1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,336 [THEME MUSIC] 2 00:00:08,908 --> 00:00:11,478 You have a prepaid call from-- 3 00:00:11,544 --> 00:00:13,413 Lyle Menendez. 4 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:15,181 My name is Lyle Menendez. 5 00:00:15,248 --> 00:00:20,019 I'm at RJ Donovan State Prison in San Diego, California. 6 00:00:20,086 --> 00:00:23,223 And I am here for killing my parents. 7 00:00:23,289 --> 00:00:25,759 My brother and I were convicted together. 8 00:00:25,825 --> 00:00:29,329 First-degree murder verdicts for both Erik and Lyle Menendez. 9 00:00:29,396 --> 00:00:29,896 Excuse us. 10 00:00:29,963 --> 00:00:32,532 This is a special report from the Van Nuys Courthouse. 11 00:00:32,599 --> 00:00:35,135 Both Menendez brothers have been found guilty. 12 00:00:35,201 --> 00:00:37,670 How big a deal was the Menendez case? 13 00:00:37,737 --> 00:00:39,472 Well, when you think back, it was huge. 14 00:00:39,539 --> 00:00:41,875 The Menendez family was very wealthy. 15 00:00:41,941 --> 00:00:43,476 This was Beverly Hills. 16 00:00:43,543 --> 00:00:46,679 Murders just don't typically happen. 17 00:00:46,746 --> 00:00:49,616 Kitty was my baby sister. 18 00:00:49,682 --> 00:00:52,819 There was a brutal murder. 19 00:00:52,886 --> 00:00:56,823 Everyone from the gardener to the president 20 00:00:56,890 --> 00:00:59,959 had a view of what happened. 21 00:01:00,026 --> 00:01:01,394 I'm Jackie Lacey. 22 00:01:01,461 --> 00:01:05,465 I'm the former elected district attorney of Los Angeles County. 23 00:01:05,532 --> 00:01:09,335 A couple was sitting around watching TV 24 00:01:09,402 --> 00:01:13,907 when their adult sons came in with shotguns 25 00:01:13,973 --> 00:01:16,376 and slaughtered them. 26 00:01:16,443 --> 00:01:20,313 What did these parents do to deserve that? 27 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:22,148 There must be a reason. 28 00:01:22,215 --> 00:01:24,651 There's just never been a case of guilt or innocence. 29 00:01:24,717 --> 00:01:28,154 It was always about why it happened. 30 00:01:28,221 --> 00:01:31,057 Jose Menendez was a self-made millionaire. 31 00:01:31,124 --> 00:01:33,560 He was very driven, very demanding. 32 00:01:33,626 --> 00:01:36,229 The prosecution's theory was they got tired 33 00:01:36,296 --> 00:01:38,665 of their lives being micromanaged. 34 00:01:38,731 --> 00:01:40,834 They wanted to spend the money the way 35 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:42,869 they wanted to spend the money. 36 00:01:42,936 --> 00:01:45,338 They were buying Rolex watches. 37 00:01:45,405 --> 00:01:47,540 They were buying real estate. 38 00:01:47,607 --> 00:01:51,010 The way that they acted was not like, oh my goodness, 39 00:01:51,077 --> 00:01:52,479 my parents are dead. 40 00:01:52,545 --> 00:01:54,380 It was soulless. 41 00:01:54,447 --> 00:01:57,383 It was strictly greed from day one. 42 00:01:57,450 --> 00:02:00,587 You believe they wanted a portion of the money. 43 00:02:00,653 --> 00:02:01,688 They wanted it all. 44 00:02:01,754 --> 00:02:08,862 [TENSE MUSIC] 45 00:02:08,928 --> 00:02:11,564 My name is Cliff Gardner. 46 00:02:11,631 --> 00:02:14,400 I represent Erik and Lyle Menendez. 47 00:02:14,467 --> 00:02:15,802 It's not a complex case. 48 00:02:15,869 --> 00:02:16,936 It's a simple case. 49 00:02:17,003 --> 00:02:19,339 They were abused their whole life. 50 00:02:19,405 --> 00:02:22,342 My dad had been molesting me. 51 00:02:22,408 --> 00:02:24,110 He raped me. 52 00:02:24,177 --> 00:02:25,512 Did you ask him not to? 53 00:02:25,578 --> 00:02:27,981 [SNIFFS] Yes. 54 00:02:28,047 --> 00:02:32,252 The brothers were claiming that we were molested by our father. 55 00:02:32,318 --> 00:02:34,921 When we threatened to go public, they threatened to kill us. 56 00:02:34,988 --> 00:02:37,590 And so we had to go in and kill them before they killed us. 57 00:02:37,657 --> 00:02:39,859 I thought he was going to kill me that night. 58 00:02:39,926 --> 00:02:43,263 I never saw anything in the home, never. 59 00:02:43,329 --> 00:02:46,699 I have got to think that it was their attorney's ideas 60 00:02:46,766 --> 00:02:48,668 that the only way you're going to save your ass 61 00:02:48,735 --> 00:02:50,837 is to say that you were molested, 62 00:02:50,904 --> 00:02:52,205 and that's what they did. 63 00:02:52,272 --> 00:02:54,173 It's divided the family immensely. 64 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:55,241 I love my cousins. 65 00:02:55,308 --> 00:02:57,577 They shouldn't have gone through what they went through. 66 00:02:57,644 --> 00:02:58,344 They're not lying. 67 00:02:58,411 --> 00:03:00,947 They were being abused. 68 00:03:01,014 --> 00:03:03,316 As you sit there in prison, there 69 00:03:03,383 --> 00:03:06,786 is some news now that could really impact you 70 00:03:06,853 --> 00:03:08,588 and your brother's case, right? 71 00:03:08,655 --> 00:03:09,122 Yes. 72 00:03:09,188 --> 00:03:10,690 That's pretty just sort of shocking. 73 00:03:13,226 --> 00:03:16,563 Former Menudo singer Roy Rosselló claims he was drugged 74 00:03:16,629 --> 00:03:19,299 and raped by Jose Menendez in the mid-'80s. 75 00:03:19,365 --> 00:03:22,569 Menudo had just signed with RCA Records, where 76 00:03:22,635 --> 00:03:24,938 Menendez was a top executive. 77 00:03:25,004 --> 00:03:27,607 We now have evidence that makes absolutely clear 78 00:03:27,674 --> 00:03:29,075 that those boys were molested. 79 00:03:29,142 --> 00:03:31,044 And if those boys were molested, it 80 00:03:31,110 --> 00:03:34,314 would have been manslaughter, and they would be out. 81 00:03:34,380 --> 00:03:36,649 The judge in this case, if he finds 82 00:03:36,716 --> 00:03:38,117 that the new evidence is credible 83 00:03:38,184 --> 00:03:39,852 and the conviction should be vacated, 84 00:03:39,919 --> 00:03:43,856 do you think the DA's office would seek a new trial? 85 00:03:43,923 --> 00:03:48,361 I think they would spend a lot of time thinking about it. 86 00:03:48,428 --> 00:03:50,597 34 years of incarceration-- you're 87 00:03:50,663 --> 00:03:53,499 wondering, when will there be a fair review of this? 88 00:03:53,566 --> 00:03:54,901 So maybe now. 89 00:03:54,968 --> 00:03:56,803 My hope in the case is that they'll finally 90 00:03:56,869 --> 00:04:00,039 walk out of prison. 91 00:04:00,106 --> 00:04:03,576 [THEME MUSIC] 92 00:04:43,816 --> 00:04:47,654 Lyle and Erik Menendez have been behind bars in California 93 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,957 for more than three decades for the 1989 94 00:04:51,024 --> 00:04:54,227 killing of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. 95 00:04:54,293 --> 00:04:57,664 Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life 96 00:04:57,730 --> 00:04:58,998 in prison-- 97 00:04:59,065 --> 00:05:00,033 I really can't comment. 98 00:05:00,099 --> 00:05:00,867 Did they say anything at all? 99 00:05:00,933 --> 00:05:03,136 --in a case that captured the nation's attention-- 100 00:05:03,202 --> 00:05:04,604 Make some room, guys. 101 00:05:04,671 --> 00:05:07,373 --they had no hope of ever walking free. 102 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,510 But new evidence may change that. 103 00:05:10,576 --> 00:05:13,379 Erik chose not to speak with us for this broadcast, 104 00:05:13,446 --> 00:05:15,448 but Lyle did. 105 00:05:15,515 --> 00:05:17,417 You have a prepaid call from-- 106 00:05:17,483 --> 00:05:19,018 Lyle Menendez. 