ALMOST TEARING AWAY
8 THE THUMB, LEAVING HER RIGHT HAND HORRIBLY
9 DISFIGURED.
10
YOU WILL LEARN THAT THE DEFENDANTS KEPT
11 SHOOTING AT THEIR MOTHER. THEY SHOT THEIR MOTHER IN
12 HER LEFT BREAST. THEY SHOT THEIR MOTHER IN HER
13 RIGHT FOREARM, TEARING AWAY A CHUNK OF HER RIGHT
14 FOREARM.
1
KITTY MENENDEZ WAS SHOT IN HER UPPER
2 RIGHT BICEP, TEARING AWAY A PORTION OF HER BICEP.
3 LARGE PIECES OF THEIR MOTHER'S BODY WAS BLOWN AWAY
4 FROM HER AND THEY KEPT SHOOTING AT HER.
5
WE'LL SHOW THAT KITTY MENENDEZ WAS ALIVE
6 WHILE ALL OF THESE SHOTS WERE BEING FIRED UPON HER
7 BODY.
8
ALL OF THOSE SHOTS THAT I DESCRIBED TO
9 THE BODY OF KITTY MENENDEZ WERE MADE WITH BUCKSHOT.
10 BUT IN ADDITION TO THOSE SHOTS, THE DEFENDANTS FIRED
11 TWO ROUNDS OF THE OTHER TYPE OF AMMUNITION THAT I
12 ALREADY TOLD YOU ABOUT; THAT IS, BIRD SHOT.
13
ONE SHOT OF BIRD SHOT WENT THROUGH HER
14 LEFT SHOULDER, TEARING OFF A PIECE OF HER LEFT
15 SHOULDER, AND IMBEDDED ITSELF BEHIND HER LEFT EAR.
16
ANOTHER SHOT WAS A CONTACT WOUND. JUST
17 AS JOSE MENENDEZ HAD RECEIVED A CONTACT WOUND TO THE
18 BACK OF HIS HEAD, SO TOO, THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW
19 KITTY MENENDEZ RECEIVED A CONTACT WOUND TO HER
20 FACE. ONE OF THE TWO DEFENDANTS PLACED THE SHOTGUN
21 TO THE CHEEK, TO THE LEFT CHEEK OF THEIR MOTHER'S
22 FACE, AND FIRED A ROUND OF BIRD SHOT INTO HER HEAD,
23 SHOOTING THE HUNDREDS OF TINY ROUNDS OF BIRD SHOT
24 INTO HER HEAD AND HER SKULL.
25
AND ONCE AGAIN, THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF KITTY
26 MENENDEZ ARE NOT EASY TO LOOK AT, BUT YOU CAN SEE
27 FROM THIS PHOTOGRAPH, WHICH I AM HOLDING UP, SOME
28 IDEA OF THE DESTRUCTIVE FORCE THAT THE DEFENDANTS
1 USED UPON THEIR MOTHER WHEN THEY FIRED REPEATEDLY
2 INTO HER BODY.
3
THAT KITTY -- THAT JOSE AND KITTY
4 MENENDEZ DID NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME OR OPPORTUNITY
5 TO RESPOND TO THIS BARRAGE OF GUNFIRE IS SUGGESTED
6 IN THAT MIDDLE PHOTOGRAPH THAT I HAVE SHOWN YOU.
7
YOU WILL SEE THE POSITION IN WHICH
8 JOSE'S LEGS ARE PLACED, AND YOU WILL SEE FROM
9 ANOTHER VIEW THAT WE'LL SHOW YOU LATER IN THE TRIAL
10 THAT HIS FEET ARE ACTUALLY CROSSED IN THAT
11 POSITION. YOU WILL SEE THAT HE -- HOW FAR KITTY GOT
12 FROM HER HUSBAND. SHE WAS FOUND NOT MORE THAN
13 INCHES AWAY FROM THE FOOT OF HER DEAD HUSBAND.
14
NOW, WE'LL PROVE THAT THE DEFENDANTS,
15 ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
16 SLAUGHTER OF THEIR PARENTS THROUGH A TAPE-RECORDER.
17
MS. ABRAMSON: YOUR HONOR, I HAVE TO OBJECT
18 TO THE HYPERBOLIC LANGUAGE BEING ARGUMENTATIVE.
19
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. LET'S REFRAIN FROM
20 ARGUMENT.
21
MR. CONN: YOU WILL SEE -- YOU WILL LEARN THAT
22 THE DEFENDANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE KILLING OF
23 THEIR PARENTS THROUGH A TAPE-RECORDED CONFESSION.
24
WE HAVE A TAPE-RECORDING, WHICH WE'LL
25 PLAY FOR YOU. THIS TAPE-RECORDING, LADIES AND
26 GENTLEMEN, WAS RECOVERED BY DETECTIVE LES ZOELLER,
27 AND PRESENT IN THE AUDIENCE HERE IS DETECTIVE LES
28 ZOELLER. YOU WILL BE SEEING A LOT OF HIM. HE WAS
1 THE INVESTIGATING OFFICER ON THE CASE BACK IN 1989.
2 HE WENT TO THAT CRIME SCENE AND HE WAS IN THAT
3 LIVING ROOM OR THAT DEN WITH THE BODIES OF KITTY AND
4 JOSE MENENDEZ THAT NIGHT, AND HE IS STILL THE
5 INVESTIGATING OFFICER ON THIS CASE.
6
DETECTIVE LES ZOELLER RECOVERED THIS
7 TAPE-RECORDING FROM A SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX IN A BANK.
8 YOU WILL HEAR THE VOICES OF ERIK MENENDEZ AND LYLE
9 MENENDEZ AND A DR. JEROME OZIEL; AND YOU WILL LEARN
10 FROM THAT RECORDING THAT THESE KILLINGS WERE
11 SOMETHING THAT THE DEFENDANTS THOUGHT ABOUT,
12 CAREFULLY CONSIDERED AND WEIGHED, AND DECIDED TO GO
13 AHEAD AND DO DAYS BEFORE THE KILLINGS ACTUALLY TOOK
14 PLACE.
15
WE'LL ASK YOU TO BASE YOUR DECISION AS
16 TO WHETHER THIS WAS A PREMEDITATED AND DELIBERATE
17 CRIME BASED UPON THE WORDS OF PREMEDITATION AND
18 DELIBERATION THAT ARE FOUND ON THIS RECORDING.
19
AND I'LL GET BACK TO THIS RECORDING IN
20 JUST A BIT. BUT BEFORE I DO, LET ME TELL YOU THAT
21 THERE ARE OTHER ITEMS OF EVIDENCE THAT WE'LL BE
22 PRESENTING TO YOU WHICH SUGGEST PREMEDITATION AND
23 DELIBERATION IN THIS CASE.
24
ONE WAY THAT WE'LL SEEK TO PROVE THIS IS
25 BY PROVING TO YOU THAT THE SHOTGUNS THAT THE
26 DEFENDANTS USED TO KILL THEIR PARENTS THAT NIGHT
27 WERE PURCHASED TWO DAYS BEFORE THE KILLINGS. WE'LL
28 PROVE THAT TO PREVENT THOSE SHOTGUNS FROM BEING
1 TRACED BACK TO THEM, THE DEFENDANTS TOOK SEVERAL
2 PRECAUTIONS.
3
NUMBER ONE, THEY WENT OUT OF THEIR
4 NEIGHBORHOOD AND EVEN OUT OF TOWN TO BUY THE
5 SHOTGUNS. THEY DID NOT BUY THE SHOTGUNS IN ANY ONE
6 OF THE MORE THAN 100 GUN STORES IN THE LOS ANGELES
7 AREA. WE HAVE A CHART HERE, A PHYSICAL EXHIBIT,
8 WHICH IS A MAP AND WHICH ILLUSTRATES FOR YOU THE
9 DISTANCE THAT THE DEFENDANTS TRAVELED TO PURCHASE
10 THE SHOTGUNS THAT THEY USED TO KILL THEIR PARENTS.
11 YOU WILL LEARN THAT THEIR HOME IS HERE IN BEVERLY
12 HILLS, AND THERE'S A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE BEVERLY HILLS
13 MANSION. AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT ON A FRIDAY,
14 AUGUST THE 18TH, THE DEFENDANTS TRAVELED FROM
15 BEVERLY HILLS DOWN TO SAN DIEGO TO A SPORTING GOOD
16 STORE, BIG-5 SPORTING GOOD STORE, AND PURCHASED THE
17 WEAPONS HERE.
18
IN ADDITION TO TRAVELING FAR FROM HOME
19 TO PURCHASE THE WEAPONS, THEY TOOK ANOTHER
20 PRECAUTION TO ENSURE THAT THE WEAPONS COULD NOT BE
21 TRACED BACK TO THEM. THEY USED PHONEY
22 IDENTIFICATION FOR THE PURCHASE OF THE WEAPONS.
23 THEY USED AN I.D. CARD BELONGING TO A MAN BY THE
24 NAME OF DONAVAN GOODREAU.
25
THIRD, WHEN FILLING OUT THE DOCUMENTS
26 THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REQUIRES FOR THE
27 PURCHASE OF THESE WEAPONS, WE'LL PROVE THAT THE
28 DEFENDANTS PUT DOWN A FALSE ADDRESS SO THAT THE
1 WEAPONS COULD NOT BE TRACED BACK TO THEM.
2
FOURTH AND LAST, WE'LL PROVE THAT TO
3 ENSURE THAT THE MURDER WEAPONS WOULD NOT BE TRACED
4 BACK TO THEM, THE DEFENDANTS, OF COURSE, PAID IN
5 CASH.
6
NEXT, WE'LL PROVE THAT HAVING OBTAINED
7 TWO LETHAL WEAPONS, WHICH SEEMINGLY COULD NOT BE
8 TRACED BACK TO THEM, THE DEFENDANTS WAITED FOR TWO
9 DAYS FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THEIR PARENTS BY
10 SURPRISE IN THE AMBUSH THAT I HAVE DESCRIBED TO
11 YOU.
12
AS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT THESE KILLINGS
13 WERE PREMEDITATED KILLINGS -- THAT IS, FIRST-DEGREE
14 MURDERS -- WE'LL PROVE THAT THE DEFENDANTS, FOLLOWING
15 THE KILLINGS, TOOK ACTION THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH A
16 PLANNED KILLING.
17
WE'LL PROVE THAT AFTER THE DEFENDANTS
18 SHOTGUNNED THEIR PARENTS TO DEATH, THE DEFENDANTS
19 CLEANED UP THE CRIME SCENE AND GOT RID OF ALL OF THE
20 EVIDENCE.
21
YOU WILL LEARN THAT WHEN A SHOTGUN IS
22 FIRED, IT EJECTS THE SHELLS THAT I WAS REFERRING TO
23 EARLIER. WE'LL PROVE THAT, ALTHOUGH A DOZEN SHOTGUN
24 BLASTS WERE FIRED IN THAT ROOM, THE DEFENDANTS
25 CAREFULLY RETRIEVED EVERY EXPENDED SHOTGUN SHELL AND
26 REMOVED THOSE SHOTGUN SHELLS AND REMOVED THE
27 SHOTGUNS FROM THE CRIME SCENE. THEY CONCEALED OR
28 DESTROYED ALL OF THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE, ALL OF
1 THE EVIDENCE THAT WOULD LINK THEM TO THAT SHOOTING
2
ADDITIONALLY, AFTER SHOOTING THEIR
3 PARENTS TO DEATH, THE DEFENDANTS NEXT ATTEMPTED TO
4 RENDEZVOUS WITH A FRIEND. THEY HAD A PREARRANGED
5 PLAN THAT EVENING TO BE IN THE COMPANY OF A MAN BY
6 THE NAME OF PERRY BERMAN. THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW
7 THAT THEY ARRIVED TOO LATE FOR THAT MEETING, AND
8 THEY HAD TO ABANDON THAT PLAN.
9
FINALLY, ONLY AFTER GETTING RID OF ALL
10 OF THE EVIDENCE AND FAILING TO RENDEZVOUS IN
11 ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR PREARRANGED PLAN WITH A FRIEND
12 OF THEIRS, THEY RETURNED HOME. IT WAS AT THAT TIME
13 THAT LYLE MENENDEZ CALLED 911.
14
YOU WILL LEARN THAT WHEN HE CALLED 911
15 HE WAS PRETENDING TO HAVE JUST ARRIVED HOME, TO HIS
16 SURPRISE AND TO HIS FEAR, TO FIND HIS PARENTS IN
17 THIS STATE. WE'LL SHOW YOU THAT LYLE MENENDEZ THAT
18 NIGHT LIED TO THE POLICE IN THE 911 CALL AND THAT HE
19 USED TEARS AS A TOOL TO DISARM AND TO TRICK THE
20 POLICE INTO BELIEVING THAT HE WAS SINCERE.
21
WE'LL PROVE THAT ERIK MENENDEZ DID THE
22 SAME THING. HE ALSO USED TEARS THAT NIGHT. YOU
23 WILL HEAR HIM CRYING IN THE BACKGROUND DURING THAT
24 911 CALL, AND LATER, WHEN HE WAS INTERVIEWED AT THE
25 POLICE STATION, HE AGAIN BECAME EMOTIONAL. YOU WILL
26 LEARN THAT HE TOO USED TEARS TO DISARM AND PERSUADE
27 THE POLICE.
28
AND YOU WILL LEARN, LADIES AND
1 GENTLEMEN, THAT THE DEFENDANTS ARE GOOD LIARS AND
2 THAT THEY DID FOOL THE POLICE. YOU WILL LEARN THAT
3 ALTHOUGH THEY WERE AT THE POLICE STATION BEING
4 INTERVIEWED BY THE POLICE, THEY WERE THERE ONLY FOR
5 A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. THE POLICE HAD NO EVIDENCE
6 ON THEM, NO REASON TO SUSPECT THEM AT THAT TIME, AND
7 THE POLICE RELEASED THEM THAT VERY NIGHT.
8
YOU WILL LEARN FROM DETECTIVE ZOELLER
9 HOW IT WAS THAT HE BEGAN HIS INVESTIGATION AND HE
10 ARRIVED AT THE CRIME SCENE; THAT HE OBSERVED THE
11 BODIES OF KITTY AND JOSE MENENDEZ AS THEY'RE
12 DEPICTED IN THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT I SHOWED YOU; AND HE
13 OBSERVED THAT, ALTHOUGH THESE WERE APPARENTLY
14 SHOTGUN WOUNDS, THERE WAS NO SHOTGUN SHELLS ANYWHERE
15 IN THAT DEN.
16
DETECTIVE ZOELLER DID NOT ARRIVE THERE
17 THAT NIGHT AS A RESULT OF SOMEONE CALLING THE POLICE
18 AND SAYING THAT THEY HEARD SOME NOISE. IT WAS THE
19 PHONE CALL OF LYLE MENENDEZ THAT BROUGHT HIM TO THE
20 CRIME SCENE. IT WAS ONLY AFTER HE ARRIVED AT THE
21 CRIME SCENE THAT NIGHT DID HE BEGIN TO SPEAK TO
22 NEIGHBORS, AND ONE OF THEM RECALLED HEARING
23 SOMETHING LIKE SHOTGUN -- LIKE FIRECRACKERS IN THE
24 DISTANCE, AT ABOUT 10:10 THAT EVENING. THAT PHONE
25 CALL FROM LYLE MENENDEZ WAS MADE TO THE POLICE AT
26 ABOUT 11:47 THAT EVENING.
27
SO YOU WILL LEARN THAT THE PHONE CALL,
28 IF YOU BASE IT UPON THE SHOTS HEARD BY THE NEIGHBOR,
1 ABOUT 10:10, THAT PHONE CALL WAS MADE AT
2 APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR AND A HALF AFTER THE SHOOTING
3 TOOK PLACE. AND YOU WILL HEAR THE RECORDING OF LYLE
4 MENENDEZ, AND YOU WILL HEAR HIM ASK: IS THIS THE
5 POLICE? AND ONCE HE WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS, IN FACT,
6 THE POLICE, YOU WILL HEAR LYLE MENENDEZ TURN ON THE
7 TEARS, LYING AND PRETENDING THAT HE HAD NO
8 INVOLVEMENT IN THE KILLING, LYING AND PRETENDING
9 THAT HAVING JUST ARRIVED HOME, HE WAS SURPRISED TO
10 FIND HIS PARENTS SHOTGUNNED TO DEATH.
11
YOU WILL LEARN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
12 THAT THIS LIE TO THE POLICE, THIS FIRST LIE IN THAT
13 911 CALL, WAS JUST THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF LIES
14 THAT THE DEFENDANTS TOLD THE POLICE. BOTH OF THEM
15 WERE INTERVIEWED BY THE POLICE THAT NIGHT, AND THEIR
16 LIES CONTINUED IN THEIR INTERVIEW WITH THE POLICE.
17
YOU WILL LEARN THAT THEY NOT ONLY LIED
18 TO THE POLICE, BUT THEY LIED TO FRIENDS AND THEY
19 LIED TO FAMILY MEMBERS AND THEY CONTINUED TO LIE.
20 THEY LIED FROM AUGUST THE 20TH OF 1989 UP UNTIL THE
21 TIME OF THEIR ARREST IN MARCH OF 1990. THEY
22 CONTINUED TO LIE FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT SIX AND A
23 HALF MONTHS.
24
THEY LIED WHEN THEY SPOKE TO DETECTIVE
25 EDMONDS THAT NIGHT. HE IS A DETECTIVE WITH THE
26 BEVERLY HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT WHO WAS CALLED TO
27 INTERVIEW THE DEFENDANTS. HE INTERVIEWED THEM IN
28 THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THAT MONDAY. THIS WOULD
1 NOW BE ABOUT BETWEEN ONE AND TWO O'CLOCK IN THE
2 MORNING. HE INTERVIEWED ERIK MENENDEZ FIRST AND
3 INTERVIEWED LYLE MENENDEZ NEXT.
4
AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT THE DEFENDANTS,
5 BY THIS TIME, HAD AN ALIBI DOWN PAT. THEY BOTH TOLD
6 THE SAME STORY. THEY SAID THAT THEY HAD BEEN AT THE
7 MOVIES AND THAT THEY HAD SEEN THE FILM "BATMAN."
8 AFTER THE MOVIES THEY SAID THEY WENT TO MEET A
9 FRIEND, THAT IS, PERRY BERMAN, WITH WHOM THEY HAD
10 THIS PREARRANGED MEETING. BUT BECAUSE THEY GOT
11 THERE TOO LATE, BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN AT THE MOVIES
12 WATCHING "BATMAN," THEY MISSED PERRY BERMAN AND THEY
13 WENT HOME, AND THAT'S WHEN THEY SAID THEY WERE
14 SURPRISED TO FIND THEIR PARENTS SHOTGUNNED TO DEATH
15 AND THAT'S WHEN THEY CALLED 911.
16
YOU WILL LEARN THAT TO MAKE HIS LIES
17 EVEN MORE CONVINCING, ERIK MENENDEZ WENT SO FAR AS
18 TO ASK THE POLICE: ARE THEY DEAD? PRETENDING -19
MS. ABRAMSON: YOUR HONOR, I'M GOING TO
20 OBJECT TO THAT CHARACTERIZATION AS ARGUMENT.
21
THE COURT: OVERRULED.
22
MR. CONN: PRETENDING NOT TO EVEN KNOW THAT
23 HIS PARENTS WERE DEAD WHEN, IN FACT, HE AND HIS
24 BROTHER HAD SHOTGUNNED HIS PARENTS TO DEATH JUST A
25 FEW HOURS EARLIER.
26
THE DEFENDANTS WERE CONSISTENT IN THEIR
27 "BATMAN" MOVIE ALIBI. THEY SAID THE SAME THING.
28 YOU WILL LEARN, HOWEVER, THAT BOTH ERIK MENENDEZ AND
1 LYLE MENENDEZ ADDED SOMETHING TO THE STORY; NOT ONLY
2 DID THEY LIE ABOUT THEIR OWN INVOLVEMENT IN THE
3 KILLING, BUT THEIR STORY INCLUDED POINTING THE
4 FINGER ELSEWHERE.
5
ERIK MENENDEZ, WHEN ASKED WHO MIGHT BE
6 RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRIME SAID THIS -- HE WAS ASKED
7 BY DETECTIVE EDMONDS: "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS WHO
8 MIGHT HAVE DONE THIS?"
9
AND ERIK MENENDEZ SAID AT THAT TIME:
10 "NO. MY FAMILY HAS NO ENEMIES, BUT MY DAD DOES
11 KNOW A LOT OF FRIENDS, YOU KNOW, IN HIS BUSINESS."
12 AND HE WENT ON TO SAY: "MY BROTHER MAY KNOW."
13
AND THAT WAS FOLLOWED UP WITH LYLE
14 MENENDEZ THEN COMING IN TO THE INTERVIEW ROOM AND
15 GIVING THE DETAILS.
16
AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT LYLE MENENDEZ
17 TOLD THE POLICE THAT IN HIS OPINION THE KILLINGS
18 MIGHT BE BUSINESS-RELATED. HE SAID THAT HIS FATHER,
19 IN HIS BUSINESS DEALINGS, HAD TO DEAL WITH SOME
20 SHADY CHARACTERS. ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ, THAT
21 MONDAY MORNING, JUST WITHIN A FEW HOURS AFTER THE
22 KILLING, WERE BOTH POINTING THEIR FINGER TOWARD WHAT
23 YOU WILL LEARN WAS ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURES.
24
MS. ABRAMSON: I'M GOING TO OBJECT TO THAT,
25 YOUR HONOR.
26
THE COURT: OVERRULED.
27
MR. CONN: YOU WILL LEARN THAT THE DEFENDANTS
28 DELIBERATELY LIED AND MISLED THE POLICE BY
1 SUGGESTING THAT IT WAS -- THAT THE KILLINGS WERE
2 RELATED TO THEIR FATHER'S BUSINESS. AND LYLE
3 MENENDEZ CONTINUED TO POINT THE FINGER AT ORGANIZED
4 CRIME FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH AFTER THE KILLINGS.
5
LYLE'S STATEMENT TO THE POLICE BLAMING
6 THE KILLING ON THE MAFIA FINDS SOME ADDITIONAL
7 RELEVANCE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IN ANOTHER TYPE OF
8 WOUND THAT WAS INFLICTED UPON THE BODIES OF JOSE AND
9 KITTY MENENDEZ THAT I HAVE NOT YET DISCUSSED WITH
10 YOU.
11
BOTH VICTIMS HAD BEEN KNEECAPPED; THAT
12 IS, SHOT IN THE AREA OF THE LEFT KNEE. YOU WILL
13 LEARN THAT JOSE MENENDEZ HAD A THROUGH-AND-THROUGH
14 WOUND; THAT IS, PASSING THROUGH THE BODY, GOING FROM
15 THE INSIDE OF HIS LEFT KNEE TO THE OUTSIDE OF HIS
16 LEFT KNEE. AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT KITTY MENENDEZ
17 HAD THREE SEPARATE WOUNDS AROUND THE AREA OF HER
18 LEFT KNEE. YOU WILL LEARN THAT ONE INJURY WAS A
19 WOUND THAT PASSED ALONG THE OUTER SIDE OF HER LEFT
20 CALF, TEARING AWAY A PORTION OF THAT CALF; A SECOND
21 SHOT WENT THROUGH THE FRONT OF HER LEFT THIGH AND
22 PASSED THROUGH TO THE BACK OF HER LEG; AND A THIRD
23 SHOT, WITH THE LEG IN THE BENT POSITION, WENT
24 THROUGH THE FRONT OF HER LEG AND EXITED THROUGH THE
25 TOP OF HER LEG.
26
IT IS THE CONTENTION OF THE PROSECUTION
27 IN THIS CASE THAT THE DEFENDANTS KNEECAPPED THEIR
28 PARENTS TO MAKE THE KILLING LOOK LIKE A MAFIA
1 KILLING. THIS KNEECAPPING PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR
2 THEIR CLAIM TO THE POLICE THAT NIGHT THAT THE
3 KILLINGS WERE BUSINESS-RELATED. ONCE AGAIN, THEIR
4 PLAN TO DIVERT SUSPICION AWAY FROM THEM WORKED.
5
THE BEVERLY HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU
6 WILL LEARN, AS PART OF THEIR INVESTIGATION, LOOKED
7 INTO THAT ORGANIZED CRIME CONNECTION, THAT
8 ORGANIZATION CRIME POSSIBILITY.
9
YOU WILL LEARN THAT LYLE MENENDEZ
10 IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO TELL OTHER PERSONS OF HIS
11 SUSPICION THAT THE MAFIA HAD DONE THE KILLINGS. HE
12 EVEN HIRED A BODYGUARD AND HE CLAIMED THAT HE FEARED
13 THAT THE MAFIA MIGHT NOW BE AFTER HIM. AND HE SAID
14 HE MIGHT HAVE TO PURCHASE A BULLETPROOF LIMOUSINE TO
15 PROTECT HIM FROM THE MAFIA.
16
THE DEFENDANTS LIED TO THEIR FRIENDS AND
17 THEY LIED TO RELATIVES. LYLE MENENDEZ ALSO TOLD HIS
18 GIRLFRIEND, JAMIE PISARCIK, THAT HE BELIEVED THAT
19 THE MAFIA HAD DONE THE KILLINGS. HE ALSO CONTINUED
20 TO PROFESS HIS LOVE FOR HIS PARENTS. HE TOLD HIS
21 RELATIVES HOW HE WISHED HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN HOME
22 JUST A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THAT NIGHT BECAUSE MAYBE
23 HE COULD HAVE SAVED HIS MOTHER FROM THE TRUE
24 KILLERS.
25
AND, OF COURSE, THE DEFENDANTS CONTINUED
26 TO LIE TO THE POLICE. DETECTIVE ZOELLER INTERVIEWED
27 ERIK MENENDEZ AND LYLE MENENDEZ IN NEW JERSEY ABOUT
28 ONE MONTH AFTER THE KILLINGS. THE DATE WAS
1 SEPTEMBER THE 17TH. ERIK MENENDEZ PERSISTED IN THE
2 LIES THAT HE HAD TOLD DETECTIVE EDMONDS THE NIGHT OF
3 THE KILLINGS. HE REPEATED HIS CLAIM ABOUT GOING TO
4 SEE THE MOVIE "BATMAN," FAILING TO MEET UP WITH
5 PERRY BERMAN, AND INDICATED THAT THEY HAD MADE
6 ARRANGEMENTS -- THEY CALLED PERRY BERMAN WHEN THEY
7 WERE UNABLE TO MEET UP WITH HIM, TWO PHONE CALLS
8 WERE MADE THAT NIGHT, AND THEY ATTEMPTED TO MEET HIM
9 AT A RESTAURANT THAT NIGHT.
10
LYLE MENENDEZ LIED TO THE POLICE BY
11 SAYING -- I'M SORRY -- ERIK MENENDEZ LIED TO THE
12 POLICE BY SAYING THAT HE WENT HOME THAT NIGHT ONLY
13 FOR THE PURPOSE OF PICKING UP SOME PHONEY
14 IDENTIFICATION. HE WAS 18 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME AND
15 COULD NOT PURCHASE LIQUOR. HE USED THAT AS A
16 PRETEXT, CLAIMING THAT HE WENT HOME FOR THAT
17 PURPOSE, AND HE LIED BY SAYING HE WAS SURPRISED TO
18 FIND THE BODIES.
19
DURING THIS INTERVIEW, ERIK MENENDEZ
20 REVEALED SOMETHING TO DETECTIVE ZOELLER WHAT
21 SUGGESTS HOW THE DEFENDANTS MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
22 TAKE THE DEFENDANTS BY SURPRISE IN THE DEN. HE SAID
23 THAT HIS PARENTS HAD A HABIT OF FALLING ASLEEP IN
24 FRONT OF THE TELEVISION WHEN THEY WATCHED TELEVISION
25 LATE AT NIGHT. HE ALSO SAID THAT ON THE DAY OF THE
26 KILLINGS HE HAD FOUND HIS DEAD FATHER IN THE SAME
27 POSITION THAT HE HAD SEEN HIS FATHER EARLIER THAT
28 DAY. IT WAS A PLACE ON THE SOFA HE SAID WHERE HIS
1 MOTHER WOULD SOMETIMES FALL ASLEEP IN HIS FATHER'S
2 LAP.
3
LYLE MENENDEZ, IN HIS SEPTEMBER 17TH
4 INTERVIEW, CONFIRMED WHAT ERIK MENENDEZ HAD SAID
5 ABOUT HOW HIS MOTHER AND FATHER USED TO FALL ASLEEP
6 TOGETHER ON THE SOFA. HE TOLD DETECTIVE ZOELLER OF
7 THE EVENTS OF THAT SUNDAY; THAT IS, IN THE EARLY
8 PART OF THE DAY. AND HE TOO PERSISTED IN THE SAME
9 LIES THAT HE HAD TOLD DETECTIVE EDMONDS A MONTH
10 EARLIER. HE TOLD ZOELLER THAT HE AND HIS PARENTS
11 HAD BEEN WATCHING TENNIS ALL DAY THAT SUNDAY. HE
12 ATE DINNER AT HOME AND LATER HE AND HIS BROTHER HAD
13 GONE TO SEE "BATMAN."
14
WE'LL SHOW THAT ON SEPTEMBER THE 17TH
15 BOTH DEFENDANTS WERE STILL TELLING THE SAME LIE. IN
16 THAT INTERVIEW, LYLE MENENDEZ PRETENDED TO KNOW
17 NOTHING ABOUT THE SHOOTING AND HE ASKED QUESTIONS
18 LIKE: WAS THERE ANY SIGN OF A STRUGGLE? WAS THERE
19 ANY EVIDENCE OF TORTURE?
20
HE ALSO BEGAN ON THIS DATE, NOW THAT IT
21 APPEARED THAT HE HAD SAFELY DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM
22 SUSPICION, TO EASE UP POINTING THE FINGER AT
23 ORGANIZED CRIME. AFTER HAVING REPEATEDLY TOLD
24 PEOPLE THAT THE KILLINGS WERE RELATED TO HIS
25 FATHER -- OR MIGHT HAVE BEEN RELATED TO HIS FATHER'S
26 BUSINESS, SUCCESSFULLY DIRECTING SUSPICION AWAY FROM
27 HIMSELF BY SEPTEMBER 17TH, HE BEGAN TO SAY THAT HE
28 HAD NO IDEA WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE KILLINGS AND
1 THAT HE WOULD NOT BELIEVE THE ORGANIZED CRIME
2 CONNECTION, ABSENT SOME EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT IT.
3
NOW, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE ACTIONS OF
4 THE DEFENDANTS LONG AFTER THE KILLINGS, HOWEVER, LET
5 ME RETURN BRIEFLY TO THE EVENTS OF SUNDAY, AUGUST
6 THE 20TH, AND DISCUSS SOME OF THE WITNESSES WHO
7 WE'LL BE CALLING.
8
AFTER WE HEAR FROM DETECTIVE ZOELLER,
9 WE'LL CALL A NEIGHBOR, MRS. KROM. SHE WAS THE ONE
10 WHO RECALLS HEARING WHAT SOUNDED LIKE FIRECRACKERS
11 AT ABOUT 10:10 THAT EVENING. WE'LL CALL PERRY
12 BERMAN, THE FRIEND WHO WAS TO MEET THE DEFENDANTS
13 THAT NIGHT, AND HE WILL SAY THAT HE IS A FRIEND OF
14 LYLE MENENDEZ. LYLE WANTED TO GET TOGETHER WITH HIM
15 THAT SUNDAY NIGHT. HE AGREED TO MEET LYLE MENENDEZ
16 IN SANTA MONICA AT A FOOD FESTIVAL CALL "THE TASTE
17 OF L.A." WHEN LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ FAILED TO SHOW
18 UP ON TIME, HE WENT HOME. BUT THEN HE RECEIVED TWO
19 CALLS FROM THE DEFENDANT, LYLE MENENDEZ. THE FIRST
20 CALL WAS ABOUT 11:07.
21
NOW, WE'LL SHOW YOU FROM THE -- FROM THE
22 SHOTS HEARD BY MRS. KROM, THAT THIS WOULD BE
23 APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR AFTER THE KILLINGS. IN THE
24 FIRST CALL LYLE MENENDEZ URGED HIM THAT THEY STILL
25 GET TOGETHER THAT NIGHT. PERRY BERMAN DIDN'T WANT
26 TO GET TOGETHER. IT WAS LATE AND HE WANTED TO GO TO
27 SLEEP. HIS EVENING WAS OVER. BUT AT LYLE'S -- AT
28 THE PERSISTENCE OF LYLE MENENDEZ, HE SAID, I'LL MEET
1 WITH YOU. LET'S MEET AT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY, A
2 RESTAURANT. ONCE THAT WAS AGREED UPON, ONLY A
3 COUPLE MINUTES LATER LYLE MENENDEZ CALLED HIM BACK
4 ONCE AGAIN AND SAID: LET'S NOT MEET AT THE
5 CHEESECAKE FACTORY, WHY DON'T WE MEET AT MY HOME,
6 KNOWING, OF COURSE, THAT PERRY BERMAN WOULD THEN BE
7 A WITNESS TO LYLE MENENDEZ AND ERIK MENENDEZ COMING
8 UPON THE BODIES OF THEIR PARENTS AND SEEMINGLY
9 DISCOVERING THEIR PARENTS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THAT
10 CONDITION. PERRY SAW NO REASON TO GO TO THE HOME OF
11 THE DEFENDANTS AND HE REFUSED. HE SAID, IF YOU WANT
12 TO MEET ME, YOU CAN MEET ME AT THE RESTAURANT, BUT
13 I'M NOT GOING TO YOUR HOME. ONCE HE REFUSED TO MEET
14 THEM AT THEIR HOME THEY NEVER WENT TO THE
15 RESTAURANT. PERRY BERMAN WENT THERE AND HE WAITED,
16 BUT THE DEFENDANTS DID NOT. THE DEFENDANTS WENT
17 HOME AND THAT'S WHEN THEY CALLED THE POLICE WHO
18 CALLED 911.
19
PERRY BERMAN DID SEE LYLE MENENDEZ LATER
20 THAT NIGHT. AFTER THE POLICE ARRIVED AND BEGAN
21 THEIR INVESTIGATION AND HEARD THE NAME PERRY BERMAN,
22 THEY CONTACTED PERRY BERMAN AND THEY ASKED HIM TO
23 COME IN TO THE POLICE STATION. AND JUST AS THEY HAD
24 SPOKEN TO THE DEFENDANTS, INTERVIEWED THEM AT THE
25 POLICE STATION, THEY ALSO INTERVIEWED PERRY BERMAN.
26 AND PERRY BERMAN HAD A CONVERSATION WITH LYLE IN THE
27 POLICE STATION THAT NIGHT, AND HE RECALLS LYLE
28 MENENDEZ BLAMING THE CRIME ON HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS
1 ASSOCIATES; ONCE AGAIN, POINTING THE FINGER AT THE
2 MAFIA.
3
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT MOTIVE IN THIS
4 CASE. WHY DID THE DEFENDANTS DO THIS?
5
NOW, AS I ALREADY TOLD YOU, LADIES AND
6 GENTLEMEN, YOU'LL BE INSTRUCTED BY THE JUDGE AT THE
7 CONCLUSION OF THE CASE THAT WE DO NOT HAVE THE
8 BURDEN TO PROVE MOTIVE IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THAT
9 MENTAL STATE OF PREMEDITATION AND DELIBERATION. THE
10 ULTIMATE ISSUE FOR FIRST-DEGREE MURDER IS NOT WHY
11 THE DEFENDANTS KILLED THEIR PARENTS, BUT AS I SAID,
12 WHETHER IT WAS PRECEDED BY THAT THINKING ABOUT THE
13 CRIME, BY CAREFULLY WEIGHING AND CONSIDERING THEIR
14 ACTIONS, AND BY GOING AHEAD AND DOING IT. HOWEVER,
15 NO DOUBT ANYONE LOOKING AT AN EVENT SUCH AS THIS
16 WANTS TO KNOW WHY, AND WE'LL PRESENT EVIDENCE OF
17 WHY.
18
AS I ALREADY TOLD YOU, LADIES AND
19 GENTLEMEN, JOSE MENENDEZ WAS A WEALTHY MAN. IN HIS
20 WILL THE DEFENDANTS WERE THE NAMED BENEFICIARIES WHO
21 WOULD COLLECT HIS ENTIRE ESTATE IF HE AND KITTY WERE
22 TO BOTH DIE, OR TO BE KILLED, FOR THAT MATTER.
23
THE DEFENDANTS THUS STOOD TO INHERIT
24 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WHEN THEIR PARENTS PASSED AWAY.
25 BUT WHILE JOSE WAS A WEALTHY MAN, HE WAS ALSO A
26 RELATIVELY YOUNG MAN. THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT
27 JOSE MENENDEZ WAS ONLY 45 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF
28 HIS DEATH. THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT THE
1 DEFENDANTS KNEW THAT IT WOULD BE MANY YEARS BEFORE
2 THEY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THEIR HANDS ON THEIR PARENTS
3 MONEY IF THEY JUST SAT BACK AND WAITED FOR THEIR
4 PARENTS TO DIE A NATURAL DEATH.
5
THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT WHILE THE
6 DEFENDANTS, BEING THE SONS OF WEALTHY PARENTS, LIVED
7 WELL, THEY LIVED ON WHAT THEIR PARENTS GAVE THEM.
8 THEY HAD NO MONEY OF THEIR OWN. THEY LIVED ON AN
9 ALLOWANCE AND THEY LIVED ON CREDIT CARDS. IN FACT,
10 YOU WILL HEAR ERIK MENENDEZ, IN HIS SEPTEMBER 17TH
11 INTERVIEW, SPEAK ABOUT HOW HE HAD AN ALLOWANCE OF
12 $180 A MONTH, OF ONLY $45 A WEEK. FOR THE YOUNG
13 WEALTHY MEN IN BEVERLY HILLS WHO STOOD TO COLLECT
14 MILLIONS, THAT WAS NOT VERY MUCH.
15
BUT THE PROBLEM WAS WORSE THAN THAT.