107 00:05:19,085 --> 00:05:20,987 This call and your telephone number 108 00:05:21,054 --> 00:05:23,156 will be monitored and recorded. 109 00:05:23,222 --> 00:05:23,790 Hi, Lyle. 110 00:05:23,856 --> 00:05:25,224 Can you hear me? 111 00:05:25,291 --> 00:05:25,725 Hi. 112 00:05:25,792 --> 00:05:26,592 Yeah, I can hear you. 113 00:05:26,659 --> 00:05:30,329 What did you think when you heard about these new claims 114 00:05:30,396 --> 00:05:31,664 and evidence? 115 00:05:31,731 --> 00:05:34,333 I mean, for me, I just was happy. 116 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,970 It's a burden to be telling what happened to you 117 00:05:38,037 --> 00:05:42,041 and just have so much doubt in the public air. 118 00:05:42,108 --> 00:05:44,610 The question is not whether the Menendez brothers 119 00:05:44,677 --> 00:05:45,912 killed their parents. 120 00:05:45,978 --> 00:05:47,714 They admit that they did. 121 00:05:47,780 --> 00:05:52,418 Instead, the focus of the case has long been why they did it. 122 00:05:52,485 --> 00:05:56,889 They insist that they killed out of fear and in self-defense 123 00:05:56,956 --> 00:05:59,592 after a lifetime of physical, emotional, 124 00:05:59,659 --> 00:06:03,162 and sexual abuse, suffered at the hands of their parents. 125 00:06:03,229 --> 00:06:05,098 One of their lawyers, Cliff Gardner, 126 00:06:05,164 --> 00:06:08,334 says the new evidence corroborates those claims 127 00:06:08,401 --> 00:06:10,503 and lessens their culpability. 128 00:06:10,570 --> 00:06:12,739 If the judge finds this evidence credible, 129 00:06:12,805 --> 00:06:16,676 I think it is sufficient to give them a new trial. 130 00:06:16,743 --> 00:06:19,479 But to understand how we got here, 131 00:06:19,545 --> 00:06:22,582 we have to go back to the beginning, the evening 132 00:06:22,648 --> 00:06:29,255 of August 20, 1989, when Lyle Menendez made this call to 911 133 00:06:29,322 --> 00:06:32,191 from the family's Beverly Hills mansion. 134 00:06:32,258 --> 00:06:33,326 Beverly Hills Emergency. 135 00:06:33,392 --> 00:06:35,194 Yes, please. 136 00:06:35,261 --> 00:06:37,363 What's the problem? 137 00:06:37,430 --> 00:06:38,865 Someone killed my parents. 138 00:06:38,931 --> 00:06:39,499 Pardon me? 139 00:06:39,565 --> 00:06:41,067 Someone killed my parents. 140 00:06:41,134 --> 00:06:43,936 After officers responded to the scene, then 141 00:06:44,003 --> 00:06:46,773 21-year-old Lyle and 18-year-old Erik 142 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:48,841 reported that they had arrived home 143 00:06:48,908 --> 00:06:52,779 to find their parents shot to death in the family room. 144 00:06:52,845 --> 00:06:55,348 Jackie Lacey was a deputy district attorney 145 00:06:55,414 --> 00:06:57,383 in Los Angeles at the time. 146 00:06:57,450 --> 00:06:59,485 I think one of the Beverly Hills detectives 147 00:06:59,552 --> 00:07:02,488 described it as one of the most brutal crime scenes 148 00:07:02,555 --> 00:07:04,724 he had ever seen in his life. 149 00:07:04,791 --> 00:07:07,126 I've been in this business for over 33 years, 150 00:07:07,193 --> 00:07:09,729 and I've heard of very few murders that were 151 00:07:09,796 --> 00:07:11,697 more savage than this one was. 152 00:07:11,764 --> 00:07:15,401 Jose Menendez, a former top executive at RCA Records, 153 00:07:15,468 --> 00:07:19,472 and his wife Kitty had been shot multiple times 154 00:07:19,539 --> 00:07:22,341 at close range with a shotgun. 155 00:07:22,408 --> 00:07:27,947 It was an expression of hatred for these two people. 156 00:07:28,014 --> 00:07:30,650 And that was the last time I saw her alive. 157 00:07:30,716 --> 00:07:33,186 Milton Andersen, Kitty's older brother, 158 00:07:33,252 --> 00:07:35,755 still remembers receiving the news. 159 00:07:35,822 --> 00:07:37,790 My brother called me, and he said 160 00:07:37,857 --> 00:07:40,760 that Kitty and Jose were dead. 161 00:07:40,827 --> 00:07:41,694 I loved her. 162 00:07:41,761 --> 00:07:45,598 My sister Kitty was a very ambitious gal. 163 00:07:45,665 --> 00:07:49,836 She was a very beautiful woman. 164 00:07:49,902 --> 00:07:53,372 Kitty and Jose met when they were in college in Illinois. 165 00:07:53,439 --> 00:07:55,842 Jose had come to the US from Cuba. 166 00:07:55,908 --> 00:07:58,945 They went on to marry and start a family. 167 00:07:59,011 --> 00:08:01,914 Lyle and Erik were their only children. 168 00:08:01,981 --> 00:08:04,717 Over the years, with Kitty by his side, 169 00:08:04,784 --> 00:08:09,222 Jose excelled in his career, working for RCA Records, 170 00:08:09,288 --> 00:08:11,557 among other major companies. 171 00:08:11,624 --> 00:08:15,494 He was going right up the ladder without any hesitation. 172 00:08:15,561 --> 00:08:19,065 At the time of his death, Jose was working for a film studio, 173 00:08:19,131 --> 00:08:21,334 running their home video division. 174 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,736 Investigators initially suspected 175 00:08:23,803 --> 00:08:27,406 that the killings may have been tied to his business dealings. 176 00:08:27,473 --> 00:08:29,909 Lyle sort of indicated, you know, my dad 177 00:08:29,976 --> 00:08:31,310 dealt with shady characters. 178 00:08:31,377 --> 00:08:34,046 And once you say something like that, 179 00:08:34,113 --> 00:08:36,015 detectives are going to start to look at, OK, 180 00:08:36,082 --> 00:08:38,050 what were his business contacts? 181 00:08:38,117 --> 00:08:41,354 Family members and investigators wondered whether it 182 00:08:41,420 --> 00:08:43,422 may have been mafia related. 183 00:08:43,489 --> 00:08:45,258 At the time, the home video industry 184 00:08:45,324 --> 00:08:47,927 was known for having ties to the mob. 185 00:08:47,994 --> 00:08:49,695 Everybody said it was a mob hit. 186 00:08:49,762 --> 00:08:51,097 Because it was so brutal. 187 00:08:51,163 --> 00:08:54,567 It really was like a scene out of The Godfather movies. 188 00:08:54,634 --> 00:08:56,869 Initially, Lyle and Erik Menendez 189 00:08:56,936 --> 00:08:59,705 were not even on investigators radar. 190 00:08:59,772 --> 00:09:03,175 They didn't do any gunshot residue test on their hands. 191 00:09:03,242 --> 00:09:05,411 They let them go back and get evidence 192 00:09:05,478 --> 00:09:09,048 without even thinking, hey, could it have been the kids? 193 00:09:09,115 --> 00:09:12,685 But they didn't stay off investigators radar for long. 194 00:09:12,752 --> 00:09:14,720 Their behavior in the wake of the crime 195 00:09:14,787 --> 00:09:16,722 eventually drew scrutiny. 196 00:09:16,789 --> 00:09:19,058 The brothers appeared to be spending their parents' 197 00:09:19,125 --> 00:09:21,460 money and lots of it. 198 00:09:21,527 --> 00:09:24,196 They were investing in businesses. 199 00:09:24,263 --> 00:09:27,667 They acted like they had won the lottery. 200 00:09:27,733 --> 00:09:30,937 And their behavior at their parents memorial services 201 00:09:31,003 --> 00:09:33,272 raised some eyebrows. 202 00:09:33,339 --> 00:09:35,608 At the podium, Lyle read a letter 203 00:09:35,675 --> 00:09:40,112 from Jose That was filled with love and pride for his sons. 204 00:09:40,179 --> 00:09:44,083 Did you see Lyle get emotional as he was reading that letter? 205 00:09:44,150 --> 00:09:45,318 No. 206 00:09:45,384 --> 00:09:48,154 Lyle also made a statement that his father always said 207 00:09:48,220 --> 00:09:49,822 you can never fill my shoes. 208 00:09:49,889 --> 00:09:54,593 And he jokingly said, guess what? 209 00:09:54,660 --> 00:09:57,263 I'm wearing my father's shoes today. 210 00:09:57,330 --> 00:10:01,400 It struck you as odd that he would say something like that? 211 00:10:01,467 --> 00:10:02,568 It was very odd. 212 00:10:02,635 --> 00:10:05,438 While all that may have seemed unusual, 213 00:10:05,504 --> 00:10:07,473 it wasn't hard evidence. 214 00:10:07,540 --> 00:10:10,309 But then, about six months later, police 215 00:10:10,376 --> 00:10:14,447 got a tip from an unlikely source, the girlfriend 216 00:10:14,513 --> 00:10:17,116 of a psychologist who Lyle and Erik 217 00:10:17,183 --> 00:10:19,452 Menendez had been talking to. 218 00:10:19,518 --> 00:10:22,488 She told police that the brothers had confessed 219 00:10:22,555 --> 00:10:26,359 to the killings in therapy, and there was an audio taped 220 00:10:26,425 --> 00:10:27,860 recording of it. 221 00:10:27,927 --> 00:10:30,162 But for that confession, who knows whether they've ever 222 00:10:30,229 --> 00:10:31,030 been caught? 223 00:10:31,097 --> 00:10:34,967 On March 8, 1990, after police got their hands on that tape, 224 00:10:35,034 --> 00:10:38,270 Lyle Menendez was taken into custody. 225 00:10:38,337 --> 00:10:41,040 Erik Menendez, who was out of the country at the time, 226 00:10:41,107 --> 00:10:43,609 surrendered to police days later. 227 00:10:43,676 --> 00:10:45,411 Not many Hollywood murder mysteries 228 00:10:45,478 --> 00:10:47,546 ever took a more dramatic turn than police 229 00:10:47,613 --> 00:10:50,816 are describing in a couple of savage Beverly Hills killings. 230 00:10:50,883 --> 00:10:54,487 Police say the motive was apparently money, a $14 million 231 00:10:54,553 --> 00:10:57,423 inheritance to be shared by the brothers. 232 00:10:57,490 --> 00:11:01,227 But years later, when the case made its way to trial, 233 00:11:01,293 --> 00:11:06,232 the brothers would make it clear that it might not be so simple. 234 00:11:06,298 --> 00:11:09,935 In August 20, 1989, did you and your brother 235 00:11:10,002 --> 00:11:11,137 kill your mother and father? 236 00:11:11,203 --> 00:11:12,238 Yes. 237 00:11:12,304 --> 00:11:13,639 Why did you kill your parents? 238 00:11:16,108 --> 00:11:17,076 Because we were afraid. 239 00:11:33,159 --> 00:11:37,930 In the summer of 1993, nearly four years after Jose and Kitty 240 00:11:37,997 --> 00:11:41,867 Menendez were gunned down in their home, 241 00:11:41,934 --> 00:11:45,671 their sons Lyle and Erik Menendez went on trial. 242 00:11:45,738 --> 00:11:47,406 They faced the death penalty. 243 00:11:49,975 --> 00:11:51,644 Good afternoon. 244 00:11:51,710 --> 00:11:55,247 The only question in this case is, 245 00:11:55,314 --> 00:11:57,416 why did these killings occur? 246 00:11:57,483 --> 00:12:01,487 Why they were killed is what the focus of all of our evidence 247 00:12:01,554 --> 00:12:02,788 will be on. 248 00:12:02,855 --> 00:12:05,124 What the defense was arguing was that since this 249 00:12:05,191 --> 00:12:07,726 was a self-defense case, the brothers 250 00:12:07,793 --> 00:12:10,496 were deserving of a lesser charge and punishment. 251 00:12:10,563 --> 00:12:12,665 The defense attorneys who tried the case 252 00:12:12,731 --> 00:12:15,668 didn't respond to our requests for an interview. 253 00:12:15,734 --> 00:12:19,839 Cliff Gardner represents Lyle and Erik Menendez today. 254 00:12:19,905 --> 00:12:22,808 I had the defense of imperfect self-defense. 255 00:12:22,875 --> 00:12:26,245 Imperfect self-defense, meaning the brothers honestly 256 00:12:26,312 --> 00:12:29,782 believe that they had to take action to save their lives, 257 00:12:29,849 --> 00:12:32,485 even though it might not seem rational. 258 00:12:32,551 --> 00:12:34,353 And if it's honest but unreasonable, 259 00:12:34,420 --> 00:12:36,889 you are culpable of manslaughter, not of murder. 260 00:12:36,956 --> 00:12:38,924 Both brothers took the stand. 261 00:12:38,991 --> 00:12:41,260 Lyle Menendez spoke of sexual abuse 262 00:12:41,327 --> 00:12:44,029 at the hands of his mother and father. 263 00:12:44,096 --> 00:12:46,999 He said his father began sexually abusing him 264 00:12:47,066 --> 00:12:50,069 when he was only six years old. 265 00:12:50,136 --> 00:12:55,207 He would fondle me, and he would ask me to do the same with him. 266 00:12:55,274 --> 00:12:59,278 Over time, he said, it became worse. 267 00:12:59,345 --> 00:13:01,046 He raped me. 268 00:13:01,113 --> 00:13:04,550 But while Lyle said his father stopped sexually abusing him 269 00:13:04,617 --> 00:13:08,721 when he was eight, Erik said it never ended for him 270 00:13:08,787 --> 00:13:12,391 and that he finally confided in his older brother days 271 00:13:12,458 --> 00:13:15,494 before the crime at age 18. 272 00:13:15,561 --> 00:13:17,263 I didn't know what to do at the time. 273 00:13:17,329 --> 00:13:20,099 So I figured I'd tell Lyle, and maybe he could help me. 274 00:13:20,166 --> 00:13:23,068 He started telling me that one of the reasons he had never 275 00:13:23,135 --> 00:13:25,437 told me before was because my dad had always 276 00:13:25,504 --> 00:13:27,139 threatened his life. 277 00:13:27,206 --> 00:13:30,709 The brothers testified that Lyle soon confronted their parents 278 00:13:30,776 --> 00:13:32,545 and that their mother indicated she 279 00:13:32,611 --> 00:13:34,813 knew about the abuse all along. 280 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,918 In anger, Lyle said he directed a threat at his father. 281 00:13:38,984 --> 00:13:41,020 I told him that I would tell everybody. 282 00:13:41,086 --> 00:13:45,724 Then he said, we all make choices in life, son. 283 00:13:45,791 --> 00:13:46,659 Erik made his. 284 00:13:46,725 --> 00:13:48,027 You've made yours. 285 00:13:48,093 --> 00:13:50,362 What did you think was going to happen? 286 00:13:50,429 --> 00:13:51,530 I thought we were in danger. 287 00:13:51,597 --> 00:13:54,033 I thought he had no-- he felt he had no choice. 288 00:13:56,702 --> 00:13:57,803 But to what? 289 00:13:57,870 --> 00:13:59,605 That he would kill us. 290 00:13:59,672 --> 00:14:01,607 The brothers testified that they got 291 00:14:01,674 --> 00:14:03,809 into another argument with their parents 292 00:14:03,876 --> 00:14:06,845 on the night of the crime and that they believed 293 00:14:06,912 --> 00:14:10,449 their parents were about to kill them to keep the family 294 00:14:10,516 --> 00:14:12,284 secret from coming out. 295 00:14:12,351 --> 00:14:14,720 So they said they grabbed shotguns 296 00:14:14,787 --> 00:14:17,990 that they had bought two days earlier for protection, 297 00:14:18,057 --> 00:14:22,528 went into the family room, and started shooting their parents, 298 00:14:22,595 --> 00:14:26,632 at one point even stopping to reload. 