16 THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ
17 HAD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD BE CUT OUT OF
18 THE WILL ALTOGETHER. AND YOU WILL HAVE TO LEARN A
19 LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF WHAT WAS GOING ON
20 AT THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND WHY.
21
YOU WILL LEARN THAT THERE WAS TENSION IN
22 THE MENENDEZ HOME SHORTLY BEFORE THE KILLINGS
23 BECAUSE THE DEFENDANTS WERE AT A CROSSROADS IN THEIR
24 LIVES. THEY WERE CHILDREN NO LONGER. THEY WERE
25 YOUNG MEN, AND THEIR FATHER, WHO WAS AN AMBITIOUS
26 AND SUCCESSFUL MAN, WHO LIVED UP TO HIS
27 RESPONSIBILITIES, EXPECTED AND DEMANDED THAT HIS
28 SONS LIVE UP TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES.
1
BUT LYLE MENENDEZ, YOU WILL LEARN, WAS A
2 FAILURE. HE KNEW IT, HIS FATHER KNEW IT, AND MOST
3 PAINFUL OF ALL, HE KNEW THAT HIS FATHER KNEW IT.
4 LYLE MENENDEZ LACKED THE INTELLIGENCE, THE DRIVE,
5 AND THE TALENT OF HIS FATHER. LYLE MENENDEZ KNEW
6 THAT HE WOULD NEVER WALK IN THE SHOES OF JOSE
7 MENENDEZ. HE WAS A FAILURE AT SCHOOL IN PRINCETON.
8 HE DID NOT TAKE HIS STUDIES SERIOUSLY. AND HE WAS
9 GOING OUT WITH WOMEN WHOM HIS FATHER THOUGHT WERE
10 GOLD-DIGGERS. JOSE MENENDEZ WAS SO DISPLEASED WITH
11 LYLE MENENDEZ IN THIS TIME PERIOD SHORTLY BEFORE THE
12 MURDERS THAT HE THREATENED TO CUT HIS SON OUT OF THE
13 WILL ALTOGETHER.
14
YOU WILL GET A SMALL GLIMPSE OF THE
15 TENSION THAT WAS INSIDE THE MENENDEZ HOME FROM BRIAN
16 ANDERSEN. HE IS THE BROTHER OF KITTY MENENDEZ. HE
17 RECALLS, JUST WEEKS BEFORE THE KILLINGS, A DISPUTE
18 OVER THE PURCHASE OF A CAMCORDER. HE SAW KITTY
19 QUESTIONING ERIK ONE DAY ABOUT HOW HE HAD OBTAINED A
20 NEW CAMCORDER. AND KITTY WAS VERY -- KITTY MENENDEZ
21 WAS VERY UPSET WITH ERIK MENENDEZ. DAYS LATER, WHEN
22 BRIAN ANDERSEN WAS TALKING TO JOSE MENENDEZ ABOUT
23 THE CAMCORDER, JOSE MENENDEZ TOLD BRIAN ANDERSEN HIS
24 CONCERN ABOUT THE WAY THAT HIS SONS WERE SPENDING
25 MONEY. HE TOLD BRIAN ANDERSEN: I'VE GOT TO HAVE A
26 MAJOR TALK WITH LYLE -- HE HAS GOT TO GET THE MESSAGE
27 THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO SUPPORT THEM -- WE ARE NOT
28 GOING TO BE SUPPORTING THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR
1 LIVES.
2
MS. ABRAMSON: YOUR HONOR, I'M GOING TO
3 OBJECT, BECAUSE THAT WAS -- THIS WAS LITIGATED MONTHS
4 AGO.
5
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
6 CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POSSIBLE EVIDENCE THAT MIGHT
7 BE INTRODUCED DURING OPENING STATEMENTS, WHETHER
8 MADE BY THE PROSECUTION OR THE DEFENSE IN OPENING
9 STATEMENTS, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S REFERRED TO IN
10 OPENING STATEMENTS, AS I'VE ALREADY SAID TO YOU, IT
11 IS NOT EVIDENCE. NOTHING THE LAWYERS SAY DURING
12 OPENING STATEMENTS CAN BE CONSIDERED BY YOU AS
13 EVIDENCE. SOME OF WHAT IS MENTIONED IN OPENING
14 STATEMENTS, EVEN IF IT DOES COME TO PASS, IT IS
15 RECEIVED AS EVIDENCE, WILL BE RECEIVED WITH CERTAIN
16 LIMITING INSTRUCTIONS AND COULD BE USED BY THE JURY
17 ONLY FOR A LIMITED PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WILL BE
18 RECEIVED. SO THE FACT THAT SOME THINGS ARE REFERRED
19 TO IN OPENING STATEMENT SHOULD NOT GIVE YOU THE IDEA
20 THAT THE ACTUAL EVIDENCE WILL BE INTRODUCED. AND
21 EVEN IF IT IS INTRODUCED, THAT EVIDENCE WILL BE
22 PERHAPS SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON IT. KEEP
23 THAT IN MIND.
24
YOU MAY PROCEED.
25
MR. CONN: THANK YOU.
26
TWO WEEKS AFTER BRIAN ANDERSEN HAD THAT
27 TALK WITH JOSE MENENDEZ AND WE LEARNED ABOUT THE
28 INTENTION OF JOSE MENENDEZ TO TALK TO LYLE MENENDEZ,
1 JOSE MENENDEZ WAS KILLED BY HIS SONS.
2
YOU WILL HEAR THAT LYLE MENENDEZ EVEN
3 ADMITTED TO HIS FRIEND, PERRY BERMAN, AS WELL AS
4 OTHER WITNESSES, HOW DISPLEASED HIS FATHER WAS WITH
5 HIM.
6
YOU WILL HEAR FROM ANOTHER UNCLE, CARLOS
7 BARALT, WHO WAS MARRIED TO JOSE'S SISTER, THAT LYLE
8 ADMITTED TO HIM THAT HIS FATHER HAD THREATENED TO
9 CUT HIM OUT OF THE WILL. CARLOS BARALT ALSO SPOKE
10 TO JOSE MENENDEZ JUST A MONTH OR TWO BEFORE HIS SONS
11 KILLED HIM. AND JOSE MENENDEZ TOLD CARLOS THAT HE
12 WAS GOING TO WRITE A NEW WILL AND HE HAD DECIDED TO
13 CUT BOTH DEFENDANTS OUT OF THE NEW WILL.
14
IN SHORT, WHAT THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW,
15 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS THAT THE DEFENDANTS BEGAN
16 TO REALIZE THAT PERHAPS THE ONLY WAY THEY WOULD EVER
17 GET THEIR HANDS ON THEIR FATHER'S MONEY WOULD BE IF
18 THEY TOOK IT BY KILLING HIM.
19
WE'LL ALSO PROVE THAT THE KILLINGS IN
20 THIS CASE WERE COMMITTED FOR FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
21 BY PRESENTING EVIDENCE OF WHAT WAS ON THE
22 DEFENDANTS' MINDS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE KILLINGS
23 IN THIS CASE.
24
THAT MONDAY MORNING, IN THE EARLY HOURS
25 AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM THE POLICE STATION, YOU
26 WILL LEARN THE DEFENDANTS RETURNED TO THE CRIME
27 SCENE, AND WHILE THEY WERE THERE AT THE CRIME SCENE,
28 THEY RAN INTO A WOMAN BY THE NAME OF CLARA WRIGHT.
1 SHE IS THE WIFE OF AN ATTORNEY BY THE NAME OF RANDY
2 WRIGHT. AND SHE IS A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. AND SHE
3 DID NOT KNOW THAT KITTY AND JOSE MENENDEZ HAD BEEN
4 KILLED THAT SUNDAY NIGHT. SHE ARRIVED MONDAY
5 MORNING ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PICKING UP A TENNIS
6 RACKET. IT WAS ONLY THEN THAT SHE SAW THE YELLOW
7 POLICE TAPE AT THE CRIME SCENE AND SHE SAW ERIK AND
8 LYLE MENENDEZ THERE AND SHE BEGAN TO TALK TO THEM.
9 AND SHE ASKED THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED. AND THEY
10 EXPLAINED TO HER THAT THEIR PARENTS HAD BEEN KILLED
11 THE NIGHT BEFORE. AND AFTER SHE EXPRESSED HER
12 CONDOLENCES, THE DEFENDANTS GOT DOWN TO BUSINESS AND
13 THEY SAID: WE WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOUR HUSBAND,
14 RANDY WRIGHT, THE ATTORNEY. AND SHE ARRANGED FOR A
15 MEETING, AND THEY SHOWED UP LATER THAT DAY, AT ABOUT
16 THREE P.M., AT HIS HOME.
17
AND THE DEFENDANTS WERE THERE TO TALK TO
18 RANDY WRIGHT ABOUT PROBATING THE WILL. THEY ASKED
19 HIM IF HE HANDLES PROBATE MATTERS. AND HE INFORMED
20 THEM THAT HE COULD HANDLE THAT. THEY EXPRESSED A
21 CONCERN THAT THEY MIGHT NOT BE -- THAT THERE MIGHT
22 BE A NEW WILL. AND THEY EXPRESSED A CONCERN THAT
23 THE NEW WILL MIGHT BE ON A COMPUTER. THEY ASKED HIM
24 IF A WILL ON A COMPUTER WOULD BE A VALID LEGAL
25 DOCUMENT, AND RANDY WRIGHT TOLD THEM THAT HE WAS NOT
26 SURE. HE WOULD HAVE TO RESEARCH IT. THEY ALSO TOLD
27 RANDY WRIGHT THAT THE OLD WILL MIGHT BE IN THE
28 FAMILY SAFE. LYLE MENENDEZ VOLUNTEERED TO GO GET
1 THE SAFE. AND ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ WENT AND GOT
2 THE SAFE THAT VERY EVENING.
3
THUS, WE'LL SHOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
4 THAT NO SOONER WERE THE DEFENDANTS RELEASED BY THE
5 POLICE THAN THEY PROCEEDED TO SPEND THEIR DAY
6 THINKING AND WORKING ON THEIR GOAL OF GETTING THEIR
7 HANDS ON THEIR DEAD PARENTS' MONEY.
8
WE'LL PROVE THAT WITHIN 24 HOURS OF
9 SHOOTING THEIR MOTHER AND FATHER IN THE HEADS, ERIK
10 AND LYLE MENENDEZ WERE CARRYING THEIR DEAD PARENTS'
11 SAFE TO THE HOME OF RANDY WRIGHT, A PROBATE
12 ATTORNEY.
13
WE'LL ALSO SHOW THAT WHILE TAKING ACTION
14 TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THE OLD WILL, A WILL WHICH WAS
15 EVENTUALLY FOUND AND WHICH DID, IN FACT, GIVE THE
16 ENTIRE ESTATE TO THE DEFENDANTS, LYLE MENENDEZ WAS
17 ALSO PREOCCUPIED WITH ENSURING THAT A NEW WILL, IF
18 ONE EXISTED, WOULD NEVER SURFACE.
19
YOU WILL LEARN THAT LYLE MENENDEZ, AFTER
20 LEARNING THAT THERE WAS A FILE FOUND WITHIN THE
21 FAMILY COMPUTER WHICH MADE REFERENCE TO THE WORD
22 "WILL," HIRED A COMPUTER EXPERT BY THE NAME OF
23 HOWARD WITKIN TO ERASE THE FILE. HE ALSO INSTRUCTED
24 MR. WITKIN TO DO IT IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE WOULD NOT
25 LEAVE ANY EVIDENCE OF ANYONE HAVING TAMPERED WITH
26 THE COMPUTER.
27
THUS, WE'LL SHOW THAT LYLE MENENDEZ NOT
28 ONLY WANTED TO DESTROY THE NEW WILL, IF ONE EXISTED,
1 BUT HE WANTED TO DESTROY ANY EVIDENCE OF HAVING DONE
2 SO, SO THAT SUCH ACTION COULD NOT BE TRACED BACK TO
3 HIM.
4
ANOTHER SAFEGUARD THAT THE DEFENDANTS
5 TOOK TO ENSURE THAT THE NEW WILL, IF ONE EXISTED,
6 WOULD NOT SURFACE, WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT NO
7 WITNESSES WERE AROUND WHEN THEY OPENED THE FAMILY
8 SAFE. ALTHOUGH RANDY WRIGHT, THE PROBATE ATTORNEY,
9 HAD ADVISED THEM THAT THE SAFE SHOULD BE OPENED IN
10 THE PRESENCE OF THE EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE AND OTHER
11 FAMILY MEMBERS, AFTER A LOCKSMITH FINISHED WORKING
12 ON THE SAFE IN RANDY WRIGHT'S GARAGE SO THAT IT
13 COULD BE OPENED, THE DEFENDANTS INSISTED THAT NO ONE
14 BE PRESENT WHEN THEY ACTUALLY OPENED UP THE SAFE.
15 THEY TOLD THE EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE AND OTHER
16 RELATIVES TO LEAVE THEM ALONE WHILE THEY OPENED UP
17 THE SAFE.
18
THEY DID THE SAME THING WHEN A SEARCH
19 WAS MADE OF A FAMILY SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX. LYLE AND
20 ERIK MENENDEZ INSISTED THAT THEY BE LEFT ALONE, OUT
21 OF VIEW OF ALL FAMILY MEMBERS, WHEN THE SAFETY
22 DEPOSIT BOX WAS OPENED, YET ANOTHER PRECAUTION TO
23 ENSURE THAT THE NEW WILL, IF ONE EXISTED, WAS NOT
24 DISCOVERED.
25
AS I SAID, THE OLD WILL WAS FOUND. IT
26 WAS FOUND IN THE BEVERLY HILLS HOME BY A RELATIVE.
27 NO NEW WILL EVER SURFACED. AND THE DEFENDANTS STOOD
28 TO INHERIT THE ENTIRE FAMILY FORTUNE. THE EVIDENCE
1 WILL SHOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT THE DEFENDANTS
2 WASTED NO TIME IN ENJOYING THEIR NEW-FOUND FORTUNE.
3
WITHIN DAYS OF KILLING THEIR PARENTS,
4 THE DEFENDANTS, PARTICULARLY LYLE MENENDEZ, BEGAN TO
5 SPEND THEIR DEAD PARENTS' MONEY. LYLE MENENDEZ,
6 FOUR DAYS AFTER KILLING HIS PARENTS, AND BEFORE HE
7 HAD EVER RECEIVED ANY MONEY FROM THE ESTATE, WALKED
8 INTO A JEWELRY STORE IN CENTURY CITY AND BOUGHT,
9 USING HIS DEAD FATHER'S CREDIT CARD, A SOLID
10 18-CARAT GOLD ROLEX WATCH, THE PRESIDENTIAL MODEL,
11 WORTH ABOUT $10,000, TO WEAR TO HIS FATHER'S
12 FUNERAL. THAT WATCH WAS JUST ONE OF THREE ROLEX
13 WATCHES THAT HE PURCHASED THAT DAY FOR A TOTAL PRICE
14 OF $15,000.
15
LYLE WENT ON A SPENDING SPREE, RIDING IN
16 LIMOUSINES AND SPENDING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON
17 CLOTHING. WE'LL CALL WITNESSES TO THESE PURCHASES
18 AND THESE EXPENDITURES SO THAT YOU WILL GET AN IDEA
19 OF THE LIFE-STYLE THAT LYLE MENENDEZ WAS LIVING AND
20 PLANNED TO BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO.
21
EACH DEFENDANT COLLECTED $325,000 UNDER
22 A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY ON THEIR FATHER. THE VERY
23 SAME DAY THAT LYLE MENENDEZ GOT HIS HANDS ON THIS
24 MONEY, HE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT A 70-THOUSAND-DOLLAR
25 PORSCHE. ERIK BROUGHT A BRAND-NEW JEEP WRANGLER.
26 ERIK MENENDEZ ALSO HIRED A FULL-TIME PERSONAL TENNIS
27 COACH, PAYING HIM A YEARLY SALARY OF $50,000 JUST TO
28 COACH HIM ALONE.
1
BUT THEN THERE ARE OTHER REALLY BIG
2 PURCHASES. WE'LL SHOW THAT LYLE MENENDEZ ALWAYS
3 WANTED TO OWN A LITTLE RESTAURANT IN PRINCETON
4 CALLED "CHUCK'S SPRING STREET CAFE." WITH HIS
5 NEW-FOUND WEALTH, LYLE MENENDEZ WAS NOW ABLE TO DO
6 JUST THAT, AND HE SPENT A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS ON
7 THE PURCHASE OF THAT RESTAURANT
8
ALTHOUGH THE DEFENDANTS WERE NOW
9 INHERITORS OF THE BEVERLY HILLS MANSION, THE
10 CALABASAS ESTATE THAT WAS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION,
11 AND LYLE WAS ALSO THE OWNER OF A TOWNHOUSE BACK IN
12 PRINCETON THAT HIS FATHER HAD PURCHASED FOR HIM
13 BEFORE HIS DEATH, THE DEFENDANTS DECIDED TO LIVE IN
14 THE MARINA CITY CONDOMINIUMS WITH A VIEW OF THE
15 OCEAN AND THE TENNIS COURTS.
16
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO JUST CONTINUE TO
17 RENT, HOWEVER. AND LYLE MENENDEZ ENTERED INTO A
18 TRANSACTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF ONE OF THOSE
19 CONDOMINIUMS AT A PRICE OF APPROXIMATELY ONE MILLION
20 DOLLARS. ERIK MENENDEZ WROTE OUT A CHECK FOR THE
21 DEPOSIT. THAT TRANSACTION WAS NEVER COMPLETED,
22 HOWEVER; NOR WAS ANOTHER ATTEMPTED TRANSACTION
23 COMPLETED. THE ARREST OF THE DEFENDANTS INTERFERED
24 WITH THAT TRANSACTION. AND THAT WAS AN ATTEMPTED
25 PURCHASE BY ERIK MENENDEZ OF A 1.1 MILLION-DOLLAR
26 HOME IN MARINA DEL REY.
27
PURCHASES THAT WERE COMPLETED, HOWEVER,
28 INCLUDED LYLE'S PURCHASE OF A SECOND TOWNHOUSE IN
1 PRINCETON IN THE SAME COMPLEX WHERE HE ALREADY OWNED
2 ONE TOWNHOUSE, AND A PATIO HOME WITHIN THE SAME
3 COMPLEX. THE TOWNHOUSE COST HIM $125,000 AND THE
4 PATIO HOME COST HIM $265,000.
5
IN SHORT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE
6 EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT LYLE MENENDEZ, IN THE SIX
7 AND A HALF MONTHS FOLLOWING THE KILLING OF HIS
8 PARENTS, SPENT APPROXIMATELY ONE MILLION DOLLARS OF
9 HIS DEAD PARENTS' MONEY, AND THAT BOTH DEFENDANTS
10 ENTERED INTO TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING MILLION-DOLLAR
11 PROPERTIES.
12
IN CONTRAST TO THIS LIFE OF LUXURY,
13 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE DAY BEFORE THE DEFENDANTS
14 SLAUGHTERED THEIR PARENTS, THE DEFENDANTS DID NOT
15 HAVE -16
MS. ABRAMSON: YOUR HONOR, I'M GOING TO
17 OBJECT TO THAT WORD AGAIN.
18
THE COURT: AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ARGUMENT, IT'S
19 NOT DESIGNED TO BE ARGUMENT. IT'S JUST DESIGNED TO
20 PRESENT WHAT EITHER SIDE EXPECTS THE EVIDENCE TO
21 SHOW.
22
YOU MAY PROCEED.
23
MR. CONN: THANK YOU.
24
THE DAY BEFORE THE DEFENDANTS KILLED
25 THEIR PARENTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THEY DID NOT
26 HAVE MONEY OF THEIR OWN, BUT THEY LIVED ON WHAT
27 THEIR PARENTS GAVE THEM, A SHARP CONTRAST TO THE
28 LIFE-STYLE THAT THEY WERE NOW LIVING.
1
THE DEFENDANTS' LIVES AS MILLIONAIRES
2 CAME TO AN END IN MARCH OF 1990. YOU WILL LEARN
3 THAT IN MARCH, ABOUT SIX AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER THE
4 KILLINGS, DETECTIVE ZOELLER OBTAINED A SEARCH
5 WARRANT. HE WAS LOOKING FOR A TAPE-RECORDING WHICH
6 HE FOUND, AND THAT IS THE TAPE-RECORDING THAT I HAVE
7 HERE. THAT SEARCH WARRANT WAS FOR THE HOME OF
8 DR. JEROME OZIEL. AND CONFRONTED WITH THAT SEARCH
9 WARRANT DR. OZIEL TOOK THE -10
MS. ABRAMSON: OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR.
11
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. LET'S JUST GET TO THE
12 TAPE ITSELF.
13
MR. CONN: OKAY. DR. OZIEL WENT WITH
14 DETECTIVE ZOELLER TO THE BANK AND TO A SAFETY
15 DEPOSIT BOX IN THE BANK. FROM THAT SAFETY DEPOSIT
16 BOX THEY RECOVERED THIS TAPE-RECORDING, WHICH IS
17 HERE IN COURT, AND WHICH YOU WILL HEAR. DETECTIVE
18 ZOELLER WILL IDENTIFY THE VOICES ON THE RECORDING AS
19 BELONGING TO THE DEFENDANTS AND DR. OZIEL.
20
THIS TAPE-RECORDING DOES NOT HAVE A
21 FORMAL INTRODUCTION TO IT ANNOUNCING THE DATE THAT
22 IT WAS MADE; AND DR. OZIEL WILL NOT BE CALLED BY THE
23 PROSECUTION TO TESTIFY TO THE MAKING OF THIS
24 RECORDING. SINCE IT INVOLVES A DISCUSSION OF THE
25 KILLINGS, HOWEVER, WE'LL ASK YOU TO CONCLUDE THAT IT
26 WAS MADE SOME TIME AFTER THE KILLINGS OF AUGUST OF
27 1989 AND SOME TIME BEFORE THE ARREST OF THE
28 DEFENDANTS IN MARCH OF 1990.
1
WITH THIS RECORDING WE'LL PROVE NOT ONLY
2 THAT THE DEFENDANTS KILLED THEIR PARENTS, BUT THAT
3 THEY DID SO AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT FOR A LONG TIME;
4 THAT IS, AFTER PREMEDITATION AND DELIBERATION.
5
AND YOU WILL HEAR SUCH WORDS ON THIS
6 TAPE, YOU WILL HEAR, FOR EXAMPLE -- AND I HAVE BLOWN
7 UP SOME SPECIFIC WORDS FOR YOU SO THAT YOU CAN GET
8 THE FULL IMPACT.
9
YOU CAN HEAR LYLE MENENDEZ SAY, FOR
10 EXAMPLE, THE FOLLOWING ON THIS TAPE-RECORDING:
11
"THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GONNA
12
MAKE A DECISION TO KILL MY MOTHER
13
WITHOUT ERIK'S CONSENT. I DIDN'T EVEN
14
WANT TO INFLUENCE HIM IN THAT ISSUE.
15
I JUST LET HIM SLEEP ON IT FOR A
16
COUPLE OF DAYS."
17
IT IS BASED UPON THAT TAPE-RECORDING AND
18 OTHER EVIDENCE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT WE'LL ASK
19 YOU TO FIND THAT THE MENTAL STATE OF PREMEDITATION
20 AND DELIBERATION HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN THIS
21 CASE.
22
YOU WILL HEAR LYLE MENENDEZ IN THAT
23 RECORDING GO ON TO SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THE ACTUAL
24 PLANNING OUT OF THESE KILLINGS TOOK A SHORT PERIOD
25 OF TIME BECAUSE ALL THE THINKING WAS DONE
26 BEFOREHAND. AND WHEN THE KILLING WAS FINALLY DONE,
27 HE SAID, IT WAS DONE QUICKLY AND CALLOUSLY. LYLE
28 MENENDEZ ADMITS TO THAT ON THIS TAPE-RECORDING THA
1 YOU WILL HEAR.
2
WE ARE OFFERING THIS RECORDING INTO
3 EVIDENCE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BECAUSE OF THE
4 ADMISSION OF THE DEFENDANTS THAT THESE KILLINGS WERE
5 THE RESULT OF PREMEDITATION AND DELIBERATION.
6
WE ARE OFFERING THE RECORDING TO PROVE
7 THAT THE DEFENDANTS THOUGHT ABOUT THE KILLINGS AND
8 CAREFULLY CONSIDERED THEIR ACTIONS BEFORE THEY
9 DECIDED TO KILL.
10
BUT IN THIS RECORDING THE DEFENDANTS
11 ALSO SPEAK ABOUT WHY THEY KILLED THEIR PARENTS. IN
12 REGARD TO THIS ISSUE, HOWEVER, YOU WILL FIND THAT
13 THE DEFENDANTS MAKE AN UNBELIEVABLE CLAIM AS TO WHY
14 THEY KILLED THEIR MOTHER. THEY DESCRIBE THE KILLING
15 OF THEIR MOTHER AS A MERCY KILLING.
16
IT IS OUR POSITION, LADIES AND
17 GENTLEMEN, AS I PREVIOUSLY INDICATED TO YOU, THAT
18 THE KILLINGS IN THIS CASE WERE COMMITTED FOR REASONS
19 OF FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE, TO GET THEIR HANDS ON
20 THEIR PARENTS' MONEY. AND IT IS OUR POSITION THAT
21 THEY DID NOT KILL EITHER ONE OF THEIR PARENTS OUT OF
22 MERCY. TO THE CONTRARY, THE EVIDENCE FROM THE CRIME
23 SCENE SUGGESTS JUST THE OPPOSITE.
24
WE'LL ASK YOU TO FIND THAT LYLE
25 MENENDEZ' CLAIM THAT THE KILLING OF HIS MOTHER WAS
26 AN ACT OF MERCY IS A SELF-SERVING UNTRUE CLAIM,
27 WHICH IS CONTRADICTED BY THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE.
28
BUT ON THIS RECORDING, THE DEFENDANTS DO
1 NOT ADMIT THAT THEY KILLED THEIR PARENTS FOR REASON
2 OF FINANCIAL GAIN; MORE IMPORTANT, THEY MAKE NO
3 MENTION WHATSOEVER OF ANY TYPE OF PHYSICAL ABUSE
4 AGAINST THEM; INSTEAD, WHAT THE DEFENDANTS MAKE
5 CLEAR IN THEIR CONVERSATION WITH DR. OZIEL IS THAT
6 THEY HATED THEIR FATHER.
7
LYLE MENENDEZ SPEAKS, FOR EXAMPLE, ABOUT
8 THE PROBLEMS HE WAS HAVING WITH HIS FATHER AND HOW
9 HIS FATHER WAS SO CONTROLLING AND DOMINEERING AND
10 HOW LYLE MENENDEZ FELT TOO PUSHED AND HOW HIS FATHER
11 WAS, QUOTE, SUPPRESSING HIM. HE TELLS DR. OZIEL
12 THAT HE COMPLAINED ABOUT THAT TO HIS MOTHER, BUT HIS
13 MOTHER TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS OVERREACTING. SHE TOLD
14 HIM THAT IF HE WANTED TO LEAVE THE HOME AND GO OFF
15 ON HIS OWN, THAT WAS OKAY, JUST GO.
16
THE DEFENDANTS MAKE CLEAR ON THIS
17 TAPE-RECORDING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT THEY DID
18 NOT KILL THEIR FATHER BECAUSE HE WAS SO CONTROLLING
19 OVER THEM OR BECAUSE OF ANYTHING ELSE THAT HE HAD
20 DONE OR WAS DOING TO THEM; INSTEAD, THEY CLAIM THAT
21 THEY KILLED THEIR FATHER BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE WAS
22 TREATING THEIR MOTHER. THEY CLAIM THAT THEIR FATHER
23 HAD HAD AN EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR THAT CAUSED THEIR
24 MOTHER A GREAT DEAL OF EMOTIONAL STRESS; THAT FOR
25 THIS, THEY SAY, HE DESERVED TO DIE. THEY SAY THAT
26 JOSE MENENDEZ HAD IT COMING.
27
DR. OZIEL ASKS LYLE MENENDEZ THIS
28 QUESTION: "TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOU KILL YOUR FATHER
1 BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE WAS TREATING YOU AND TO WHAT
2 EXTENT DID YOU DO IT BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE WAS
3 TREATING YOUR MOTHER?”
4
AND LYLE MENENDEZ ON THIS TAPE-RECORDING
5 SAYS THAT ALTHOUGH HIS FATHER WAS VERY CONTROLLING
6 IN REGARD TO THE WAY THAT HE TREATED HIM AND HIS
7 BROTHER, ERIK MENENDEZ, THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH
8 WHY HE KILLED HIS FATHER. LYLE MENENDEZ EXPLAINS
9 WHY. HE SAYS THAT HE, LYLE MENENDEZ, WAS NOW LIVING
10 AWAY FROM THE FAMILY. HE HAD BEEN LIVING AND GOING
11 TO SCHOOL IN PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY; AND HE WAS
12 PLANNING ON GOING BACK TO SCHOOL IN NEW JERSEY JUST
13 A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE KILLING. HE ADMITTED TO OZIEL
14 THAT BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE WAS LIVING AWAY FROM THE
15 FAMILY, HE WAS, QUOTE, PRETTY MUCH SPLINTERED OFF
16 FROM THE FAMILY. YOU WILL HEAR HIM SAY THAT HE
17 FINALLY CONCLUDED THAT HIS FATHER SHOULD BE KILLED,
18 NOT BECAUSE OF THE WAY HIS FATHER WAS SO CONTROLLING
19 OVER HIM, BUT BECAUSE OF THE WAY HIS FATHER TREATED
20 HIS MOTHER.
21
ONCE AGAIN, PORTRAYING HIMSELF IN A
22 FAVORABLE LIGHT AND REFUSING TO MENTION HIS OWN
23 FINANCIAL MOTIVATION IN THIS KILLING.
24
LYLE MENENDEZ SAYS ON THE TAPE-RECORDING
25 THAT HIS FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT HE WOULD SIMPLY KILL
26 HIS FATHER AND THEREBY ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM, BUT
27 THEN THERE WAS THE QUESTION OF HIS MOTHER, HE SAID.
28 YOU WILL HEAR HIM SAY ON THE TAPE-RECORDING THAT
1 THERE WAS NO WAS HIS MOTHER COULD LIVE WITHOUT HIS
2 FATHER. AND THIS KNOWLEDGE THAT HIS MOTHER COULD
3 NOT LIVE WITHOUT HIS FATHER HELD ERIK MENENDEZ BACK
4 AND LYLE MENENDEZ BACK, HE SAID, FROM KILLING THEIR
5 FATHER.
6
LYLE MENENDEZ THEN SAYS THAT HIS MOTHER
7 HAD TO BE KILLED BECAUSE SHE WAS A WEAK WOMAN WHO
8 COULD NOT HAVE LIVED WITHOUT THEIR FATHER. IT IS
9 HERE WHERE THE DEFENDANT MAKES THE UNBELIEVABLE
10 CLAIM THAT THE KILLING OF THEIR MOTHER WAS A MERCY
11 KILLING. YOU WILL HEAR LYLE MENENDEZ ATTEMPT TO
12 JUSTIFY THE KILLING OF HIS MOTHER BY SAYING THAT, IN
13 ESSENCE, SHE GAVE HIM PERMISSION TO KILL HER. HE
14 SAYS, AFTER ALL, SHE WANTED TO COMMIT SUICIDE AND SO
15 LYLE MENENDEZ CLAIMED IN HIS OWN DISTORTED
16 SELF-SERVING RECONSTRUCTION OF THIS INCIDENT THAT HE
17 WAS SIMPLY CARRYING IT OUT, CARRYING OUT HER
18 SUICIDE. HE GOES SO FAR AS TO SAY THAT HE WAS
19 ACTUALLY DOING HER A FAVOR BY KILLING HER. AFTER
20 ALL, HE SAYS, HE AND HIS BROTHER PUT HER OUT OF HER
21 MISERY. IN FACT, HE EVEN SAYS THAT WHAT HE AND ERIK
22 MENENDEZ DID TO THEIR PARENTS TOOK COURAGE BEYOND
23 BELIEF.
24
FINALLY, ON THE TAPE-RECORDING YOU WILL
25 HEAR WHAT LYLE MENENDEZ REALLY THINKS ABOUT HIS
26 PARENTS WHEN HE SAYS COLDLY THAT HE MISSES HIS
27 PARENTS, BUT THEN ADDS, "BUT I MISS MY DOG TOO."
28
YOU WILL HEAR ERIK MENENDEZ IN THE ROOM
1 DURING THE COURSE OF THIS CONVERSATION, AND YOU CAN
2 HEAR HIM ON THE TAPE AGREEING WITH SOME OF THE
3 THINGS THAT ARE BEING SAID BY HIS BROTHER. ERIK
4 MENENDEZ ALSO SPEAKS ABOUT HIS FATHER BEING
5 CONTROLLING OVER THEIR LIVES. HE SAYS, FOR EXAMPLE,
6 THAT -- AND EXPLAINS HOW HE WAS INTERESTED IN
7 ACTING. ERIK MENENDEZ WANTED TO STUDY ACTING IN
8 COLLEGE. HIS MOTHER HAD SEEN HIM ACTING IN HIGH
9 SCHOOL AND KITTY MENENDEZ THOUGHT THAT ERIK MENENDEZ
10 WAS A GOOD ACTOR. SHE WANTED HIM TO STUDY ACTING.
11 BUT HE MENTIONED ACTING TO HIS FATHER AND HIS FATHER
12 THOUGHT THAT HE WAS JOKING. AFTER THAT HE SAID HE
13 FELT HE COULD NEVER BRING UP THE SUBJECT OF ACTING
14 AGAIN TO HIS FATHER.
15
ON THAT TAPE-RECORDING ERIK MENENDEZ
16 SPEAKS OF HOW HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER WAS A
17 LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP. LIKE LYLE MENENDEZ, HE TOO
18 HATED HIS FATHER FOR THE WAY THAT HE WAS TREATING
19 THEIR MOTHER. AS FAR AS KILLING HIS FATHER IS
20 CONCERNED, YOU WILL HEAR ERIK MENENDEZ ON TAPE
21 SAYING: "EVENTUALLY IT HAD TO HAPPEN. IT WAS
22 BASICALLY RUINING MY LIFE AND I GUESS LYLE'S." IN
23 CONTEXT YOU WILL SEE THAT WHAT HE IS REFERRING TO IS
24 JOSE'S TREATMENT -- JOSE MENENDEZ' TREATMENT OF KITTY
25 MENENDEZ, NOT ANYTHING ABOUT THE WAY THAT JOSE
26 MENENDEZ WAS TREATING ERIK MENENDEZ.
27
YOU WILL ALSO HEAR REFERENCE TO JOSE'S --
28 TO THE INTENTION OF JOSE MENENDEZ TO DISINHERIT ERIK
1 MENENDEZ ON THIS TAPE-RECORDING. DR. OZIEL SPEAKS
2 ABOUT HOW HE LEARNED ABOUT THIS FROM KITTY
3 MENENDEZ. HE LEARNED THAT JOSE MENENDEZ WAS GOING
4 TO DISINHERIT ERIK MENENDEZ BECAUSE HE DIDN'T LIKE
5 THE WAY THAT HIS SON, ERIK MENENDEZ, WAS BEHAVING
6 AND BECAUSE HE FELT THAT HE WAS NOT BEING
7 RESPECTFUL.
8
AFTER NOTING THAT THE KILLINGS OF HIS
9 FATHER -- THE KILLING OF HIS FATHER WAS INEVITABLE,
10 ERIK MENENDEZ SPEAKS OF THE KILLING OF HIS MOTHER.
11 HE SAYS THAT ONCE THE AFFAIR HAD BECOME KNOWN TO HIS
12 MOTHER -- THAT IS THE EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR -- SHE HAD
13 TO BE KILLED. THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY OUT FOR HER.
14
IN CONTRAST TO LYLE MENENDEZ WHO SAID
15 THAT HE MISSED HIS PARENTS IN THE SAME BREATH THAT
16 HE SAID HE MISSES HIS DOG, ERIK MENENDEZ PRAISES THE
17 FATHER THAT HE HAD KILLED. HE SAYS THAT HE LOVES
18 HIS FATHER BECAUSE HIS FATHER MADE HIM A STRONG
19 PERSON. ERIK MENENDEZ CONCLUDES BY SAYING THAT HE
20 REALLY CAN SAY THAT HE WOULDN'T HAVE WANTED ANOTHER
21 KIND OF FATHER.
22
AFTER DETECTIVE ZOELLER RECOVERED THIS
23 RECORDING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LYLE MENENDEZ WAS
24 ARRESTED IN LOS ANGELES ON MARCH THE 8TH OF 1990 AND
25 HE WAS CHARGED WITH THE FIRST-DEGREE PREMEDITATED
26 MURDER -27
THE COURT: HOW MUCH LONGER DO YOU THINK YOU
28 HAVE?
RECESS
3
GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
4
AFTER DETECTIVE ZOELLER RECOVERED THIS
5 RECORDING THAT I REFERRED TO FROM THE SAFETY DEPOSIT
6 BOX IN THE BANK, LYLE MENENDEZ WAS ARRESTED IN
7 LOS ANGELES ON MARCH THE 8TH OF 1990 AND CHARGED
8 WITH THE FIRST-DEGREE MURDERS OF HIS PARENTS, KITTY
9 AND JOSE MENENDEZ.
10
ERIK MENENDEZ WAS PLAYING TENNIS IN
11 ISRAEL, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS PERSONAL TENNIS COACH,
12 MARK HEFFERNAN, AND HE SURRENDERED HIMSELF. HE THEN
13 WAS CHARGED WITH THE FIRST-DEGREE PREMEDITATED
14 MURDERS OF KITTY AND JOSE MENENDEZ.
15
AFTER THE DEFENDANTS WERE ARRESTED
16 DETECTIVE ZOELLER, WHO HAD SEARCHED THE SALES
17 RECORDS OF MORE THAN A HUNDRED GUN STORES IN THE
18 LOS ANGELES AREA, BEGAN TO LOOK OUTSIDE OF
19 LOS ANGELES TO SEE IF HE COULD DETERMINE WHERE IT
20 WAS THAT THE DEFENDANTS HAD OBTAINED THOSE WEAPONS
21 FROM.
22
HE WENT DOWN TO, FINALLY, THE BIG-5
23 SPORTING GOODS STORE IN SAN DIEGO, AND HE BEGAN TO
24 SEARCH THE SALES RECORDS IN THAT STORE. AND HE CAME
25 ACROSS A SALES RECORD INDICATING THAT ON AUGUST THE
26 18TH OF 1989, A FRIDAY, TWO DAYS BEFORE THE
27 KILLINGS, TWO SHOTGUNS WERE SOLD TO A PERSON BEARING
28 THE IDENTIFICATION CARD, THE CALIFORNIA DRIVER'S
1 LICENSE OF DONOVAN GOODREAU. THAT RANG A BELL.
2 DETECTIVE ZOELLER KNEW DONOVAN GOODREAU TO BE A
3 FRIEND OF LYLE MENENDEZ.
4
HE IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED MR. GOODREAU,
5 AND MR. GOODREAU WILL TESTIFY IN THIS COURT.
6 MR. GOODREAU WILL TELL YOU THAT ON FRIDAY, TWO DAYS
7 BEFORE THE KILLINGS, HE WAS LIVING AND WORKING IN
8 NEW YORK CITY, AND HE HAS WORK RECORDS TO PROVE IT.
9 HE WAS A FRIEND OF LYLE MENENDEZ AND HE HAD LIVED
10 WITH HIM IN PRINCETON. BUT THEY HAD HAD A FALLING
11 OUT, AND LYLE ASKED HIM TO MOVE OUT OF THE ROOM.
12
MR. GOODREAU DID MOVE OUT. BUT HE
13 ACCIDENTALLY LEFT BEHIND HIS WALLET AND HIS
14 CALIFORNIA DRIVER'S LICENSE INSIDE THAT WALLET. HE
15 NEVER SAW THE DRIVER'S LICENSE AGAIN.
16
WE WILL NOT ONLY PROVE THAT LYLE
17 MENENDEZ HAD ACCESS TO THE IDENTIFICATION CARD THAT
18 WAS USED TO PURCHASE THE SHOTGUNS, THAT IS,
19 MR. GOODREAU'S IDENTIFICATION CARD, BUT WE WILL
20 PRESENT TESTIMONY FROM ANOTHER FRIEND OF LYLE
21 MENENDEZ, A MAN BY THE NAME OF GLENN STEVENS, WHO
22 WILL TELL YOU THAT LYLE ADMITTED TO HIM THAT HE HAD
23 KEPT MR. GOODREAU'S CALIFORNIA DRIVER'S LICENSE.
24
WE WILL ASK YOU TO FIND THAT LYLE
25 MENENDEZ AND ERIK MENENDEZ PURCHASED THE SHOTGUNS
26 THAT WERE USED TO KILL THEIR PARENTS TWO DAYS BEFORE
27 THE MURDERS USING THE IDENTIFICATION OF
28 MR. GOODREAU.
1
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT FABRICATING A
2 FALSE DEFENSE TO TRICK AND FOOL A JURY.
3
MS. ABRAMSON: OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR.
4 ARGUMENT.
5
THE COURT: AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ARGUMENT.
6 THIS IS JUST AN OPENING STATEMENT AND ANY
7 CHARACTERIZATIONS OF THE EVIDENCE BY EITHER LAWYER,
8 OR ANY OF THE LAWYERS IN MAKING THEIR OPENING
9 STATEMENTS, IS JUST ARGUMENT AND SHOULD BE
10 DISREGARDED BY YOU. THE PURPOSE IS JUST TO GIVE YOU
11 A PREVIEW OF WHAT THE EVIDENCE WILL BE.
12
MS. ABRAMSON: THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.