299 00:14:26,699 --> 00:14:28,500 And what did you do after you reloaded? 300 00:14:28,567 --> 00:14:32,004 [BREATHES DEEPLY] 301 00:14:43,315 --> 00:14:47,386 I ran around and shot my mom. 302 00:14:47,453 --> 00:14:49,555 The defense may call its next witness. 303 00:14:49,622 --> 00:14:51,357 To bolster their claims of abuse, 304 00:14:51,423 --> 00:14:55,160 the defense called to the stand numerous relatives, friends, 305 00:14:55,227 --> 00:14:57,429 and acquaintances of the family who 306 00:14:57,496 --> 00:15:00,766 described incidents of physical and emotional abuse 307 00:15:00,833 --> 00:15:03,202 that they said they observed. 308 00:15:03,269 --> 00:15:05,671 Alan Andersen, Lyle and Erik's cousin, 309 00:15:05,738 --> 00:15:07,506 was one of those witnesses. 310 00:15:07,573 --> 00:15:11,043 Growing up, Alan would spend summers at the Menendez home. 311 00:15:11,110 --> 00:15:13,612 He had a lot to say about Jose-- 312 00:15:13,679 --> 00:15:16,548 Hitting the kids with a belt, never had a problem with that. 313 00:15:16,615 --> 00:15:17,916 --and Kitty. 314 00:15:17,983 --> 00:15:21,020 She wouldn't get up to console the children, nothing. 315 00:15:21,086 --> 00:15:23,522 While none of the witnesses, including Alan, 316 00:15:23,589 --> 00:15:27,926 ever saw Lyle or Erik Menendez being sexually abused, 317 00:15:27,993 --> 00:15:31,497 Alan did recall something that struck him as odd. 318 00:15:31,563 --> 00:15:34,099 Jose would tell the boys, in the bedroom. 319 00:15:34,166 --> 00:15:36,068 And then he would close the door, 320 00:15:36,135 --> 00:15:37,636 and then he'd take showers with them. 321 00:15:37,703 --> 00:15:39,805 He says, during that time, Kitty wouldn't 322 00:15:39,872 --> 00:15:41,573 let him go near the room. 323 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:46,011 So I was not allowed while the boys were alone with Jose, 324 00:15:46,078 --> 00:15:48,947 with the door closed in the master bedroom 325 00:15:49,014 --> 00:15:54,286 to go down the hall to probably not hear whatever I may hear. 326 00:15:54,353 --> 00:15:58,257 Another cousin Diane Vandermolen gave similar testimony, 327 00:15:58,324 --> 00:16:00,759 and she also recounted a conversation 328 00:16:00,826 --> 00:16:04,830 she says she had with Lyle when he was eight. 329 00:16:04,897 --> 00:16:11,403 He proceeded to indicate to me by touching himself 330 00:16:11,470 --> 00:16:14,707 down and saying that his dad and him had been 331 00:16:14,773 --> 00:16:16,442 touching each other down there. 332 00:16:16,508 --> 00:16:17,876 And what did you do? 333 00:16:17,943 --> 00:16:23,649 I went and got Kitty and told her what was going on. 334 00:16:23,716 --> 00:16:26,085 And what happened when Kitty came down? 335 00:16:26,151 --> 00:16:27,820 She didn't believe me. 336 00:16:27,886 --> 00:16:31,657 Andy Cano, yet another cousin, also took the stand 337 00:16:31,724 --> 00:16:33,692 and testified about a conversation 338 00:16:33,759 --> 00:16:38,597 he says he had with Erik when Erik was about 13. 339 00:16:38,664 --> 00:16:43,068 He told me his father was massaging his [BLEEP].. 340 00:16:43,135 --> 00:16:45,738 He told me never to reveal it to anybody. 341 00:16:45,804 --> 00:16:48,841 Still, prosecutors argued that even if Lyle and Erik 342 00:16:48,907 --> 00:16:53,245 Menendez were abused, it doesn't give them the right to kill. 343 00:16:53,312 --> 00:16:55,848 And they pointed out that when the brothers confessed 344 00:16:55,914 --> 00:17:00,319 to that psychologist, they never mentioned abuse or self-defense 345 00:17:00,386 --> 00:17:01,186 then. 346 00:17:01,253 --> 00:17:04,656 The timing of this closure was convenient. 347 00:17:04,723 --> 00:17:06,425 The prosecutors who tried the case 348 00:17:06,492 --> 00:17:08,961 didn't respond to our request for an interview. 349 00:17:09,027 --> 00:17:11,797 Former Los Angeles County DA Jackie Lacey 350 00:17:11,864 --> 00:17:15,100 reviewed portions of the trial at our request. 351 00:17:15,167 --> 00:17:19,104 And people do make things up when their life is on the line. 352 00:17:22,408 --> 00:17:26,111 But all these years later, Lyle Menendez maintains 353 00:17:26,178 --> 00:17:28,213 they are telling the truth. 354 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,851 And the reason they didn't come forward then was complicated. 355 00:17:32,918 --> 00:17:35,053 What was holding you back? 356 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:39,124 Just shame, just not wanting it to be public. 357 00:17:39,191 --> 00:17:41,093 The pure nature of the crime, however, 358 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,730 says Lacey, doesn't support the brothers claim that they 359 00:17:44,797 --> 00:17:46,532 acted in self-defense. 360 00:17:46,598 --> 00:17:50,669 Prosecutors pointed out that Jose and Kitty were watching TV 361 00:17:50,736 --> 00:17:54,440 at the time they were killed, and they weren't armed. 362 00:17:54,506 --> 00:17:58,043 In order to get close enough to blow somebody away, 363 00:17:58,110 --> 00:18:02,414 you would have been able to see that they didn't have weapons. 364 00:18:02,481 --> 00:18:05,851 Lyle Menendez is adamant that he and his brother 365 00:18:05,918 --> 00:18:08,687 were in fear for their lives. 366 00:18:08,754 --> 00:18:15,160 For me, it was just dark and confusing and total belief 367 00:18:15,227 --> 00:18:17,162 that there was danger. 368 00:18:17,229 --> 00:18:19,531 You know, it's fight or flight to a degree. 369 00:18:19,598 --> 00:18:20,933 It was panic. 370 00:18:20,999 --> 00:18:23,402 The prosecution argued the evidence proves 371 00:18:23,469 --> 00:18:25,737 the killings were premeditated. 372 00:18:25,804 --> 00:18:28,173 When the brothers purchased those shotguns, 373 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,277 prosecutors said that they took steps to cover their tracks, 374 00:18:32,344 --> 00:18:37,816 like driving to a gun store all the way in San Diego. 375 00:18:37,883 --> 00:18:40,486 San Diego is not around-the-corner drive. 376 00:18:40,552 --> 00:18:42,988 Last time I checked, it was two hours sometimes. 377 00:18:43,055 --> 00:18:45,057 After they killed their parents, they 378 00:18:45,123 --> 00:18:50,429 went around and picked up the expended shotgun shell casings 379 00:18:50,496 --> 00:18:52,998 so that their fingerprints wouldn't 380 00:18:53,065 --> 00:18:56,134 be discovered on those shells. 381 00:18:56,201 --> 00:18:58,971 There was a lot of thought and a lot of deliberation 382 00:18:59,037 --> 00:19:00,539 that went into it. 383 00:19:00,606 --> 00:19:05,277 They also got rid of the shotguns, made that 911 call-- 384 00:19:05,344 --> 00:19:07,779 Who was the person that was shot? 385 00:19:07,846 --> 00:19:09,948 My mom and my dad. 386 00:19:10,015 --> 00:19:13,151 --and misled the initial investigators. 387 00:19:13,218 --> 00:19:16,488 Prosecutors pointed to money as the motive. 388 00:19:16,555 --> 00:19:20,225 They said Jose Menendez told his sons he had removed them 389 00:19:20,292 --> 00:19:21,326 from his will. 390 00:19:21,393 --> 00:19:23,562 And based on their investigation, 391 00:19:23,629 --> 00:19:26,164 they suggested that after the crime, 392 00:19:26,231 --> 00:19:30,335 Lyle Menendez attempted to destroy a will on the family 393 00:19:30,402 --> 00:19:31,436 computer. 394 00:19:31,503 --> 00:19:35,541 Lyle denies doing that and insists money had nothing 395 00:19:35,607 --> 00:19:37,242 to do with what happened. 396 00:19:37,309 --> 00:19:41,246 If there was a new will, it was never found. 397 00:19:41,313 --> 00:19:44,249 We never had any financial problems with my parents. 398 00:19:44,316 --> 00:19:46,451 Although the brothers were tried together, 399 00:19:46,518 --> 00:19:50,088 there were two separate juries deciding their fate. 400 00:19:50,155 --> 00:19:53,725 When deliberations began, they stretched on for weeks, 401 00:19:53,792 --> 00:19:57,729 before both juries determined they were divided over 402 00:19:57,796 --> 00:20:00,666 whether Lyle and Erik Menendez should be convicted 403 00:20:00,732 --> 00:20:02,968 of murder or manslaughter. 404 00:20:03,035 --> 00:20:08,206 Therefore, I find that the jury is hopelessly deadlocked. 405 00:20:08,273 --> 00:20:10,509 A mistrial was declared. 406 00:20:10,576 --> 00:20:12,911 It was just a devastating result. 407 00:20:12,978 --> 00:20:16,782 I needed it to be over, one way or the other. 408 00:20:16,848 --> 00:20:18,750 But it was far from over. 409 00:20:18,817 --> 00:20:21,753 Prosecutors would try the case again. 410 00:20:21,820 --> 00:20:22,888 They needed a win. 411 00:20:22,955 --> 00:20:24,022 The heat was on. 412 00:20:34,299 --> 00:20:37,736 [MUSIC PLAYING] 413 00:20:40,706 --> 00:20:45,410 Nearly two years passed as Lyle and Erik Menendez sat in jail, 414 00:20:45,477 --> 00:20:47,479 awaiting a second trial. 415 00:20:47,546 --> 00:20:50,649 Some of their family members, like Alan Andersen, 416 00:20:50,716 --> 00:20:53,619 believed that they were justified in the killings-- 417 00:20:53,685 --> 00:20:55,387 I know they did what they did because they 418 00:20:55,454 --> 00:20:57,155 were in fear of their life. 419 00:20:57,222 --> 00:21:00,626 --while others, like Kitty's brother Milton Andersen, 420 00:21:00,692 --> 00:21:03,595 considered them cold-blooded killers. 421 00:21:03,662 --> 00:21:06,264 I don't believe that Jose or Kitty 422 00:21:06,331 --> 00:21:08,767 would do any of the things that they were accused of. 423 00:21:08,834 --> 00:21:11,069 Jose was changing his will, and that's 424 00:21:11,136 --> 00:21:12,904 when they went out and bought the shotguns. 425 00:21:12,971 --> 00:21:16,441 At the retrial, which began in October 1995, 426 00:21:16,508 --> 00:21:19,878 one jury, instead of two, would hear the case. 427 00:21:19,945 --> 00:21:22,447 No video cameras were allowed in court, 428 00:21:22,514 --> 00:21:24,349 and a new team of prosecutors would 429 00:21:24,416 --> 00:21:26,485 employ a different strategy. 430 00:21:26,551 --> 00:21:28,620 The first trial was, OK, there may have been abuse, 431 00:21:28,687 --> 00:21:31,089 but we don't allow vigilantes in our society. 432 00:21:31,156 --> 00:21:32,824 The second trial, the prosecution's case, 433 00:21:32,891 --> 00:21:34,359 there was no abuse at all. 434 00:21:34,426 --> 00:21:37,262 And what made it easier for prosecutors to argue that, 435 00:21:37,329 --> 00:21:40,065 says attorney Cliff Gardner, is the fact 436 00:21:40,132 --> 00:21:44,136 that the prosecution raised new and successful objections 437 00:21:44,202 --> 00:21:48,106 to the admission of a large amount of defense evidence. 438 00:21:48,173 --> 00:21:51,009 Now the jury would hear from only some, 439 00:21:51,076 --> 00:21:54,946 not all, of the witnesses who knew the Menendez family 440 00:21:55,013 --> 00:21:58,383 and helped corroborate the brothers claims of abuse. 441 00:21:58,450 --> 00:22:00,619 The DA was not going to take another loss. 442 00:22:00,686 --> 00:22:02,754 They could not take another loss. 443 00:22:02,821 --> 00:22:05,857 The judge, who had also presided over the first trial, 444 00:22:05,924 --> 00:22:08,260 excluded the testimony on the grounds 445 00:22:08,326 --> 00:22:10,729 that it was irrelevant, repetitive, 446 00:22:10,796 --> 00:22:14,299 and, in some instances, lacking in foundation. 447 00:22:14,366 --> 00:22:19,438 Because this time, Lyle Menendez would not take the stand. 448 00:22:19,504 --> 00:22:20,872 Erik did testify. 449 00:22:20,939 --> 00:22:24,843 Why did you decide not to speak? 450 00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:25,577 For two reasons. 451 00:22:25,644 --> 00:22:27,612 I was just done after the first trial. 452 00:22:27,679 --> 00:22:29,448 And I didn't have the attorney that I 453 00:22:29,514 --> 00:22:32,751 trusted so much to ask me these deep, personal questions. 454 00:22:32,818 --> 00:22:36,321 But Carol Najera, the only surviving lead prosecutor 455 00:22:36,388 --> 00:22:39,458 from the second trial, who declined to speak with us, 456 00:22:39,524 --> 00:22:42,828 suggested in a 1996 interview there 457 00:22:42,894 --> 00:22:47,232 might have been another reason why Lyle didn't take the stand. 458 00:22:47,299 --> 00:22:49,101 There were things that had been developed 459 00:22:49,167 --> 00:22:51,737 since the first trial that would have damaged 460 00:22:51,803 --> 00:22:54,272 his credibility a great deal. 461 00:22:54,339 --> 00:22:56,608 Prosecutors said they had new evidence 462 00:22:56,675 --> 00:23:00,278 that Lyle had asked a friend and a former girlfriend 463 00:23:00,345 --> 00:23:02,547 to fabricate testimony. 464 00:23:02,614 --> 00:23:06,451 Lyle admits to 48 Hours that he did do that 465 00:23:06,518 --> 00:23:09,955 but says he later withdrew those requests. 466 00:23:10,021 --> 00:23:12,090 Because Lyle didn't take the stand, 467 00:23:12,157 --> 00:23:14,593 his cousin Diane Vandermolen was prohibited 468 00:23:14,659 --> 00:23:17,395 from testifying about that conversation she 469 00:23:17,462 --> 00:23:19,664 says she had with Lyle when he was 470 00:23:19,731 --> 00:23:22,934 eight in which she says Lyle told her that his father was 471 00:23:23,001 --> 00:23:23,835 touching him. 472 00:23:23,902 --> 00:23:26,204 The jury did still hear from cousin 473 00:23:26,271 --> 00:23:30,075 Andy Cano about that similar conversation he claimed to have 474 00:23:30,142 --> 00:23:32,444 had with a 13-year-old Erik. 475 00:23:32,511 --> 00:23:35,714 But the prosecution attacked his credibility. 476 00:23:35,781 --> 00:23:38,016 The state's position was that Andy was a liar. 477 00:23:38,083 --> 00:23:40,819 And when cousin Alan Andersen took the stand, 478 00:23:40,886 --> 00:23:43,889 prosecutors attacked his credibility too, 479 00:23:43,955 --> 00:23:47,025 bringing up the fact that Lyle Menendez gave him 480 00:23:47,092 --> 00:23:48,794 money after the crime. 481 00:23:48,860 --> 00:23:52,831 Andersen says it was to help pay for a medical procedure. 