13
MR. CONN: WE WILL PRESENT EVIDENCE THAT LYLE
14 MENENDEZ, AFTER HE WAS IN CUSTODY AND AWAITING A
15 TRIAL FOR THE MURDERS OF HIS PARENTS, PLANNED HIS
16 NEXT MOVE, TO ENLIST THE AID OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD
17 HELP HIM TO MAKE FALSE ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING HIS
18 FATHER, AND FALSE ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING THE
19 CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LED UP TO THE KILLINGS.
20
WE WILL CALL TWO WITNESSES WHO WILL
21 TESTIFY TO HOW LYLE MENENDEZ SOLICITED PERJURY FROM
22 THEM, ASKED THEM TO PRESENT FALSE EVIDENCE TO TRICK
23 AND FOOL A JURY.
24
WE WILL SHOW THAT LYLE MENENDEZ DEVISED
25 A PLAN TO MAKE FALSE CLAIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
26 AGAINST HIS FATHER. FOR THE CREATION OF A PHONY
27 CLAIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST HIS FATHER, LYLE
28 SOLICITED THE AID OF HIS GIRLFRIEND, A WOMAN BY THE
1 NAME OF JAMIE PISARCIK. HE ADMITTED TO HER THAT HE
2 HAD KILLED HIS PARENTS.
3
WHILE SHE WAS VISITING HIM IN COUNTY
4 JAIL HE HELD UP A NOTE TO HER ON WHICH HE HAD
5 WRITTEN THAT HE HAD KILLED HIS PARENTS. IN THIS
6 NOTE HE CLAIMED FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT HE HAD DONE
7 IT BECAUSE HIS MOTHER HAD MOLESTED HIM AND HIS
8 FATHER HAD MOLESTED ERIK. HERE WE SEE THE GENESIS
9 OF A DEFENSE.
10
HE THEN ASKED HER ON ANOTHER OCCASION TO
11 TESTIFY FALSELY IN REGARD TO HIS FATHER. HE ASKED
12 HER TO MAKE UP AN INCIDENT AND TELL THAT LIE TO A
13 JURY. HE WANTED HER TO SAY THAT HIS FATHER HAD
14 TRIED TO SEXUALLY ASSAULT HER. HE SAID THAT THERE
15 IS A MOVIE CALLED "AT CLOSE RANGE," AND IN THAT
16 MOVIE THERE'S A SCENE IN WHICH A FATHER TRIES TO
17 SEXUALLY ASSAULT OR RAPE THE DAUGHTER OF HIS SON.
18 AND HE TOLD JAMIE PISARCIK THAT YOU CAN TESTIFY TO
19 SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF A JURY BASED UPON
20 THAT MOVIE. JAMIE PISARCIK REFUSED TO DO SO, AND
21 SHE TOLD HIM THAT SHE WOULD NOT DO THIS.
22
LYLE MENENDEZ, WHO WAS REPRESENTED BY
23 DIFFERENT DEFENSE ATTORNEYS AT THE TIME, TOLD HER
24 THAT HE HAD TOLD HIS ATTORNEY THAT SHE WOULD NOT GO
25 FOR IT.
26
JAMIE PISARCIK WANTED NO PART OF LYLE
27 MENENDEZ OR HIS FALSE CLAIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
28 JAMIE PISARCIK WAS NOT WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN
1 FALSE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST HIS DEAD FATHER, JOSE
2 MENENDEZ.
3
A SECOND WITNESS WILL TESTIFY TO A
4 CONSPIRACY BETWEEN ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ TO SOLICIT
5 PERJURY FROM HIM IN AN EFFORT TO PRESENT A
6 FABRICATED DEFENSE TO TRICK AND FOOL THE JURY.
7
YOU WILL HEAR THE TESTIMONY OF BRIAN
8 ISLAMANIA, WHO WILL TELL YOU THAT HE WAS A FRIEND OF
9 THE DEFENDANTS, AND THAT BOTH DEFENDANTS, ERIK AND
10 LYLE MENENDEZ, REQUESTED THAT HE FALSELY TESTIFY
11 THAT SOMETIME BEFORE THE KILLING OF KITTY AND JOSE
12 MENENDEZ, THEY CAME TO HIM AND THEY SAID: WE NEED A
13 HANDGUN. CAN YOU PROVIDE US WITH A HANDGUN?
14
THEY ASKED HIM TO TELL THAT LIE IN A
15 COURT OF LAW, TO PERJURE HIMSELF. BRIAN ISLAMANIA
16 WAS NEVER CALLED AS A WITNESS IN THIS CASE AND HE
17 WILL TESTIFY FOR THE FIRST TIME BEFORE YOU.
18
THROUGH THE TESTIMONY OF BRIAN ISLAMANIA
19 WE WILL SHOW THAT HAVING SHOTGUNNED THEIR PARENTS TO
20 DEATH, THE DEFENDANTS NEXT CONSPIRED TO SHIFT
21 ATTENTION AWAY FROM THEMSELVES BY PUTTING THEIR
22 PARENTS ON TRIAL.
23
WE WILL PROVE THAT HAVING LIED TO
24 FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND POLICE FOR SIX AND A HALF
25 MONTHS, PRECEDING THEIR ARREST, THE DEFENDANTS NOW
26 HAD A NEW TARGET FOR THEIR LIES, THE JURY.
27
MS. ABRAMSON: OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR.
28
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. THIS IS ARGUMENTATIVE
1 AT THIS POINT, MR. CONN. LET'S MOVE ON.
2
MR. CONN: THAT ESSENTIALLY, LADIES AND
3 GENTLEMEN, IS A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE EVIDENCE THAT
4 I AM GOING TO BE PRESENTING TO YOU.
5
WE WILL ASK YOU, BASED UPON THAT
6 EVIDENCE, TO FIND THE DEFENDANTS GUILTY OF TWO
7 COUNTS OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, TWO COUNTS OF
8 PREMEDITATED MURDER.
9
NOW, IT IS ALSO ALLEGED BY THE
10 PROSECUTION THAT THESE TWO MURDERS WERE COMMITTED IN
11 THE COURSE OF WHAT IS CALLED SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
12 TWO SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES ARE ALLEGED: ONE IS
13 CALLED THE MULTIPLE MURDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE, AND
14 THAT SIMPLY MEANS THAT THE DEFENDANTS ARE GUILTY OF
15 MORE THAN ONE COUNT OF MURDER. WE WILL ASK YOU TO
16 FIND, AFTER FINDING THEM GUILTY OF TWO COUNTS OF
17 MURDER, THAT THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE, THAT THEY ARE
18 GUILTY OF MORE THAN ONE COUNT OF MURDER, IS TRUE.
19
THE OTHER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE THAT IS
20 ALLEGED IS CALLED THE LYING IN WAIT SPECIAL
21 CIRCUMSTANCE. THIS SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE ALLEGES
22 THAT THE MURDERS WERE COMMITTED AFTER THE DEFENDANTS
23 LAID IN WAIT FOR THE VICTIMS, WATCHING AND WAITING
24 FOR THE BEST TIME TO STRIKE AND TO TAKE THEM BY
25 SURPRISE. WE WILL ASK YOU TO FIND THAT THIS
26 ALLEGATION IS TRUE IN REGARD TO THE MURDERS THAT ARE
27 ALLEGED, BASED UPON THE ADMISSIONS OF THE DEFENDANTS
28 THAT THEIR PARENTS USED TO FALL ASLEEP IN FRONT OF
1 THE TELEVISION AND BASED UPON HOW THE VICTIMS WERE
2 FOUND IN THIS CASE.
3
WE WILL ASK YOU TO FIND THAT THIS WAS
4 LYING IN WAIT SITUATION, AN AMBUSH SITUATION.
5
THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS WILL NOW HAVE AN
6 OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT TO YOU. I
7 AM NOT PERMITTED TO TELL YOU AT THIS TIME WHAT I
8 EXPECT THAT THEY WILL CLAIM AS PART OF THEIR
9 DEFENSE, NOR WILL I BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO STAND
10 UP AND RESPOND AFTER THEY MAKE THEIR OPENING
11 STATEMENT. AFTER THEY MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT WE
12 WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PHASE OF THE TRIAL, WHICH
13 IS THE PRESENTATION OF THE EVIDENCE.
14
I WILL BE CALLING WITNESSES WHO WILL
15 ESTABLISH THOSE FACTS WHICH I MENTIONED TO YOU IN MY
16 OPENING STATEMENT. THEY WILL NOT NECESSARILY BE
17 PRESENTED IN THE MOST LOGICAL ORDER. TO ACCOMMODATE
18 THE SCHEDULES OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, YOU WILL
19 SOMETIMES HEAR WITNESSES OUT OF ORDER.
20
I ASK YOU TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND
21 THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION OF ALL OF THE EVIDENCE.
22
23
24
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
JUST TO REPEAT, BEFORE WE GET TO THE
25 DEFENSE OPENING STATEMENT.
26
THE COMMENTS OF THE LAWYERS ARE NOT
27 EVIDENCE. THE FACT THAT THEY REFER TO SOME MATERIAL
28 THAT THEY EXPECT TO BE PRODUCED BY WAY OF EVIDENCE,
1 OR AS EVIDENCE IN THE TRIAL, DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU
2 HAVE HEARD ANY EVIDENCE YET. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO
3 WAIT UNTIL OPENING STATEMENTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED
4 AND THEN YOU'LL SEE WITNESSES TESTIFY BEFORE YOU AND
5 HEAR EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE.
6
ALSO, DURING OPENING STATEMENTS
7 REFERENCE WAS MADE TO SOME EVIDENCE, ALTHOUGH IT
8 WASN'T IDENTIFIED AT THE TIME OF THE REFERENCE, THAT
9 WILL BE LIMITED OR RECEIVED FOR A LIMITED PURPOSE.
10 AND IT REALLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN OF MUCH HELP TO YOU
11 DURING THE OPENING STATEMENT TO IDENTIFY IT
12 SPECIFICALLY, SINCE YOU WEREN'T TAKING NOTES. AND
13 WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS, WHEN THE EVIDENCE IS RECEIVED
14 FOR A LIMITED PURPOSE, IT WILL BE IDENTIFIED AT THE
15 TIME IT IS RECEIVED, WHEN THE EVIDENCE IS
16 INTRODUCED, TESTIMONY, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, AND IT
17 WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS EVIDENCE RECEIVED FOR A
18 LIMITED PURPOSE. AND AT THAT POINT I WOULD ASK THAT
19 YOU MAKE NOTE OF IT IN YOUR NOTEBOOKS, SO THAT IF
20 LATER ON DURING YOUR DELIBERATIONS YOU HAPPEN TO
21 REFER TO THAT PARTICULAR PIECE OF EVIDENCE, YOU'LL
22 KNOW THAT YOU CAN ONLY CONSIDER IT FOR THE LIMITED
23 PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS RECEIVED. THAT WILL HAPPEN
24 WHEN THE EVIDENCE IS ACTUALLY PRESENTED TO YOU.
25
AT THIS POINT, AS I SAID, YOU DIDN'T
26 HEAR ANY EVIDENCE AND YOU WON'T HEAR ANY DURING THE
27 DEFENSE OPENING STATEMENT.
OPENING STATEMENT DEFENSE
16 BY MS. ABRAMSON:
17
GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M VERY PLEASED THAT
18 THE JUDGE AGAIN REMINDED YOU THAT OPENING STATEMENTS
19 AREN'T EVIDENCE, BECAUSE YOU'RE SITTING IN THIS
20 POSITION WHERE YOU HAVE TO HEAR TWO REALLY SEPARATE
21 CASES AT THE SAME TIME. THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE ON
22 TRIAL HERE. YOU KNOW HOW SERIOUS THESE CHARGES
23 ARE. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS DURING THE
24 JURY SELECTION PROCESS. AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO AS
25 JURORS IN THIS CASE IS SEPARATELY CONSIDER AND WEIGH
26 THE SEPARATE EVIDENCE THAT WILL BE COMING IN FROM
27 BOTH THE PROSECUTION SIDE OF THE CASE AND THE
28 DEFENSE SIDE OF THE CASE, AS TO EACH ONE OF OUR
1 CLIENTS, AND NO ONE THINKS THAT'S EASY. BUT WE
2 PICKED YOU, AND THAT INDICATES WE BELIEVE YOU CAN DO
3 IT. YOU HAVE TO SORT OF, THOUGH, BE MENTALLY
4 RIGOROUS ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
5
IN HIS OPENING JUST NOW MR. CONN, I'M
6 SURE, TO SAVE TIME, AND FOR WHATEVER OTHER REASON,
7 DIDN'T MAKE THOSE DISTINCTIONS FOR YOU. HE TALKED
8 ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, LYLE MENENDEZ DID THAT OR ERIK
9 MENENDEZ DID THAT; AND MUCH OF THAT IS NOT WHAT WE
10 CALL CROSS-ADMISSIBLE. IT'S WHAT LYLE MENENDEZ DOES
11 OR SAID TO SOME EXTENT IN THIS CASE, YOU CAN ONLY
12 CONSIDER AGAINST HIM. WHAT ERIK MENENDEZ DOES AND
13 SAID, YOU CAN ONLY CONSIDER AGAINST HIM. SO THAT'S
14 ONE OF THE MANY REASONS WHY YOU CANNOT TAKE
15 IMPRESSIONS THAT YOU MAY GET FROM OPENING STATEMENT
16 AND TRY TO USE THEM EVENTUALLY IN MAKING YOUR
17 DECISION IN THIS CASE.
18
THE OTHER REASON IS BECAUSE WE ALL LIVE
19 IN WHAT'S KNOWN AS LINEAR TIMES. YOU CAN'T HEAR
20 BOTH SIDES AT THE SAME TIME. ONE SIDE GOES FIRST,
21 ONE SIDE GOES SECOND. IF YOU MAKE UP YOUR MINDS
22 GIVEN THE FIRST THING YOU HEAR, THE SECOND SIDE MAY
23 AS WELL LEAVE THE COURTROOM AND GO HOME BECAUSE
24 YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO HEAR THEM.
25
THE DEFENSE GOES SECOND IN A CRIMINAL
26 CASE BECAUSE THE PROSECUTION, REPRESENTING THE
27 STATE, THE GOVERNMENT, HAS THE BURDEN OF PROOF; AND
28 BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE BURDEN, THEY HAVE TO COME
1 FORWARD WITH EVIDENCE WITH WHICH THEY HOPE TO
2 CONVINCE YOU THAT THE CHARGES THEY FILED ARE
3 SUPPORTED BY EVIDENCE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.
4
NOW, WE GET TO GO SECOND, AND AS YOU
5 KNOW, IT'S GOING TO TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS TO TRY THIS
6 CASE. SO I AM HOPEFUL THAT IN SPITE OF THE FACT
7 THAT YOU'VE JUST BEEN SHOWN SOME THINGS THAT WOULD
8 UPSET ANYBODY, AND HEARD SOME THINGS THAT SOUND
9 TERRIBLE, THAT YOU REALIZE YOU DIDN'T SEE OR HEAR
10 ANYTHING THAT IS EVIDENCE YET. AND UNTIL IT'S ALL
11 BEFORE YOU, YOU HAVE TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING THAT'S
12 VERY HARD TO DO. KEEP AN OPEN MIND SO THAT YOU CAN
13 WEIGH IT ALL AND SIFT IT ALL IN THE END.
14
I'M GOING TO BE READING THIS TO YOU
15 BECAUSE THIS CASE IS COMPLICATED AND BECAUSE I'M
16 VERY MINDFUL OF THE RULES OF EVIDENCE. IT'S IN VERY
17 LARGE TYPE, SO IT WON'T TAKE AS LONG AS IT LOOKS.
18 BUT IT WILL TAKE A WHILE.
19
I THINK ONE THING THAT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS
20 TO YOU, EVEN FROM MR. CONN'S BRIEF RECITATION, IS
21 THAT THIS IS A VERY COMPLICATED CASE. AND TO
22 UNDERSTAND THE DEFENSE IN THIS CASE, YOU MUST ALLOW
23 YOURSELVES TO LEARN ABOUT THINGS MOST OF US WOULD
24 PREFER TO NEVER HAVE TO HEAR ABOUT. ONE THING THAT
25 SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO YOU IS THERE'S GOING TO BE A
26 LOT OF TALK ABOUT GRUESOME GRISLY THINGS, BULLET
27 WOUNDS, BROKEN BONES, BLOOD. I MEAN, IT'S GRISLY.
28 BUT WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IS THAT AS YOU LISTEN TO
1 THIS EVIDENCE IN A SCIENTIFIC POINT OF VIEW, AS YOU
2 HEAR SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS WHO ARE TRAINED IN THESE
3 AREAS TALK ABOUT IT, THE SHOCK REACTION GOES AWAY
4 AND IT BEGINS TO THEN BECOME EVIDENCE AND NOT
5 SOMETHING SIMPLY TO INFLAME YOU.
6
THE OTHER THING, THAT IF YOU'RE GOING TO
7 BE OPEN-MINDED JURORS IN THIS CASE, YOU HAVE TO BE
8 WILLING TO LISTEN TO, AND HOPEFULLY WILLING TO LEARN
9 ABOUT, IS THE SYSTEMATIC ABUSE OF CHILDREN AND THE
10 DISTORTING, THE COMPLICATED EFFECT IT HAS, ABUSE, ON
11 THE MINDS OF ITS VICTIMS.
12
NOW, AS I TOLD YOU, FOR THE DEFENSE, THE
13 PURPOSE OF MAKING AN OPENING STATEMENT IS TO LET YOU
14 KNOW THAT MORE EVIDENCE WILL BE PRODUCED IN THIS
15 CASE THAN WHAT THE PROSECUTION PUTS ON, AND THAT YOU
16 HAVE TO CONSIDER OUR EVIDENCE BEFORE FORMING ANY
17 OPINIONS OR REACHING ANY CONCLUSIONS.
18
WE WILL PRESENT EVIDENCE BEARING ON WHAT
19 I THINK YOU WILL FIND, VERY QUICKLY, ARE THE REAL
20 ISSUES IN THE CASE. FROM WHAT WE PRESENT, YOU WILL
21 LEARN THAT THERE IS NO DISPUTE OVER WHO KILLED
22 MR. AND MRS. MENENDEZ. THEIR SONS KILLED THEM.
23 WHAT OUR EVIDENCE WILL ADDRESS IS WHY THEY WERE
24 KILLED AND WHY THEY WERE KILLED, WE WILL SHOW YOU,
25 IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT TELLS YOU WHAT WAS THE
26 STATE OF MIND OF THEIR SONS AT THE TIME THAT THEY
27 KILLED THEM. AND THAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT IS
28 A CRUCIAL ISSUE IN THE LAW OF HOMICIDE.
1
NOW, BEFORE I GET TO THAT STATE OF MIND
2 AND HOW IT WAS FORMED, I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU A
3 HISTORY -- BARRY, WOULD YOU GET THE POSTER BOARD
4 WITH THE HOUSES, PLEASE. IT'S OVER BY NANCY.
5
6
THANK YOU.
THE COURT: MR. LEVIN, YOU CAN SEE
7 MS. SLONAKER OVER HERE.
8
MS. ABRAMSON: MR. LEVIN, IT SHOULD BE
9 OBVIOUS, ALSO REPRESENTS ERIK MENENDEZ, ALONG WITH
10 MYSELF. WE ARE CO-COUNSEL IN THAT REGARD, AND YOU
11 WILL SEE OVER THE COURSE OF THE TRIAL THAT WE SHARE
12 THE DUTIES. I'M SPEAKING TO YOU TODAY. YOU WILL
13 SEE THAT HE IS DEALING WITH WITNESSES. AND WE
14 EXPECT THAT HE'S GOING TO BE THE ATTORNEY WHO CALLS
15 ERIK MENENDEZ TO THE STAND AND EXAMINES HIM, BECAUSE
16 OUR CLIENT WILL INDEED TESTIFY IN THIS CASE. WE'RE
17 NOT GOING TO BE PLAYING ANY MYSTERY GAMES WITH YOU
18 AT ALL.
19
NOW, I WANT TO FIRST RELATE TO YOU,
20 THOUGH -- YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GOING TO KEEP IT
21 HERE. I CAN JUST HOLD THEM UP. THESE ARE VERY
22 LIGHT.
23
THIS IS A HISTORY OF THE MENENDEZ FAMILY
24 AS IT WILL BE GIVEN BY WITNESSES IN THE TRIAL SO
25 THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO
26 FIGURE OUT THESE SORT OF DEMOGRAPHIC THINGS.
27
ERIK MENENDEZ, MY CLIENT, WAS BORN ON
28 NOVEMBER 27TH, 1970. HIS OLDER BROTHER, LYLE, WAS
1 BORN ON JANUARY 10TH, 1968. THEY WERE THE ONLY
2 CHILDREN OF JOSE ENRIQUE AND MARY LOUISE MENENDEZ.
3
YOU HAVE HEARD MRS. MENENDEZ REFERRED TO
4 AS KITTY. THAT WAS HER NICKNAME.
5
JOSE MENENDEZ WAS A CUBAN-BORN IMMIGRANT
6 WHO, OVER THE COURSE OF HIS CHILDREN'S LIVES, WAS AN
7 EVER-MORE-SUCCESSFUL AND EVER-HIGHER-EARNING
8 BUSINESS EXECUTIVE.
9
MRS. MENENDEZ TAUGHT SCHOOL FOR A FEW
10 YEARS IN NEW YORK CITY, BUT BECAME FULL-TIME
11 HOMEMAKER WHEN ERIK WAS BORN. AND WHEN ERIK
12 MENENDEZ WAS BORN THE FAMILY LIVED IN CEDAR GROVE,
13 NEW JERSEY, A VERY MODEST LITTLE HOUSE YOU CAN SEE
14 HERE IN THE SNOW. THESE ARE TAKEN FROM OLD FAMILY
15 PHOTOGRAPHS, WHICH IS WHY THEY'RE NOT HIGH-TECH.
16
WHEN ERIK WAS JUST A FEW MONTHS OLD THE
17 FAMILY MOVED TO ILLINOIS, TO THIS HOUSE, A SUBURB
18 CALLED EAST HINSDALE, RIGHT OUTSIDE OF CHICAGO. AND
19 AT THE TIME THAT THE MENENDEZ FAMILY MOVED TO THE
20 CHICAGO AREA, MR. MENENDEZ' SISTER, WHOSE NAME IS
21 TERESITA BARALT, AND HER HUSBAND, CARLOS BARALT,
22 ALSO MOVED TO NEW JERSEY; IN FACT, A BLOCK AWAY,
23 BECAUSE MR. MENENDEZ WAS TAKING OVER A COMPANY AND
24 HE WAS GOING TO EMPLOY HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, CARLOS
25 BARALT, IN THAT COMPANY.
26
HOWEVER, THINGS DID NOT WORK OUT WITH
27 THAT COMPANY IN ILLINOIS. THE FAMILY ONLY LIVED IN
28 THAT AREA LESS THAN TWO YEARS. AND SO SHORTLY
1 BEFORE ERIK MENENDEZ' SECOND BIRTHDAY THE FAMILY
2 MOVED AGAIN. THIS TIME TO MONSEY, NEW YORK. AND
3 THIS PHOTOGRAPH HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE HOUSE THAT
4 THEY LIVED IN IN MONSEY. MONSEY AT THAT TIME WAS
5 SORT OF A SEMI-RURAL AREA IN UPSTATE NEW YORK. IF
6 YOU KNOW THE SHAPE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, IT WAS
7 SORT OF -- IT WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE NEW JERSEY
8 BORDER, ON THE LONG BAR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
9 QUITE FAR AWAY FROM NEW YORK CITY, WHERE
10 MR. MENENDEZ WORKED FOR THE HERTZ CORPORATION AND
11 COMPUTED DAILY. IT WAS A HOUSE IN THE WOODS, AND
12 YOU WILL HEAR TESTIMONY ABOUT WHAT SIGNIFICANCE OF
13 THE RELATIVE ISOLATION OF THAT HOUSE HAD AND ABOUT
14 CERTAIN THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THE WOODS BEHIND THE
15 MONSEY HOUSE.
16
IN 1977, WHEN ERIK MENENDEZ WAS GOING ON
17 SEVEN YEARS OLD, THE FAMILY MOVED AGAIN TO THE
18 PRINCETON AREA IN NEW JERSEY. AT THAT TIME TERESITA
19 AND CARLOS BARALT HAD LEFT ILLINOIS, HAD MOVED TO
20 NEW JERSEY, LIVED IN THE PRINCETON AREA, AND HAD
21 URGED THEIR RELATIVES TO MOVE THERE BECAUSE IT WAS
22 AN EASIER COMMUTE TO NEW YORK CITY THAN MONSEY, AND
23 THEY WANTED TO BE TOGETHER AGAIN AS FAMILY.
24
FOR ONE YEAR THE MENENDEZ FAMILY RENTED
25 THIS HOUSE, WHICH STILL LOOKS LIKE THAT. STILL HAS
26 THE WHITE WITH DARK SHUTTERS ON MILL ROAD IN NEW
27 JERSEY, IN AN AREA CALLED PRINCETON JUNCTION, WHICH
28 IS CLOSE TO THE UNIVERSITY TOWN OF PRINCETON.
1
AFTER THAT YEAR, IN 1978, THE FAMILY
2 BUILT THIS CUSTOM-MADE HOUSE WHICH IS VERY HARD TO
3 SEE BECAUSE, AGAIN, IT'S OBSCURED BY WOODS WHICH ARE
4 ALL AROUND THAT HOUSE, IN WHAT WE CALL HERE
5 PENNINGTON, NEW JERSEY. IT'S JUST ANOTHER SUBURB.
6 PRINCETON IS LIKE A WHOLE SERIES OF BEDROOM
7 COMMUNITIES. THIS IS ANOTHER SUBURB OF PRINCETON,
8 WHERE THEY BUILD THIS HOUSE.
9
THIS HOUSE HAD A TENNIS COURT AND THIS
10 HOUSE WAS ON THE LAKE. BOTH THE LAKE AND THE TENNIS
11 COURT FILLED LARGELY IN THE LIVES AND THE
12 DEVELOPMENT OF BOTH ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ WHILE
13 THEY LIVED IN THAT HOUSE. THEY LIVED IN THAT HOUSE
14 FOR QUITE SOME TIME, UNTIL MARCH OF 1986.
15
IN MARCH OF 1986 THE MENENDEZ FAMILY
16 BOUGHT A REALLY GORGEOUS HOUSE. YOU CAN SEE IT
17 HERE, AND YOU'LL SEE LOTS OF OTHER PICTURES OF IT.
18 THE FIRST REALLY WEALTHY LOOKING HOUSE THAT THEY
19 LIVED IN. AND THIS HOUSE WAS ACTUALLY LOCATED
20 INSIDE PRINCETON TOWNSHIP; YET IT WAS ON ITS OWN
21 PRIVATE ROAD, SITTING ON SEVEN ACRES WITH A PRIVATE
22 LAKE. AND TO GET THERE YOU HAD TO DRIVE THROUGH
23 THESE VERY DENSE WOODS, PAST THE GATE, THE PRIVATE
24 ROAD PART.
25
THEY MOVED THERE. BUT WITHIN THREE
26 MONTHS OF MOVING THERE, MR. MENENDEZ ENCOUNTERED
27 ANOTHER SITUATION OF TROUBLE AT HIS WORK. AT THAT
28 TIME HE WORKED FOR R.C.A. RECORDS. HE FAILED TO GET
1 A PROMOTION THAT HE WAS MANEUVERING FOR, AND LEFT
2 R.C.A., AND SECURED EMPLOYMENT HERE IN CALIFORNIA
3 FOR A COMPANY CALLED I.V.E., WHICH WAS A SUBSIDIARY
4 OF A COMPANY YOU PROBABLY ARE MORE FAMILIAR WITH,
5 COROLCO PICTURES. CAROLCO PICTURES WERE THE PEOPLE,
6 YOU WILL HEAR, WHO MADE THE RAMBO MOVIES, AND THEY
7 STILL MAKE A LOT OF ACTION MOVIES.
8
ANYWAY, WITH MR. MENENDEZ NOW OUT OF
9 R.C.A. AND INTO I.V.E. THE FAMILY MOVED TO
10 LOS ANGELES IN THE FALL OF 1986, LESS THAN THREE
11 YEARS BEFORE THE PARENTS WOULD BE KILLED. WHAT THEY
12 DID WHEN THEY MOVED HERE WAS THEY RENTED A
13 RELATIVELY SMALL HOUSE IN THE VALLEY, THE WEST
14 VALLEY, IN THE CALABASAS AREA; IN FACT, IN CALABASAS
15 ITSELF. AND THEY LIVED IN THAT HOUSE UNTIL 1988.
16
IN OCTOBER OF 1988 THEY MOVED TO THE
17 HOUSE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET TO KNOW VERY WELL
18 THROUGH CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS AND BLUE PRINTS, THE
19 HOUSE IN BEVERLY HILLS AT 722 ELM DRIVE.
20
NOW, JUST SO YOU'RE NOT CONFUSED, YOU'RE
21 ALSO GOING TO HEAR ABOUT ANOTHER HOUSE IN
22 CALABASAS. WHAT HAPPENED WAS THE MENENDEZ FAMILY
23 MOVED HERE, RENTED THIS HOUSE. MEANWHILE, WENT
24 LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO BUY. AND THEY BOUGHT A
25 HOUSE ON A SUBSTANTIAL PIECE OF PROPERTY IN
26 CALABASAS AND THEN THEY DIDN'T LIKE IT. SO THEY
27 WERE TEARING IT DOWN AND RENOVATING IT, AND THIS DID
28 TAKE UP A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MRS. MENENDEZ' TIME
1 OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, AND IT NEVER GOT FINISHED.
2
IN OCTOBER OF 1988, WHEN THEY MOVED TO
3 BEVERLY HILLS, THAT CALABASAS HOUSE STILL WASN'T
4 FINISHED, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THEIR INTENTION AT THAT
5 TIME TO JUST SELL IT. YOU WEREN'T GOING TO LIVE IN
6 TWO HOUSES, ONE IN BEVERLY HILLS, AND ONE IN
7 CALABASAS. SEE, AT THE TIME THEY DIED, IT IS TRUE
8 THEY HAD TITLE TO TWO HOUSES. BUT AS YOU WILL ALSO
9 FIND OUT, THEY OWED MORE, BASICALLY, ON BOTH OF THEM
10 THAN WAS EVER GOING TO BE REALIZED BY THOSE PIECES
11 OF PROPERTY, A COMMON, BUT UNFORTUNATE, L.A. REAL
12 ESTATE STORY OF THE LAST FEW LAST.
13
NOW IN THE SPRING OF 1989, WHILE HE WAS
14 LIVING IN THIS HOUSE IN BEVERLY HILLS, ERIK MENENDEZ
15 WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE SEPTEMBER 1989 FRESHMAN CLASS
16 AT U.C.L.A., WHERE HE HOPED TO BE PLAYING ON THE
17 TENNIS TEAM.
18
IN JUNE 1989 ERIK GRADUATED FROM BEVERLY
19 HILLS HIGH SCHOOL. HE HAD PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED HIGH
20 SCHOOL IN CALABASAS. HIS LAST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL
21 WAS AT BEVERLY HILLS HIGH SCHOOL. AND YOU WILL MEET
22 AT LEAST ONE OF HIS TEACHERS WHO KNEW HIM THAT YEAR
23 AT BEVERLY HILLS HIGH.
24
THAT SUMMER HE SPENT MOST OF THE TIME,
25 IN FACT, ALL OF THE TIME UNTIL AUGUST 9TH, TRAINING
26 FOR AND COMPETING IN WHAT'S CALLED THE JUNIOR
27 NATIONAL TENNIS COMPETITION, WHICH YOU WILL LEARN
28 THERE IS THIS WHOLE CHILDREN'S COMPETITIVE TENNIS
1 CIRCUIT. AND OVER THE SUMMER MONTHS OF EACH YEAR
2 THEY HAVE A WHOLE SERIES OF COMPETITIONS IN
3 DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, A GRADUAL SERIES OF
4 ELIMINATIONS, UNTIL THEY BASICALLY PLAY AND CROWN
5 THE NATIONAL JUNIOR CHAMPIONS IN DIFFERENT AGE
6 GROUPS: THE 14'S, THE 16'S THE 18'S. ERIK MENENDEZ
7 WAS 18 THAT SUMMER AND THAT WAS THE LEVEL, THE
8 DIVISION, THAT HE WAS PLAYING, AND THAT'S THE OLDEST
9 DIVISION.
10
AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, IN ORDER TO BE
11 READY FOR THAT, HE WAS SPENDING -- HE WOULD SPEND
12 LIKE A WEEK AT A TENNIS CAMP DRILLING AND TRAINING
13 IN FLORIDA. AND THEN HE WOULD FLY TO WHATEVER CITY
14 THE ACTUAL PLAY-OFFS, THE COMPETITION WAS, FOR THE
15 NEXT WEEK. AND HIS PARENTS WOULD JOIN HIM AT THESE
16 DIFFERENT COMPETITIONS. BECAUSE, AS YOU WILL HEAR,
17 THEY WERE EXTREMELY INVOLVED IN ALL OF HIS ATHLETIC
18 ACTIVITIES AND ALL OF HIS BROTHER'S ATHLETIC
19 ACTIVITIES, AND THERE WERE MANY OF THEM OVER THE
20 COURSE OF THEIR LIVES.
21
SO THAT SUMMER HE WOULD BE IN TENNIS
22 CAMPS AND HE'D GO TO A COMPETITION, AND HE'D GO BACK
23 TO TENNIS A CAMP PRACTICING AND DRILLING AND
24 COMPETING. THAT WENT ON OVER THREE LEGS, THREE
25 DIFFERENT VENUES. AND THE LAST LEG OF THE
26 TOURNAMENT WAS PLAYED IN KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN, AND
27 HIS PARENTS RETURNED TO BEVERLY HILLS FROM KALAMAZOO
28 ON AUGUST 9TH, 1989, 11 DAYS BEFORE THE HOMICIDES.
1
NOW, WHAT WE WILL SHOW YOU -- I WILL
2 SHOW YOU A LITTLE LATER IN MY STATEMENT -- AND ALSO
3 WE WILL HAVE TESTIMONY IN GREAT DETAIL ABOUT WHAT
4 HAPPENED BETWEEN AUGUST 13TH AND AUGUST 20TH, THE
5 LAST WEEK. BETWEEN THOSE DATES THERE WERE A SERIES
6 OF CONFRONTATIONS AND CRISES IN THIS FAMILY THAT
7 TERRORIZED THE SONS AND BROUGHT ABOUT THE DEATH OF
8 THE PARENTS. SO THAT ON AUGUST 20TH, 1989 ERIK AND
9 LYLE MENENDEZ INDEED SHOT THEIR PARENTS IN THE DEN
10 OF THEIR HOUSE ON ELM DRIVE.
11
NOW, YOU'VE HEARD THE PROSECUTION HAS
12 CHARGED THEM WITH FIRST-DEGREE PREMEDITATED MURDER
13 FOR THOSE KILLINGS. AND WE INTEND TO SHOW, FROM OUR
14 EVIDENCE, THAT ALTHOUGH ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ DID
15 KILL THEIR PARENTS, THEY DID NOT COMMIT MURDER.
16
NOW, MR. CONN DID NOT ADDRESS THIS IN
17 HIS OPENING. HE TALKED ABOUT MURDER, BUT HE DIDN'T
18 TALK ABOUT HOW HE WAS GOING TO PROVE THAT THERE WAS
19 MURDER AT ALL, BECAUSE NOT ALL HOMICIDES -- FIRST OF
20 ALL, NOT ALL HOMICIDES ARE CRIMES. IF YOU KILL
21 SOMEBODY BY ACCIDENT, THAT'S NOT A CRIME. IF YOU
22 KILL SOMEBODY BY EXCUSABLE MISTAKE, THAT'S NOT A
23 CRIME. IF YOU KILL SOMEBODY IN WHAT WE CALL IN THIS
24 STATE PERFECT SELF-DEFENSE, THAT'S NOT A CRIME. BUT
25 TO ESTABLISH THAT A HOMICIDE IS A CRIME, THE
26 PROSECUTION HAS TO PROVE, NOT JUST THE ACT OF
27 KILLING, BUT THE MENTAL STATE OF THE PERSON WHO
28 KILLED.
1
THESE ARE THINGS, THE TYPE OF MENTAL
2 STATE AND THE TYPES OF HOMICIDES, THAT THE JUDGE
3 WILL GIVE YOU VERY FORMALIZED INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT AT
4 THE END OF THE CASE. AND THOSE INSTRUCTIONS HAVE TO
5 BE YOUR GUIDE THROUGH THE LAW.
6
BUT JUST IN A VERY GENERAL SENSE, ONE
7 KIND OF MENTAL STATE MAKES THE KILLING A MURDER
8 HOMICIDE; ANOTHER KIND OF MENTAL STATE MAKES THE
9 KILLING A MANSLAUGHTER HOMICIDE. THEY ARE BOTH
10 ILLEGAL KILLINGS, BUT MURDERS OF A HIGHER DEGREE OF
11 CULPABILITY, A HIGHER LEVEL OF CRIMINALITY THAN IS
12 MANSLAUGHTER. AND THE REASON IS, THAT IN MURDER
13 THERE IS AN ELEMENT CALLED MALICE THAT DOES NOT
14 EXIST IN MANSLAUGHTER.
15
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, THAT THE
16 SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THIS CASE IS WHY WERE
17 MR. AND MRS. MENENDEZ KILLED BY THEIR OWN CHILDREN?
18 BECAUSE WHY TELLS YOU WHAT WAS THE MENTAL STATE.
19 WHY TELLS YOU WHETHER IT WAS MURDER OR
20 MANSLAUGHTER. AND MANSLAUGHTER IS ALL WE ARE ASKING
21 OF YOU. WE ARE NOT TRYING THIS CASE SEEKING TO
22 AVOID RESPONSIBILITY OR TRYING TO PRETEND THAT THEY
23 ARE NOT THE PEOPLE WHO DID THESE KILLINGS. WE ARE
24 NOT TRYING THIS CASE TO GET UP IN THE END AND TELL
25 YOU YOU MUST ACQUIT BECAUSE "THE GLOVE DON'T FIT" OR
26 ANYTHING LIKE THAT. MY CLIENT IS GOING TO GET ON
27 THE WITNESS STAND, SUBJECT HIMSELF TO
28 CROSS-EXAMINATION, AND EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, WITHIN
1 HIS KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO DO SO, ABOUT WHY THIS
2 HAPPENED.
3
AND WHAT OUR EVIDENCE WILL SHOW IS THAT
4 ERIK MENENDEZ ACTUALLY BELIEVED, ACTUALLY BELIEVED -5 WHICH IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAW -- THAT HIS PARENTS