482 00:23:52,898 --> 00:23:56,234 He didn't say anything like, well, if I go to court or-- 483 00:23:56,301 --> 00:23:57,702 no. 484 00:23:57,769 --> 00:24:00,238 It was just straight up between him and I, 485 00:24:00,305 --> 00:24:03,708 him being a nice cousin, knowing I was in financial bind. 486 00:24:03,775 --> 00:24:06,545 He knew he had the resources to help me. 487 00:24:06,611 --> 00:24:09,548 At the second trial, prosecutors placed more of a focus 488 00:24:09,614 --> 00:24:11,616 on the brutality of the crime. 489 00:24:11,683 --> 00:24:15,520 And they painted Jose as a restrained, loving father, 490 00:24:15,587 --> 00:24:18,623 someone incapable of molesting his children. 491 00:24:18,690 --> 00:24:21,126 Prosecutors referred to the brothers defense 492 00:24:21,193 --> 00:24:24,162 as the abuse excuse. 493 00:24:24,229 --> 00:24:28,033 In the first trial, the defense called more than 50 witnesses. 494 00:24:28,099 --> 00:24:30,368 This time, they called about half. 495 00:24:30,435 --> 00:24:32,370 It wasn't that they didn't want to present them. 496 00:24:32,437 --> 00:24:34,573 They were not allowed. 497 00:24:34,639 --> 00:24:36,908 The jury deliberated for days. 498 00:24:36,975 --> 00:24:38,844 And then-- 499 00:24:38,910 --> 00:24:43,348 The verdicts are in the retrial of Erik and Lyle Menendez. 500 00:24:43,415 --> 00:24:47,452 --guilty of first-degree murder. 501 00:24:47,519 --> 00:24:48,320 I hugged my brother. 502 00:24:48,386 --> 00:24:48,987 We cried. 503 00:24:49,054 --> 00:24:50,755 And I said, look, we're going to be OK. 504 00:24:50,822 --> 00:24:53,992 I was not happy at all. 505 00:24:54,059 --> 00:24:56,161 At the jury's recommendation, the brothers 506 00:24:56,228 --> 00:24:59,798 were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility 507 00:24:59,865 --> 00:25:01,666 of parole. 508 00:25:01,733 --> 00:25:04,469 And you believe they deserved that? 509 00:25:04,536 --> 00:25:06,538 What they did to my sister, they should 510 00:25:06,605 --> 00:25:08,974 have gotten the death penalty. 511 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,510 Lyle and Erik Menendez were sent to separate prisons. 512 00:25:12,577 --> 00:25:15,080 More than two decades passed. 513 00:25:15,146 --> 00:25:20,218 And then, around 2020, the case made a surprising resurgence 514 00:25:20,285 --> 00:25:22,487 on social media. 515 00:25:22,554 --> 00:25:24,522 Following a documentary that aired 516 00:25:24,589 --> 00:25:27,559 on the case in which Erik Menendez repeated 517 00:25:27,626 --> 00:25:30,462 his claims of abuse, droves of people 518 00:25:30,528 --> 00:25:33,732 took to TikTok and Instagram to express support 519 00:25:33,798 --> 00:25:35,567 for him and his brother. 520 00:25:35,634 --> 00:25:38,270 Dr. Judy Ho is a neuropsychologist 521 00:25:38,336 --> 00:25:41,606 who specializes in childhood sex abuse trauma. 522 00:25:41,673 --> 00:25:44,809 Dr. Ho is also a 48 Hours consultant. 523 00:25:44,876 --> 00:25:47,279 We asked her to review the case. 524 00:25:47,345 --> 00:25:50,782 I definitely think that our society has just 525 00:25:50,849 --> 00:25:54,286 become more knowledgeable about trauma and the impact 526 00:25:54,352 --> 00:25:55,921 of sexual trauma. 527 00:25:55,987 --> 00:25:59,491 Dr. Ho says research shows that just because the brothers 528 00:25:59,557 --> 00:26:03,762 delayed reporting abuse, it doesn't mean they made it up. 529 00:26:03,828 --> 00:26:05,630 That's all very consistent with people 530 00:26:05,697 --> 00:26:07,632 who have been through trauma and maybe 531 00:26:07,699 --> 00:26:09,834 feel like it was even their own fault in some ways, 532 00:26:09,901 --> 00:26:12,237 or they're ashamed of the trauma. 533 00:26:12,304 --> 00:26:15,907 And there's a lot more self stigma and shame 534 00:26:15,974 --> 00:26:17,876 associated with male victims. 535 00:26:17,943 --> 00:26:21,212 She also says that the abuse the brothers describe 536 00:26:21,279 --> 00:26:25,350 could even help explain why the crime was so brutal. 537 00:26:25,417 --> 00:26:27,152 It makes sense that in that moment, 538 00:26:27,218 --> 00:26:28,420 it's almost like a breakdown. 539 00:26:28,486 --> 00:26:31,089 And that's not to make an excuse for anything that they've done, 540 00:26:31,156 --> 00:26:33,992 but it's just to describe the state of mind of this 541 00:26:34,059 --> 00:26:36,461 is years and years of abuse, where they couldn't 542 00:26:36,528 --> 00:26:37,896 act to protect themselves. 543 00:26:37,963 --> 00:26:39,297 And once they pulled the trigger, 544 00:26:39,364 --> 00:26:40,999 it was like there was no turning back. 545 00:26:41,066 --> 00:26:43,501 But could Lyle and Erik Menendez have truly 546 00:26:43,568 --> 00:26:45,837 been in fear for their lives that night? 547 00:26:45,904 --> 00:26:47,539 They're 18 and 21. 548 00:26:47,605 --> 00:26:48,907 Why couldn't they leave? 549 00:26:48,974 --> 00:26:49,407 Right. 550 00:26:49,474 --> 00:26:50,909 Well, certainly there was a path that they 551 00:26:50,976 --> 00:26:53,211 could have taken as to try to get away from the family. 552 00:26:53,278 --> 00:26:54,946 But it sounds like, even at that age, 553 00:26:55,013 --> 00:26:58,116 they were very much under the control of their father still. 554 00:26:58,183 --> 00:27:00,352 I think that oftentimes what people are not aware of 555 00:27:00,418 --> 00:27:02,754 is that trauma completely rewires the brain. 556 00:27:02,821 --> 00:27:06,358 They probably did think at one point it was either them 557 00:27:06,424 --> 00:27:10,228 or their parents, that it was a fight-or-flight conditioning 558 00:27:10,295 --> 00:27:11,563 that had come up. 559 00:27:11,629 --> 00:27:13,798 Attorney Cliff Gardner believes the case would 560 00:27:13,865 --> 00:27:15,934 be tried differently today. 561 00:27:16,001 --> 00:27:20,338 The idea back then was A, dads don't molest their children. 562 00:27:20,405 --> 00:27:22,007 And if by chance it happened, these 563 00:27:22,073 --> 00:27:24,109 were 18- and 21-year-old kids. 564 00:27:24,175 --> 00:27:25,276 They're strapping young men. 565 00:27:25,343 --> 00:27:26,111 They just leave. 566 00:27:26,177 --> 00:27:30,448 And both those, I think, are undercut in what we know today. 567 00:27:30,515 --> 00:27:33,018 Still, a better understanding of the effects 568 00:27:33,084 --> 00:27:36,254 of sexual abuse and some social media support 569 00:27:36,321 --> 00:27:38,890 would do little on their own to make a difference 570 00:27:38,957 --> 00:27:40,892 in the brother's case legally. 571 00:27:40,959 --> 00:27:44,729 Instead, what their defense needed was new evidence. 572 00:27:44,796 --> 00:27:47,699 And eventually, that's what it got. 573 00:27:47,766 --> 00:27:51,469 Did you or Erik think that another person 574 00:27:51,536 --> 00:27:54,906 would accuse your father of child molestation? 575 00:27:54,973 --> 00:27:56,808 I did not. 576 00:27:56,875 --> 00:27:57,876 I could not believe it. 577 00:28:05,750 --> 00:28:14,559 [MUSIC PLAYING] 578 00:28:14,626 --> 00:28:16,728 Over the years, Lyle and Erik Menendez 579 00:28:16,795 --> 00:28:21,332 appealed their convictions but were unsuccessful. 580 00:28:21,399 --> 00:28:23,701 It seemed unlikely that they would ever 581 00:28:23,768 --> 00:28:26,104 see beyond prison walls. 