6 WERE ABOUT TO KILL HIM, WHEN IN A MENTAL STATE OF
7 TERROR AND PANIC, HE SHOT THEM TO PREVENT HIS OWN
8 DEATH.
9
SO THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HOW HE CAME
10 TO BELIEVE THIS OF HIS OWN PARENTS, AND TO FEEL SO
11 EXTREME A FEAR OF THESE PEOPLE WHO HE HAD LIVED WITH
12 HIS ENTIRE LIFE, WE WILL PRESENT THE OBSERVATIONS OF
13 NUMEROUS WITNESSES FAMILIAR WITH THE TREATMENT THAT
14 ERIK MENENDEZ RECEIVED AT THE HANDS OF BOTH OF HIS
15 PARENTS OVER THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE. THROUGH HIS
16 TESTIMONY, AND THAT OF OTHER WITNESSES, WE WILL
17 PROVE TO YOU THAT HE WAS TORTURED, TERRORIZED,
18 EXPLOITED, MOLESTED, AND ABUSED TO SUCH AN EXTENT
19 THAT HE LIVED IN A CONSTANT STATE OF FEAR OF HIS
20 PARENTS AND BELIEVED THAT BOTH OF THEM WOULD HAVE
21 AND COULD HAVE KILLED HIM.
22
WE WILL ALSO PROVE TO YOU THAT HE DID
23 NOT, DID NOT, HAVE THE ABILITY OR THE MEANS TO
24 ESCAPE FROM THIS ABUSIVE HOME LIFE. OUR EVIDENCE
25 WILL ESTABLISH THAT HE COULD NOT JUST LEAVE. HE
26 COULD NOT RUN AWAY; CERTAINLY, NOT BEFORE THIS WEEK
27 OF CRISIS THAT I WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH, THIS WEEK
28 THAT CULMINATED IN THE SHOOTINGS. AND DURING THAT
1 WEEK, AS WE HOPE YOU WILL COME TO UNDERSTAND, THE
2 EVIDENCE WILL SHOW WHY TRYING TO LEAVE SEEMED FAR
3 MORE DANGEROUS THAN STAYING.
4
WITNESSES WILL DESCRIBE HOW THE EFFECTS
5 OF ABUSE, STARTING WITH WHEN YOU ARE BABY, AND
6 STARTING WHEN ERIK MENENDEZ WAS A BABY, COULD MAKE
7 HIM A HELPLESS, DEPENDENT, IMMATURE AND FEARFUL
8 TEENAGER WHO LACKED THE ABILITY TO RESCUE HIMSELF
9 FROM THIS LIFE, AND WHO HAD BEEN SO DELIBERATELY
10 ISOLATED BY HIS PARENTS AS TO HAVE NOBODY ELSE TO
11 TURN TO.
12
THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT THESE
13 KILLINGS OCCURRED AT THE END OF THE WEEK OF CRISIS
14 IN THIS FAMILY, DURING WHICH ERIK MENENDEZ' FEAR OF
15 HIS PARENTS CONTINUALLY ESCALATED AS HIS PARENTS'
16 BEHAVIOR AND HIS BROTHER'S EXPRESSIONS OF FEAR DROVE
17 ERIK INTO PANIC.
18
WE WILL PROVE TO YOU THAT WHEN ERIK AND
19 LYLE MENENDEZ KILLED THEIR PARENTS ON AUGUST 20TH
20 THEY WERE ACTING UNDER A MIND-NUMBING
21 ADRENALIN-PUMPING PANIC, A FEAR OF DEATH AT THE
22 HANDS OF THEIR PARENTS, THAT HAD BEEN DELIBERATELY
23 INSTILLED IN THEM SINCE THE TIME THEY WERE BABIES.
24 WHAT THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW IS THAT THESE PARENTS,
25 IN RAISING THESE CHILDREN, RINGED THEM IN SOMETHING
26 THAT YOU CAN SEE IS A FORTRESS OF TERROR AND
27 DEPRIVATION. THEY CONTROLLED THEM WITH FEAR THEIR
28 WHOLE LIFE. THEY MOTIVATED THEM WITH FEAR. THERE
1 WERE NO POSITIVE REWARDS. THEY GUIDED THEM WITH
2 THREATS. THEY INTENDED THAT THEIR SONS BE AFRAID OF
3 THEM EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES, AND THEY WERE
4 COMPLETELY SUCCESSFUL IN ACCOMPLISHING THAT PURPOSE,
5 AND THE FEAR THAT THEY HAD SO CAREFULLY AND
6 SYSTEMATICALLY INSTILLED IN THEIR CHILDREN CAUSED
7 THEIR OWN DEATHS.
8
THIS WAS A FAMILY WHERE THE CHILDREN HAD
9 NO SAY IN THEIR OWN LIVES, NO FRIENDS WHO COULD
10 RESCUE THEM, NO FAMILY WHO HAD THE POWER TO
11 INTERVENE. THEY WERE KEPT IN THIS FRIGHTENED AND
12 ISOLATED STATE. THEY WERE DEPRIVED OF LOVE AND
13 SUPPORT. THEY WERE STRIPPED OF ANY SENSE OF THEIR
14 OWN VALUE OR WORTH AS PEOPLE; THEY WERE HUMILIATED;
15 THEY WERE EXPLOITED; THEY WERE CORRUPTED; AND THEY
16 WERE ABUSED.
17
AND AS A RESULT OF THAT TREATMENT, THE
18 SINS THAT WERE COMMITTED AGAINST THEM AND THE NEEDS
19 THAT THEY HAD WHICH WERE IGNORED, ERIK MENENDEZ
20 SUFFERED FROM A CONDITION COMMON TO OTHER VICTIMS OF
21 TRAUMA AS WELL, AND CAUSED BY THE STRESS THAT TRAUMA
22 EXERTS ON THE HUMAN PSYCHE. THAT SYNDROME, THAT
23 CONDITION, IS CALLED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS
24 DISORDER. AND RATHER THAN KEEP REPEATING
25 POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER TO YOU THROUGH THE
26 REST OF THIS, I'M GOING TO USE THE SHORTHAND MENTAL
27 HEALTH PROFESSIONALS USE, WHICH IS P.T.S.D.
28
YOU WILL HEAR THE TESTIMONY OF DR. JOHN
1 P. WILSON WHO'S A LEADING RESEARCHER -- AND WE'LL BE
2 SAYING THAT A LOT DURING MOST OUR CASE ABOUT OUR
3 EXPERTS. WE THINK ALL OF OUR EXPERTS ARE LEADING
4 RESEARCHERS AND EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDS. AND
5 DR. WILSON IS A LEADING RESEARCHER AND EXPERT IN THE
6 FIELD OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYNDROME. AND WE
7 WILL DESCRIBE TO YOU THE CRUCIAL SYMPTOMS OF
8 P.T.S.D. THAT ERIK MENENDEZ MANIFESTED. AND THESE
9 WERE SYMPTOMS THAT HE HAD BEFORE HIS PARENTS WERE
10 KILLED, SYMPTOMS THAT DR. WILSON CAN TRACE BACK
11 THROUGH HIS HISTORY THAT HE SHOWED AS A CHILD.
12 AMONG THOSE SYMPTOMS -- AND I'M GOING TO LIST THEM
13 FOR YOU. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THE TIME TO
14 EXPLAIN THEM ALL, OTHERWISE DR. WILSON WOULDN'T HAVE
15 ANY REASON TO BE HERE AND IT WOULD JUST TAKE
16 FOREVER. HERE'S WHAT THEY ARE.
17
ONE IS CALLED HYPERVIGILANCE, WHICH
18 MEANS EXTREMELY ALERT TO SIGNS OF DANGER OR THREAT
19 OR PUNISHMENT OR ABUSE, SCANNING YOUR ENVIRONMENT
20 ALL THE TIME. WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO NOW? WHAT
21 ARE THEY THINKING NOW? WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?
22
CHILDREN, AND ERIK MENENDEZ, WE ASSERT,
23 LIVE IN THAT CONSTANT STATE OF: OKAY, WHAT'S GOING
24 TO HAPPEN NEXT? WHICH IS CALLED HYPERVIGILANCE.
25
ANOTHER SYMPTOM IS SOMETHING CALLED
26 HYPERAROUSAL, WHICH MEANS WHEN ONE OF THESE CUES
27 THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT, ONE OF THESE CLUES THAT
28 SOMETHING BAD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN OCCURS IN THEIR
1 ENVIRONMENT, THEY GO FROM ZERO TO PANIC VERY, VERY
2 QUICKLY.
3
ANOTHER ONE OF THESE SYMPTOMS IS CALLED
4 HELPLESSNESS, AND IT'S SOMETIMES CALLED LEARNED
5 HELPLESSNESS. ALL CHILDREN INITIALLY ARE HELPLESS,
6 BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE RAISED IN EXTREMELY DOMINEERING
7 AND ABUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS DEVELOP A SENSE OF THEIR
8 OWN HELPLESSNESS THAT IS DEBILITATING. THEY CAN'T
9 THINK THEIR WAY OUT OF DIFFICULT SITUATIONS. THEY
10 DON'T HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN
11 TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES, THAT THEY CAN RELY ON
12 THEMSELVES, THAT THEY CAN SOLVE THESE KINDS OF
13 PROBLEMS.
14
A FOURTH SYMPTOM THAT HE SUFFERED FROM
15 IS MORE COMMONLY KNOWN TO YOU ALL, I'M SURE. IT'S
16 DEPRESSION, AND THE THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE THAT
17 DEPRESSION CAN LEAD TO. AND DR. WILSON WILL TELL
18 YOU THERE'S A DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF SUICIDAL
19 THOUGHTS ON ERIK MENENDEZ' PART LONG BEFORE HIS
20 PARENTS WERE KILLED.
21
IN DAY-TO-DAY LIFE, ANOTHER SYMPTOM OF
22 P.T.S.D. IS PERVASIVE ANXIETY, PEOPLE WHO LIVE
23 CONSTANTLY ON THE EDGE, CONSTANTLY FEARFUL.
24
ANOTHER SYMPTOM THAT ERIK MENENDEZ
25 SUFFERED FROM IS -- IT SOUNDS STRANGE BECAUSE IT'S
26 BEEN POP-CULTURED TO DEATH -- BUT IT REALLY IS
27 IMPORTANT AND IT'S THE NOTION OF REALLY LOW
28 SELF-WORTH, NOT THINKING OF YOURSELF AS ANYTHING,
1 YOU KNOW, BUT GARBAGE. AND YOU MIGHT SAY, OH, YOU
2 KNOW, LOW SELF-ESTEEM. YOU SEE IT ON OPRAH. IT
3 REALLY IS A SERIOUS IMPEDIMENT TO -- IF YOU THINK
4 WELL -- IF YOU THINK VERY LITTLE OF YOURSELF.
5
THEN ONE OF THE OTHER SYMPTOMS IS WHAT'S
6 CALLED REEXPERIENCING OF THE TRAUMA. AND THAT MEANS
7 THAT BAD THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO FOLKS WHO HAVE
8 P.T.S.D. -- LAST CAN GO BY AND SOMETHING WILL REMIND
9 THEM OR SOMETHING WILL EVEN UNCONSCIOUSLY TRIGGER
10 AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY'RE BACK IN THE TRAUMATIC
11 EPISODE, AS IF IT WAS REALLY HAPPENING.
12
I THINK YOU'VE ALL HEARD ABOUT THAT AS
13 BEING A PHENOMENON AGAIN, FOR EXAMPLE, OF POST-WAR
14 VETERANS. A VIETNAM WAR VETERAN CAN WALK DOWN THE
15 STREET AND A CAR BACKFIRES AND HE'S BACK IN THE TET
16 OFFENSIVE. HE'S NOT DOING IT ON PURPOSE. HE'S JUST
17 THROWN BACK INTO THAT TERRIFYING EMOTIONAL STATE.
18
DR. WILSON WILL TESTIFY HOW SIGNIFICANT
19 IT WAS IN THIS CASE THAT ERIK MENENDEZ, AS A PERSON
20 WITH P.T.S.D., WAS EXPERIENCING A WHOLE SERIES AND
21 SEQUENCE OF THESE CUES THAT THREW HIM BACK INTO THE
22 MOST TERRIFYING TRAUMAS OF HIS PAST THAT VERY SUNDAY
23 NIGHT WHEN THE SHOOTINGS HAPPENED.
24
OTHER SYMPTOMS THAT HE HAD WAS SOMETHING
25 CALLED INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, WHERE YOU CAN'T
26 CONSCIOUSLY KEEP FROM YOUR MEMORY, EVEN LAST AFTER
27 TRAUMATIC EVENTS HAPPEN, THOSE MEMORIES FROM JUMPING
28 BACK INTO YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS TOTALLY BEYOND YOUR
1 CONTROL; AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, PARTICULARLY WITH
2 CHILDREN, WHAT PEOPLE SEE IF THEY SEEM TO SPACE
3 OUT. THEY'RE JUST NOT THERE. AND YOU CAN TALK TO
4 THEM AND THEY DON'T RESPOND, AND THEY'VE JUST LOST
5 THEIR TRAIN OF THOUGHT. AND WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL
6 WITNESSES WHO WILL TESTIFY THAT, EVEN AT 18 -- I
7 MEAN, GOING BACK LAST YEARS, BUT EVEN AT EIGHTEEN -8 THEY SAW THIS TENDENCY IN ERIK THAT HE WILL SUDDENLY
9 GO INTO A TRANCE-LIKE STATE AND HE WASN'T EVEN THERE
10 TO TALK TO. HE'D DO THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF A TENNIS
11 PRACTICE, IN THE MIDDLE OF A TUTORING SESSION. THIS
12 IMAGE. BOOM. GONE.
13
ONE OF THE OTHER SYMPTOMS, NOT
14 EXCLUSIVELY P.T.S.D., BUT ALSO SUPPORTS THAT
15 DIAGNOSIS, IS HAVING NIGHTMARES WHICH ARE SYMBOLIC
16 REENACTMENTS OF TRAUMAS. AND YOU WILL HEAR THE
17 WHOLE SHOW BILL, IF YOU WILL, OF THE NIGHTMARES ERIK
18 MENENDEZ EXPERIENCED HIS WHOLE CHILDHOOD, AND
19 ESPECIALLY INTENSIVELY THAT WEEK BEFORE THE
20 HOMICIDES.
21
ANOTHER BY-PRODUCT OF THE KIND OF STRESS
22 THAT CAUSES P.T.S.D. IS THE FACT THAT IN CHILDREN
23 WHO ARE STRESSED THAT WAY THEY OFTEN DEMONSTRATE
24 LEARNING DISABILITIES. AND ERIK MENENDEZ SUFFERED
25 FROM A SERIES OF LEARNING DISABILITIES THAT YOU WILL
26 HEAR ABOUT.
27
DR. WILSON, WHO WILL TESTIFY ABOUT THESE
28 THINGS IN SOME DETAIL, HAS EVALUATED ERIK AND HAS
1 EXPLORED HIS LIFE HISTORY AND THE LIFE HISTORY OF
2 HIS PARENTS IN ORDER TO SHARE WITH YOU HOW THE
3 TREATMENT THAT ERIK MENENDEZ RECEIVED AT THE HANDS
4 OF HIS PARENTS COULD CAUSE HIM TO HAVE THESE
5 SYMPTOMS; AND HOW, IN TURN, HIS PSYCHOLOGICAL
6 CONDITION COULD EXPLAIN THE FEAR REACTION HE
7 EXPERIENCED AT THE TIME OF THE HOMICIDES.
8
DR. WILSON WILL EXPLAIN HOW THE EVENTS
9 DIRECTLY PRECEDING THE HOMICIDES, WHEN VIEWED
10 THROUGH THE PERCEPTIONS OF SOMEONE WITH ERIK
11 MENENDEZ' MENTAL CONDITION AND PERSONAL HISTORY OF
12 ABUSE AT THE HANDS OF HIS PARENTS, COULD TRIGGER A
13 FEAR RESPONSE SO PROFOUND AS TO RESULT IN A BELIEF
14 IN THE NEED TO USE LETHAL FORCE TO SURVIVE.
15
NOW, I WANT TO STOP HERE FOR ONE SECOND,
16 BECAUSE I'VE NOW MENTIONED THE FACT THIS WAS A
17 KILLING OUT OF FEAR A DOZEN TIMES, AND I JUST WANT
18 TO TAKE YOU BACK FOR A MOMENT TO THE JURY SELECTION
19 PROCESS.
20
YOU MAY RECALL THAT IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE
21 ITSELF, AND REPEATEDLY DURING THE JURY SELECTION
22 PROCESS, THE JUDGE TALKED ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF
23 ACTUAL BUT UNREASONABLE BELIEF IN THE NEED TO
24 DEFEND. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY NOW, BEFORE WE SPEND
25 THE NEXT FOUR OR FIVE OR SIX MONTHS BUT THIS -26 WHETHER YOU LIKE THAT LAW OR DON'T LIKE THAT LAW,
27 THAT'S THE LAW. AND THE REASON WE'RE GOING TO SPEND
28 THREE MONTHS PROVING THAT ERIK MENENDEZ ACTED IN
1 FEAR AND NOT IN MALICE IS BECAUSE THAT LAW IS THE
2 LAW OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THAT LAW IS THE
3 LAW THAT WE BELIEVE APPLIES.
4
SO IF IT SEEMS TO YOU THAT I'M MAKING
5 MUCH OF NOTHING, ALL I'M DOING IS TELLING YOU WHY
6 AND HOW THAT LAW APPLIES IN THIS CASE.
7
AND WHY I KEEP REPEATING THE FEAR IS
8 BECAUSE FEAR UNDER THAT LAW TAKES AWAY THE ELEMENT
9 OF MALICE THAT WOULD OTHERWISE MAKE AN ACT MURDER.
10 WITHOUT MALICE, IF IT'S FEAR, NOT MALICE, IT'S NOT
11 MURDER.
12
NOW, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS
13 DONE TO ERIK MENENDEZ THAT COULD MAKE HIM SO FEARFUL
14 OF HIS PARENTS, WE HAVE TO TELL YOU THE HISTORY OF
15 HOW HE WAS TREATED BY HIS PARENTS. IT ISN'T
16 SOMETHING THAT HE WANTS TO DO. BUT IT IS SOMETHING
17 THAT HE HAS TO DO IF YOU ARE EVER TO UNDERSTAND THE
18 TRUTH FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE.
19
I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT WHY
20 WE'RE PUTTING THIS EVIDENCE ON. WE'RE NOT JUST
21 GOING TO BE PUTTING ON EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS ABUSED
22 SO THAT YOU WILL FEEL SORRY FOR HIM. HE IS NOT
23 ASKING YOU TO FEEL SORRY FOR HIM. MOREOVER, THE
24 FACT THAT HE'S ABUSED IS NOT LEGALLY SIGNIFICANT.
25 WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT IS WHAT THE IMPACT OF ABUSE HAD
26 ON HIS PERCEPTIONS AND HOW THOSE PERCEPTIONS LED HIM
27 TO HAVE THIS ACTUAL BELIEF, HOWEVER UNREASONABLE,
28 THAT HIS PARENTS WERE ABOUT TO KILL YOU (SIC).
1
FOR THAT REASON, OUR WITNESSES WILL NOT
2 TELL YOU THAT THE ABUSE IS AN EXCUSE FOR WHAT
3 HAPPENED, BUT THEY WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT THE ABUSE
4 THAT HE RECEIVED EXPLAINS WHY IT HAPPENED; AND WHY
5 IT HAPPENED IS THE CRUCIAL FACTUAL AND LEGAL ISSUE
6 IN THE CASE.
7
THE PROSECUTION'S RELYING ON EVIDENCE
8 THAT THEY CLAIM ESTABLISHES A MOTIVE OF GREED AND
9 HATRED; MEANING, HE COULD WRAP IT UP IN TALKING
10 ABOUT THE MAFIA THING. AND YOU WILL SEE, IF THERE
11 REALLY IS ANY EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE WHATSOEVER THAT
12 MY CLIENT HAD ANY CONCEPT OF MAFIA THINGS BEFORE,
13 DURING, OR AFTER THESE KILLINGS AND THIS CONCEPT OF
14 A MAFIA-STYLE KILLING TO PROVE PREMEDITATION.
15
BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, UNLESS
16 YOU BELIEVE THAT MY CLIENT IS THE KIND OF MONSTER
17 WHO WOULD KILL HIS PARENTS FOR GREED OR THAT HE WOKE
18 UP ONE MORNING AFTER 18 LAST OF ABUSE AND DECIDED,
19 GEE, I HATE THOSE FOLKS. I THINK I'LL KILL THEM.
20 UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT, YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY FIND
21 THAT THIS WAS FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
22
SO, WHAT THEY'RE REALLY RELYING ON HERE
23 IS THIS PICTURE THAT THEY WANT TO PAINT TO YOU.
24
MR. CONN: I WOULD OBJECT. AT THIS POINT
25 THIS IS ARGUMENT.
26
MS. ABRAMSON: I'LL REPHRASE IT.
27
THE COURT: LET'S GET TO ACTUALLY A SUMMARY
28 OF WHAT YOU EXPECT THE EVIDENCE TO BE.
1
MS. ABRAMSON: SO THE PROSECUTION, RELYING ON
2 EVIDENCE THAT THEY CLAIM ESTABLISHES A MOTIVE OF
3 GREED AND HATRED -- OUR EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THE ONLY
4 MOTIVE WAS TO SURVIVE. YOU WILL SEE IN THIS CASE
5 THAT NO ONE WILL EVER TESTIFY THAT ERIK MENENDEZ
6 EVER EXPRESSED HATRED FOR EITHER OF HIS PARENTS,
7 EVER. AND YOU WILL HEAR FROM THE WITNESSES AND THE
8 EVIDENCE THAT ERIK MENENDEZ WAS NOT AT ALL
9 MATERIALISTIC, HAD NO NEED FOR MORE THAN THAT
10 HUNDRED AND EIGHTY A MONTH, WHICH I HAPPEN TO THINK
11 IS A LOT OF MONEY FOR AN 18-YEAR-OLD. HE HAD NO
12 NEED FOR MONEY. HE NO BAD HABITS FOR WHICH HE
13 NEEDED MONEY. HE NEVER TALKED ABOUT GETTING HIS
14 HANDS ON HIS PARENTS' MONEY. NEVER EXPRESSED ANY
15 INTEREST IN THEIR MONEY AT ALL.
16
HE WAS 18. HE WAS ABOUT TO GO TO
17 COLLEGE. THEY WERE PAYING FOR IT. THEY WERE
18 GENEROUS PARENTS. THEY GAVE THEIR SONS HOWEVER MUCH
19 MONEY THEIR SONS NEEDED. THEY GAVE THEM A VERY
20 WEALTHY LIFE. THEY WANTED FOR NOTHING. THERE WAS
21 NO REASON WHY, THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW, THEY NEEDED
22 ANY MONEY AT THAT TIME IN THEIR LIFE.
23
LYLE MENENDEZ WAS GOING TO PRINCETON
24 UNIVERSITY. HIS PARENTS WERE PAYING FOR IT. HE
25 DIDN'T HAVE TO WORK TO PUT HIM THROUGH SCHOOL. THE
26 COST IS A MINIMUM OF $22,000 A YEAR TO SEND A SON TO
27 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY. THERE WERE NO DISPUTES IN
28 THIS FAMILY ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THESE PARENTS WERE
1 SUFFICIENTLY GENEROUS TO THEIR SONS. THEIR SONS HAD
2 NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THEM, NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT MONEY,
3 NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THEM AT ALL.
4
AND THE ONE THING THAT THEY COULD HAVE
5 COMPLAINED ABOUT FROM THE TIME THEY WERE CHILDREN,
6 THEY HAD BEEN SWORN TO SECRECY, NEVER TO TALK ABOUT.
7 LIKE MOST ABUSED CHILDREN, AS OUR EXPERTS WILL TELL
8 YOU, IT NEVER OCCURRED TO THEM TO COMPLAIN OF THE
9 TREATMENT THEY RECEIVED FROM THEIR PARENTS BECAUSE
10 IT WAS ALL THEY EVER KNEW. TO THEM WHAT WAS
11 HAPPENING, AND HAD HAPPENED, APPEARED NORMAL.
12
WE WILL PROVE THAT THIS IS A CASE, WITH
13 RESPECT TO ERIK MENENDEZ, WHERE A CHILD WHO LOVED,
14 AND WAS TOTALLY DEPENDENT UPON HIS PARENTS, HAD COME
15 TO THE END OF HIS ROPE. HE COULD ENDURE NO MORE,
16 AND HIS RESPONSE WAS NOT VIOLENCE AGAINST HIS
17 ABUSERS. IT WAS THOUGHTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST
18 HIMSELF. HE WANTED TO KILL HIMSELF. AND IN THAT
19 DEPRESSED STATE HE BROKE THE CARDINAL RULE OF HIS
20 PARENTS, AND ESPECIALLY OF HIS DOMINEERING FATHER.
21 HE TOLD THE MOST SHAMEFUL OF ALL THE FAMILY SECRETS,
22 THE INCEST SECRET. AND HE TOLD THAT SECRET TO THE
23 ONLY PERSON NEAR HIM AT THAT TIME THAT HE FELT HE
24 COULD TRUST.
25
THERE HAD BEEN ONLY TWO PEOPLE IN HIS
26 ENTIRE LIFE THAT HE FELT HE COULD TRUST. ONE WAS
27 HIS COUSIN, ANDY, WHO AT THIS TIME, BY THE TIME ERIK
28 IS LIVING IN BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, ANDY IS
1 LIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY.
2
AND THE OTHER PERSON HE CAME TO TRUST
3 WAS HIS BROTHER, LYLE MENENDEZ. AND ERIK MENENDEZ
4 TOLD BOTH OF THOSE TWO YOUNG MEN, AND ONLY THOSE TWO
5 YOUNG MEN, THAT HIS FATHER HAD BEEN MOLESTING HIM
6 SINCE THE TIME HE WAS SIX YEARS OLD.
7
HE TOLD ANDY THAT -- ERIK TOLD ANDY WHEN
8 HE WAS 12 OR 13. BUT HE TOLD THAT TO LYLE, HIS
9 BROTHER, DAYS BEFORE THE HOMICIDES.
10
AND IN TELLING THAT TO HIS BROTHER, SET
11 IN MOTION A CHAIN OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WOUND UP IN
12 THE KILLINGS, BECAUSE HIS BROTHER, IN TRYING TO FREE
13 ERIK FROM THIS INTOLERABLE SITUATION, CREATED A MUCH
14 WORSE ONE, ONE THAT PUT THEM BOTH IN WHAT THEY
15 PERCEIVED TO BE GRAVE DANGER, AND HOW THEY TRIED TO
16 LIVE WITH THAT DANGER; AND, IN FACT, THEIR INABILITY
17 TO LIVE WITH IT AND TO DEFUSE IT, LED TO THE
18 HOMICIDES.
19
NOW, THE WITNESSES WE WILL CALL, WHO ARE
20 ERIK'S FAMILY MEMBERS, SOME OF HIS TEACHERS, PEOPLE
21 WHO WERE COACHES OF HIS, AND FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY,
22 AND, OF COURSE, ERIK HIMSELF, WILL PAINT A PORTRAIT
23 OF MR. AND MRS. MENENDEZ AS PARENTS THAT WILL DETAIL
24 A TEXTBOOK CASE OF WHAT THE EXPERTS WILL CALL
25 MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CHILD ABUSE. THESE MENTAL HEALTH
26 EXPERT WITNESSES ARE EXPERIENCED IN ASSESSING MENTAL
27 STATES OF PEOPLE DRIVEN TO KILL. THEY'RE
28 EXPERIENCED IN THE EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF THOSE
1 SUFFERING THE EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE AND OTHER FORMS
2 OF TRAUMA THAT CAUSE P.T.S.D.; AND THEY WILL TELL
3 YOU WHAT THE EFFECTS OF MALTREATMENT ARE ON A CHILD,
4 HOW THOSE EFFECTS CONTINUE, AND EVEN INTENSIFY IN
5 ADOLESCENCE AND EARLY ADULTHOOD; AND MOST
6 IMPORTANTLY, HOW THE CHILD MOLDED BY ABUSE CAN BE
7 EXPECTED TO PERCEIVE AND REACT TO THE CALCULATED
8 THREATS OF THEIR ABUSERS. AND THEY WILL BE TALKING
9 ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT'S TALKED ABOUT A LOT IN OUR
10 CULTURE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY VERY WELL UNDERSTOOD,
11 THAT THE EFFECTS OF ABUSE ON CHILDREN IS NOT JUST
12 DURING EARLY CHILDHOOD OR AT THE TIME SPECIFIC ACTS
13 OR ABUSE ARE OCCURRING, BUT THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS,
14 INTERFERES WITH THE HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT OF THE
15 CHILD, PERMANENTLY CHANGES THE PERSONALITY OF THE
16 VICTIMS, AND BOTH AT THE SAME TIME ENHANCES THROUGH
17 THEIR HYPERVIGILANCE NOTION AND DISTORTS THROUGH THE
18 DISTORTING EFFECT OF FEAR AND TERROR THE EFFECTS OF
19 SOMEONE SUFFERING ABUSE, PARTICULARLY THEIR
20 PERCEPTIONS OF THE INTENTIONS OF THEIR ABUSERS TO
21 HARM THEM.
22
WHAT THEY WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU IS THAT
23 SUCH CHILDREN, AND ADULTS WHO WERE ABUSED AS
24 CHILDREN, ARE FOUND TO SUFFER FROM SIMILAR
25 PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFECTS. SOME OF THEM SUFFER FROM
26 SOMETHING CALLED BATTERED-CHILD SYNDROME. OTHERS
27 DEVELOP P.T.S.D.; AND OTHERS SUFFER FROM OTHER MORE
28 PROFOUND MENTAL ILLNESSES. THERE ARE SOME CASES IN
1 WHICH PEOPLE HAVE BORDERLINE PERSONALITIES; WHAT
2 WE'VE COME TO CALL MULTI-PERSONALITY. YEARS AGO
3 THERE WAS A BOOK THAT WAS VERY POPULAR CALLED
4 "SYBIL" ABOUT A YOUNG WOMAN SO TORTURED AS AN
5 INFANT SO DISCONNECTED -- IT'S CALLED DISSOCIATED
6 FROM HERSELF -- AND HAD ALL THESE DIFFERENT
7 PERSONALITIES AND CONSCIENCES LIVING INSIDE OF HER
8 THAT SHE WAS NOT AWARE WERE THERE. THAT'S EXTREMELY
9 RARE. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
10 WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING FAR CLOSER TO NORMAL,
11 BUT NEVERTHELESS EXTREMELY DISTORTED ON PERCEPTIONS,
12 AND THAT'S P.T.S.D.
13
YOU WILL HEAR THERE'S BEEN RESEARCH ON
14 CHILD ABUSE AND THE EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE IN THIS
15 COUNTRY WHICH HAS INTENSIFIED OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS
16 IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF
17 ABUSE ON CHILDREN AND THAT WHAT THEY FOUND TO BE
18 TRUE ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF ABUSE ON CHILDREN FITS IN
19 WITH THE EARLIER AND SORT OF PARALLEL RESEARCH
20 THAT'S BEEN GOING ON ON ANOTHER TRACK TO STUDY THE
21 EFFECTS OF OTHER KINDS OF TRAUMAS ON OTHER
22 POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE, OTHER THAN CHILDREN; SUCH AS
23 WAR VETERANS, CONCENTRATION CAMP VICTIMS, PEOPLE WHO
24 HAVE BEEN CAUGHT UP IN NATURAL DISASTERS. THEY FIND
25 THE SAME KINDS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGES ARE WROUGHT
26 IN THOSE GROUPS OF PEOPLE AS IN ABUSED CHILDREN.
27
BUT THEY WILL ALSO TELL YOU HOW MUCH
28 MORE DAMAGE CAN BE DONE AND IS DONE BY THE KIND OF
1 INESCAPABLE ABUSE THAT OCCURS WHEN THE SOURCE OF THE
2 ABUSE IS NOT A STRANGER, NOT SOMEBODY SHOOTING AT
3 YOU IN WAR, NOT AN EARTHQUAKE, NOT EVEN BEING
4 KIDNAPPED AND BURIED IN A BUS IN CHOWCHILLA, WHERE
5 THOSE CHILDREN WERE CAREFULLY STUDIED. IT'S THE
6 VERY PEOPLE WHO WERE CHARGED WITH PROVIDING LOVE AND
7 NURTURING AND SUPPORT AND, YOU KNOW, KINDNESS TO
8 YOU, AND THEY WIND UP BEING YOUR ABUSER, YOUR
9 PARENTS, YOUR CARE-GIVER. THAT MUCH MORE PROFOUNDLY
10 INFLUENCES YOUR ABILITY TO DEVELOP IN HEALTHY WAYS
11 SO THAT AS A HEALTHY ADULT YOU CAN PROBLEM SOLVE;
12 YOU CAN THINK YOUR WAY CLEARLY OUT OF SITUATIONS;
13 YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONAL REACTIONS. ALL OF
14 THAT IS SEVERELY INTERFERED WITH WHEN YOU ARE
15 SEVERELY ABUSED AS A CHILD AND AN ADULT WHO WAS
16 SEVERELY ABUSED AS A CHILD.
17
BUT MOST IMPORTANT IS THE MENTAL HEALTH
18 WITNESSES THAT WE WILL CALL WILL SHARE WITH YOU THE
19 OPINIONS THAT THEY FORMED AFTER THEIR EXHAUSTIVE
20 EVALUATIONS OF ERIK MENENDEZ. THEY'VE CONDUCTED
21 THESE EVALUATIONS OF HIM OVER DOZENS OF HOURS, AND
22 THEY WILL SHARE WITH YOU THEIR OPINIONS THAT HE
23 MANIFESTS THE SYMPTOMS, AND DID AT THE TIME OF THE
24 HOMICIDES, AND RELATES THE HISTORY OF A YOUNG MAN
25 WHO SUFFERED EXTREME FORMS, EXTREME FORMS, OF
26 LIFELONG SEXUAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND PHYSICAL ABUSE
27 AT THE HANDS OF BOTH OF HIS PARENTS. THESE OPINIONS
28 ARE BASED, NOT ONLY ON THEIR INTERVIEWS AND
1 IMPRESSIONS OF ERIK, BUT ALSO ARE SUPPORTED BY AN
2 EXTENSIVE BATTERY OF OBJECTIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
3 THAT WERE ADMINISTERED TO ERIK BY A FORENSIC
4 PSYCHOLOGIST WHO HAS ENORMOUS EXPERIENCE IN THIS
5 AREA.
6
AND YOU WILL ALSO HEAR THAT ALL OF THE
7 EXPERTS WHO EVALUATED ERIK MENENDEZ, AND ALSO THE
8 PERSON WHO ADMINISTERED THE TEST TO HIM, ALSO
9 EXAMINED HIS ENTIRE HISTORY, EVERYTHING THAT
10 COULD -- THAT WE COULD GET THEM SO THAT THEY COULD
11 UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. THEY LOOKED AT ALL
12 OF HIS SCHOOL AND MEDICAL RECORDS; THE RECORDS OF
13 HIS PARENTS' MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH-CARE
14 PROVIDERS. THEY HAVE READ ALL OF THE TESTIMONY OF
15 ALL OF THE WITNESSES WHO TESTIFIED IN THE FIRST
16 TRIAL AND ALL OF THE INTERVIEWS AND REPORTS OF
17 STATEMENTS OF ALL OF THE WITNESSES WHO ARE
18 TESTIFYING IN THIS TRIAL FOR THE FIRST TIME. THEY
19 HAVE SEEN AND READ AND HEARD ALL THE PROSECUTION
20 EVIDENCE THAT YOU WILL SEE AND HEAR AND READ.
21
SO THEY'RE NOT COMING TO THIS FROM SOME
22 IVORY TOWER WITH SOME TINY VIEW. THEY HAVE HEARD AS
23 MUCH, IN FACT, MUCH MORE THAN YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS
24 COURTROOM. AND THEY WILL SHARE WITH YOU THE THINGS
25 THEY HAVE STUDIED AND EVALUATED THAT ARE NOT
26 DIRECTLY BEFORE YOU IN THIS COURTROOM.
27
NOW, WHAT SPECIFICALLY HAPPENED TO ERIK
28 MENENDEZ OVER THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE AND HOW IT
1 CAUSED HIM TO REACT THE WAY HE DID ON AUGUST 20TH,
2 1989 WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF THE TESTIMONY OF MANY
3 WITNESSES AND WILL TAKE A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF
4 TIME TO PRESENT TO YOU.
5
NOW, I'M GOING TO TELL YOU HERE I CAN
6 OFFER YOU ONLY A BRIEF SUMMARY. BUT WHILE IT'S
7 GOING TO TAKE AT LEAST AN HOUR TO OFFER YOU THIS
8 BRIEF SUMMARY, IT IS GOING TO TAKE THREE OR FOUR
9 MONTHS TO PUT ON ALL THE EVIDENCE.
10
STARTING AT THE AGE OF SIX AND NOT
11 ENDING UNTIL THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER WHEN HE WAS 18,
12 ERIK MENENDEZ WAS SEXUALLY MOLESTED BY HIS FATHER.
13 AND THE PATTERN OF MOLESTATION IN WHICH MR. MENENDEZ
14 ENGAGED, YOU WILL HEAR FROM THE EXPERT WITNESSES,
15 FIT THE MODEL OF MOST INCEST PERPETRATORS, BECAUSE
16 IT STARTS OUT -- WHEN YOU HAVE A LITTLE KID LIKE
17 THAT THAT AN ADULT WANTS TO FOIST THEIR NEEDS ON, IT
18 STARTS OUT AS A SEDUCTION. YOU DON'T WANT TO ALARM
19 THE CHILD. YOU DON'T WANT TO HURT THEM RIGHT AWAY.
20 YOU DON'T WANT TO SCARE THEM. YOU DON'T WANT THEM
21 TO CRY OUT. YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO RUN OFF AND TELL
22 SOMEONE.
23
SO IN ORDER NOT TO ALARM THE CHILD YOU
24 TELL THEM THIS IS LOVE. THIS IS AFFECTION. THIS
25 MEANS YOU'RE SPECIAL TO ME. THIS IS OUR SPECIAL
26 TIME TOGETHER. THIS IS OUR LITTLE SECRET. THIS IS
27 WHAT ROMAN SOLDIERS USED TO DO, SON, BEFORE THEY
28 WENT OUT INTO BATTLE. AND YOU CAN FOOL A
1 SIX-YEAR-OLD REAL EASILY.
2
THE WAY IT STARTED IN THIS FAMILY WAS
3 WITH THOSE PHRASES THAT I JUST RECITED FOR YOU; AND
4 IN ADDITION, IT BEGAN WITH MR. MENENDEZ MASSAGING
5 HIS CHILD AFTER ATHLETIC EVENTS. YOU WILL HEAR THAT
6 ERIK MENENDEZ WAS INVOLVED IN COMPETITIVE SPORTS
7 FROM THE TIME HE WAS THREE. SWIMMING WAS THE EARLY
8 ONE, AND THEN SOCCER, AND THEN AN OVERLAY OF
9 TENNIS. SO THERE'S A POINT IN HIS LIFE WHEN HE'S
10 KIND OF SOCCERING AND TENNISING ALL THE TIME AROUND
11 THE CLOCK. AND ALL OF OUR BODIES, IF YOU OVER WORK
12 THEM, EVEN THE BODIES OF LITTLE ONES, WILL GET
13 MUSCLE KNOTS AND MUSCLE TENSION WITH ALL THAT
14 ACTIVITY, AND THAT'S WHAT USED TO HAPPEN TO ERIK
15 MENENDEZ A LOT.
16
SO HIS FATHER STARTED OUT MASSAGING HIM,
17 SUPPOSEDLY TO GET RID OF THIS TENSION IN HIS
18 MUSCLES; AND EVENTUALLY, WITHIN A VERY SHORT PERIOD
19 OF TIME, HE STARTED MASSAGING OTHER PARTS OF HIS
20 BODY, HIS GENITALS IN PARTICULAR, AND TOLD HIM THAT
21 WAS ALSO TENSION-REDUCING. AND THAT'S HOW THE
22 MOLESTATION BEGAN.
23
AND FOR SEVERAL LAST, AS HIS FATHER
24 GROOMED HIM AND TAUGHT HIM THINGS TO DO BACK TO HIS
25 FATHER, THE MOLESTATION WAS NOT VIOLENT. IT STARTED
26 OUT WITH TOUCHING AND AROUSAL. IT GRADUATED TO
27 TRAINING THE CHILD TO PERFORM ORAL COPULATION,
28 TRAINING THE CHILD TO PERFORM SODOMY ON THE FATHER.
1
BUT THEN WHEN ERIK GOT OLDER, THE SEX
2 ACTS -- AND THIS WAS PARTICULARLY UP TO THE AGE OF
3 11 WHEN THE REALLY TRAUMATIC THINGS STARTED TO
4 HAPPEN -- THE SEX ACTS BECAME VIOLENT AND ALL OF IT
5 WAS COERCED. BY 11 AND 12 KIDS BEGIN TO FIGURE OUT,
6 I DON'T THINK THIS IS JUST LOVE, AND I DON'T THINK
7 THIS IS RIGHT. AND THEN THE WAY YOU GET THEIR
8 CONTINUING COMPLIANCE IS THREATS AND FEAR AND
9 VIOLENCE AND PUNISHMENT IF THEY DON'T CONTINUE TO DO
10 WHAT YOU WANT; AND THREATS OF DEATH IF THEY TELL
11 WHAT'S GOING ON, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY A CRIME. EVERY
12 ASPECT OF IT IS A CRIME. INCEST IS A CRIME. CHILD
13 MOLESTING IS A CRIME. AND THERE'S A TREMENDOUS
14 AMOUNT AT STAKE FOR RICH AND SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN
15 IF THEY GET CAUGHT DOING THAT SORT OF THING.
16
SO IT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU WILL
17 HEAR FROM THE TESTIMONY HERE THAT MR. MENENDEZ
18 REPEATEDLY, REPEATEDLY, THREATENED HIS SON NEVER TO
19 TELL.
20
BY THE TIME ERIK MENENDEZ WAS 11 -- WAS
21 13, THE MOLESTATION PATTERN -- AND IT IS VERY
22 PAINFUL TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS. IT'S
23 UNCOMFORTABLE TO HEAR THEM BUT, BELIEVE ME, IT'S
24 HARDER TO SAY THEM.
25
MR. CONN: OBJECTION. ARGUMENTATIVE.