582 00:28:26,171 --> 00:28:31,276 But then new evidence began to surface, the first piece 583 00:28:31,342 --> 00:28:34,045 in the form of a letter. 584 00:28:34,112 --> 00:28:37,449 Just kind out of the blue, one of my father's sister 585 00:28:37,515 --> 00:28:40,785 found a letter in storage. 586 00:28:40,852 --> 00:28:42,520 Appellate attorney Cliff Gardner says 587 00:28:42,587 --> 00:28:44,456 the letter was written by Erik Menendez 588 00:28:44,522 --> 00:28:49,427 to his cousin Andy Cano in December 1988, 589 00:28:49,494 --> 00:28:52,263 about eight months before the crime. 590 00:28:52,330 --> 00:28:54,966 It's not dated, but you were able to get 591 00:28:55,033 --> 00:28:57,035 a frame of reference of the timing of it 592 00:28:57,102 --> 00:28:58,736 based on the contents of the letter. 593 00:28:58,803 --> 00:28:59,737 Exactly. 594 00:28:59,804 --> 00:29:01,506 He talks about the Christmas party. 595 00:29:01,573 --> 00:29:03,708 We know the Christmas party that they put on 596 00:29:03,775 --> 00:29:05,343 was in Christmas of '88. 597 00:29:05,410 --> 00:29:07,946 He talks about hiring a new tennis coach. 598 00:29:08,012 --> 00:29:09,914 There's a number of things in the letter that 599 00:29:09,981 --> 00:29:12,817 allow us to authenticate when it was written. 600 00:29:12,884 --> 00:29:15,153 And it's a particular section of the letter 601 00:29:15,220 --> 00:29:18,523 that Gardner says is key. 602 00:29:18,590 --> 00:29:20,792 He says, "I've been trying to avoid dad. 603 00:29:20,859 --> 00:29:23,728 It's still happening, Andy, but it's worse for me now. 604 00:29:23,795 --> 00:29:26,598 Every night, I stay up thinking he might come in. 605 00:29:26,664 --> 00:29:27,699 I'm afraid. 606 00:29:27,765 --> 00:29:29,033 He's crazy. 607 00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:32,570 He's warned me 100 times about telling anyone, especially 608 00:29:32,637 --> 00:29:34,706 Lyle." 609 00:29:34,772 --> 00:29:36,441 No one knew about it at trial. 610 00:29:36,508 --> 00:29:38,943 It was never presented. 611 00:29:39,010 --> 00:29:43,281 Remember, Andy Cano did testify at both trials. 612 00:29:43,348 --> 00:29:46,050 He said that Erik Menendez, at age 13, 613 00:29:46,117 --> 00:29:50,355 confided in him that his dad had been touching him. 614 00:29:50,421 --> 00:29:53,391 Prosecutors suggested that Cano was lying. 615 00:29:53,458 --> 00:29:56,628 He explained to me that these massages 616 00:29:56,694 --> 00:30:00,098 that his father was giving him were beginning to hurt. 617 00:30:00,165 --> 00:30:02,567 The letter is significant why? 618 00:30:02,634 --> 00:30:05,703 Well, the state's position was that Andy was a liar, 619 00:30:05,770 --> 00:30:07,539 and he was making it up. 620 00:30:07,605 --> 00:30:10,542 This shows that Andy wasn't making it up. 621 00:30:10,608 --> 00:30:12,677 It's contemporaneous evidence from Erik 622 00:30:12,744 --> 00:30:14,579 to his cousin Andy about what was happening. 623 00:30:14,646 --> 00:30:17,315 But the letter was just the beginning. 624 00:30:17,382 --> 00:30:19,951 More evidence has surfaced that Gardner 625 00:30:20,018 --> 00:30:22,854 says further supports Lyle and Erik Menendez's 626 00:30:22,921 --> 00:30:27,825 long-standing claims that they were sexually abused. 627 00:30:27,892 --> 00:30:30,929 A man named Roy Rosselló has come forward, 628 00:30:30,995 --> 00:30:35,633 claiming that he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez too. 629 00:30:35,700 --> 00:30:37,735 Roy was a member of the boy band Menudo, 630 00:30:37,802 --> 00:30:41,105 which was big in the late '70s, mid-'80s. 631 00:30:41,172 --> 00:30:42,307 [MUSIC PLAYING] 632 00:30:42,373 --> 00:30:44,909 [SINGING IN SPANISH] 633 00:30:45,410 --> 00:30:48,846 They're a sensation in the Spanish-speaking world. 634 00:30:48,913 --> 00:30:52,116 And throughout Latin America, their appeal has caught on big. 635 00:30:52,183 --> 00:30:52,884 Menudo! 636 00:30:52,951 --> 00:30:53,851 Menudo! 637 00:30:53,918 --> 00:30:56,387 Menudo originated in Puerto Rico. 638 00:30:56,454 --> 00:30:59,724 The band is best known for producing big name talent 639 00:30:59,791 --> 00:31:01,226 like singer Ricky Martin. 640 00:31:01,292 --> 00:31:06,130 (SINGING) I'll feel your hands erase all my sorrows. 641 00:31:06,197 --> 00:31:10,001 The idea behind the band was to keep it perpetually young. 642 00:31:10,068 --> 00:31:12,203 Few of the performers remained in the group 643 00:31:12,270 --> 00:31:15,640 beyond the age of 16, instead being rotated out 644 00:31:15,707 --> 00:31:17,108 for younger talent. 645 00:31:17,175 --> 00:31:21,579 It turns out Jose Menendez had ties to the group. 646 00:31:21,646 --> 00:31:24,115 Jose Menendez was working at RCA at the time, 647 00:31:24,182 --> 00:31:27,452 and RCA signed Menudo to a recording contract. 648 00:31:27,518 --> 00:31:30,922 Former Menudo member Roy Rosselló, now 54, 649 00:31:30,989 --> 00:31:34,025 was not available for an interview with 48 Hours. 650 00:31:34,092 --> 00:31:37,695 But in a sworn affidavit filed just last year, 651 00:31:37,762 --> 00:31:40,431 he claims he went to Jose Menendez's home 652 00:31:40,498 --> 00:31:43,601 in the early '80s at the direction of the band's 653 00:31:43,668 --> 00:31:46,104 then manager Edgardo Diaz. 654 00:31:46,170 --> 00:31:49,340 Rosselló would have been between 14 and 15 years old 655 00:31:49,407 --> 00:31:50,308 at the time. 656 00:31:50,375 --> 00:31:54,379 He says he drank a glass of wine and then felt like he 657 00:31:54,445 --> 00:31:57,582 had no control over his body. 658 00:31:57,649 --> 00:32:03,988 He says Jose Menendez took him to a room and raped him. 659 00:32:04,055 --> 00:32:07,225 Rosselló first spoke publicly about the allegations 660 00:32:07,292 --> 00:32:08,526 in a documentary. 661 00:32:08,593 --> 00:32:11,396 [SPEAKING SPANISH] 662 00:32:19,704 --> 00:32:22,206 Rosselló also alleges that he was sexually 663 00:32:22,273 --> 00:32:25,877 abused by Jose Menendez on two other occasions, 664 00:32:25,943 --> 00:32:30,515 right before and right after a performance at Radio City Music 665 00:32:30,581 --> 00:32:32,417 Hall in New York. 666 00:32:32,483 --> 00:32:34,552 I met Roy, and he talked to me about it. 667 00:32:34,619 --> 00:32:36,587 It was a difficult conversation for him. 668 00:32:36,654 --> 00:32:38,923 It was difficult for me to hear. 669 00:32:38,990 --> 00:32:41,893 But I thought Roy was credible. 670 00:32:41,959 --> 00:32:44,262 It can take years for people to recognize 671 00:32:44,329 --> 00:32:49,801 what happened, to have the courage to come forward. 672 00:32:49,867 --> 00:32:53,371 When I first heard about it, I cried. 673 00:32:53,438 --> 00:32:57,408 For me, it was very meaningful to just 674 00:32:57,475 --> 00:33:02,213 have things come out that caused people to really realize, OK, 675 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:05,817 at least this part of what it's about is true. 676 00:33:05,883 --> 00:33:09,253 Lyle Menendez says he remembers Menudo band members coming over 677 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,222 to the family home. 678 00:33:11,289 --> 00:33:15,259 when they lived in New Jersey, before moving to Beverly Hills. 