26
THE COURT: OVERRULED.
27
YOUR NEXT REMARKS.
28
MS. ABRAMSON: THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.
1
THE MOLESTATION PATTERN, INCLUDING
2 REPEATED ACTS OF FORCIBLE ORAL COPULATION, FORCIBLE
3 RAPE BY SODOMY, AND THE ENDURING OF SEX ACTS WHILE
4 BEING STUCK WITH SHARP OBJECTS AND CUT WITH A KNIFE,
5 THERE WERE OTHER SADISTIC ACTS BESIDES THAT WHICH
6 WAS FAIRLY ROUTINE.
7
THERE WAS-- WELL, I'LL SKIP THAT. THERE
8 WERE OBJECTS THAT HIS FATHER USED ON HIS BODY THAT
9 CAUSED TREMENDOUS PAIN. BY THE TIME HE WAS 13 AND
10 HAD A ENOUGH EXPOSURE TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD TO KNOW
11 WHAT WAS NORMAL BEHAVIOR FOR FATHERS AND SONS, ERIK
12 MENENDEZ UNDERSTOOD THAT HE WAS A WORTHLESS SEX
13 SLAVE WHO ONLY EXISTED TO DO WHATEVER IT WAS HIS
14 FATHER WANTED. AND IT MADE HIM HATE HIMSELF. I
15 MEAN, A BOY OF 13 HAS NOTIONS OF BEING BRAVE TOO.
16 HE'S PLAYED SOLDIER FOR ENOUGH LAST. IT MADE HIM
17 HATE HIMSELF THAT HE WAS PUTTING UP WITH THIS,
18 ALTHOUGH HE WAS FAR TOO FRIGHTENED TO DO ANYTHING
19 ABOUT IT. IT MADE HIM ASHAMED.
20
HE THOUGHT, AS YOU WILL HEAR FROM
21 DR. WILSON, MOST ABUSED CHILDREN THINK THAT THEY DID
22 SOMETHING TO DESERVE WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO HIM. HE
23 THOUGHT HE BROUGHT IT DOWN ON HIMSELF; THAT HE WAS
24 LOATHSOME IN SOME WAY; THAT HE DESERVED IT. AND HE
25 THOUGHT HE WOULD NEVER HAVE A NORMAL LIFE, AND AT
26 13, STARTED TO HAVE VERY SERIOUS SUICIDAL THOUGHTS
27 FOR THE FIRST TIME.
28
THEN, AS DR. WILSON WILL EXPLAIN, AND AS
1 ERIK WILL EXPLAIN WHAT WENT THROUGH HIS MIND, IN
2 ORDER TO SURVIVE THIS KIND OF SITUATION, PEOPLE WHO
3 ARE TRAPPED IN THESE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FORTRESSES,
4 THESE PRISONS, HAVE TO IMAGINE A WAY TO SURVIVE.
5 THEY HAVE TO IMAGINE HOW IT'S GOING TO END. AND
6 THESE THINGS, THESE THOUGHTS BY WHICH VICTIMS HAVE
7 REPEATED ABUSE, WHETHER IT'S A PRISONER IN THE OLDEN
8 DAYS, YOU KNOW -- I WON'T SAY DEVIL'S ISLAND -9 PRISONERS ON DEVIL'S ISLAND, IF YOU REMEMBER,
10 WHATEVER IT IS.
11
WHEN YOU'RE BEING TORTURED YOU HAVE TO
12 THINK OF A WAY TO FANTASIZE A LIFE WHEN THE TORTURE
13 IS OVER. AND THIS IS CALLED A RESCUE FANTASY.
14 EITHER SOMEBODY IS GOING TO COME AND STOP IT OR
15 MAGICALLY IT'S GOING TO END, OR YOU'RE GOING TO WIN
16 THE LOTTERY, OR IN THIS CASE, WHAT ERIK MENENDEZ
17 THOUGHT AT 13, AND FROM THEN UNTIL 18, WAS IT CAN'T
18 LAST FOREVER. SOME DAY I WILL TO GO COLLEGE. THE
19 TRADITION IN THEIR FAMILY WAS YOU LIVE AWAY AT
20 SCHOOL. I WILL GET AWAY AND IT WILL END AND I CAN
21 STOP BEING SO WORRIED THAT MY FRIENDS ARE GOING TO
22 FIND OUT WHAT A FREAK I AM AND WHAT'S HAPPENING TO
23 ME.
24
SO HE LIVED THIS RESCUE FANTASY AT HIS
25 WORSE MOMENT, IS WHAT KEPT HIM GOING. BUT AS YOU
26 WILL HEAR, THE PROBLEMS HE HAD SURVIVING IN THIS
27 FAMILY AS A CHILD AND A TEENAGER WAS NOT LIMITED TO
28 JUST THE FACT THAT HE WAS BEING SEXUALLY-MOLESTED,
1 BECAUSE AS TERRIBLE AS THAT IS, THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN
2 AND DIDN'T HAPPEN EVERY SINGLE DAY. IT WAS
3 REPEATED. IT WAS SYSTEMATIC. IT HAD HAPPENED ON AN
4 AVERAGE OF TWICE A MONTH FOR THOSE 12 LAST. BUT
5 EVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIS LIFE OTHER FORMS OF ABUSE
6 WERE THERE FOR HIM TO TRY TO COPE WITH -- BECAUSE
7 HIS FATHER WAS A VERY, VERY POWERFUL, INTENSE AND
8 SMART AND CHARISMATIC MAN, REALLY QUITE REMARKABLE -9 HE HAD REMARKABLE GOOD AND HE HAD REMARKABLE BAD.
10 BUT WHAT HE MOST HAD WAS TOTAL CONTROL AND TOTAL
11 DOMINATION OVER EVERY ASPECT OF ERIK'S LIFE.
12
HE ALSO WAS THE KIND OF PRACTICAL JOKER
13 AND TORMENTOR WHO LIKED TO TRAP PEOPLE AND LIKED TO
14 MAKE FUN OF PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WEAKER THAN
15 HIMSELF. AND NO ONE WITHIN HIS CIRCLE WAS WEAKER
16 THAN HIS YOUNGEST SON. AND SO ERIK WAS CONSTANTLY
17 THE VICTIM OF HIS FATHER'S DEPREDATIONS.
18
NOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE -- AND YOU WILL HEAR
19 ABOUT THEIR POINTS OF VIEW -- SAW AND SUFFERED FROM
20 THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF MR. MENENDEZ THAT CAN ONLY
21 BE CALLED INTIMIDATING. BUT WHAT THEY ALSO SAW WAS
22 HOW HIS CHILDREN WERE IN CONSTANT FEAR OF HIS
23 DISPLEASURE. THEY SAW HOW OBEDIENT THESE KIDS WERE
24 TO HIM, HOW WELL-BEHAVED THEY WERE, ONCE THEY WERE
25 OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS, WHEN
26 THEIR FATHER WAS AROUND. AND PEOPLE COULD SEE HOW
27 CHARMING HE WAS, AND PEOPLE KNEW HOW MUCH HIS SONS
28 WORSHIPPED HIM, ADMIRED HIM, WANTED TO BE LIKE HIM,
1 TALKED ABOUT HIM. MY DAD IS SO GREAT. HE CAME FROM
2 NOTHING, FROM CUBA. HE'S SELF-MADE. HE'S
3 POWERFUL. HE CAN GET ANYTHING HE WANTS IN THE
4 WORLD. HE'S STRONGER THAN OTHER PEOPLE. HE'S
5 SMARTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE. AND HE WAS SCARIER THAN
6 OTHER PEOPLE, BECAUSE HE INDOCTRINATED HIS CHILDREN
7 INTO BELIEVING THAT HE WAS, IN ALL RESPECTS, A
8 SUPERIOR BEING; THAT HE WAS THE MOST POWERFUL, THE
9 MOST SUCCESSFUL. HE EVEN HAD THEM BELIEVE THAT HE
10 WAS ABOVE THE LAW -- RIPPING UP TICKETS IN FRONT OF
11 POLICE OFFICERS, YOU KNOW, YELLING AT THEM, AND
12 SMARTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.
13
AND BOTH HE AND MRS. MENENDEZ HAD THEIR
14 CHILDREN BELIEVING THAT THEIR FAMILY WAS SUPERIOR TO
15 OTHER FAMILIES; THAT THEIR EMPHASIS, THAT WAS THE
16 FAMILY CREDO HERE, ON WINNING IN BUSINESS AND
17 WINNING IN SPORTS AT ALL COSTS, WAS ACCEPTABLE
18 VALUES FOR SUCCESS. I MEAN, THEY HAD THESE KIDS
19 CONVINCED THAT PERFORMANCE WAS THE ONLY WAY AND THE
20 APPROPRIATE WAY TO EARN ANY KIND OF PARENTAL LOVE
21 AND RESPECT.
22
NOW, WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOUR PERFORMANCE
23 WASN'T PERFECT, YOU SEE, WAS THE CONSTANT THEME OF
24 THEIR LIFE. CHILDREN CAN'T PERFORM -- CHILDREN
25 BEING SEXUALLY-MOLESTED RARELY PERFORM AT ALL.
26 THERE WAS PLENTY OF FAILURE AS A CONSEQUENCE.
27
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IS MR. MENENDEZ
28 DEMANDED AND RECEIVED TOTAL OBEDIENCE FROM HIS
1 CHILDREN. HE MADE SURE THAT THEY LOOKED TO HIM FOR
2 EVERYTHING, ALL GUIDANCE, ALL DECISION-MAKING. AND
3 HE ALSO MADE SURE THAT THERE WERE NO A ALLIANCE
4 AMONG THE FOUR MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY. EVERYONE HAD
5 TO COME TO HIM. EVERYBODY HAD TO LOOK TO HIM.
6
AND THE WAY HE MADE SURE THAT THERE WERE
7 NO ALLIANCES, WHERE OTHER PEOPLE SOUGHT SUPPORT FROM
8 OTHER PEOPLE IN THE FAMILY, WAS HE MADE THE CHILDREN
9 COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER AND PICK ON EACH OTHER FROM
10 THE TIME THEY WERE YOUNG; AND HE MADE IT VERY CLEAR
11 TO THEM, BOTH VERBALLY AND IN THE WAY THE FAMILY WAS
12 STRUCTURED, THAT THEIR MOTHER WAS NOT THEIR FRIEND;
13 THAT SHE WAS ONLY HIS FRIEND. AND IF THEY WENT TO
14 HER WITH ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT HIM, SHE WOULD
15 IMMEDIATELY TELL HIM AND THEY'D GET PUNISHED. AND
16 IT WORKED THE OTHER WAY TOO. IF THEY WENT TO HIM
17 WITH ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT HER, THEY WERE PUNISHED
18 FOR COMPLAINING ABOUT HER. SO THEY HAD NOWHERE TO
19 GO BETWEEN THESE TWO PARENTS.
20
NOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
21 WHEN ERIK WAS 18, AND WE TALK ABOUT THE FEAR THAT HE
22 EXPERIENCED THERE, I SUBMIT TO YOU, AS I WILL GET TO
23 IN A LITTLE WHILE, THAT ON THE FACE OF IT, THE WORDS
24 THAT HIS PARENTS WERE SPEAKING AND THE GESTURES THAT
25 THEY WERE MAKING AND THE SPECIFIC INCIDENTS THAT
26 HAPPENED OVER THE COURSE OF THAT LAST WEEK, STANDING
27 ALONE, SHOULD NOT HAVE FRIGHTENED ANYONE AS BADLY.
28 IT SHOULD HAVE FRIGHTENED THEM, BUT NOT AS BADLY AS
1 THEY WERE FRIGHTENED. BUT WHEN YOU SPEND YOUR WHOLE
2 LIFE WITH PARENTS WHO LET YOU KNOW ALL THE TIME HOW
3 EASILY THEY COULD KILL YOU -4
MR. CONN: I WOULD OBJECT. THIS IS
5 ARGUMENTATIVE.
6
THE COURT: SUSTAINED. LET'S MOVE ON.
7
MS. ABRAMSON: ERIK IS GOING TO TESTIFY ABOUT
8 VERY VIVID EXAMPLES OF HIS FATHER'S POTENTIAL
9 LETHALITY TOWARDS HIM. AFTER ALL, DURING THE
10 MOLESTATION HIS FATHER WOULD BE PULLING HIS HAIR
11 WHILE HE'S FORCING HIM TO ORALLY COPULATE HIM. HE'S
12 SMASHING HIM REPEATEDLY IF HE CRIED OUT FOR ANYTHING
13 THAT HURT HIM. HE FORCIBLY SODOMIZED HIM. AND THAT
14 HAPPENED WHEN ERIK WAS 12 LAST OLD. HE WAITED UNTIL
15 THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE HOUSE BECAUSE HE KNEW THE
16 KID WOULD CRY. HE HAD TRIED TO SODOMIZE HIM SEVERAL
17 TIMES BEFORE THAT AND IT ALWAYS HURT AND ERIK ALWAYS
18 BEGGED HIM TO STOP. BUT ON THIS DAY, WHEN NO ONE
19 WAS HOME, HE RAPED HIM. THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO
20 DESCRIBE IT. AND THE CHILD SCREAMED AND CRIED; AND
21 SCREAMING AND CRYING, WHEN IT WAS OVER HIS FATHER
22 SAT HIM -- DAD'S ON THE BED -- AND SAID, I TOLD YOU
23 NOT TO SCREAM. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. AND HE HIT
24 HIM AGAIN. NOW, THAT'S NOT SOMEONE THAT YOU CAN
25 EVER TRUST. HE DOESN'T MEAN IT WHEN HE SAYS HE
26 WANTS TO KILL YOU.
27
YOU WILL HEAR TESTIMONY THAT IN ERIK
28 MENENDEZ' EARLY ADOLESCENCE HIS FATHER DECIDED THAT
1 AS PART OF AN ALREADY PERVASIVE SYSTEM OF HARDENING
2 HIS CHILD BY TERRORIZING HIM -- YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT
3 THE WAYS HE DID THIS, BY PURPOSELY CHASING HIM IN
4 FRIGHTENING SITUATIONS, LIKE PUTTING HIM IN THE
5 CEMETERY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHEN HE'S SEVEN
6 AND RUNNING AWAY AND LISTENING TO THE KID SCREAM IN
7 FEAR. HIS IDEA OF TEACHING A CHILD TO SWIM IS WHEN
8 HE'S TWO YEARS OLD, PULLING HIM DOWN TO THE BOTTOM
9 OF THE POOL UNTIL THE KID IS STRUGGLING DESPERATELY
10 AND THINKS HE'S GOING TO DROWN AND THEN YOU LETTING
11 GO; OR IF YOU DON'T, SOMEONE ELSE COMES ALONG AND
12 SAVES YOUR KID, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO
13 ERIK MENENDEZ WHEN HE WAS A TODDLER.
14
ANYWAY, THESE COPING METHODS THAT WERE
15 BRUTAL -- MAKE THE KID PRACTICE ON THE TENNIS COURT
16 IN BOILING HEAT UNTIL THE CHILD FAINTED FROM
17 EXHAUSTION. WITNESSES WILL TELL YOU THAT HE DID
18 THAT. IN THAT WHOLE MILIEU, ALL THESE TYPES OF
19 THINGS GO ON IN HIS LIFE.
20
MR. MENENDEZ DECIDED ERIK WASN'T TOUGH
21 ENOUGH. HE HAD TAKEN THE CHILD TO THE DOCTOR AND
22 ERIK HAD RECEIVED A SHOT AND HE CRIED WHEN HE GOT
23 THE SHOT AND MR. MENENDEZ THOUGHT THAT WAS SISSY,
24 AND IT EMBARRASSED HIM. SO HE WAS GOING TO MAKE
25 SURE THAT THIS CHILD NEVER CRIED OUT FROM PAIN
26 AGAIN. AND SO HE STARTED THIS CAMPAIGN, THAT LASTED
27 FOR SEVERAL LAST, WHERE HE WOULD STICK PINS IN ERIK
28 AND CUT WITH HIM A KNIFE. AND YOU WILL HEAR A
1 DESCRIPTION HOW ERIK HAS A CUT, A LONG TRAILING CUT
2 DOWN HIS LEFT THIGH, OLD AND HEALED, THAT ERIK WILL
3 TELL YOU OCCURRED DURING THIS STRANGE RITUALISTIC
4 TRAINING TO KEEP HIM FROM EXPERIENCING PAIN. OF
5 COURSE, HE DOES EXPERIENCE PAIN. ALL YOU LEARN FROM
6 THAT IS HOW NOT TO EVER EXPRESS IT. AND THE VARIETY
7 OF THINGS THAT MR. MENENDEZ WOULD USE TO DO THIS
8 WERE NEEDLES AND TACKS AND WOODEN THINGS AND KNOTTED
9 THINGS HE WOULD TIE AROUND THE CHILD'S GENITALS.
10
IN ANY EVENT, THESE EPISODES, AS YOU CAN
11 IMAGINE, ARE WHAT ERIK CALLS THE DARK DAYS OF HIS
12 LIFE, BECAUSE THEY WERE THE MOST TERRIFYING PART OF
13 AN ALREADY PRETTY TERRIFYING LIFE. AND DR. WILSON
14 WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT EFFECTS OF THAT KIND OF
15 SADISM CAN DO TO A YOUNG PERSON'S MIND, AND WHAT ARE
16 THE MESSAGES THAT A YOUNG PERSON GETS FROM THAT KIND
17 OF TREATMENT. IT MAKES YOU DENY PHYSICAL PAIN. IT
18 FORCES YOUR MIND NOT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY
19 HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE. THAT'S PART OF WHAT CAUSES
20 THIS SPACING OUT THAT WE LATER SEE, EVEN UP TO AGE
21 18 IN ERIK'S BEHAVIOR.
22
IT ALSO TEACHES YOU NEVER TO COMPLAIN;
23 KEEP ALL YOUR SECRETS BURIED DEEP INSIDE; AND OF
24 COURSE, YOU ALSO LEARN BY PUTTING UP WITH THIS, AS
25 CHILDREN ARE TOO POWERLESS NOT TO PUT UP WITH THIS.
26 BUT IT TEACHES YOU TO HATE YOURSELF. IT TEACHES YOU
27 TO THINK OF YOURSELF AS A COWARD AND TO PANIC, AND
28 IT TEACHES YOU TO NEVER TRUST ADULTS, NEVER TRUST
1 ADULTS IN AUTHORITY.
2
DR. WILSON WILL ALSO DESCRIBE HOW
3 TRAUMATIZED PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY THOSE SUBJECTED TO
4 LONG-TERM PATTERNS OF ABUSE, DEVELOP THIS
5 SENSITIVITY TO CUES. CUES ARE THINGS THAT EITHER
6 REMIND THEM OF A TRAUMATIC EVENT, OR SOME SIGNAL
7 THAT A SIMILAR EVENT IS ABOUT TO OCCUR. AND IN THIS
8 CONTEXT HE WILL TELL YOU HOW THE EVENTS OF THE WEEK
9 OF AUGUST 13TH THROUGH THE 20TH, RIGHT UP TO THE
10 TIME OF THE HOMICIDES, COULD HAVE BEEN PERCEIVED BY
11 ERIK MENENDEZ, BOTH CONSCIOUSLY AND SUBCONSCIOUSLY,
12 AS A SERIES OF CUES, CAUSING HIM TO REEXPERIENCE ALL
13 THE TERROR, ALL THE FEAR OF DEATH THAT HE
14 EXPERIENCED DURING THE WORSE EXCESSES OF THOSE DARK
15 DAYS, OF THOSE DAYS OF RAPE AND FORCED SEXUAL
16 BEHAVIOR.
17
AND DR. WILSON WILL TELL YOU THAT PEOPLE
18 SUFFER FOR P.T.S.D. FOR YEARS AFTER THE TRAUMATIC
19 EVENTS HAVE ENDED, AND MAY SUFFER FROM IT FOR THE
20 REST OF THEIR LIVES IF THEY'RE NOT TREATED FOR IT.
21
BUT AS ERIK WILL TESTIFY, AND AS
22 DR. WILSON WILL EXPLAIN IN HIS ANALYSIS OF WHAT
23 HAPPENED TO ERIK OVER THOSE LAST YEAR'S, IN ERIK'S
24 CASE THE TRAUMA NEVER ENDED BECAUSE THE SEXUAL
25 MOLESTATION DID NOT END IN CHILDHOOD. IT WASN'T
26 SOMETHING THAT HAD HAPPENED LAST BEFORE AND
27 EVERYTHING WAS NOW ROSEY. THE LAST ACT OF SODOMY
28 OCCURRED IN MAY OF 1989. THE LAST ACT OF SEXUAL
1 MOLESTATION OF ANY KIND OCCURRED JUST A FEW DAYS
2 BEFORE THE HOMICIDES.
3
NOW, ALTHOUGH HE WAS OLD ENOUGH BY THE
4 TIME HE WAS 180, CERTAINLY TO KNOW WHAT HIS FATHER
5 WAS DOING TO HIM, AND HAD BEEN DOING TO HIM WAS A
6 CRIME, ERIK WILL TELL YOU THAT HIS INDOCTRINATION
7 THROUGH FEAR TO KEEP THIS SECRET, HIS OWN SHAME AND
8 EMBARRASSMENT -- I MEAN, HE'S AN 18-YEAR-OLD,
9 GOOD-LOOKING ATHLETE. THERE'S NO WAY HE WANTS ANY
10 OF HIS FRIENDS, PARTICULARLY NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND, TO
11 KNOW WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN HIS LIFE.
12
HE ALSO SENSES DEEP INSIDE THAT HIS
13 WHOLE LIFE AS AN ATHLETE AND WITH ALL THAT HARD WORK
14 HE PUT INTO TENNIS SO PEOPLE WILL ADMIRE HIM, IS ALL
15 A SHAM, BECAUSE DEEP DOWN INSIDE HE THINKS HE'S
16 UTTERLY WORTHLESS. HE THINKS HE'S INSIGNIFICANT.
17 HE FEELS HELPLESS IN THE FACE OF THESE KINDS OF
18 PARENTS. AND HE ALSO BELIEVES HIS FATHER IS VERY
19 SUCCESSFUL AND ADMIRED. HIS MOTHER IS PRETTY AND
20 ADMIRED. SHE'S CLEVER. SHE'S A SMART WOMAN.
1
HE THINKS NO ONE WILL EVER BELIEVE HIM,
2 THAT THESE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM. HE HAS NO
3 CLOSENESS NOW WITH ANY MEMBER OF THE FAMILY. THE
4 ONLY PERSON HE EVER TOLD THAT HE WAS EVER CLOSE TO
5 WAS ANDY CANO, WHO'S A COUSIN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF
6 THE COUNTRY. HIS PARENTS NEVER ALLOWED HIM TO GET
7 CLOSE TO THE OTHER RELATIVES EXCEPT THE ONE OF ALL
8 HIS OTHER RELATIVES WHO HE UNQUESTIONABLY, AS HE
9 WILL TELL YOU, LOVED THE MOST, AND THAT WAS THE LAST
10 PERSON ON EARTH THAT HE WOULD EVER SAY ANYTHING
11 NEGATIVE ABOUT HIS FATHER TO, AND THAT WAS HIS
12 GRANDMOTHER, BECAUSE HE HAD WONDERFUL GRANDPARENTS,
13 HIS FATHER'S MOTHER AND FATHER, WHO DID, FOR THE
14 BRIEF AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO
15 BE ALONE WITH THESE CHILDREN, WITH LYLE MENENDEZ AND
16 ERIK MENENDEZ, SPOILED THEM WONDERFULLY, TOOK CARE
17 OF THEM NICELY. BUT THIS WAS JUST LITTLE VISITS.
18 AND HE NEVER COULD GO TO HIS GRANDMOTHER WHO
19 WORSHIPPED AND ADORED HER SON, JOSE MENENDEZ, AND
20 SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT HIS FATHER.
21
SO WITH ALL OF THAT, WITH HIS MOTHER'S
22 LACK OF SUPPORT -- INDEED, HIS MOTHER WAS HOSTILE
23 TOWARDS HIM AND HAD BEEN FOR YEARS -- AND WITH HIS
24 SENSE OF LOYALTY -- AND THIS IS THE HARDEST PART TO
25 UNDERSTAND, AS DR. WILSON WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU, ABOUT
26 ABUSED CHILDREN. THEY ARE LOYAL TO THESE FAMILIES.
27 THEY ARE TAUGHT THAT THEIR FAMILY IS ALL THAT THERE
28 IS IN THE WORLD, AND PARTICULARLY THIS FAMILY, WHERE
1 THE CHILDREN WERE TAUGHT HOW SUPERIOR THEY ALL
2 WERE. THEY ARE SO INTERTWINED WITH PARENTS AND THIS
3 KIND OF A FAMILY, AS COMPARED TO A NORMAL ONE, THAT
4 THEY SIT -- THEY HAVE THIS TREMENDOUS SENSE OF
5 LOYALTY TOWARDS THEIR PARENTS. AND ALL OF THESE
6 THINGS, WHAT HE THOUGHT OF HIMSELF, WHAT HE THOUGHT
7 THE REACTION OF THE WORLD WOULD BE, HOW LITTLE
8 SUPPORT HE HAD, AND HIS ISOLATION, ALL THIS
9 CONSPIRED TO PREVENT HIM FROM SEEKING HELP IN
10 STOPPING THE ABUSE FROM OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE
11 FAMILY.
12
NOW, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH IF ALL HE
13 HAD TO DEAL WITH IN HIS LIFE, AS HE WILL TELL YOU,
14 WAS THIS VERY CRUEL AND DOMINEERING AND PERVERSE
15 FATHER. BUT HIS FATHER, UNFORTUNATELY, WASN'T
16 ALONE. I MEAN, I THINK YOU CAN IMAGINE -- AND
17 DR. WILSON WILL DESCRIBE THIS FOR YOU -- THAT THERE
18 ARE MANY, MANY, UNFORTUNATELY, INCESTUOUS FAMILIES
19 AND ABUSIVE FAMILIES, BUT IN SO MANY OF THEM THERE'S
20 ONLY ONE PARENT WHO IS THE ABUSER, AND THE OTHER
21 PARENT IS EITHER ALSO A VICTIM OR TRIES TO
22 AMELIORATE THE ABUSE, HAS THE STRENGTH TO MAKE IT
23 BETTER. SO YOU KNOW OF FAMILIES WHERE ONE PARENT
24 MAY HAVE A DRINKING PROBLEM, BUT THE OTHER IS
25 PERFECTLY OKAY, AND THERE'S A BALANCE THERE AND THE
26 CHILDREN MAY HAVE PROBLEMS BUT THEY CAN GROW UP
27 NORMAL. BUT YOU'D HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF, IN A
28 SITUATION WHERE BOTH PARENTS ARE KILLED BY BOTH
1 CHILDREN, THAT'S A BIG CLUE THAT BOTH PARENTS WERE
2 SO ABUSIVE THAT THERE WAS NO RELIEF FOR THESE
3 CHILDREN WITHIN THE FAMILY.
4
MR. CONN: OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR. IT'S
5 ARGUMENTATIVE.
6
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. THIS IS
7 ARGUMENTATIVE, SO LET'S MOVE ON, PLEASE.
8
9
MS. ABRAMSON: ALL RIGHT.
WHAT THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE WILL SHOW
10 IS THAT MRS. MENENDEZ WAS NOT A PASSIVE OBSERVER OF
11 HER HUSBAND'S ABUSE OF THE CHILDREN. SHE WAS A
12 PERPETRATOR OF BOTH PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
13 MALTREATMENT HERSELF AND SHE WAS A KNOWING, A
14 KNOWING, ACCOMPLICE IN HER HUSBAND'S INCEST TOWARDS
15 ERIK MENENDEZ. IN FACT, SHE WAS ALSO A KNOWING
16 ACCOMPLICE IN HER HUSBAND'S INCEST TOWARDS LYLE
17 MENENDEZ, BECAUSE IT DID NOT START WITH ERIK.
18
NOW, WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM
19 DR. WILSON AND OTHER EXPERTS IN THIS CASE IS SOME OF
20 OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE FACT THAT MOTHERLY LOVE IS
21 NATURAL MAY BE WRONG, BECAUSE BASED ON THEIR
22 RESEARCH AND THE HISTORIES OF WHAT THEY KNOW ABOUT
23 ABUSED CHILDREN, THEY HAVE LEARNED THAT SOME MOTHERS
24 CANNOT AND DO NOT, THEY CANNOT AND THEY DO NOT LOVE
25 THEIR CHILDREN. SOME ARE INDIFFERENT. SOME ARE
26 HOSTILE. SOME ARE TOO SELFISH AND TOO SELF-CENTERED
27 TO CARE. AND MRS. MENENDEZ, WE'LL PROVE, EVEN
28 THOUGH HER CHILDREN LOVED HER, WAS ONE OF THOSE
1 DEFICIENT MOTHERS WHO RESENTED HER CHILDREN. SHE
2 WAS -- SHE WAS VERY JEALOUS OF MR. MENENDEZ'
3 ATTENTIONS TOWARDS ANYONE.
4
AND WHEN LYLE MENENDEZ WAS BORN,
5 MR. MENENDEZ BECAME VERY INVOLVED IN DEALING WITH
6 LYLE AND EVENTUALLY VERY INVOLVED, IN UNHEALTHY
7 WAYS, IN DEALING WITH ERIK. AND MRS. MENENDEZ HAD
8 HER OWN EXTREME NEEDS AND RESENTED HER CHILDREN FOR
9 TAKING HER HUSBAND'S ATTENTION AWAY FROM HER.
10
AND SHE HAD A TENDENCY, OVER THE YEARS,
11 AS YOU WILL HEAR THE RELATIVES AND ERIK MENENDEZ
12 TESTIFY, TO TAKE OUT HER FRUSTRATIONS AND HER
13 DISAPPOINTMENTS ON HER CHILDREN. SHE ALSO SHARED,
14 PHILOSOPHICALLY, HER HUSBAND'S VIEW THAT BRUTALIZING
15 CHILDREN WOULD MAKE THEM TOUGH AND WOULD MAKE THEM
16 THE KIND OF PERFORMERS WHO WOULD WIN TROPHIES FOR
17 THEIR PARENTS AND WOULD THEREBY INCREASE THEIR
18 PARENTS' PRESTIGE IN THE WORLD.
19
YOU ARE GOING TO SEE IN THESE HORRIBLE
20 CRIME-SCENE PHOTOGRAPHS ALL THE GORE THAT, BELIEVE
21 ME, THE PROSECUTION WILL TROT OUT IN FRONT OF YOU.
22 YOU WILL SEE, HOWEVER, THE IRONY OF IRONIES, THAT IN
23 THE SCENE ITSELF, THE DEN OF THIS HOUSE, THERE IS A
24 BOOKCASE ACROSS THE FAR WALL AND EVERY SQUARE INCH
25 OF THE TOP OF THAT BOOKCASE IS FILLED WITH THE
26 TROPHIES THAT THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS WON FOR THEIR
27 PARENTS.
28
THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT
1 MRS. MENENDEZ RAN HER HOME LIKE A LABOR CAMP. SHE
2 MADE HER CHILDREN ASHAMED OF THEIR ACADEMIC
3 SHORT-COMINGS AND THESE STRESSED-OUT, ANXIOUS KIDS
4 HAD PLENTY OF THOSE. SHE MADE THEM ASHAMED AND
5 PUNISHED THEM FOR ATHLETIC DEFEATS, EVEN WHEN THEY
6 WERE LITTLE KIDS, EVEN WHEN IT WASN'T A BIG
7 COMPETITION. AND SHE MADE ALL FAILURES ON THEIR
8 PART, NO MATTER HOW INSIGNIFICANT OR SMALL, A SECRET
9 THAT THE REST OF THE FAMILY -- THE CHILDREN WERE
10 TOLD, NOW, DON'T TELL YOUR AUNT TERRY ABOUT YOUR
11 REAL GRADES IN SCHOOL OR DON'T TELL YOUR UNCLE
12 CARLOS THAT YOU DIDN'T WIN THAT TENNIS MATCH. SHE
13 MADE HER CHILDREN LIE TO THE REST OF THE FAMILY SO
14 THAT THEY WOULD THINK THAT EVERYTHING IN THIS FAMILY
15 WAS PERFECTER THAN PERFECT.
16
THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT THREE DAYS
17 BEFORE SHE DIED, THREE DAYS BEFORE SHE DIED,
18 MRS. MENENDEZ ADMITTED TO HER SON, ERIK, THAT SHE
19 KNEW ALL ALONG THAT HIS FATHER HAD BEEN MOLESTING
20 HIM.
21
NOW, ERIK HAD NEVER TOLD HER. AND HE
22 WILL TELL YOU THAT ONE OF THE REASONS HE NEVER
23 COMPLAINED TO HIS MOTHER ABOUT HIS FATHER'S SEXUAL
24 ABUSE, WAS BECAUSE HE FELT SORRY FOR HER. SHE
25 ALWAYS SEEMED SO UNHAPPY. SHE ALWAYS COMPLAINED SO
26 MUCH ABOUT HER LIFE.
27
AND ERIK PARTICULARLY, WHEN HE REALLY
28 KNEW AND UNDERSTOOD IN PUBERTY THAT WHAT WAS GOING
1 ON BETWEEN HIMSELF AND HIS FATHER WAS WRONG, AND
2 WHEN IT OCCURRED TO HIM THAT HE SHOULD GO TO MOMMY
3 AND TELL HER WHAT WAS GOING ON, HE ALREADY HAD LIVED
4 IN THIS FAMILY LONG ENOUGH TO HESITATE, BECAUSE HE
5 HAD TWO CONFLICTING IDEAS, HE WILL TELL YOU, ABOUT
6 HIS MOTHER. HE LOVED HER. SHE WAS HIS MOTHER. SHE
7 WAS A PRETTY MOMMY. AND HE WANTED TO BELIEVE THAT
8 SHE LOVED HIM. AND HE THOUGHT AT TIMES THAT IF HE
9 TOLD HER, THIS MOMMY THAT HE WANTED TO BELIEVE LOVED
10 HIM, SHE'D BE UPSET BECAUSE SHE'S HIS MOM AND SHE
11 LOVES HIM. AND SHE WOULD CONFRONT HIS FATHER AND
12 THEN MOMMY WOULD GET INTO TROUBLE, AND THAT WAS THE
13 MOMMY HE WANTED TO BELIEVE SHE WAS.
14
BUT THEN ANOTHER VOICE WOULD POP INTO
15 HIS HEAD -- BECAUSE SO MUCH WAS GOING ON IN THIS
16 HOME THAT MOMMY DID NOT GET UPSET ABOUT AND THAT
17 MOMMY DID NOT CONFRONT DADDY ABOUT, AND IN HIS
18 CHILD'S FANTASY ERIK THOUGHT OF HIS GOOD MOMMY AS
19 MAYBE THE MOMMY WHO WOULD LEAVE DAD. BUT THAT
20 WASN'T REALLY A GOOD THOUGHT FOR THIS KID BECAUSE
21 THIS WAS A FAMILY WHERE THE CHILDREN WERE TOLD THIS
22 IS THE GREATEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD AND WE ARE THE
23 GREATEST PARENTS IN THE WORLD; AND, THEREFORE, HE
24 WOULD BE DESTROYING THIS WONDERFUL FAMILY. THIS IS
25 HOW YOU CONFUSE A KID PERFECTLY BY ABUSING HIM.
26
BUT THE OTHER SCENARIO IN HIS HEAD, THE
27 SCENARIO ABOUT THE REAL MOMMY THAT HE HAD TO DEAL
28 WITH EVERY DAY WAS EVEN WORSE, BECAUSE WHAT IF HE
1 TOLD HER AND SHE DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM? WHAT IF HE
2 TOLD HER AND SHE WANTED TO BELIEVE HIM AND SHE WENT
3 TO HIS FATHER AND HIS FATHER DENIED IT AND SHE
4 DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM? BECAUSE THE FACT OF THE MATTER
5 IS, IN ALL OF THE CRUEL THINGS THAT WERE BEING DONE
6 IN THAT FAMILY, HIS MOTHER NEVER PROTECTED HIM. SHE
7 NEVER OBJECTED. SHE ALWAYS ACTED AS IF SHE BELIEVED
8 IN ALL THE THINGS HIS FATHER DID IN ALL OTHER
9 ASPECTS OF THE CRUEL TREATMENT. BUT THE WORST
10 SITUATION OF ALL THAT HE COULD IMAGINE AT 11 AND 12
11 WHEN HE WANTED TO TELL HER, WAS WHAT IF SHE DID
12 BELIEVE HIM AND DIDN'T CARE? OR BLAMED HIM FOR
13 BRINGING IT ABOUT?
14
AND THESE, DR. WILSON WILL TELL YOU, ARE
15 THE CLASSIC CONUNDRUMS, THE CLASSIC THOUGHTS OF
16 ABUSED KIDS, AND IS WHY MOST ABUSED CHILDREN DON'T
17 TELL.
18
HOWEVER, FOR YEARS ERIK MENENDEZ WOULD
19 SUSPECT. THINGS WOULD HAPPEN AND HE WOULD SUSPECT
20 THAT HIS MOTHER KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON. BESIDES THE
21 FACT THAT IT'S ALWAYS GOING ON -- IT'S GOING ON IN
22 THE HOUSE, IT'S GOING ON IN THE VACATION HOMES, IT'S
23 GOING ON WHEN SHE'S THERE, IT'S GOING ON BEFORE
24 DINNER, IT'S GOING ON AT 12:00 AT NIGHT, IT'S GOING
25 ON IN A QUIET HOUSE -- THERE WERE CLUES THAT SHE
26 KNEW. SHE NEVER CAME INTO HIS ROOM TO SEE HIM, TO
27 GET HIM TO DO ANYTHING, TO TELL HIM IT WAS DINNER
28 TIME, TO CHECK ON HIS HOMEWORK, IF HIS FATHER WAS IN
1 THERE DOING THINGS WITH HIM. OTHER TIMES SHE'D COME
2 IN WITH THE DOOR CLOSED. SHE WOULDN'T LET ANYBODY
3 ELSE WHO WAS -- THERE WERE OTHER RELATIVES, CHILDREN
4 OF -- COUSINS, BASICALLY, OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS
5 WHO WOULD STAY WITH THE MENENDEZ FAMILY FROM TIME TO
6 TIME, AND THEY WERE ALWAYS WARNED, IF ERIK OR LYLE
7 ARE IN A ROOM WITH THEIR FATHER, DON'T GO NEAR IT.
8 DON'T GO DOWN THAT HALLWAY. DON'T GO NEAR THEM.
9
BECAUSE OF THE ORAL COPULATION THAT WAS
10 OCCURRING RESULTED IN HIS FATHER EJACULATING IN HIS
11 MOUTH, ERIK WOULD THROW UP A LOT AFTER SEX. HAS
12 MOTHER NEVER CAME -- THE BATHROOM, AS WE'LL SHOW YOU,
13 IN THE PENNINGTON HOUSE, WHERE MUCH OF THIS WENT ON,
14 WAS ONLY TWO DOORS AWAY FROM HER BEDROOM. AND HERE
15 IS A KID, SOMETIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT OR ON
16 WEEKENDS THROWING UP AND SHE DOESN'T GO NEAR THAT
17 BATHROOM. IF HE HAD THE FLU AND THREW UP, IF HE
18 THREW UP NOT FOLLOWING A VISIT BY HIS FATHER, SHE'D
19 BE THERE. YOU SICK AGAIN? BUT NOT IF HE THREW UP
20 AFTER AN ACT OF SEX.
21
FOR SOME REASON MR. MENENDEZ, AN
22 EXTREMELY BUSY EXECUTIVE WHO GOT PHONE CALLS AT HOME
23 ALL THE, ALL THE TIME, NEVER EVER DID HIS MOTHER
24 COME TO HIS ROOM AND KNOCK ON THE ROOM -- ON THE DOOR
25 AND SAY TO HIS FATHER HE HAD A PHONE CALL DURING ANY
26 OF THESE SEXUAL THINGS
27
BUT ERIK CHOSE TO BELIEVE THAT SHE
28 DIDN'T KNOW AND WHENEVER A THOUGHT LIKE THAT WOULD
1 CROSS HIS MIND, HE WOULD DISMISS IT AND SAY NO, MY
2 MOTHER COULDN'T KNOW. MY MOTHER COULDN'T -- SHE
3 WOULD DO SOMETHING IF SHE KNEW.
4
THE PROBLEM WAS, THOUGH, THAT HIS
5 MOTHER, INDEPENDENT OF THIS MOLESTATION, INDEPENDENT
6 OF BEING AN ENABLER OF IT, WAS A VERY ANGRY AND
7 UNHAPPY WOMAN. AND SHE SEEMED TO SHOW THIS ANGER
8 MOST FREQUENTLY TOWARDS HER BOYS. SHE HAD
9 UNCONTROLLABLE RAGES AT ERIK AND LYLE. I MEAN,
10 SHE'D JUST FLY OFF THE HANDLE FOR LITTLE THINGS.
11 SHE'D THROW THINGS AT THEM.
12
WHEN ERIK WAS ILL, SHE DIDN'T COMFORT
13 HIM BECAUSE THAT WASN'T -- THAT WAS SISSY. YOU KNOW,
14 THAT WOULD NOT MAKE HIM TOUGH ENOUGH TO BE THE KIND
15 OF COMPETITOR THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND WANTED HIM TO
16 BE IN THE WORLD. SHE'D LEAVE HIM HOME ALONE WHEN HE
17 WAS VERY SICK, AND YOU'LL HEAR TESTIMONY ABOUT THAT
18 FROM RELATIVES.
19
IF HE STAYED HOME FROM SCHOOL SAYING
20 THAT HE WAS SICK, SHE WOULD ACCUSE HIM OF BEING A
21 SISSY AND LOCK HIM IN THE CLOSET WHILE SHE WENT OUT
22 AND RAN ERRANDS. AND SHE DIDN'T WANT HIM TO LEAVE
23 THE CLOSET BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT HIM TO WATCH
24 TELEVISION. IF HE WAS SO SICK, HE COULD STAY
25 SITTING IN THE DARK. AND SHE'D PUT THINGS ACROSS
26 THE DOOR OF THE CLOSET SO SHE'D KNOW WHEN SHE CAME
27 HOME IF HE OPENED THE DOOR. AND SHE'D BE GONE
28 SOMETIMES FOR HALF THE DAY. AND THERE WERE NO
1 TOILETS IN THAT CLOSET. SO THE CHILD WAS FACED WITH
2 THE CHOICE OF GOING OUT AND GOING TO THE BATHROOM
3 AND GETTING PUNISHED OR STAYING IN THE CLOSET AND
4 MAKING A MESS. AND FINALLY, BECAUSE SHE ALSO WOULD
5 MAKE HIM DO HOMEWORK IN THE CLOSET IF SHE THOUGHT
6 THAT HE HADN'T LISTENED TO HER INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW
7 TO DO IT CAREFULLY ENOUGH, HE FINALLY DEVISED A
8 SCHEME WHERE HE WOULD TAKE PLASTIC BAGS IN THE
9 CLOSET WITH HIM, WHERE HE WAS LIVING A GOOD PORTION
10 OF HIS LIFE, SO HE COULD, YOU KNOW, PERFORM NATURAL
11 FUNCTIONS IN THE CLOSET AND NOT GET PUNISHED FOR
12 TRYING TO GET OUT AND GO TO THE BATHROOM.
13
THIS WAS A WOMAN WHO WAS A 5TH-GRADE
14 SCHOOL TEACHER AT ONE TIME IN HER LIFE, BUT WITH HER
15 OWN SON, ERIK MENENDEZ, WHO SHE TOOK IT UPON HERSELF
16 TO TUTOR IN HIS GRAMMAR SCHOOL DAYS, SHE CRITICIZED
17 HIM CONSTANTLY FOR POOR SCHOOL WORK. SHE CALLED HIM
18 STUPID AND DUMMY. AGAIN, SHE THOUGHT THE WAY TO DO
19 HOMEWORK WAS TO LOCK HIM IN A CLOSET. SHE WOULD TRY
20 TO TEACH HIM THINGS BY TIMING HIM WITH A STOPWATCH.
21 AND, OF COURSE, EVENTUALLY IT BECAME KNOWN TO HER
22 BECAUSE THE SCHOOLS TOLD HER THAT ERIK WAS DYSLEXIC,
23 AND HE HAD OTHER LEARNING DISABILITIES, AND HE
24 WASN'T STUPID AND HE WASN'T A DUMMY. HE JUST
25 COULDN'T DO WORK THE WAY SHE WANTED HIM TO. BUT THE
26 PROBLEM WAS, EVEN THOUGH THE SCHOOL TOLD HER THAT,
27 SHE NEVER TOLD ERIK. SO SHE KEPT ON PUNISHING HIM
28 FOR NOT DOING HIS SCHOOL WORK; HITTING HIM ON THE
1 BACK OF THE HEAD IF HE DIDN'T GET IT RIGHT; TEARING
2 UP HIS PAPERS IF HE TRIED TO DO THE WORK AS SHE
3 DIRECTED IT.
4
NOW, THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED PSYCHOLOGICAL
5 MALTREATMENT. I MEAN, IT SOUNDS LIKE NOTHING, BUT
6 IF YOU GET IT EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE -7
MR. CONN: OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR. THIS IS
8 ALL ARGUMENT.
9
THE COURT: COUNSEL, STOP ARGUING THE CASE
10 AND JUST PRESENT WHAT YOU EXPECT THE EVIDENCE TO BE.
11
MS. ABRAMSON: I'M NOT TELLING YOU THIS IS
12 TRUTH. I'M TELLING YOU THIS IS WHAT WITNESSES ARE
13 GOING TO TESTIFY, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THIS EITHER.
14 I'M JUST A LAWYER. I LEARNED FROM WHAT I HEAR FROM
15 EXPERTS AND THAT'S WHY WE CALL EXPERTS TO TESTIFY IN
16 TRIALS.
17
YOUR HONOR, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A BREAK AT
18 THIS POINT.
19
THE COURT: NO. LET'S KEEP GOING. YOU SAID --
20
MS. ABRAMSON: THEN I'D LIKE TO WALK OVER
21 THERE AND GET MY CUP OF TEA.
22
THE COURT: -- YOUR OPENING STATEMENT WOULD
23 BE AN HOUR AND A HALF AND YOU'RE ABOUT AN HOUR AND
24 15 MINUTES INTO IT.
25
MS. ABRAMSON: I GET PUNISHED WITHOUT A BREAK
26 BECAUSE I'M LATE?
27
THE COURT: NO PUNISHMENT. THIS IS YOUR TIME
28 ESTIMATE AND YOU'RE 15 MINUTES AWAY FROM COMPLETING
1 YOUR OPENING STATEMENT.
2
MS. ABRAMSON: I'M AFRAID I'M NOT GOING TO
3 COMPLETE IT IN 15 MINUTES.
4
THE COURT: YOU BETTER KEEP GOING AND DO IT
5 IN 15 MINUTES.
6
MS. ABRAMSON: I'LL SOUND LIKE ONE OF THE
7 CHIPMUNKS IF I DO IT LIKE THAT.
8
THE COURT: NO. YOU'LL JUST SPEAK MORE
9 CONCISELY.
10
11
MS. ABRAMSON: OKAY.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT HAPPENED
12 OVER THE COURSE OF HIS CHILDHOOD WITH RESPECT TO HIS
13 MOTHER THAT WOULD RAISE THE SUSPICION IN ERIK
14 MENENDEZ' MIND THAT HIS MOTHER EITHER KNEW OR
15 SUSPECTED WHAT WAS GOING ON BETWEEN HIM AND HIS
16 FATHER IS THAT SHE HAD THIS RITUAL SHE WOULD ENGAGE
17 IN, WHICH WAS CALLED CHECKING YOU OUT. AND WHAT SHE
18 WOULD DO IS SHE WOULD EXAMINE HIS GENITALS. SHE DID
19 THIS UNTIL HE WAS 15 YEARS OLD. AND SHE WOULD BREAK
20 BLISTERS ON HIS PENIS THAT SHE WOULD FIND, BUT SHE
21 NEVER ASKED HIM HOW HE GOT THEM. NOW, HE WAS NOT
22 SEXUALLY ACTIVE AT 15, EXCEPT THIS MOLESTATION THAT
23 WAS GOING ON WITH HIS FATHER.
24
THE MAIN ACTIVITY OF MRS. MENENDEZ'
25 LIFE, AS IT WILL BE TESTIFIED TO, WAS TO MAKE SURE
26 THAT HER CHILDREN WERE TOTALLY INVOLVED IN THESE
27 COMPETITIVE SPORTS; AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN
28 COMPETITIVE SPORTS OF ALL SORTS, FROM THE TIME THEY
1 WERE PRESCHOOLERS, LEFT THEM WITH NO TIME TO MAKE
2 FRIENDS. THIS IS PART OF THIS PATTERN OF ISOLATION
3 THAT YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT. THEY HAD NO TIME TO
4 PLAY. THEY HAD NO TIME TO READ. THEY REALLY HAD
5 VERY LITTLE TIME TO DO HOMEWORK. THEY HAD NO TIME
6 TO EXPLORE. THEY WOULD BE FERRIED FROM ONE SPORTS
7 PRACTICE TO ANOTHER OR ONE SPORTS COMPETITION TO
8 ANOTHER. AND THEIR MOTHER MADE SURE SHE WAS THE
9 ONE, BECAUSE MR. MENENDEZ, REMEMBER, WAS LIVING -10 WAS WORKING IN THE CITY AND HE'S COMMUTING A LOT.
11 SHE'S THE ONE WHO'S THERE DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO
12 ENFORCE THIS VERY REGIMENTED BOOTCAMP-LIKE LIFE AS
13 ERIK WILL DESCRIBE IT.
14
BUT SHE COMPLAINED ABOUT HER CHILDREN AT
15 THE SAME TIME. SHE RESENTED ALL THE PLANNING AND
16 THE RUNNING AROUND AND ALL THE FERRYING ABOUT THAT
17 SHE HAD TO DO. AND SHE TOLD HER CHILDREN, FOR
18 WHATEVER -- ALL OF HER BUILT-UP FRUSTRATIONS AND
19 ANGERS AND UNHAPPINESS, SHE TOLD THEM AND SHE TOLD
20 RELATIVES, THAT SHE HATED HER SONS AND SHE WISHED
21 THEY HAD NEVER BEEN BORN. AND SHE TOLD THAT TO
22 PEOPLE BEFORE THEY EVEN LEFT NEW JERSEY.
23
NOW, THOSE SAME RELATIVES WILL TELL YOU
24 THAT SECRET -- THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT SECRECY WAS BEING
25 FORCED IN THIS FAMILY BECAUSE MRS. MENENDEZ HERSELF
26 WAS EXTREMELY SECRETIVE AND PRIVATE. AS I'VE
27 INDICATED TO YOU, SHE TOLD HER CHILDREN NOT TO
28 PORTRAY A TRUE PICTURE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH
1 THEIR SCHOOL WORK OR THEIR ATHLETICS TO OTHER
2 MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY. SHE CONCEALED FOREVER THAT
3 ERIK HAD LEARNINGS DISABILITIES. SHE EVEN CONCEALED
4 IT FROM ERIK. AND SHE, THEREFORE, DENIED HIM ANY
5 CHANCE TO GET ANY KIND OF REMEDIAL EDUCATION.
6
IN THE PRIVATE SCHOOL HE WENT TO, IN
7 PRINCETON, THEY SAW THAT HE HAD THESE LEARNINGS
8 DISABILITIES, SO THEY ENROLLED HIM IN A SPECIAL
9 AFTER-SCHOOL CLASS TO HELP HIM WITH THESE THINGS AND
10 HIS MOTHER, WHO OF COURSE WAS IN CHARGE OF HIS
11 SCHEDULE, MADE SURE THAT HE NEVER, EVER ATTENDED
12 THAT CLASS.
13
WHAT WAS ALSO SEEN BY EVERYBODY WHO CAME
14 IN CONTACT WITH THIS FAMILY WAS HOW EXTREMELY
15 COMPETITIVE MRS. MENENDEZ WAS AND HOW BOTH SHE AND
16 HER HUSBAND HAD THIS THEORY OF MAKING THEIR CHILDREN
17 COMPETITIVE; AND ONE OF THEIR WAYS WAS TO EXPOSE THE
18 CHILD TO FRIGHTENING SITUATIONS TO TOUGHEN THEM AND
19 IGNORE ANY COMPLAINTS THAT THEY MAY HAVE OF FEAR.
20
APART FROM ALL OF THAT, THE PEOPLE THAT
21 WERE CLOSEST TO HER WILL TELL YOU THAT SHE RARELY,
22 IF EVER, DISPLAYED ANY AFFECTION TOWARDS HER
23 CHILDREN AT ALL; TO ERIK, THE GREATEST MOMENT IN HIS
24 DAY, HE WILL TELL YOU, IS THE DAY ON WHICH HIS
25 MOTHER SMILED AT HIM, AND THERE WERE A FEW,
26 PARTICULARLY IF HE WON SOMETHING.
27
SHE WAS EQUALLY COMPETITIVE WITH ERIK
28 NEEDING TO BRING DOWN HIGH GRADES IN SCHOOL. I
1 MEAN, SHE KNEW HE WAS LEARNING DISABLED. THERE WAS
2 VERY LITTLE TIME TO DO HOMEWORK. NEVERTHELESS, BOTH
3 PARENTS DEMANDED GRADES BECAUSE THROUGH GRADES YOU
4 COULD GET IN -- THEY WERE IN A VERY PRESTIGIOUS
5 PUBLIC SCHOOL -- PRIVATE SCHOOL, GRAMMAR, AND FROM
6 THAT YOU COULD GET INTO THE NEXT PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOL
7 AND FROM THAT YOU COULD GET INTO THE NEXT
8 PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOL AND PRESTIGE SEEMED TO BE ALL
9 THAT MATTERED BECAUSE, AS ERIK WILL TELL YOU, IT
10 NEVER MATTERED TO HIS MOTHER IF HE LEARNED ANYTHING
11 SO LONG AS HE HAD THE GRADE. AS A CONSEQUENCE, SHE
12 DID A LOT OF THE SCHOOL WORK FOR HIM. SHE CHEATED
13 FOR HIM AND SHE ENCOURAGED HIM TO CHEAT. ERIK EVEN
14 CAME INTO POSSESSION OF STOLEN TESTS FROM THE
15 SCHOOL. HIS FATHER MADE OUT THE TESTS FOR HIM. SO
16 THE MESSAGES THAT THEY WERE GETTING WAS PERFORM,
17 PERFORM, WIN, WIN; AND IF YOU DON'T, YOU'RE WORTH
18 NOTHING TO US.
19
NOW, WHAT HAPPENED IN KALAMAZOO THAT
20 WEEK IN AUGUST BEFORE THE FAMILY RETURNED TO BEVERLY
21 HILLS WAS THAT ERIK LOST THE BIG ROUND IN TENNIS.
22 HE HAD PLAYED VERY HARD THAT SUMMER. HE HAD WON
23 EARLIER ON IN THE COMPETITION, BUT THAT WEEK HE
24 LOST. AND HIS FATHER WAS ENRAGED WITH HIM TO AN
25 EXTENT THAT HE HAD NEVER SEEN. AND WHAT HE
26 PERCEIVED DURING -- FROM THAT TIME ON, FROM THE LOSS
27 IN KALAMAZOO, ALL THE WAY UP TO AND THROUGH THE WEEK
28 OF CRISIS, WAS THAT HIS FATHER THOUGHT THAT HE, ERIK
1 MENENDEZ, HAD NO VALUE TO HIM; AND THIS WHOLE
2 HISTORY OF THIS FAMILY WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT
3 HE WAS CONVINCED THAT HIS PARENTS WOULD KILL HIM
4 BECAUSE HE WAS WORTHLESS TO THEM AT THAT POINT.
5 THAT'S HOW HIS FATHER TREATED HIM FOR HAVING LOST
6 THIS COMPETITION IN KALAMAZOO.
7
NOW, I TOLD YOU THAT THE EVIDENCE WILL
8 SHOW THAT THERE'S ONLY TWO PEOPLE THAT ERIK MENENDEZ
9 EVER TOLD ABOUT THE MOLESTATION; ONE WAS HIS COUSIN
10 AND THE OTHER ONE WAS HIS BROTHER. AND HE DIDN'T
11 TELL HIS BROTHER UNTIL THE WEEK BEFORE THE
12 HOMICIDES. BUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS BROTHER
13 WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO HIM
14 THAT WEEK.
15
AND AS I'VE TOLD YOU, WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
16 IN THIS CASE IS HOW MR. MENENDEZ TRIED TO KEEP THESE
17 BOYS AS RIVALS, AS COMPETITORS TO EACH OTHER. BUT
18 FINALLY, BY THE TIME ERIK WAS AN EARLY TEENAGER, IT
19 WAS CLEAR TO HIM THAT THERE WAS ONE PERSON IN THAT
20 FAMILY WHO REALLY DID CARE ABOUT HIM, AND THAT WAS
21 HIS BROTHER LYLE MENENDEZ. BECAUSE LYLE STARTED TO
22 DEFEND ERIK IN SMALL -- IN SUBTLE WAYS, IN THE WAYS
23 THAT YOU COULD DEFEND AGAINST A VERY STRONG AND
24 MENACING SET OF PARENTS, AGAINST MR. MENENDEZ
25 THREATS OF PSYCHO -- YOU KNOW, PHYSICAL AND
26 PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTACKS THAT HE ENGAGED IN ALL THE
27 TIME WITH ERIK. BUT LYLE WOULD TRY TO INTERVENE.
28 HE WOULD TRY TO KEEP ERIK CALM IF HE WAS BEING
1 YELLED AT OR SCREAMED AT BY HIS FATHER. LYLE WOULD
2 GO TO HIS PARENTS SOMETIMES AND MAKE ERIK'S CASE FOR
3 HIM. AND SO THIS, IN A KID WHO WAS OTHERWISE
4 EXTREMELY ISOLATED, MADE ERIK ADMIRE ENORMOUSLY HIS
5 BROTHER AND MADE HIM FEEL TREMENDOUS GRATITUDE
6 TOWARDS HIM.
7
YOU WILL HEAR EVIDENCE THAT LYLE WAS
8 PERCEIVED IN THAT FAMILY AS THE STRONGER AND THE
9 SMARTER AND THE MORE TALENTED, AND HIS FATHER SPENT
10 INFINITELY MORE GOOD ATTENTION ON LYLE THAN HE EVER
11 DID ON ERIK. WHAT THE EFFECTS OF ATTENTION FROM
12 THAT PERSON MAY HAVE BEEN ON LYLE IS FOR PROOF IN
13 HIS CASE RATHER THAN OURS, BUT THE FACT OF THE
14 MATTER IS THAT HERE IS THE YOUNGER BROTHER, THE
15 DUMBER BROTHER, AS THE WAY ERIK SAW IT, THE WEAKER
16 BROTHER, THE LESS WELL-REGARDED BROTHER, THE BROTHER
17 ABOUT WHOM THE FATHER, YOU KNOW, NEVER HAD ANY REAL
18 EXPECTATIONS, BEING HELPED, BEING LOVED BY THE
19 SMARTER, BETTER-LOOKING, STRONGER, OLDER BROTHER.
20 IT WAS A BOND THAT WAS IRRESISTIBLE, AS THE EXPERTS
21 WILL EXPLAIN, TO A KID AS DEPRIVED OF AFFECTION AS
22 ERIK MENENDEZ WAS.
23
SO THERE WAS ONE PERSON HE TRUSTED AND
24 ONE PERSON HE LOVED, AND THAT WAS HIS -- APART FROM
25 THE PARENTS WHO NEVER GOT IT BACK, THERE WAS ONE
26 PERSON HE LOVED WHO GAVE IT BACK AND THAT WAS LYLE.
27
BECAUSE THE JUDGE WANTS ME TO FINISH,
28 I'M GOING TO SKIP SOME OF THE HISTORY HERE, IF
1 YOU'LL BEAR WITH ME.
3 WHEN THE FAMILY MOVED TO CALIFORNIA IN 1986, ONLY
4 THREE OF THEM CAME. LYLE REMAINED BEHIND IN
5 PRINCETON. HE WAS GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL. HE NEEDED
6 TO PULL HIS GRADES UP A LITTLE BIT IN JUNIOR COLLEGE
7 AND THEN HE WAS GOING TO BE ADMITTED TO PRINCETON
8 UNIVERSITY SO HE STAYED BEHIND.
9
SO ERIK CAME OUT HERE WITH HIS FATHER
10 AND HIS MOTHER. AND HE HAD THIS MAGICAL THOUGHT
11 WHEN HE WAS BACK IN NEW JERSEY, HE WILL TELL YOU,
12 THAT BY LEAVING NEW JERSEY MAYBE THE MOLESTATION
13 WOULD STOP, MAYBE SOME OF THE WORST ABUSES IN HIS
14 FAMILY WOULD STOP, MAYBE THINGS WOULD GET BETTER.
15 THIS WAS HIS SHORT-TERM RESCUE FANTASY, IF YOU WILL,
16 BECAUSE HE WAS, AT THAT TIME, 15 AND STILL THREE
17 YEARS AWAY FROM COLLEGE, WHICH WAS HIS LONG-TERM
18 RESCUE FANTASY.
19
BUT THEY GOT OUT HERE AND WHAT HE BEGAN
20 TO HEAR INSIDE THE -- FIRST THEY RENTED A LITTLE
21 APARTMENT, THEN THEY RENTED THAT HOUSE IN CALABASAS,
22 AND SOMETHING WAS VERY, VERY WRONG WITH HIS MOTHER.
23 AND WHAT HE HEARD WAS THAT HIS MOTHER HAD DISCOVERED
24 THAT HIS FATHER HAD BEEN HAVING AN AFFAIR FOR SIX
25 YEARS; AND SHE WAS COMPLETELY DEVASTATED BY THIS,
26 COMPLETELY. SHE CRIED DAY AND NIGHT. SHE SPENT
27 MONTHS, LITERALLY, IN HER ROOM CRYING.
28
NOW, HERE IS ERIK MENENDEZ. HE'S 15
1 YEARS OLD. HE'S IN A NEW STATE. HE DOESN'T KNOW
2 ANYBODY. HE'S IN A NEW SCHOOL. HE DOESN'T KNOW
3 ANYBODY. HE'S AN INSECURE AND ANXIOUS PERSON TO
4 BEGIN WITH, AND HIS MOTHER, IN SPITE OF ALL THE
5 NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT HER, SHE STILL IS AN ANCHOR IN
6 HIS LIFE. SHE'S STILL THE ONLY OTHER PERSON, AND
7 ONLY FEMALE PERSON, HE'S HAD A LONG-TERM
8 RELATIONSHIP WITH. SHE'S IMPORTANT TO HIM. AND SHE
9 DISAPPEARS ON HIM. BUT SHE LEAVES HIM -- SHE LEAVES
10 FOR HIM TO FIND SUICIDE LETTERS WHERE SHE'S
11 THREATENING TO KILL HERSELF.
12
HIS FEELING OF ABANDONMENT AT THAT TIME
13 WAS SO EXTREME THAT HE CALLED HIS BROTHER LYLE BACK
14 IN NEW JERSEY HYSTERICAL THAT HIS MOTHER WAS GOING
15 TO KILL HERSELF. THIS IS 1986. AND LYLE,
16 THEREFORE, COMES AND TRIES TO HELP HER; TAKES HER
17 SIDE. MOM, YOU KNOW, COME WITH US, LIVE WITH US.
18 LEAVE HIM, LIVE WITH US. WE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU.
19 AND SHE ATTACKS LYLE. SHE TURNS ON HIM. SHE BLAMES
20 HIM FOR HER PROBLEMS, WHICH IS A RECURRENT THEME
21 THROUGHOUT THEIR WHOLE LIVES.
22
AND DR. WILSON WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW
23 THIS ADDED SENSE OF ISOLATION AND ABANDONMENT BY HIS
24 MOTHER, THAT BEGINS IN 1986, INCREASES ERIK'S
25 PROBLEMS, THE PROBLEMS THAT CULMINATE IN THE
26 SHOOTINGS IN 1989
27
ANOTHER THING THAT HAPPENED IN THOSE
28 FIRST SIX MONTHS IN CALIFORNIA, FOR REASONS ERIK DID
1 NOT IMMEDIATELY UNDERSTAND, HIS FATHER DID NOT
2 MOLEST HIM, THE WHOLE FIRST SIX MONTHS, THE SIX
3 MONTHS WHEN HIS MOTHER WAS MOST UPSET. THEY WERE
4 HAVING ARGUMENTS EVERY NIGHT. SHE'S CRYING DURING
5 THE DAY, BUT THEY'RE HAVING ARGUMENTS EVERY NIGHT
6 ABOUT THIS AFFAIR BUSINESS. AND DURING THAT SAME
7 SIX-MONTH PERIOD WHEN HIS MOTHER IS OPENLY HOSTILE
8 TOWARDS HIS FATHER AND ARGUING, THERE'S NO
9 MOLESTATION GOING ON.
10
BUT AFTER THE SIX MONTHS, MUCH TO HIS
11 SHOCK, THE MOLESTATION RESUMED. AND AT THAT POINT
12 HE TRIED TO RUN AWAY. HE PACKED HIS THINGS. AND IT
13 WAS HIS MOTHER WHO INTERCEPTED HIM AND SHE TOLD HIM
14 THAT HE WOULD NEVER GET AWAY FROM THEM; THAT HE HAD
15 NO WHERE TO GO; THAT HE COULD NEVER SUPPORT HIMSELF,
16 NEVER MAKE IT ON HIS OWN; THAT HE NEEDED THEM TO GET
17 THROUGH LIFE.
18
WHEN HIS FATHER HEARD ABOUT THIS, THIS
19 WAS A PARTICULARLY UGLY EPISODE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN
20 WHICH HIS FATHER THREATENED HIM WITH A KNIFE, A
21 KNIFE THAT HAD BEEN PROVIDED BY, ABOVE ALL PEOPLE,
22 CAROLCO. IT WAS A SOUVENIR RAMBO KNIFE THAT WAS
23 KEPT IN THE FAMILY, AND YOU WILL SEE IT HERE IN THE
24 COURTROOM, THIS GIGANTIC THING THAT THIS MAN HELD AT
25 HIS SON'S THROAT AND THREATENED HIM AND TOLD HIM
26 THAT HE COULD NEVER LEAVE. IT'S OBVIOUS, TO ERIK,
27 THAT HE UNDERSTOOD WHY THERE WAS THAT VIOLENT A
28 THREAT, BECAUSE WHEREVER HE WENT, THE SECRET THAT
1 COULD RUIN HIS PARENTS WENT WITH HIM.
2
BY THE SPRING OF 1989 ERIK, AS YOU KNOW,
3 AS I'VE INDICATED THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW, HE WAS
4 ACCEPTED AT U.C.L.A. AND HE WAS, AT THAT POINT,
5 TOTALLY FOCUSED ON GETTING THROUGH THE SUMMER
6 COMPETITIONS, PLAYING TENNIS WELL ENOUGH AND HARD
7 ENOUGH TO MAKE THE U.C.L.A. TENNIS TEAM, WHICH IS
8 WHAT HIS FATHER INSISTED HE HAD TO DO, WHICH IS WHAT
9 HE WANTED TO DO.
10
FOR ALL THE PRESSURE THAT TENNIS GAVE
11 HIM, IT ALSO GAVE HIM SOMETHING GOOD. HE WAS GOOD
12 AT IT AND PEOPLE ADMIRED HIM FOR IT AND HE HAD A
13 SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. IT WAS THE ONLY THING IN
14 HIS LIFE THAT HE HAD A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
15 ABOUT. SO HE WAS VERY FOCUSED ON DOING WELL IN
16 TENNIS THAT SUMMER AND THEN GOING OFF TO U.C.L.A. IN
17 SEPTEMBER.
18
WHAT HAPPENED, THOUGH, IS THAT HE DID
19 NOT -- HE HAD ALREADY BEEN ACCEPTED AT U.C.L.A., AND
20 HE'D ALSO BEEN ACCEPTED AT U.C. BERKELEY. SO HE WAS
21 SLACKING OFF ON HIS STUDIES THAT LAST SEMESTER, AS
22 MOST HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS -- YOU WILL HEAR FROM ONE
23 OF THE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS -- TENDED TO DO BECAUSE
24 THERE WAS NO REASON TO GET GOOD GRADES TO GET INTO
25 COLLEGE, AND WHAT HE DID NEED TO DO WAS SPEND ALL OF
26 HIS TIME WORKING ON HIS TENNIS. AND SO THIS COACH
27 THAT MR. CONN'S REFERRED TO THAT ERIK WOUND UP
28 HIRING WAS ALREADY HIRED BY THE FAMILY TO BE HIS
1 TENNIS COACH; AND HE WOULD WORK WITH THIS TENNIS
2 COACH EVERY SINGLE DAY AND PLAY MATCHES WITH OTHER
3 PLAYERS EVERY SINGLE DAY TO GET HIS GAME UP. AS A
4 RESULT, HIS CHEMISTRY WAS FAILING, AND HIS FATHER
5 WAS SO ANGRY OVER THAT, AND THAT IS WHAT TRIGGERED
6 WHAT I'VE REFERRED TO BEFORE AS THE LAST ACT OF
7 SODOMY. BECAUSE BY THE TIME ERIK MENENDEZ WAS A
8 TEENAGER, THE SEX WITH HIS FATHER DIDN'T SEEM TO
9 REALLY BE FOR JUST SEXUAL GRATIFICATION. IT WAS A
10 WAY TO DOMINATE HIM, A WAY TO CONTROL HIM. IT WAS A
11 POWER THING ON HIS FATHER'S PART AND SEX HAD BECOME
12 A PUNISHMENT. WHENEVER HIS FATHER THOUGHT HE WAS
13 REBELLIOUS OR DEFIANT, IT WAS PUNISHMENT.
14
WELL, THERE WERE ONLY TWO THINGS THAT
15 HIS FATHER EVER OPENLY ACCUSED OF HIM EVER BEING
16 REBELLIOUS OR DEFIANT ABOUT: ONE WAS FAILING
17 CHEMISTRY, THAT WAS REBELLIOUSNESS IN HIS FATHER'S
18 BOOK; AND THE OTHER WAS THAT HE REFUSED TO RECITE AT
19 THE DINNER TABLE EVERY NIGHT, AS HIS FATHER HAD
20 DEMANDED FOR HIS ENTIRE LIFE, HIS TOTAL PRACTICE
21 SCHEDULE -- WHAT SHOTS DID HE WORK ON IN TENNIS;
22 WHAT PART OF HIS GAME WAS IMPROVING; AT WHAT TIME
23 PRECISELY DID HE PRACTICE WITH THIS PERSON; AT WHAT
24 TIME PRECISELY DID HE PRACTICE WITH THAT PERSON.
25 AND THIS IS THE KIND OF DRILLING AND GOING THROUGH
26 THESE PRACTICES, MOVE BY MOVE, THAT HIS FATHER
27 DEMANDED AND GOT FROM BOTH OF HIS SONS THEIR ENTIRE
28 LIVES.
1
AT 18 ERIK HAD A NEED TO FEEL SOME --
2 LIKE A GROWN-UP. AND SO HE HAD THE NERVE TO REFUSE
3 TO RECITE THESE DETAILS TO HIS FATHER. HIS FATHER
4 KNEW THAT HE WAS TAKING LESSONS. HE'S PAYING FOR
5 THEM. HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS PRACTICING. MOST
6 OF IT'S GOING ON IN HIS OWN BACKYARD COURT.
7 SOMEONE'S HOME TO SEE IT. BUT BECAUSE ERIK WOULDN'T
8 TELL HIM, HE THOUGHT HE WAS BECOMING REBELLIOUS, AND
9 THAT IS WHAT LED JOSE MENENDEZ TO TELL HIS
10 BROTHER-IN-LAW, CARLOS BARALT, THAT HE WAS GOING TO
11 DISOWN ERIK FOR THAT REBELLION. BUT WHAT, IN FACT,
12 HE TOLD CARLOS BARALT, WHICH CARLOS BARALT -- WHAT,
13 IN FACT, CARLOS BARALT WILL SAY WAS TOLD HIM IS NOT
14 THE VERSION YOU HEARD FROM MR. CONN.
15
CARLOS BARALT WILL SAY THAT BY JUNE OF
16 1989 JOSE MENENDEZ HAD TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS GOING TO
17 WRITE A NEW WILL, BUT HE TOLD HIM THAT HE HAD
18 ALREADY TOLD HIS SONS THAT HE HAD WRITTEN A NEW
19 WILL. HE TOLD CARLOS THAT HE HAD TOLD HIS SONS THEY
20 WERE ALREADY DISINHERITED. PERIOD. AND CARLOS
21 BARALT ASKED HIM WHY HE WOULD DO SUCH A CRUEL
22 THING. AND ALL HE ANSWERED HIM WAS HE TALKED ABOUT
23 PROBLEMS THAT LYLE WAS HAVING. NEVER GAVE HIS
24 REASON FOR BEING ANGRY WITH ERIK. NEVER SAID
25 ANYTHING AS RIDICULOUS AS, HE WON'T TELL ME HIS
26 TENNIS SCHEDULE, TO HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, AS A
27 JUSTIFICATION FOR DISINHERITING A KID. BUT THAT'S
28 ALL THERE WAS THAT HE HAD AGAINST ERIK IN THE SPRING
1 OF 1989.
2
I'VE ALREADY INDICATED TO YOU THAT OVER
3 THE COURSE OF THAT SUMMER ERIK WILL TELL YOU THAT HE
4 PLAYED REALLY HARD AND HE PLAYED REALLY WELL UNTIL
5 THE VERY END IN KALAMAZOO WHERE HE MISSED A GAME -6 HE DIDN'T MISS A GAME. HE LOST A GAME THAT HIS
7 FATHER EXPECTED HIM TO WIN AND HIS MOTHER WAS
8 ENRAGED AND HIS FATHER CANCELED A TRIP THAT THE
9 FAMILY THEN WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE TO CANADA WHERE
10 MRS. MENENDEZ' FATHER WAS ILL WITH CANCER. AND SO
11 MR. MENENDEZ, BECAUSE ERIK LOST, PUNISHED EVERYBODY,
12 WOULDN'T LET MRS. MENENDEZ GO TO CANADA. NONE OF
13 THEM WENT THERE TO SEE HER FATHER. SO SHE WAS THEN
14 ANGRY AT ERIK FOR DEPRIVING HER OF THE TRIP TO
15 CANADA.
16
AND WHEN THEY GOT HOME THERE WERE A
17 SERIES OF MEETINGS BETWEEN ERIK MENENDEZ AND HIS
18 FATHER. AND AT ONE OF THOSE MEETINGS HIS FATHER SAT
19 THERE WITH HIM AND TOLD HIM -- THEY WERE TALKING
20 ABOUT REGISTRATION AT U.C.L.A., AND HIS FATHER TOLD
21 HIM THAT WHEN HE WENT TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES, WHEN
22 HE WENT TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES, IF HE COULDN'T GET
23 IN THE CLASS THAT HIS FATHER ALREADY CHOSE FOR HIM -24 AND HE WROTE OUT YOU WILL TAKE THIS AND THIS AND YOU
25 WILL MAJOR IN THAT AND THAT AND THAT, AND THEN AFTER
26 COLLEGE YOU'RE GOING TO BUSINESS SCHOOL AND THEN
27 AFTER THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LAW SCHOOL. HE JUST
28 PLAYED OUT HIS ENTIRE LIFE FOR HIM. AND HE SAID TO
1 HIM: IF THESE CLASSES THAT I HAVE PICKED ARE NOT
2 OPEN, YOU HAVE TO CALL ME FROM REGISTRATION AND I
3 WILL TELL YOU WHICH OTHER ONES TO ENROLL IN.
4
WELL, THAT WAS NOT SO UNUSUAL THAT IT
5 UPSET ERIK MENENDEZ. BUT THE NEXT THING HIS FATHER
6 SAID WAS THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE FAITH THAT ERIK WOULD
7 BE ABLE TO GET HIMSELF THROUGH COLLEGE; THEREFORE,
8 ERIK COULD NOT LIVE AT THE DORMS FULL TIME, AS HE
9 HAD BEEN PROMISED. HE WAS GOING TO HAVE TO COME
10 HOME AND SPEND AT LEAST THREE NIGHTS A WEEK SLEEPING
11 AT HOME. AND THE EXCUSE THAT MR. MENENDEZ GAVE TO
12 ERIK MENENDEZ WAS THAT THIS WAS SO THAT THEY COULD
13 MONITOR HIS SCHOOL WORK. BUT FOR ERIK THIS MEANT
14 SOMETHING VERY, VERY DIFFERENT. THIS -- YOU COULD
15 SORT OF HEAR THE SOUND OF THE RESCUE FANTASY
16 CRASHING, BECAUSE TO HIM THIS MEANT HE WAS NEVER
17 GOING TO ESCAPE FROM THE SEX WHICH WAS THE MOST
18 HATED PART OF HIS LIFE; AND HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA,
19 FOLLOWING THAT CONVERSATION, HOW HE WAS GOING TO
20 SURVIVE, BECAUSE THIS WAS HIS FANTASY. U.C.L.A.,
21 RESCUE. I CAN MOVE ON IN MY LIFE. AND NOW THAT
22 FANTASY WAS GONE.
23
AND HIS IMMEDIATE REACTION WAS TO GO TO
24 HIS ROOM AND PACK SOME CLOTHES, BECAUSE HE THOUGHT
25 MAYBE I'LL GO TO STAY WITH A FRIEND SO I CAN THINK
26 AND COPE. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THIS? BUT HIS
27 MOTHER CAME INTO HIS ROOM -- THIS IS ON A SUNDAY.
28
AND IN FACT, AT THIS POINT, I MAY AS
1 WELL UNVEIL THIS THING. I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO READ
2 ALL THAT. NOW, THAT IS ONLY FOR VERY GOOD EYES AND
3 THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE MINE.
4
BUT WHAT THAT IS IS A CHART THAT SHOWS
5 THE CRITICAL EVENTS OF THE CRISIS THAT UNFOLDED
6 BETWEEN SUNDAY, AUGUST 13TH, 1989, AND SUNDAY AUGUST
7 20TH, 1989. AND I CAN TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED ON
8 THOSE DAYS AND WHAT'S UP THERE IS JUST AN OUTLINE OF
9 THOSE THINGS.
10
THAT SUNDAY, APRIL 13TH, ERIK HAD
11 PACKED. HE WAS THINKING OF LEAVING THE HOUSE FOR A
12 FEW DAYS WHEN HIS MOTHER CAME INTO THE ROOM AND SHE
13 WAS VERY ANGRY WITH HIM. SHE TOLD HIM HE WASN'T
14 GOING TO GO ANYWHERE. HIS FATHER HEARD HER
15 SCREAMING AND HE CAME INTO THE ROOM AND ASKED ERIK
16 WHAT DID HE THINK HE WAS DOING. HE PUSHED HIM UP
17 AGAINST A WALL. HE TOLD HIM HE COULD NEVER GET
18 AWAY; HE HAD NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT AND THAT ERIK
19 HAD BETTER STILL BE THERE WHEN HE, MR. MENENDEZ,
20 RETURNED FROM A BUSINESS TRIP THAT HE WAS SUPPOSED
21 TO TAKE THE NEXT DAY. IN FACT, HE DIDN'T LEAVE THE
22 NEXT DAY. HE DIDN'T LEAVE UNTIL TUESDAY, BUT
23 ORIGINALLY HE WAS SCHEDULED TO LEAVE ON THE 14TH.
24
NOTHING -- I HAVE NOTHING DOWN FOR
25 MONDAY, AUGUST 14TH, BECAUSE NOTHING WITH RESPECT TO
26 THIS CASE OCCURRED ON THAT DAY.
27
BUT ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 15TH, 1989,
28 THAT'S THE DAY THAT MR. MENENDEZ ACTUALLY DID LEAVE
1 TOWN AND HE WAS DUE TO COME BACK THURSDAY AT 6:00.
2
IN THE AFTERNOON ON TUESDAY, AUGUST
3 15TH, ERIK SAW AN ARGUMENT THAT WAS GOING ON BETWEEN
4 HIS MOTHER AND HIS BROTHER. AND THIS WAS HAPPENING
5 IN THE ENTRYWAY OF THE HOUSE. AND IN THE COURSE OF
6 THIS ARGUMENT -- SEE, WHEN THE PARENTS -- ERIK WILL
7 EXPLAIN THAT WHEN HIS PARENTS CAME BACK FROM
8 KALAMAZOO, HIS MOTHER WAS ANGRY AND UPSET AT HIM;
9 HIS FATHER WAS ANGRY AND UPSET AT HIM OVER TENNIS;
10 AND BOTH SEEMED ANGRY AND UPSET WITH LYLE. IT WAS
11 AS IF HIS PARENTS HAD DECLARED WAR ON THE CHILDREN.
12 AND THIS WAS JUST -- THIS WAS LIKE ANOTHER SKIRMISH,
13 AND HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON OR WHY.
14 WHAT HE SEES HERE IS AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN HIS MOTHER
15 AND LYLE, AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ARGUMENT HIS
16 MOTHER REACHES OVER AND STARTS TO LIKE PULL ON
17 LYLE'S HAIR AND THE HAIR COMES OFF. AND AT FIRST
18 ERIK THINKS, OH, MY GOD, SHE'S TORN HIS SCALP; AND
19 LATER HE REALIZES THAT WHAT SHE DID WAS SHE REMOVED
20 LYLE'S HAIRPIECE.
21
NOW, ERIK WILL TELL YOU THAT IN THIS
22 FAMILY FULL OF SECRETS, ALTHOUGH HE KNEW THAT HIS
23 BROTHER HAD STARTED TO HAVE THINNING HAIR WHEN HE
24 WAS ONLY 16 YEARS OLD, AND ALTHOUGH ERIK, NO MATTER
25 HOW MUCH APART THEY HAD BEEN WITH LYLE AT SCHOOL IN
26 PRINCETON AND ERIK LIVING IN CALIFORNIA, ERIK HAD
27 NOTICED THAT LYLE'S HAIR LOOKED THICKER, BUT HE
28 THOUGHT HE HAD DONE IMPLANTS. IN FACT, HE DIDN'T
1 REALLY KNOW WHAT HE DID. WHAT NEVER OCCURRED TO HIM
2 WAS THAT HE ACTUALLY HAD A REMOVABLE HAIRPIECE.
3 UNFORTUNATELY, IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE REMOVED THE WAY
4 MRS. MENENDEZ REMOVED IT, AND IT HURT AND LYLE
5 STARTED TO CRY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING ERIK HAD NEVER
6 SEEN, NOT SINCE THEY WERE LITTLE KIDS.
7
SO LYLE RAN AWAY. I MEAN, HE -- HE LIVED
8 AT THE GUESTHOUSE ON THE PROPERTY AT ELM DRIVE.
9 THERE WAS THE BIG HOUSE, THERE WAS A SWIMMING POOL;
10 THERE WAS A TENNIS COURT, AND THERE WAS A
11 GUESTHOUSE. AND LYLE RUNS OFF TOWARDS THE
12 GUESTHOUSE.
13
AND ERIK, WHO'S BEEN IN MISERY EVER
14 SINCE SUNDAY, WHEN HIS FATHER TELLS HIM HE'S GOING
15 TO HAVE TO COME BACK HOME, SEES LYLE AND NOW LYLE
16 LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE WHO'S UNHAPPY TOO. HE DIDN'T
17 EVEN REALLY THINK. HE HADN'T GOTTEN OUT OF HIS OWN
18 HEAD ENOUGH TO WONDER HOW HIS BROTHER'S LIFE WAS AT
19 THAT POINT. SO OUT OF A SENSE OF EMPATHY FOR LYLE
20 AND A DESIRE TO COMMISERATE, HE GOES BACK TO THE
21 GUESTHOUSE AND HE STARTS TALKING TO HIS BROTHER.
22 AND IN THE COURSE OF IT HE BREAKS DOWN. HE'S VERY
23 DEPRESSED. HE STARTS TO CRY. AND HE TELLS HIS
24 BROTHER WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON BETWEEN HIMSELF AND HIS
25 FATHER.
26
NOW, WHEN ERIK WAS YOUNGER THERE WAS A
27 TIME THAT HIS FATHER CAME TO HIM AND BEAT HIM UP,
28 REALLY BEAT, BEAT HIM. AND HIS FATHER ACCUSED HIM
1 AT THAT TIME, WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 10, OF HAVING TOLD
2 LYLE WHAT WAS GOING ON BETWEEN THE FATHER AND ERIK.
3 AND ERIK HAD NOT TOLD LYLE WHEN HE WAS 10. BUT LYLE
4 ASKED ERIK, SOMETIME AFTER THAT BEATING WHEN ERIK
5 WAS 10, IF THINGS WERE STILL GOING ON BETWEEN HIM,
6 MEANING ERIK, AND DAD. AND ERIK SAID TO LYLE: NO,
7 EVERYTHING'S FINE. NEVER ASKED HIM, LYLE, HOW DO
8 YOU KNOW? NO, EVERYTHING'S FINE.
9
WELL NOW, FAST-FORWARD EIGHT YEARS LATER
10 AND ERIK TELLS LYLE THAT WHEN HE HAD TOLD HIM AT 10
11 THAT THINGS HAD STOPPED BETWEEN HIM AND DAD, THAT
12 WAS ONLY BECAUSE DAD HAD BEATEN HIM UP AND, IN FACT,
13 THEY HAD NEVER STOPPED. AND THIS STARTS A VERY LONG
14 DISCUSSION, A VERY EMOTIONAL DISCUSSION, BETWEEN THE
15 TWO BROTHERS.
16
AND LYLE SAYS, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE MY
17 BROTHER AND I CAN'T LET THIS GO ON AND I'M GOING TO
18 TAKE CARE OF YOU AND I'M GOING TO BE YOUR BIG
19 BROTHER. I'M GOING TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. I'M GOING
20 TO SIT DOWN AND TALK TO DAD. I'M GOING TO TELL HIM
21 THIS HAS TO STOP. I'M GOING TO GET HIS PERMISSION
22 FOR THE TWO OF US TO LIVE TOGETHER HERE. EITHER
23 I'LL TRANSFER, I'LL GO TO U.C.L.A., OR YOU COME BACK
24 THERE IN PRINCETON, YOU CAN GO TO PRINCETON. OKAY.
25
NOW, AS GOOD AS NEWS AS THAT MIGHT SEEM
26 ON THE SURFACE, THAT ERIK IS HEARING THAT HIS
27 BROTHER BELIEVES HIM AND SUPPORTS HIM AND IS GOING
28 TO INTERVENE ABOUT THEIR FATHER, IT ACTUALLY
1 RESULTED IN MAKING HIM EXTREMELY FRIGHTENED, BECAUSE
2 HE KNEW -- HE HAD CARRIED THIS SECRET FOR SO MANY
3 YEARS, HE KNEW HOW SERIOUS HIS FATHER WAS ABOUT
4 NEVER REVEALING IT. AND HE KNEW THAT HE HAD BEEN
5 THREATENED WITH DEATH IF HE DID. HIS FATHER SAID:
6 I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU TELL ANYONE, ESPECIALLY IF HE
7 TELLS LYLE. AND THAT'S WHY HE GOT BEATEN UP WHEN HE
8 WAS 10. HIS FATHER THOUGHT HE HAD TOLD LYLE.
9
BUT ERIK DOESN'T TELL LYLE ON TUESDAY
10 THAT HIS FATHER HAD THREATENED TO KILL HIM IF HE
11 EVER TOLD BECAUSE HE DOESN'T WANT LYLE TO KNOW THAT
12 HE'S JUST PUT LYLE IN JEOPARDY.
13
NOW, ON WEDNESDAY LYLE WENT TO HIS
14 MOTHER'S SEEKING HER HELP IN THIS PROBLEM BETWEEN
15 THE FATHER AND ERIK. HE WENT TO HER AND HE TOLD HER
16 WHAT WAS GOING ON BETWEEN MR. MENENDEZ AND ERIK, AND
17 HE TRIED TO GET HER HELP IN STOPPING IT. AND SHE
18 WAS ANGRY AND DENIED IT AND REFUSED TO HEAR HIM
19 OUT.
20
ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 17TH, THAT WAS THE
21 DAY THAT MR. MENENDEZ WAS DUE BACK HOME. ERIK LEFT
22 THE HOUSE IN THE LATE AFTERNOON, EXPECTING THAT HIS
23 FATHER WOULD RETURN AS SCHEDULED AT 6:00, BUT HE
24 DIDN'T GET BACK THEN AND ERIK KEPT CALLING IN WITH
25 INCREASING ANXIETY, BECAUSE HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S
26 GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN HIS BROTHER SITS DOWN AND SAYS
27 TO HIS FATHER: STOP HAVING SEX WITH YOUR SON. HE
28 DOESN'T THINK THIS IS GOING TO GO OVER WELL,
1 ALTHOUGH HE KEEPS FANTASIZING THAT IT WILL. SO HE
2 KEEPS CALLING IN. HE FINDS OUT THAT HIS FATHER'S
3 FLIGHT WAS DELAYED. AND I THINK WE EVEN HAVE THE
4 AIRLINE RECORDS TO SHOW HOW DELAYED IT WAS. BUT IT
5 WINDS UP THAT MR. MENENDEZ DIDN'T RETURN UNTIL CLOSE
6 TO 11:00.
7
ERIK GETS HOME EVEN LATER THAN THAT.
8 LYLE ISN'T ANSWERING THE PHONE WHEN HE CALLS TO FIND
9 OUT WHAT HAPPENED. HE COULDN'T FIND LYLE. HE GETS
10 HOME AND LOOKS FOR HIM, DOESN'T SEE HIM. SO ERIK
11 GOES UP TO HIS ROOM AND A LITTLE WHILE LATER HIS
12 FATHER IS AT THE DOOR BANGING, DEMANDING ENTRY, AND
13 HE SOUNDS ANGRY, AND ERIK OPENS THE DOOR. THE
14 DOOR'S LOCKED. EVERYBODY IN THAT FAMILY LIVED WITH
15 THE DOORS LOCKED. ERIK UNLOCKS THE DOOR, AS HE
16 ALWAYS DID WHEN HIS FATHER DEMANDED ENTRY, AND HIS
17 FATHER COMES IN AND EXPLODES AT HIM OVER TELLING
18 LYLE. AND WHY DID YOU TELL HIM? AND I TOLD YOU
19 WHAT I WOULD DO TO YOU IF YOU TOLD. AND LYLE IS NOW
20 GOING TO TELL EVERYBODY.
21
AND ERIK IS SAYING: NO, HE WON'T, DAD.
22 NO, HE WON'T. I KNOW HE WON'T TELL EVERYBODY.
23
AND MR. MENENDEZ SAYS: I DON'T BELIEVE
24 YOU. I KNOW HE'S GOING TO TELL. IT'S TOO LATE.
25
AND HE KEEPS GETTING MORE ENRAGED, AND
26 AS ERIK TRIES TO ARGUE WITH HIM -- NO, NO, YOU'RE
27 OVERREACTING; IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN -- HIS FATHER
28 FINALLY GRABS HIM AND PUSHES HIM, AND THEY BANG INTO
1 FURNITURE AND ERIK RUNS OUT OF THE ROOM. AND HE
2 WENT AS FAR AS LOOKING AGAIN FOR HIS BROTHER TO FIND
3 OUT WHAT IN THE WORLD WENT ON IN THIS CONVERSATION,
4 AND HE FINDS -- HIS MOTHER IS WATCHING -- HE HEARS
5 THE TELEVISION ON NOW IN THE DEN AND HE GOES INTO
6 THE DEN AND THERE'S HIS MOTHER. AND HE'S HYSTERICAL
7 AND CRYING. AND SEE, HE DOESN'T KNOW THAT LYLE HAD
8 TOLD HIS MOTHER THE DAY BEFORE ABOUT THE
9 CONVERSATION THAT LYLE INTENDS TO HAVE WITH HIS
10 FATHER ON THURSDAY.
11
I KNOW THIS SOUNDS VERY COMPLICATED, BUT
12 AS IT COMES OUT IT WILL HOPEFULLY BE MORE
13 UNDERSTANDABLE.
14
BUT THE FACT IS THAT ERIK DOESN'T KNOW
15 THAT LYLE MENTIONED THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE
16 CONVERSATION TO HIS MOTHER. SO WHEN HE IS IN THE -17 IS IN THE DEN WITH HER AND SHE SAYS, YOU KNOW,
18 WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? HE SAYS: YOU WOULDN'T
19 UNDERSTAND.
20
AND SHE THEN TELLS HIM SHE DOES
21 UNDERSTAND. SHE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON AND
22 SHE'S KNOWN WHAT'S GONE ON ALL ALONG.
23
AND HE JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT AND HE'S
24 ANGRY AND HE TELLS HER: I HATE YOU. AND HE CRIES
25 EVEN WORSE AND HE RUNS AWAY. WHEN HE TOLD HER HE
26 HATED HER, SHE STARTS SCREAMING HOW SHE'S THE VICTIM
27 IN THE FAMILY AND SHE'S REALLY THE ONE WHO'S BEEN
28 MISTREATED AND ON AND ON. SHE DOES APPEAR TO ERIK
1 AT THAT TIME TO BE INTOXICATED.
2
AND YOU WILL HEAR TESTIMONY IN THIS CASE
3 THAT SHE WAS TAKING PILLS TO EXCESS. SHE WAS
4 HOSPITALIZED AT ONE POINT FOR AN OVERDOSE OF DRUGS.
5 AND SHE, IN HER OWN HANDWRITING, ADMITS TO HAVING A
6 DRINKING PROBLEM AND TO DRINKING TOO MUCH AND TO
7 GETTING DRUNK. AND ON THIS OCCASION SHE APPEARS TO
8 HIM THAT WAY.
9
IN ANY EVENT, INSTEAD OF CONTINUING TO
10 ARGUE WITH HER, HE RUNS OUT OF THE HOUSE AND HE SEES
11 THE LIGHTS ARE ON IN THE GUESTHOUSE AND HE RUNS DOWN
12 THERE TO TALK TO LYLE, BECAUSE HE'S VERY FRIGHTENED
13 NOW THAT HIS FATHER'S GOING TO MAKE GOOD ON ALL OF
14 HIS THREATS. AND HE MEETS UP WITH LYLE. AND
15 UNFORTUNATELY HIS MOTHER IS STILL ANGRY WITH HIM AND
16 YELLING AT HIM AND SHE CATCHES UP AND SHE AND LYLE
17 HAVE AN ARGUMENT. AND THIS IS JUST A HUGE EMOTIONAL
18 FRACAS. AND FINALLY, FINALLY, AFTER ANGRY WORDS
19 BETWEEN MRS. MENENDEZ AND LYLE, MRS. MENENDEZ
20 LEAVES, AND THE TWO SONS ARE LEFT THERE IN THE
21 GUESTHOUSE THAT THURSDAY NIGHT.
22
HERE IS ERIK WHO SINCE SIX HAS KEPT THIS
23 SECRET. WHEN HE TOLD HIS COUSIN ANDY, ANDY WAS ONLY
24 10 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME AND HE NEVER REPEATED IT TO
25 ANYBODY. AND HE CERTAINLY NEVER REPEATED IT TO
26 MR. MENENDEZ. AND NOW HE HAS TOLD THE SECRET AND
27 HIS FATHER KNOWS HE'S TOLD. AND IN THE COURSE OF -28 AND THEN OVER THE NEXT FEW MINUTES WHILE HE'S IN THE
1 GUESTHOUSE WITH LYLE, LYLE TELLS HIM WHAT HAPPENED
2 IN THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN LYLE AND MR. MENENDEZ
3 THAT SET MR. MENENDEZ OFF AND MADE HIM ATTACK ERIK.
4 AND WHAT ERIK HEARS, OF COURSE, ONLY -- I MEAN, ALL
5 THE ALARM BELLS ARE GOING OFF, BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED
6 WAS LYLE HAD SPENT THE DAY WRITING OUT WHAT HE WAS
7 GOING TO SAY TO HIS FATHER. AND YOU WILL HEAR
8 WITNESSES WHO WILL TELL YOU THAT LYLE WOULD PREPARE
9 FOR TALKS WITH HIS -10
THE COURT: LET'S FINISH OFF HERE
11 MS. ABRAMSON WITHOUT GOING INTO MORE DETAIL. GET
12 INTO THE GENERAL PICTURE. LET'S FINISH IT OFF.
13
MS. ABRAMSON: WELL, JUDGE, IF I'M GOING TO
14 GO THROUGH THE THINGS I NEED TO GO THROUGH, IT WILL
15 STILL TAKE ME -16
THE COURT: YOU'RE SUMMARIZING TOO MUCH
17 DETAIL. LET'S GET TO THE MORE GENERAL.
18
MS. ABRAMSON: ALL RIGHT. I SHALL BE MORE
19 GENERAL.
20
I HAVE TWO SECONDS TO SCAN THE PAGE TO
21 SEE WHAT IS THE CRUCIAL GENERALITY THAT I NEED TO
22 TELL YOU BEFORE I CAN MOVE ON AND NOT LOSE YOU ALL.
23
ALL RIGHT. WHAT HAPPENS THAT THURSDAY
24 NIGHT WHEN THE TWO MENENDEZ BROTHERS TALK ABOUT THE
25 CRISIS THEY FEEL THEY'RE IN IS THEY BOTH BECOME
26 CONVINCED -- THEY BOTH BECOME CONVINCED THAT BOTH OF
27 THEIR PARENTS WOULD RATHER SEE THEM DEAD THAN EVER
28 LET A SCANDAL SUCH AS INCEST BE TOLD ABOUT THEM.
1 THEY SHARE RECOLLECTIONS ABOUT THEIR CHILDHOOD.
2 THEY SHARE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEIR
3 MOTHER'S INTEREST AND STATUS AND WHAT PEOPLE THINK
4 OF HER, THEIR FATHER'S INCREDIBLE AMBITION. AND
5 THEY ARE VERY STRUCK WITH THE NOTION THAT WHAT HAS
6 HAPPENED HERE -- BECAUSE IN THE CONVERSATION WITH
7 HIS FATHER, LYLE TELLS ERIK HE TOLD HIS FATHER THAT
8 HE WOULD TELL THE WORLD IF IT DOESN'T STOP. AND
9 THAT'S WHAT SET HIS FATHER OFF. AND THAT'S WHAT
10 CONVINCES THEM THAT THEY TRULY ARE IN DANGER. AND
11 THEY SPEND HOURS TALKING ABOUT HOW TO GET OUT OF
12 THIS.
13
AND THIS, DR. WILSON WILL TELL YOU, IS
14 ULTIMATELY THE TRUE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF ABUSE; THE
15 FACT THAT YOU GET PEOPLE IN THESE CRISIS SITUATIONS
16 AND THEY CAN'T RATIONALLY THINK THEIR WAY OUT OF
17 IT. THEY HAVE ALL OF THESE DEFICITS THAT I TALKED
18 ABOUT BEFORE.
19
AND HERE THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS ARE GOING
20 THROUGH THEIR OPTIONS. THERE'S NO WHERE TO RUN.
21 AND THEY WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY THEY FELT THAT
22 WAY. THERE'S NO WHERE TO HIDE. THESE ARE VERY RICH
23 PEOPLE, VERY POWERFUL, WHO CAN TRAVEL ALL OVER THE
24 COUNTRY, WHO DO THAT ALL THE TIME. MRS. MENENDEZ
25 WAS ABLE TO TRACK DOWN HER HUSBAND'S MISTRESS EVEN
26 THOUGH SHE WAS LIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
27 COUNTRY. SO THEY DON'T FEEL THEY CAN EVER RUN AWAY
28 FROM THEM. THEY DON'T BELIEVE ANYONE IN THE FAMILY
1 WILL BELIEVE THEM. THEY DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE
2 POLICE WOULD BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE RICH KIDS
3 FROM BEVERLY HILLS ARE BEING MOLESTED. THAT'S ONLY
4 SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN IN POOR FAMILIES. SO THEY DON'T
5 KNOW WHAT TO DO TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM WHAT THEY
6 THINK IS A REAL THREAT OF DEATH AT THE HANDS OF VERY
7 VIOLENT PEOPLE.
8
WHAT THEY DECIDE TO DO IS TO BUY GUNS TO
9 DEFEND THEMSELVES. AND WHAT THEY INTEND TO DO IS
10 BUY HANDGUNS, BECAUSE THERE ARE EVENTS PLANNED WITH
11 THESE -- WITH THEIR PARENTS, PARTICULARLY A TRIP
12 THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO GO ON WITH THEM THAT SATURDAY,
13 AND THEY'RE TERRIBLY AFRAID OF BEING AROUND THEIR
14 PARENTS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.
15
SO THURSDAY NIGHT ERIK STAYS IN THE
16 GUESTHOUSE. THEY'RE GOING TO GO BUY GUNS THE NEXT
17 DAY. THE NEXT DAY, ON FRIDAY, THEY START AN ODYSSEY
18 THAT TAKES THEM TO THREE DIFFERENT GUN STORES. IN
19 THE COURSE OF THOSE VISITS THEY FIND OUT THEY CANNOT
20 BUY HANDGUNS. THERE'S A TWO-WEEK WAITING PERIOD.
21 AND THEY DON'T THINK THEY'RE GOING TO LIVE TWO
22 WEEKS. SO THEY EVENTUALLY WIND UP DOWN IN THE
23 LA JOLLA AREA. THEY GET OFF THE FREEWAY THERE AT A
24 GUN STORE. THEY VISIT TWO GUN STORES IN THAT AREA
25 AND THEY BUY SHOTGUNS. AND WHAT THEY BUY THAT
26 FRIDAY TO DEFEND THEMSELVES WITH IS BIRD SHOT. DOVE
27 LOAD IT'S CALLED. TEENY-WEENY LITTLE PELLETS.
28 THAT'S WHAT'S FOR SALE ON THE FLOOR OF THE BIG-5.
1 THEY ARE TOTALLY UNFAMILIAR WITH THE OPERATION OF
2 GUNS AND THAT'S WHAT THEY BUY AND TAKE BACK WITH
3 THEM.
4
ON THE WAY DOWN THERE THERE'S LENGTHY
5 CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN ERIK MENENDEZ AND LYLE
6 MENENDEZ IN WHICH ERIK ACTUALLY GIVES LYLE ALL THE
7 DETAILS HE CAN BEAR TO SHARE ABOUT THE KIND OF
8 VIOLENCE THAT HAS PUNCTUATED THE SEXUAL MOLESTATION
9 OVER THE YEARS, WHICH FURTHER ALARMS LYLE BECAUSE
10 NOW HE KNOWS, WHICH HE NEVER WANTED TO KNOW, WHICH
11 IS HOW DANGEROUS HIS FATHER IS, HOW PHYSICALLY
12 THREATENING HE HAD BEEN OVER ALL THESE YEARS TOWARDS
13 HIS BROTHER ERIK.
14
ON SATURDAY, WHAT THE BROTHERS DO IS
15 THEY LEAVE THE HOME AND THEY GO TO A GUN STORE HERE
16 IN VAN NUYS CALLED -- WELL, YOU'LL HEAR -- DETECTIVE
17 ZOELLER'S FAMILIAR WITH IT AND HE'LL TESTIFY ABOUT
18 IT WHEN I ASK HIM. BUT THERE'S A GUN STORE HERE IN
19 VAN NUYS THAT HAS A FIRING RANGE. IT ADVERTISES IN
20 THE YELLOW PAGES. AND THEY WENT THERE, ERIK WITH
21 THE NOTION THAT -- HE HAD NEVER OWNED A GUN LIKE
22 THIS. HE HAD NEVER OWNED ANY GUN. HE HAD NEVER
23 FIRED A GUN LIKE THIS. HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IF HE
24 COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK. AND HE TOLD
25 LYLE THURSDAY NIGHT, WHEN THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT
26 BUYING GUNS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES, WHAT ERIK SAYS TO
27 LYLE IS: I DON'T THINK I COULD KILL MY MOTHER EVEN
28 IN SELF-DEFENSE.
1
MR. CONN: OBJECTION. ARGUMENTATIVE, YOUR
2 HONOR.
3
THE COURT: OVERRULED.
4
MS. ABRAMSON: AND ERIK SAID: EVEN IF I
5 REALLY BELIEVED SHE WAS GOING TO KILL ME, I DON'T
6 REALLY BELIEVE I COULD EVER KILL MOTHER. OKAY?
7 THAT'S THE REFERENCE ON THAT TAPE THAT MR. CONN
8 WOULD HAVE YOU INTERPRET A DIFFERENT WAY, I SUGGEST.
9
BUT IN ANY EVENT, ONE THING HE DOES KNOW
10 IS HE DOESN'T THINK HE CAN OPERATE THIS GUN SO HE
11 WANTS TO GO TO THIS GUN STORE IN ORDER TO TRY TO SEE
12 IF HE CAN BE TAUGHT HOW TO WORK IT AND HOW TO FIRE
13 IT. AS IT TURNS OUT, THEY GET THERE AND YOU CAN'T
14 USE A SHOTGUN ON AN INDOOR FIRING RANGE, WHICH IS
15 WHAT THEY HAVE. WHILE THEY'RE THERE, THE PEOPLE IN
16 THE STORE, THEY TALK TO THEM ABOUT THE FACT THAT
17 THEY BOUGHT GUNS FOR PROTECTION, AND THEY TELL
18 THEM -- LYLE HAS A DISCUSSION WITH THE SALES PERSON
19 THAT THEY BOUGHT BIRD SHOT AMMUNITION. AND THE
20 SALES PEOPLE ARE THE ONES WHO TELL THEM, IF YOU WANT
21 AN AMMUNITION TO PROTECT HIM -- TO PROTECT YOURSELVES
22 -- AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT PROTECTING
23 THEMSELVES FROM BURGLARS AT THE TIME -- YOU SHOULD
24 BUY NO. 4 BUCKSHOT. THERE'S EVEN LARGER BUCKSHOT
25 THAN NO. 4. THEY BOUGHT ONE BOX OF WHAT THE PEOPLE
26 IN THE STORE TOLD THEM TO BUY.
27
NOW, THE FRIDAY NIGHT, THE NIGHT BEFORE,
28 I'VE TOLD YOU NOW ON SATURDAY MORNING THEY WENT AND
1 DID THIS GUN STORE THING, AND THEN THEY RIDE AROUND
2 FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO DELAY
3 GETTING BACK HOME. WHY ARE THEY DOING THAT ON
4 SATURDAY? BECAUSE ERIK MENENDEZ WILL TELL YOU THAT
5 ON FRIDAY NIGHT, AFTER THEY CAME BACK FROM THIS LONG
6 TRIP DOWN SOUTH, THEIR MOTHER TOLD THEM THAT THIS
7 FISHING TRIP THAT HAD BEEN PLANNED FOR SATURDAY FOR
8 THE FAMILY, A SHARK FISHING TRIP, HAD BEEN DELAYED;
9 THAT THEY WEREN'T LEAVING IN THE LATE MORNING; THAT
10 THE TRIP WAS GOING TO BE -- WAS RESCHEDULED FOR LATE
11 IN THE AFTERNOON AND THAT THEY'D BE OUT ON THE WATER
12 AT NIGHT. AND THIS, TO ERIK MENENDEZ IN THE
13 CONDITION THAT HE'S IN AT THIS TIME WITH THESE
14 FEARS, TRANSLATES TO HIM THAT THE PARENTS ARE
15 PLANNING TO KILL THEM ON THE FISHING TRIP ON
16 SATURDAY. SO THEY HANG AROUND. THEY COME BACK LATE
17 ON SATURDAY, IN THE HOPES OF AVOIDING THE TRIP, ONLY
18 TO FIND THAT THEIR PARENTS ARE WAITING FOR THEM. SO
19 THEY GO ON THE FISHING TRIP.
20
AND YOU WILL HEAR THE TESTIMONY IN THIS
21 CASE OF THE CAPTAIN OF THE FISHING BOAT, WHICH IS A
22 VERY SMALL BOAT INDEED, MR. ANDERSON AND HIS FRIEND
23 MS. GASKILL WHO WERE ON THAT BOAT, AND THEY WILL
24 DESCRIBE HOW PECULIAR THIS FAMILY WAS ACTING TOWARDS
25 EACH OTHER ON THIS TRIP; HOW THE TWO SONS ARE
26 WEARING SHORTS, IT'S COLD, IT'S CHOPPY, IT'S WINDY,
27 AND THEY'RE SPENDING THIS ENTIRE NIGHT-TIME TRIP
28 PERCHED OUT ON THE FRONT END OF THE BOAT, YOU KNOW,
1 LIKE IN THE BOW OF THE BOAT OUTSIDE, GETTING WASHED
2 OVER BY THE WAVES, SHIVERING, COLD, GLOOMY. AND
3 WHAT ERIK WILL TELL YOU IS THEY WERE STAYING THAT
4 FAR AWAY BECAUSE THEY WERE CONVINCED THAT SOMEHOW
5 THEIR PARENTS WERE GOING TO GET RID OF THEM ON THIS
6 TRIP. AND HERE THEY ARE SHIVERING AND COLD AND
7 SCARED AT THE FRONT OF THE BOAT.
8
THEY GET BACK HOME. THEY'RE NOT
9 KILLED. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY'RE NOT
10 KILLED AND THEY TALK SOME MORE ABOUT WHAT IS GOING
11 ON. WHAT DO WE THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN HERE? AND
12 THEY LEAVE THE HOUSE AND GO OFF TO TALK ABOUT WHAT
13 SHOULD THEY DO NOW TO AVOID WHAT THEY THINK IS A
14 PARENTAL PLAN TO KILL THEM. AND WHAT THEY DECIDE IS
15 THEY'RE GOING TO STAY APART ALL DAY SUNDAY, BECAUSE
16 THEY'RE CONVINCED THE PARENTS WANT TO KILL BOTH OF
17 THEM; THAT BOTH OF THEM HAVE THIS SECRET AND THAT
18 BOTH OF THEM HAVE TO BE TAKEN OUT OR THE SECRET WILL
19 GET OUT.
20
SO THEY COME BACK HOME SATURDAY NIGHT
21 AFTER MAKING THAT DECISION. AND THEY HAVEN'T PICKED
22 UP A KEY TO GET BACK IN THE HOUSE. AND THEY WERE
23 NEVER ALLOWED TO OWN THEIR OWN KEYS TO THE HOUSE.
24 PART OF THE WAY THAT THEY WERE KEPT DEPENDENT. SO
25 THEY HAVE TO RING THE BELL, WAKE THEIR MOTHER UP SO
26 THAT SHE'LL LET THEM BACK IN THE HOUSE. WHEN SHE
27 DOES, SHE'S VERY ANGRY WITH THEM. IN THE COURSE OF
28 THAT ARGUMENT SHE SAYS TO ERIK THAT HE -- IF HE HAD
1 HAD -- IF HE HAD ONLY KEPT HIS MOUTH SHUT, THINGS
2 MIGHT HAVE WORKED OUT IN THEIR FAMILY. AND ERIK
3 UNDERSTANDS THAT IN ONLY ONE WAY, THAT THINGS HAVE
4 NOT WORKED OUT IN THE FAMILY; THAT THE PARENTS DON'T
5 WANT THEM TO WORK OUT AND THAT THEIR THOUGHTS, HIS
6 AND LYLE'S, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GET KILLED ARE,
7 INDEED, TRUE.
8
ON SUNDAY ERIK SEPARATES FROM HIS
9 BROTHER, AS HE HAD PLANNED TO DO. AND BASICALLY HE
10 STAYS AWAY THE ENTIRE DAY UNTIL -- INTO THE NIGHT.
11 AND THE IDEA WAS THAT LYLE WOULD STAY AT HOME AND
12 SEE WHAT HIS PARENTS WERE DOING AND SEE IF THEY
13 TALKED TO HIM AND DIFFUSE WHAT FELT LIKE THIS INSANE
14 CRISIS IN THEIR LIVES.
15
BUT, IN FACT, OVER THE COURSE OF THE
16 DAY, AS ERIK LATER FINDS OUT, THE THINGS THAT HIS
17 FATHER DOES SAY TO LYLE ARE EVEN MORE OMINOUS,
18 THINGS LIKE THE FUTURE THAT LYLE WAS PLANNING
19 DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE, THINGS LIKE LYLE GOING TO
20 THIS CAMP, THIS TRAINING THING THAT HIS FATHER
21 WANTED TO DO, DOESN'T COUNT ANYMORE.
22
AND BEYOND THAT, LYLE TALKED TO PERRY
23 BERMAN, WHO YOU'VE HEARD MR. CONN REFER TO. AND
24 LYLE WAS HOME THE WHOLE DAY WAITING TO SEE WHAT'S
25 GOING TO HAPPEN, IF ANYTHING, WHAT HIS PARENTS, IF
26 ANYTHING, ARE GOING TO SAY OR DO. BUT HE MAKES
27 ARRANGEMENTS WITH PERRY BERMAN TO MEET HIM LATER
28 THAT NIGHT. AND DURING ONE OF HIS TELEPHONE -1 DURING THE TELEPHONE CALL HE ACTUALLY HAS WITH
2 PERRY, PERRY SAYS THAT HE HAD CALLED THE HOUSE
3 EARLIER; THAT MR. MENENDEZ HAD IMMEDIATELY PICKED UP
4 THE PHONE, PICKED UP LYLE'S LINE -- BECAUSE THEY ALL
5 HAD THEIR OWN PHONE LINES IN THAT HOUSE -- AND THAT
6 MR. MENENDEZ HAD TOLD PERRY THAT LYLE WASN'T HOME.
7 PERRY HAD INDICATED THAT HE WANTED TO MAKE PLANS
8 WITH LYLE FOR THAT EVENING, AND MR. MENENDEZ TOLD
9 PERRY THAT LYLE WASN'T AT HOME.
10
SO LYLE, IN TELLING THE STORY TO ERIK,
11 TELLS ERIK THAT HE INTERPRETED THAT AS HIS FATHER'S
12 EFFORT TO ISOLATE HIM AND KEEP HIM THERE ALONE THAT
13 DAY AND NOT LET HIM LEAVE THE HOUSE THAT NIGHT.
14
IN ANY EVENT, THE UPSHOT IS THAT ERIK
15 HAS A STORY TO TELL LYLE AT THAT POINT ON SUNDAY
16 ALSO. BECAUSE ERIK LEFT THE HOUSE EARLY, HE DIDN'T
17 HAVE A CHANCE TO TELL LYLE BEFORE SUNDAY THAT
18 SATURDAY NIGHT, AFTER THEIR ARGUMENT WITH THEIR
19 MOTHER, ERIK WAS UP IN HIS BEDROOM AND HAS THE
20 SHOTGUN IN HIS BEDROOM WHEN HIS FATHER AGAIN COMES
21 POUNDING ON HIS DOOR, BUT THIS TIME, THIS TIME, FOR
22 THE FIRST TIME, HE DOESN'T LET HIM IN. INSTEAD ERIK
23 IS SITTING ON THE BED -- AND HE WILL SHOW YOU, HE
24 HAS CIRCLED ALREADY ONCE BEFORE, AND HE'LL SHOW YOU
25 AGAIN ON A PHOTOGRAPH HERE THAT HE'S SITTING ON THE
26 BED IN HIS BEDROOM WITH THIS SHOTGUN, WHICH HAS BIRD
27 SHOT LOADED IN IT, TWO ROUNDS OR THREE ROUNDS FROM
28 WHEN HE BOUGHT IT ON FRIDAY, TERRIFIED THAT HIS
1 FATHER'S GOING TO KICK IN THE DOOR. HE'S SITTING
2 THERE WITH A LOADED GUN AND HE'S AFRAID OF HIS
3 FATHER COMING IN THE DOOR. HE DOESN'T OPEN THE DOOR
4 FOR HIM. HIS FATHER DOESN'T KICK IN THE DOOR. HE
5 SAYS, WELL, YOU HAVE TO COME OUT OF THERE SOONER OR
6 LATER AND HE LEAVES.
7
AND IT IS ONLY LATER ON SUNDAY THAT ERIK
8 IS ABLE TO TELL LYLE THAT STORY.
9
NOW, BY THE TIME OF -- BY THE TIME ERIK
10 COMES BACK FROM BEING AWAY ALL DAY LONG AND SHARES
11 WITH LYLE THESE THINGS IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR
12 PARENTS THAT SCARE THEM BOTH, HE HAS SPENT THE
13 BETTER PART OF A WEEK NOT SLEEPING, THE BETTER PART
14 OF A WEEK HAVING NIGHTMARES, THE BETTER PART OF A
15 WEEK CONVINCED THAT ALL THE FEARS HE HAD HAD ABOUT
16 HIS PARENTS ALL OF HIS LIFE WERE BEING REALIZED AT
17 THIS TIME. HE DECIDED THAT THINGS ARE SO DANGEROUS
18 NOW THAT THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE DAY AND THE TIME
19 WHEN THEIR PARENTS, IN FACT, ARE GOING TO MAKE GOOD
20 ON WHAT THEY SEE IS THREATS TO KILL THEM, BECAUSE
21 WHAT MR. MENENDEZ SAID TO LYLE, ACCORDING TO WHAT
22 LYLE TELLS ERIK ON THURSDAY NIGHT WHEN LYLE SAYS I'M
23 GOING TO TELL THE WORLD IF YOU DON'T STOP,
24 MR. MENENDEZ SAID: ERIK MADE HIS CHOICE, YOU MADE
25 YOUR CHOICE, AND I'VE MADE MY CHOICE. AND LYLE HAD
26 NO DOUBT THAT THAT WAS A THREAT OF DEATH.
27
AND ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 20TH, WITH ALL OF
28 THIS COMING TOGETHER IN THE PERCEPTION OF ERIK
1 MENENDEZ AND SEEING HIS BROTHER, WHO HE ALWAYS
2 THOUGHT WAS STRONG, AS FRIGHTENED AS HE WAS, THEY
3 DECIDED AT THIS POINT THEY HAVE GOT TO GET OUT OF
4 THE HOUSE. SO THEY'RE GOING TO LEAVE. THEY'RE
5 GOING TO GO MEET PERRY. BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO JUST
6 SNEAK OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID THAT ANY MOVE ON
7 THEIR PART THAT CONVEYS TO THEIR PARENTS THAT THEY
8 ARE AFRAID WILL BRING DOWN AN ATTACK.
9
SO THEY GO TO THE HOUSE, TO THE BIG
10 HOUSE, TO TELL THEIR PARENTS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO
11 THE MOVIES AND THEIR PARENTS TELL THEM YOU'RE NOT
12 LEAVING. AND THIS IS AMAZING. THIS IS SUNDAY, IN
13 THE SUMMER. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SCHOOL. THEY
14 DON'T HAVE TO BE ANYWHERE. AND IN ERIK MENENDEZ'
15 MIND THIS CAN'T MEAN ANYTHING. FOR THE PARENTS TO
16 SAY AT THIS TIME YOU'RE STAYING HERE, YOU'RE NOT
17 LEAVING, ONLY CONFIRMS EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HE HAD
18 BEEN THINKING ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON BETWEEN THEM.
19
AND AN ARGUMENT ENSUES IN THE ENTRYWAY
20 OF THE HOME INVOLVING ALL FOUR MEMBERS OF THE
21 FAMILY. THERE'S THE MOTHER AND THE FATHER AND LYLE
22 AND ERIK. AND FIRST THE MOTHER TELLS THEM THEY'RE
23 NOT LEAVING THE HOUSE. THEN THE FATHER COMES OUT OF
24 THE DEN AND HE SAYS THEY'RE NOT LEAVING THE HOUSE.
25 AND THEN THE FATHER SAYS TO ERIK: ERIK GO UP TO
26 YOUR ROOM. I'LL BE RIGHT THERE. AND ERIK
27 INTERPRETS THIS, AS ANY OTHER TIME WHEN HIS FATHER
28 ORDERED HIM TO HIS ROOM, AS A PRECURSOR TO AN
1 ASSAULT OF SOME KIND.
2
NOW, IN HIS HEAD HE IS SO PANIC-STRICKEN
3 AT THIS TIME HE DOESN'T KNOW IF HIS MOTHER'S GOING
4 TO SEND HIM TO HIS ROOM AND THEN MOLEST HIM OR SEND
5 HIM TO HIS ROOM AND ATTACK HIM OR SEND HIM TO HIS
6 ROOM AND KILL HIM.
7
BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IS THAT LYLE SAYS
8 TO HIS FATHER: YOU'RE NOT GONNA TOUCH HIM AGAIN.
9 YOU'RE NOT GONNA TOUCH MY LITTLE BROTHER. ERIK
10 DON'T GO UP TO THE ROOM.
11
AND THEN MR. MENENDEZ SAYS, IN FRONT OF
12 EVERYONE, IN FRONT OF LYLE, IN FRONT OF HIS WIFE:
13 YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO WITH MY OWN SON. YOU
14 CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO IN MY FAMILY.
15
NOW, WHAT DR. WILSON WILL TELL YOU, WHAT
16 ERIK HIMSELF WILL TELL YOU, IS WHEN YOU'VE BEEN
17 KEEPING THIS DARK AND SHAMEFUL SECRET FOR ALL THESE
18 YEARS, IT HAS THIS MAGICAL POWER FOR YOU. THIS IS
19 THE -- THIS IS AN ARGUMENT WHERE A SECRET IS
20 COMPLETELY OUT THERE. HIS FATHER IS VIRTUALLY
21 ADMITTING THAT HE'S MOLESTED HIM, THAT HE'S DONE
22 THIS CRIME, IN FRONT OF EVERY OTHER MEMBER OF THE
23 FAMILY, IN FRONT OF HIS WIFE. AND THAT, TO ERIK, IS
24 THE SINGLE MOST DANGEROUS ASPECT OF EVERYTHING
25 THAT'S HAPPENED ALL WEEK. OF COURSE, NOW HE CAN SAY
26 IT BECAUSE WE'RE DEAD. IT DOESN'T MATTER NOW IF HE
27 ADMITS IT, ADMITS IT TO ME, ADMITS IT TO LYLE,
28 ADMITS IT IN FRONT OF LYLE. WE'RE NOT GOING TO LIVE
1 TO BE WITNESSES TO THIS.
2
MR. CONN: OBJECTION. ARGUMENTATIVE.
3
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. LET'S FINISH IT OFF,
4 MS. ABRAMSON.
5
MS. ABRAMSON: THANK YOU. THAT'S WHAT'S IN
6 HIS STATE OF MIND. THAT'S WHAT TRIGGERS THE MOST
7 EXTREME ASPECT OF WHAT'S BEEN A WEEK OF PANIC.
8
AND BY THE END OF THE CASE, AFTER YOU'VE
9 HEARD ERIK'S TESTIMONY, WE'LL HAVE FOR YOU A CHART
10 OF THE LEVELS OF FEAR AND WHAT THE VARIOUS ITEMS
11 WERE THAT HAPPENED BY WAY OF SPEECH AND BY WAY OF
12 BEHAVIOR THAT LED TO THOSE LEVELS OF FEAR OVER THE
13 COURSE OF THE WEEK.
14
BUT ERIK, NEVERTHELESS OBEDIENT, STARTS
15 GOING UP THE STAIRS TOWARDS HIS ROOM WHEN HIS FATHER
16 TELLS HIM TO DO THAT. THEN HIS FATHER LEAVES, GOES
17 INTO THE DEN, AND HIS MOTHER GETS INTO AN ARGUMENT
18 WITH LYLE AND SHE'S ACCUSING LYLE OF HAVING RUINED
19 THE FAMILY AND IT'S ALL LYLE'S FAULT. AND THEN HIS
20 FATHER COMES OUT AND GRABS MRS. MENENDEZ AND TELLS
21 HER DON'T WORRY, PULLS HER INTO THE DEN, CLOSES THE
22 DOOR.
23
AT THIS POINT, BOTH LYLE MENENDEZ AND
24 ERIK MENENDEZ ARE CONVINCED THAT THEY ARE ABOUT TO
25 DIE.
26
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF -- I MEAN, AS
27 DR. WILSON WILL TELL YOU, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT IT
28 LOOKS LIKE TO YOU OR I AT THIS POINT. YOU HAVE TO
1 BE INSIDE THE MIND OF SOMEONE SUFFERING FROM
2 POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER WITH ALL THE TRIGGERS
3 AND CUES THAT HE WILL POINT OUT TO YOU THAT WERE
4 GOING ON THAT WEEK TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU CAN
5 COMPLETELY LOSE IT AND PANIC AT THAT POINT.
6
AND THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED, BECAUSE AT
7 THAT POINT ERIK IS ON THE STAIRCASE. LYLE COMES
8 RUNNING UP THE STAIRS, OBVIOUSLY FRIGHTENED, OUT OF
9 HIS MIND. ERIK IS SAYING TO LYLE: I'M NOT GOING
10 BACK IN MY ROOM. I'M NOT GOING TO LET HIM COME AT
11 ME IN THE ROOM.
12
AND LYLE SAYS: THERE'S NO TIME FOR
13 THAT. IT'S HAPPENING NOW. THEY'RE KILLING US NOW.
14
AND WHAT THEY THEN DO IS THEY BOTH RUN
15 AND GET THEIR GUNS AND THEY STUFF IN SOME OF THE
16 BUCKSHOT AMMUNITION THAT THEY HAD BOUGHT THAT
17 MORNING AND THEY RUN FOR THE DOORS OF THE DEN. AND
18 AFTER THEY OPEN THE DOORS OF THE DEN, ERIK SEES
19 THERE ARE NO LIGHTS ON IN THE DEN. WHAT'S ON IS THE
20 TELEVISION SET, THIS BIG TELEVISION SET. AND HE
21 SEES -- BEFORE HE EVER FIRES THE GUN, HE SEES A
22 STANDING SHADOWY FIGURE. AND ERIK WILL TELL YOU
23 THAT WHEN HE WAS A CHILD HIS FATHER WOULD SOMETIMES,
24 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, AFTER HE CAME HOME LATE
25 FROM WORK, CREEP INTO HIS BEDROOM AND SILENTLY
26 MOLEST HIM, NEVER SAY A WORD. AND THE WAY HE WOULD
27 APPEAR WAS AS THIS SHADOWY FIGURE. AND HERE HE
28 WALKS INTO THAT DEN IN THIS STATE OF PANIC AND HE
1 SEES THAT SAME SHADOWY FIGURE FROM HIS CHILDHOOD.
2 AND IT IS THEN THAT HE FIRES THE GUN, BELIEVING HE
3 IS IN IMMINENT DANGER OF DEATH OR GREAT BODILY
4 INJURY. HE FIRES. HE STANDS STILL. HE CROSSES THE
5 ROOM. HE STANDS IN FRONT OF THE COFFEE TABLE,
6 BETWEEN THE COFFEE TABLE AND THE TELEVISION SET.
7 AND HE'LL TESTIFY THAT HE FIRED STRAIGHT AHEAD. HE
8 WILL TESTIFY THAT HE DIDN'T AIM AT ANYTHING IN
9 PARTICULAR; THAT HE FIRED IN A GENERAL DIRECTION
10 WHERE HE KNEW BOTH OF HIS PARENTS WERE; THAT HE HAD
11 NO THOUGHTS OR CALCULATIONS IN HIS HEAD AT THAT
12 TIME; NOT EVEN AN INTENTION TO KILL THEM, JUST A
13 PERSUASIVE AWARENESS OF TERROR AND A FEELING THAT HE
14 NEEDED TO SURVIVE.
15
NOW, YOU WILL SEE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHS
16 IN THIS CASE HOW CLOSE TOGETHER THE HOUSES ON ELM
17 DRIVE IN BEVERLY HILLS ARE. HERE ARE THESE TWO
18 PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM THAT'S APPROXIMATELY 17 BY 25,
19 FIRING OFF TWO 12-GAUGE SHOTGUNS IN A RESIDENTIAL
20 AREA WHERE THE NEXT HOUSE YOU COULD SPIT AT, AS THE
21 EVIDENCE WILL SHOW. AND YOU WILL HEAR FROM THE
22 NEIGHBORS HOW THEY ALL HEARD.
23
THERE'S MORE THAN ONE NEIGHBOR. THERE'S
24 HALF A DOZEN NEIGHBORS WHO HEARD THE SOUNDS OF THE
25 SHOOTING. THEY HEARD RAPID SUCCESSIVE. POP, POP,
26 POP, POP, POP, POP, POP. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS
27 FIREWORKS. THEY DIDN'T CALL THE POLICE, EVEN THOUGH
28 POLICE HEADQUARTERS WAS LESS THAN A MILE AWAY FROM
1 THIS HOUSE WHERE THESE TWO PEOPLE ARE USING SHOTGUNS
2 IN THIS ROOM, IN THIS RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.
3
YOU WILL HEAR TESTIMONY THAT THE BEVERLY
4 HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES PATROL ITS RESIDENTIAL
5 NEIGHBORHOODS. THERE ARE ALSO PRIVATE PATROLS THAT
6 PATROL THESE NEIGHBORHOODS.
7
AND SO YOU WILL HEAR ERIK MENENDEZ TELL
8 YOU THAT ALL OF THOSE FACTS -- GIVEN ALL OF THOSE
9 FACTORS, HE EXPECTED THE POLICE TO SHOW UP ANY
10 SECOND AFTER THEY WERE DONE FIRING IN THAT ROOM.
11 AND HE AND HIS BROTHER WAITED. THEY WAITED
12 EXPECTING THE POLICE TO SHOW UP. AND WHEN NO ONE
13 CAME, THAT'S WHEN THEY DECIDED, FOR THE FIRST TIME,
14 TO LEAVE AND NOT TELL WHAT THEY DID. AND THEY WENT
15 BACK INTO THE DEN AND DID NOT PICK UP ALL OF THE
16 EVIDENCE. IN FACT, AS THE TESTIMONY HERE WOULD
17 SHOW, NO ONE PICKED UP ALL OF THE EVIDENCE IN THAT
18 CRIME SCENE, NEITHER THEM NOR THE POLICE
19 DEPARTMENT. WHAT THEY DID WAS THEY WENT IN TO PICK
20 UP SHELL CASINGS BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT MAYBE THERE
21 WERE FINGERPRINTS ON THE SHELL CASINGS. THAT'S ALL
22 THEY THOUGHT. THEY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
23 GUNSHOT RESIDUE. THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEN THAT THEIR
24 HANDS COULD HAVE BEEN TESTED AT ANY TIME BY THE
25 POLICE THAT NIGHT AND IT WOULD HAVE SHOWN THEY HAD
26 DONE THIS. BUT THEY GOT LUCKY BECAUSE THE BEVERLY
27 HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT DIDN'T TEST THEM FOR GUNSHOT
28 RESIDUE THAT NIGHT.
1
IN ANY EVENT, THEY PICK UP THE SHELL
2 CASINGS. AND TO DO THAT THEY TURN ON THE LIGHTS IN
3 THE FAMILY ROOM. AND WHEN ERIK MENENDEZ GOES BACK
4 INTO THAT FAMILY ROOM, INTO THAT DEN, AND STARTS
5 LOOKING FOR THE SHELL CASINGS -- WHICH HE WILL TELL
6 YOU WERE ALL GROUPED IN THE AREA WHERE HE WAS
7 STANDING BECAUSE THIS GUN EJECTS TO THE RIGHT, AND
8 ALL THE SHELLS WERE CLOSE TO WHERE HE HAD BEEN
9 STANDING -- FOR THE FIRST TIME HE COULD SEE WELL
10 ENOUGH IN THAT ROOM TO SEE THAT HIS PARENTS WERE NOT
11 ARMED. SOMETHING THAT HE BELIEVED BEFORE HE WENT
12 INTO THAT ROOM WAS TRUE, THAT THEY HAD GUNS, THEY
13 HAD RIFLES IN THE HOUSE. TWO OF THEM WERE UP IN THE
14 CLOSET, IN MRS. MENENDEZ' CLOSET. HE KNEW SHE HAD
15 THAT GUN. HE HAD BEEN WITH HER A YEAR BEFORE WHEN
16 SHE BOUGHT THE GUN AND TOLD HIM THAT SOME -- THAT SHE
17 WAS BUYING THE GUN IN ORDER TO KILL SOMEBODY WITH
18 IT. THAT'S WHAT SHE TOLD HIM WHEN SHE BOUGHT ONE OF
19 THE TWO .22 CALIBER RIFLES THAT THEY HAD. AND IT'S
20 WHEN HE SAW THAT THERE WERE NO GUNS THAT HE
21 REALIZED, COMING DOWN FROM HIS PANIC, THAT HE HAD
22 BEEN COMPLETELY MISTAKEN; THAT EVEN THOUGH
23 EVERYTHING TERRIFYING THAT HAD HAPPENED OVER THAT
24 WEEK GENUINELY FRIGHTENED HIM NEARLY TO DEATH, HE
25 REALIZED THAT HIS PARENTS, AT THAT MOMENT AT LEAST,
26 WERE NOT IN THE PROCESS OF KILLING HIM. AND OVER
27 THE COURSE OF THE NEXT HOUR, WHILE HE AND LYLE RAN
28 AROUND MAKING AN ALIBI FOR THEMSELVES, BECAUSE THEY
1 DIDN'T WANT TO GET ARRESTED, BUT MORE IMPORTANT,
2 THEY -- WHAT WERE THEY GOING TO TELL PEOPLE NOW WHEN
3 HE REALIZED THEY WERE WRONG, THEY WERE MISTAKEN? HE
4 WAS CONVINCED THAT NOBODY WOULD BELIEVE THEM AS TO
5 WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND WHAT HAD PROPELLED THE
6 SHOOTING.
7
SO THEY WENT TO A MOVIE COMPLEX, THEY
8 TRIED TO BUY TICKETS. THEY FOUND OUT THAT THEY
9 COULDN'T. BUT THEY FOUND OUT WHICH MOVIES HAD BEEN
10 SOLD OUT AND WHICH MOVIES HAD NOT BEEN SOLD OUT.
11 AND LATER ON THEY INCORPORATED THAT INFORMATION IN
12 THE STATEMENTS THAT THEY GAVE TO THE POLICE. THEY
13 THREW AWAY THE GUNS. THEY TESTIFIED -- ERIK WILL
14 TESTIFY EXACTLY WHERE HE THREW AWAY THE GUN. HE
15 THREW AWAY SOME CLOTHING OUT IN SANTA MONICA. THEY
16 HAD GONE TO SANTA MONICA TO TRY TO MEET UP WITH
17 PERRY BERMAN. THEY WERE TOO LATE. THEY CALLED HIM
18 FROM A PAY PHONE OUT IN SANTA MONICA. THEY LATER
19 TOLD THE POLICE THEY HAD MADE THAT CALL. THE POLICE
20 VERIFIED IT WITH RECORDS. AND LATER THAT MORNING -21 STRIKE THAT -- AFTER BEING OUT IN SANTA MONICA, AFTER
22 DUMPING SOME SHOTGUN SHELLS, THE BIRD SHOT FROM THE
23 DAY BEFORE, FROM THE PURCHASE ON FRIDAY, AFTER
24 THROWING AWAY SOME CLOTHES THAT HE NOTICED LITTLE
25 BITTY SPOTS ON, THEY WENT BACK HOME.
26
AND THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET UP WITH
27 BERRY BERMAN AND ERIK COULDN'T DO IT. HE COULDN'T -28 HE WAS FALLING APART AND HE DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO A
1 RESTAURANT AND MEET UP WITH PERRY AND PRETEND
2 ANYTHING. HE WANTED TO GO HOME AND CALL THE
3 POLICE. AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DID.
4
AND YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE AND LYLE
5 MENENDEZ' VOICE ON THE 911 TAPE. YOU WILL DECIDE
6 WHETHER OR NOT THE HYSTERIA THAT YOU HEAR IS THE
7 HYSTERIA OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE A SHOCKING THING
8 AND ARE THEMSELVES UPSET ABOUT IT. YOU WILL HEAR
9 THE TESTIMONY OF POLICE OFFICERS WHO SAW THEIR
10 CONDITION AND BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE TRULY
11 HYSTERICAL.
12
YOU WILL HEAR THE TESTIMONY OF DETECTIVE
13 EDMONDS, WHO INTERVIEWED ERIK MENENDEZ; AND YOU WILL
14 HEAR THAT TAPE WHERE HE IS HYSTERICAL AND STARTS TO
15 CRY IN THE END. MR. CONN WANTS TO TELL YOU ALL THIS
16 IS FAKING. ERIK MENENDEZ WILL TELL YOU NONE OF IT
17 WAS FAKING.
18
AND OVER THE NEXT WEEKS AND MONTHS, YOU
19 WILL HEAR FROM WITNESSES HOW REMORSEFUL AND HOW
20 GUILT-STRICKEN ERIK MENENDEZ WAS. HE LOST 30
21 POUNDS. HE HAD NEW AND RECURRENT NIGHTMARES. HE
22 WAS SUICIDAL. HE TOLD THE POLICE THINGS -- WHEN
23 THEY INTERVIEWED HIM IN SEPTEMBER HE WAS TELLING
24 THEM CLUES, HUGE HINTS, THAT HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR
25 THE KILLING, AND THEY DIDN'T HEAR THEM OR DIDN'T
26 FOLLOW UP ON THEM.
27
AND THEN THERE WAS THE CONVERSATION WITH
28 THIS PERSON OZIEL.
1
NOW -- THERE YOU GO, BARRY. THANK YOU.
2
MR. CONN ENLARGED ONE EXCERPT OF THIS
3 AND THEN HE CHARACTERIZED THE REST OF IT FOR YOU.
4 I'VE ENLARGED ANOTHER EXCERPT OF IT. BUT LET ME
5 JUST SHOW YOU NOW SO YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING. THIS
6 IS A LONG TAPE. THIS IS WHAT THE TRANSCRIPT OF THIS
7 ENTIRE TAPE ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE. THESE ARE JUST TWO
8 PAGES OF THIS.
9
AND WHAT THIS TAPE IS LIKE WHEN YOU HEAR
10 IT -- AS MR. CONN INDICATED, OZIEL IS NOT GOING TO
11 BE CALLED BY THE PROSECUTION IN THE CASE. THEY'RE
12 JUST GOING TO PUT ON THIS TAPE AND START PLAYING IT
13 FOR YOU. AND IT STARTS IN THE MIDDLE OF A
14 CONVERSATION. IT'S NOT THAT THERE'S NO
15 INTRODUCTION, IT JUST STARTS IN THE MIDDLE WITH
16 VOICES AND IT ENDS THE SAME WAY. IT'S JUST -- THE
17 TAPE JUST STOPS EVEN THOUGH FOLKS ARE STILL
18 TALKING.
19
ON THE FACE OF IT, WHAT EMERGES FROM
20 THIS TAPE, YOU WILL HEAR THAT OZIEL ON THIS TAPE,
21 THE PERSON THAT DETECTIVE ZOELLER IDENTIFIES AS
22 OZIEL ON THIS TAPE, IS DOING MOST OF THE TALKING.
23 HE IS COMING UP WITH THEORIES THAT HE IS FLOATING
24 PAST ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ AS TO WHY IT IS -- EXCUSE
25 ME -- WHY IT IS THAT ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ KILLED
26 THEIR PARENTS.
27
ONE THING THAT I CAN ASSURE YOU IN
28 LISTENING TO THAT ENTIRE TAPE, THE WORDS SPOKEN BY
1 ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ ON THAT TAPE DOES NOT ADD ONE
2 FACT, ONE ITEM OF PROOF, TO THE PROSECUTION'S THEORY
3 THAT THESE KILLINGS WERE MOTIVATED BY GREED OR
4 HATRED OR ANY BASED EMOTION.
5
THE TAPE DOES, HOWEVER, HAVE SOME HIGHLY
6 IRRATIONAL SUGGESTIONS, CRAZY STUFF, BASICALLY,
7 SUGGESTED BY DR. OZIEL REPEATEDLY THAT MRS. MENENDEZ
8 WAS KILLED -- HERE'S HOW IT GOES. HERE'S MR. OZIEL'S
9 THEORY: THAT MRS. MENENDEZ WAS KILLED BECAUSE SHE
10 WAS SUICIDAL AND THAT MR. MENENDEZ WAS KILLED
11 BECAUSE HE MADE THE MOTHER SUICIDAL.
12
NOW, THAT -- IT'S -- THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY
13 IT SOUNDS IRRATIONAL ON THE FACE OF IT. SO YOU KNOW
14 RIGHT AWAY THAT YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO SOMETHING
15 WHERE PEOPLE ARE NECESSARILY TELLING THE TRUTH AND
16 YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO SOMETHING WHERE THE PERSON
17 ASKING THE QUESTIONS IS ACTUALLY ASKING THE
18 QUESTIONS. YOU WILL HEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT
19 OZIEL POSES THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS THEM HIMSELF.
20
ERIK MENENDEZ WILL EXPLAIN WHEN HE
21 TESTIFIES THAT THIS PARTIALLY TAPED CONVERSATION -22 BECAUSE THERE WAS CONVERSATION BEFORE THE TAPE WENT
23 ON -- AT THE TIME OF THIS CONVERSATION THAT ERIK
24 WOULD NOT AND COULD NOT TELL THIS OZIEL PERSON THE
25 REAL REASONS WHY HIS PARENTS WERE KILLED. HE WAS
26 FEELING, AS YOU WILL HEAR WHEN YOU HEAR THIS TAPE,
27 EXTREME GUILT AND REMORSE. HE WAS STILL FEELING A
28 SENSE OF LOYALTY TO HIS PARENTS, AND THAT, MORE THAN
1 ANYTHING ELSE, PREVENTED HIM FROM PUTTING ON TAPE
2 ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT HIS PARENTS. HE FREELY
3 ADMITS AND TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACT THAT HE
4 KILLED THEM ON THIS TAPE. BUT HE REFUSES TO SAY,
5 AND HE REFUSES TO LISTEN TO ANYONE ELSE SAYING
6 NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT HIS PARENTS. AND HE REFUSES
7 TO REVEAL IN THIS CONVERSATION HIS PARENTS' FLAWS OR
8 THEIR CRIMES OR THEIR CRUELTIES.
9
NOW, IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY, YOU WILL
10 HEAR THAT HE OFFERS NO EXCUSES WHATSOEVER FOR WHAT
11 HE DID, AND HE DOES NOT ACCEPT OZIEL'S TORTURED AND
12 ILLOGICAL EXCUSES. YOU WILL HEAR HOW TOWARDS THE
13 END OF THE TAPE ERIK MENENDEZ IS LOSING CONTROL OF
14 HIMSELF. HE'S CRYING DURING THE MAKING OF THIS
15 TAPE. AND HE WILL TELL YOU THAT AT THAT POINT THE
16 TRUTH IS BEGINNING TO COME OUT, AND THAT BECAUSE IT
17 IS IMPORTANT TO PROTECT THE MEMORY OF HIS PARENTS,
18 AND HE AND LYLE WANT THE CONVERSATION TO END BEFORE
19 HE SPILLS OUT THE TRUTH; THE TRUTH THAT HIS PARENTS
20 DID THESE TERRIBLE THINGS TO THEM. THAT IS WHY
21 LYLE, AFTER RESISTING OZIEL'S MISINFORMED IMPRESSION
22 OF WHY THE SHOOTING HAPPENED, FINALLY AGREES WITH
23 OZIEL, JUST TO END IT. FINALLY LYLE SAYS, YEAH,
24 YOU'RE RIGHT, HE WAS CONTROLLING, HE WAS THIS, HE
25 WAS THAT, TO END THE DISCUSSION.
26
NOW, I ASK YOU TO CAREFULLY SCRUTINIZE
27 WHO WAS SAYING WHAT ON THIS TAPE. ERIK SAYS VERY,
28 VERY LITTLE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THIS TAPE. AND
1 THE ASSUMPTION THAT EMERGES HERE, IF YOU LISTEN TO
2 THIS, IS, WELL, YOUR MOTHER WAS SO SUICIDAL AT THE
3 TIME, SHE DIDN'T WANT TO LIVE. NONE OF THAT HAS TO
4 DO WITH 1989. AS I INDICATED TO YOU, THE TIME WHEN
5 MRS. MENENDEZ WAS SUICIDAL WAS IN 1986 AND 1987. IN
6 FACT, SHE'S EVEN HOSPITALIZED IN 1987 FOR A DRUG
7 OVERDOSE. BUT THERE'S NOTHING SUICIDAL ABOUT HER IN
8 1989. SHE'S COMPLETELY RECONCILED WITH HER HUSBAND
9 AT THIS TIME. THERE'S NO MORE CRYING AND MOANING
10 ABOUT THE AFFAIR THAT SO DEVASTATED HER. INSTEAD,
11 THE PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU THAT IN SEEING THEM THEY'RE
12 TOTALLY LOVEY-DOVEY AND SHE SEEMS TO BE MORE ALIVE
13 WITH HIM THAN EVER BEFORE.
14
SO HISTORICALLY WE'LL SHOW YOU THAT THE
15 FACTS THAT ARE DISCUSSED ON THIS TAPE DO NOT SUPPORT
16 ANY OF THE FACTS ABOUT WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON AT
17 THE TIME THE PARENTS WERE KILLED AND COULD NOT HAVE
18 PROVIDED A MOTIVE; AND THE BROTHERS WOULD NOT -- I
19 MEAN, BY SAYING THESE THINGS IN LIGHT OF THAT. IT'S
20 OZIEL WHO KEEPS SAYING THESE THINGS.
21
NOW, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS, THOUGH,
22 TOWARDS THE END BEFORE LYLE AGREES WITH OZIEL AND
23 ENDS IT ON PAGE 27. OZIEL'S BEEN GOING ON AND ON
24 SAYING NASTY THINGS ABOUT MR. MENENDEZ -- THAT HE'S
25 DOMINEERING, THAT HE'S THIS AND THAT -- AND HERE IS
26 THE PROOF OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING AND WHAT ERIK
27 WILL TELL YOU. HE LOVED HIS PARENTS, IN SPITE OF
28 WHAT THEY DID TO HIM. HE KILLED FROM FEAR AND NOT
1 FROM HATRED; AND HE'S LOYAL, EVEN TO THEM IN DEATH.
2
OZIEL IS SAYING NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT
3 MR. MENENDEZ, AND HERE'S ERIK SAYING: I DON'T LIKE
4 HEARING THESE THINGS ABOUT MY FATHER.
5
AND OZIEL ASKS ERIK MENENDEZ: HOW ARE
6 YOU FEELING?
7
AND HE SAYS: UPSET. AND YOU CAN HEAR
8 HIM ON THE TAPE, HE'S CRYING THROUGH THIS. AND ERIK
9 SAYS: MY FATHER, MY MOTHER, WERE TWO PEOPLE THAT I
10 LOVED AND I JUST DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING
11 NEGATIVE ABOUT THEM. THIS IS A GUILTY CONSCIENCE.
12 THIS IS REMORSE. THIS IS A CHILD WHO KNOWS HE'S
13 MADE A MONSTROUS MISTAKE.
14
MR. CONN: OBJECTION. ARGUMENTATIVE.
15
THE COURT: SUSTAINED. THAT'S
16 ARGUMENTATIVE. LET'S FINISH IT OFF.
17
18
MS. ABRAMSON: SORRY, YOUR HONOR.
BUT AT THIS POINT, MORE IMPORTANTLY,
19 HERE ERIK WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH IS COMING OUT AND
20 HE DOESN'T WANT TO HEAR THESE BAD THINGS ABOUT HIS
21 PARENTS AND HE DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE HE
22 COULD HAVE EVER COLDLY HAVE KILLED THEM. SO HE'S
23 BEGINNING TO SAY TRUTHFUL THINGS, WHAT HE SAYS, AND
24 HE SAYS IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, ABOUT THE TIME -- AT
25 THE TIME THEY WERE KILLED HE HAD NO CHOICE. HE HAD
26 NO CHOICE. I WOULD HAVE TAKEN ANY OTHER CHOICE. I
27 VERY MUCH REGRET IT. I MAY NOT HAVE HAD A CHOICE AT
28 THE TIME, BUT I REGRET IT NOW. AND AGAIN, I DON'T
1 LIKE HEARING MY FATHER PUT IN THIS SORT OF WAY. HE
2 WAS SOMEBODY THAT I LOVED AND ALMOST HAD NO CHOICE
3 TO DO WHAT I DID. AND I HATE MYSELF FOR DOING IT,
4 BECAUSE OF THE LOVE THAT I HAD FOR HIM AND MY
5 MOTHER.
6
NOW, HAD NO CHOICE, HAD NO CHOICE, HAD
7 NO CHOICE IS THE WAY ERIK WAS EXPRESSING THERE THAT
8 HE ACTED IN THE ACTUAL, HOWEVER MISTAKEN, BELIEF OF
9 THE NEED TO DEFEND HIMSELF. HAD NO CHOICE IS
10 SELF-DEFENSE. HAD NO CHOICE IS NOT MERCY KILLING.
11 HAD NO CHOICE IS NOT I DID IT FOR THE MONEY.
12
IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THIS TAPE AND
13 TAKE A LOOK AT THE TRANSCRIPT, YOU WILL SEE AND YOU
14 WILL HEAR HOW OZIEL REPEATEDLY TRIES TO MANIPULATE
15 THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS INTO EXPRESSING ANGER OR
16 HATRED TOWARDS THEIR PARENTS AND THEY NEVER DO IT.
17 THEY RESIST, THEY DENY IT.
18
WHEN ERIK TESTIFIES, I'LL TAKE HIM
19 THROUGH THIS. I'LL NOT GO NOW AND TELL YOU ALL THE
20 THINGS THAT HE CAN POINT TO IN THIS TAPE WHERE HE'S
21 ACTUALLY TRYING TO TELL THE TRUTH AND OZIEL ISN'T
22 HEARING HIM AND ISN'T PICKING UP ON WHAT HE'S SAYING
23 AND ISN'T FOLLOWING UP ON IT.
24
NOW, THE LAST TOPIC THAT I'M GOING TO
25 TALK ABOUT IS THE CRIME SCENE. MR. CONN'S TOLD YOU,
26 HE'S GOING TO PROVE IT WAS A MAFIA KNEECAPPING
27 RECREATION. MR. CONN'S GOING TO CALL A WITNESS IN
28 THIS CASE CALLED ROGER MC CARTHY.
1
MR. CONN: OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR. GOES
2 BEYOND -3
THE COURT: LET'S STICK TO WHAT EVIDENCE YOU
4 EXPECT TO INTRODUCE.
5
MS. ABRAMSON: WELL, I DO --
6
THE COURT: YOU'RE NOT CALLING DR. MC CARTHY.
7
MS. ABRAMSON: I'M GOING TO CROSS-EXAMINE
8 DR. MC CARTHY.
9
THE COURT: LET'S GO TO THE WITNESSES YOU'RE
10 GOING TO CALL.
11
MS. ABRAMSON: AND I'M GOING TO CALL, TO
12 REFUTE DR. MC CARTHY, WITNESSES WHO ARE EXPERT IN A
13 FIELD THAT WE'LL SHOW YOU MR. MC CARTHY IS NOT
14 EXPERT IN.
15
MR. CONN: OBJECTION. IMPROPER OPENING
16 STATEMENT.
17
MS. ABRAMSON: WE ARE GOING TO CALL --
18
THE COURT: JUST WHAT YOU INTEND TO PROVE.
19
MS. ABRAMSON: CROSS-EXAMINATION IS ALSO WHAT
20 I INTEND TO PROVE, YOUR HONOR.
21
THE COURT: AGAIN, YOU'RE GETTING INTO TOO
22 MUCH DETAIL. YOU'VE GONE INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL.
23 LET'S FINISH IT OFF NOW.
24
25
MS. ABRAMSON: HERE IT IS, LAST THREE PAGES.
ALL RIGHT. WE ARE GOING TO CALL
26 WITNESSES TO DESCRIBE, BASED ON THEIR EXPERTISE IN
27 THE CRUCIAL FIELDS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE ANALYSIS
28 OF A CRIME SCENE, WHO WILL TESTIFY AND WHO WILL
1 DEMONSTRATE TO YOU THAT THE VERSION THAT ERIK
2 MENENDEZ WILL TESTIFY TO OF A RANDOM SHOOTING IN A
3 DARKENED ROOM BY A PANIC-STRICKEN PERSON IS ENTIRELY
4 CONSISTENT WITH THE CONDITION THAT THE CRIME SCENE
5 WAS IN. AND I'LL TELL YOU WHO THOSE PEOPLE ARE.
6
THE FIRST IS DR. MARTIN FACKLER, WHO IS
7 A MEDICAL DOCTOR, A SURGEON AND A RETIRED COLONEL OF
8 THE MEDICAL CORPS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, AND HE
9 SPECIALIZES IN THE FIELD OF WOUND BALLISTICS. AND
10 WOUND BALLISTICS, HE WILL EXPLAIN, IS THE EFFECTS ON
11 THE HUMAN BODY OF PENETRATING PROJECTILES. HE
12 SERVED AS A MEDICAL OFFICER, FIRST IN THE UNITED
13 STATES NAVY, AND THEN THE ARMY, FOR A TOTAL OF 31
14 YEARS. AND BEFORE HIS RETIREMENT IN 1991 HE WAS THE
15 DIRECTOR OF WOUND BALLISTICS LABORATORY AT THE
16 LETTERMAN ARMY INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH IN
17 SAN FRANCISCO.
18
AND WHAT I'LL ALSO PROVE TO YOU IS THAT
19 THEPROSECUTION'S WITNESS ACKNOWLEDGES,
20 PROSECUTION'S WITNESS ACKNOWLEDGES THAT DR. MARTIN
21 FACKLER 22
MR. CONN: OBJECTION. THIS IS IMPROPER.
23
THE COURT: YES. THIS IS ARGUMENT. JUST GET
24 TO WHAT YOU EXPECT DR. FACKLER TO TESTIFY ABOUT.
25
MS. ABRAMSON: I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE THOSE
26 DETAILS, JUDGE. I'M GOING TO SAVE YOU FROM HAVING
27 TO LISTEN TO THAT.
28
THE COURT: GO ON TO THE NEXT WITNESS WHO
1 WILL TESTIFY.
2
MS. ABRAMSON: HE'S THE PREEMINENT WOUND
3 BALLISTICS EXPERT IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THAT IS
4 INDISPUTABLE.
5
WE'LL ALSO CALL MR. CHARLES MORTON OF
6 THE INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, A WHOLLY
7 QUALIFIED CRIMINALIST WHO SPECIALIZES IN BALLISTIC
8 EVIDENCE, BLOOD SPATTER EVIDENCE AND THE COLLECTION
9 AND PROCESSING OF CRIME SCENE EVIDENCE. MR. MORTON
10 HAS DONE INVESTIGATIONS IN MANY COMPLICATED CRIMINAL
11 CASES AND HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS CASE FOR FIVE
12 YEARS. FIVE YEARS THE DEFENSE CRIMINALIST HAS
13 EXAMINED THIS CRIME SCENE AND HE WILL TELL YOU THAT
14 THE CONCLUSIONS THAT YOU'LL HEAR FROM THE
15 PROSECUTION'S EXPERT ARE -16
MR. CONN: OBJECTION. IMPROPER OPENING
17 STATEMENT.
18
MS. ABRAMSON: THAT'S HIS TESTIMONY, YOUR
19 HONOR.
20
THE COURT: OBJECTION SUSTAINED. THAT'S
21 ARGUMENT AT THIS POINT. JUST WHAT HIS TESTIMONY
22 WILL BE.
23
MS. ABRAMSON: WELL, HE WILL TESTIFY THAT THE
24 CORONER WHO PERFORMED THE AUTOPSY AND DETERMINED
25 WHAT WERE ENTRY WOUNDS AND WHAT WERE EXIT WOUNDS,
26 THAT HIS CONCLUSIONS ARE SUPPORTED BY THE BALLISTIC
27 EVIDENCE IN THE CRIME SCENE AND ARE INCONSISTENT
28 WITH A RECONSTRUCTION, A SET OF RECONSTRUCTION
1 DIAGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED TO THE DEFENSE BY
2 THE PROSECUTION.
3
ALSO TESTIFYING FOR THE DEFENSE WILL BE
4 DR. CYRIL WECHT, WHO IS ONE OF THE NATION'S FOREMOST
5 FORENSIC PATHOLOGISTS, AND HE WILL REVIEW FOR YOU
6 THE FINDINGS OF THE CORONER IN THIS CASE AND EXPLAIN
7 HOW THE CONDITION OF THE DECEDENT SUPPORTS THE
8 CORONER'S FINDINGS, DR. FACKLER'S FINDINGS, AND THE
9 DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOOTINGS OFFERED IN ERIK
10 MENENDEZ' TESTIMONY.
11
WE ALSO WILL PRESENT YOU WITH THE
12 OPINION OF DR. MICHAEL BODEN, WHO IS ANOTHER
13 FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST WHO IS HIGHLY REGARDED IN THAT
14 COMMUNITY.
15
WHEN WE HAVE COMPLETED THE EXAMINATION
16 OF ALL OF THESE WITNESSES, YOU WILL HEAR THEIR
17 CONCLUSION THAT THE KIND OF RANDOM AND HIGHLY
18 EMOTIONAL ACTIONS OF THE SHOOTERS THAT ARE REFLECTED
19 IN THE CONDITION OF THIS CRIME SCENE IS COMMONLY
20 CALLED OVERKILL. AND THERE WILL BE TESTIMONY THAT
21 OVERKILL, THAT A CRIME SCENE THAT HAS THAT
22 APPEARANCE, IS OFTEN THE RESULT OF EXTREME FEAR BY
23 THE SHOOTER OF THE TARGETS OF THE SHOOTING. IN
24 OTHER WORDS, THE SHOOTERS ARE SO AFRAID OF THE
25 VICTIMS THAT THEY ENGAGE IN WHAT IS CALLED
26 OVERKILL.
27
AND THOSE OPINIONS OF THOSE EXPERTS WILL
28 TIE IN DIRECTLY WITH ERIK MENENDEZ' DESCRIPTION OF
1 HIS PARENTS AS PEOPLE THAT HE BOTH ADMIRED AND
2 FEARED, WHO WERE LARGER THAN LIFE TO HIM AND WHOM HE
3 PERCEIVED AS SO POWERFUL AS TO BE ABOVE THE LAW AND
4 INCAPABLE OF BEING KILLED.
5
NOW, ALL OF THE TESTIMONY THAT WE'LL
6 BRING IN ABOUT ERIK MENENDEZ' ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP
7 WITH HIS PARENTS IS SO THAT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND HOW
8 THAT RELATIONSHIP, HOW THEIR BEHAVIOR TOWARDS HIM
9 OVER THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE INFLUENCED HIS STATE OF
10 MIND AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTINGS.
11
I'M NOT GOING TO REVIEW NOW, AGAIN, WHAT
12 I'VE SAID ABOUT THAT STATE OF MIND.
13
I ASK YOU TO KEEP AN OPEN STATE OF MIND
14 UNTIL YOU'VE HEARD ALL OF THE EVIDENCE TO DECIDE
15 WHETHER OR NOT WHAT HE DESCRIBES TO YOU AND WHAT THE
16 PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AT THE SCENE SHOWS FITS THE LEGAL
17 DEFINITIONS THAT THE COURT WILL GIVE YOU THAT DEFINE
18 MANSLAUGHTER.
19
I'LL SAY THIS, THOUGH: CONTRARY TO THE
20 SUGGESTION MADE IN MR. CONN'S FINAL ARGUMENT, ERIK'S
21 BELIEF IN THE INCREDIBLE POWER AND STRENGTH OF HIS
22 PARENTS IS WHAT LED HIM TO ASK SERGEANT EDMONDS,
23 HOURS AFTER HE HAD SHOT THEM: ARE THEY DEAD?
24
THANK YOU.