679 00:33:15,326 --> 00:33:18,496 He does not recall Rosselló specifically. 680 00:33:18,563 --> 00:33:22,133 What do you remember about the Menudo band members 681 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,469 going to your home? 682 00:33:24,535 --> 00:33:28,806 Only that my father had sort of intimate involvement 683 00:33:28,873 --> 00:33:30,341 with that particular group. 684 00:33:30,408 --> 00:33:32,343 They usually would not have too much involvement 685 00:33:32,410 --> 00:33:34,579 with groups other than negotiations. 686 00:33:34,645 --> 00:33:38,583 But with Menudo and Edgardo Diaz, he traveled with them. 687 00:33:38,649 --> 00:33:39,917 He went to their concerts. 688 00:33:39,984 --> 00:33:43,221 He stayed in hotels they stayed at. 689 00:33:43,287 --> 00:33:45,456 Lyle Menendez says he didn't think much of it 690 00:33:45,523 --> 00:33:49,093 until rumors began surfacing towards the end of he 691 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,429 and his brother's first trial. 692 00:33:51,496 --> 00:33:53,297 People in the industry were talking about 693 00:33:53,364 --> 00:33:55,266 that maybe something had happened because there 694 00:33:55,333 --> 00:33:57,402 was a sex scandal in the group. 695 00:33:57,468 --> 00:34:00,071 Rosselló, along with other former Menudo members, 696 00:34:00,138 --> 00:34:04,509 have long accused Edgardo Diaz, the band's one-time manager, 697 00:34:04,575 --> 00:34:06,411 of sexual abuse. 698 00:34:06,477 --> 00:34:09,180 Diaz has always denied the allegations, 699 00:34:09,247 --> 00:34:12,517 and no charges have been filed against him. 700 00:34:12,583 --> 00:34:14,385 The Los Angeles Police Department 701 00:34:14,452 --> 00:34:17,522 is currently investigating a specific incident 702 00:34:17,588 --> 00:34:21,893 in which Rosselló alleges Diaz raped him at this hotel 703 00:34:21,959 --> 00:34:23,728 in the 1980s. 704 00:34:23,795 --> 00:34:25,863 But what does this new evidence mean 705 00:34:25,930 --> 00:34:29,400 in terms of Lyle and Erik Menendez's case? 706 00:34:29,467 --> 00:34:30,868 The importance of the new evidence, 707 00:34:30,935 --> 00:34:32,370 you have to look back and understand 708 00:34:32,437 --> 00:34:34,539 what the state's position was at the second trial. 709 00:34:34,605 --> 00:34:37,775 The state's position was that the sexual abuse never 710 00:34:37,842 --> 00:34:38,910 happened. 711 00:34:38,976 --> 00:34:41,446 And the state's position as to Jose Menendez 712 00:34:41,512 --> 00:34:44,415 was he wasn't the type of person who would molest a young boy. 713 00:34:44,482 --> 00:34:47,285 This new evidence takes both those arguments 714 00:34:47,351 --> 00:34:49,987 and undercuts them entirely. 715 00:34:50,054 --> 00:34:52,690 Gardner has filed a habeas petition, 716 00:34:52,757 --> 00:34:56,928 asking that his client's convictions be vacated. 717 00:34:56,994 --> 00:34:58,329 The boys were abused as children. 718 00:34:58,396 --> 00:34:59,730 They were abused their whole life. 719 00:34:59,797 --> 00:35:02,300 And this is a manslaughter case, not a murder case. 720 00:35:02,366 --> 00:35:04,268 It's just that simple. 721 00:35:04,335 --> 00:35:06,938 And if they were convicted of manslaughter, 722 00:35:07,004 --> 00:35:10,141 they would have received a much shorter sentence 723 00:35:10,208 --> 00:35:13,277 and been out a long time ago. 724 00:35:13,344 --> 00:35:16,581 But will a judge buy Gardner's argument? 725 00:35:16,647 --> 00:35:21,018 It is very, very possible that Jose Menendez 726 00:35:21,085 --> 00:35:24,255 was a child molester. 727 00:35:24,322 --> 00:35:29,694 But you don't get to murder him and his wife in cold blood. 728 00:35:35,900 --> 00:35:37,735 What do you make of the new evidence? 729 00:35:37,802 --> 00:35:40,071 To see a timeline of how the case unfolded, 730 00:35:40,137 --> 00:35:41,372 go to 48hours.com. 731 00:35:51,616 --> 00:35:54,619 After attorney Cliff Gardner filed the habeas petition 732 00:35:54,685 --> 00:35:58,689 in May 2023, asking that Lyle and Erik Menendez 733 00:35:58,756 --> 00:36:02,727 convictions be vacated, it turned into a waiting game 734 00:36:02,793 --> 00:36:04,729 for a judge to rule. 735 00:36:04,795 --> 00:36:06,964 We asked former DA Jackie Lacey what 736 00:36:07,031 --> 00:36:09,166 she makes of the new evidence, starting 737 00:36:09,233 --> 00:36:10,935 with that letter, the one that appears 738 00:36:11,002 --> 00:36:14,138 to have been written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy 739 00:36:14,205 --> 00:36:17,241 Cano months before the crime. 740 00:36:17,308 --> 00:36:18,976 The interesting thing about the letter 741 00:36:19,043 --> 00:36:21,779 is that there are only two people who can authenticate it, 742 00:36:21,846 --> 00:36:24,815 Andy Cano and Erik Menendez. 743 00:36:24,882 --> 00:36:27,685 Andy Cano died in 2003. 744 00:36:27,752 --> 00:36:30,721 And Lacey points out that he never mentioned the letter 745 00:36:30,788 --> 00:36:32,823 when he testified. 746 00:36:32,890 --> 00:36:36,627 You would think, when Andy was on the stand twice, 747 00:36:36,694 --> 00:36:37,862 he'd have brought that up. 748 00:36:37,929 --> 00:36:40,097 And oh, yeah, he told me about it recently, 749 00:36:40,164 --> 00:36:41,499 and here's the letter. 750 00:36:41,566 --> 00:36:43,868 The timing of that letter, though, you 751 00:36:43,935 --> 00:36:47,271 are able to pin down because it was the holidays, because he 752 00:36:47,338 --> 00:36:49,640 writes about his Christmas plans. 753 00:36:49,707 --> 00:36:51,409 But now look at it another way. 754 00:36:51,475 --> 00:36:53,878 And you could include those details 755 00:36:53,945 --> 00:36:57,248 and get that letter together after they were caught. 756 00:36:57,315 --> 00:36:59,250 This letter, for all we know, could 757 00:36:59,317 --> 00:37:02,219 have been written by Erik Menendez 758 00:37:02,286 --> 00:37:05,523 shortly after the murder, given to Cano, 759 00:37:05,590 --> 00:37:08,159 and Cano may have gotten cold feet about it 760 00:37:08,225 --> 00:37:09,927 and not submitted it. 761 00:37:09,994 --> 00:37:13,331 But Gardner argues the new evidence is sound. 762 00:37:13,397 --> 00:37:16,667 He says the reason the letter was not brought up at trial 763 00:37:16,734 --> 00:37:21,639 is likely because Erik Menendez and Andy Cano forgot about it. 764 00:37:21,706 --> 00:37:23,507 If you look at the letter, it's not just 765 00:37:23,574 --> 00:37:25,242 about what Jose's been doing. 766 00:37:25,309 --> 00:37:26,877 It's about all sorts of other things. 767 00:37:26,944 --> 00:37:30,147 It was just one of many letters that they wrote to each other. 768 00:37:30,214 --> 00:37:33,517 There really shouldn't be any doubt about the authenticity 769 00:37:33,584 --> 00:37:34,585 of the letter. 770 00:37:34,652 --> 00:37:38,289 And as for Roy Rosselló, the former Menudo band member-- 771 00:37:38,356 --> 00:37:41,392 Can you discount his claims altogether? 772 00:37:41,459 --> 00:37:41,892 No. 773 00:37:41,959 --> 00:37:45,029 I think what the judge has to weigh and consider 774 00:37:45,096 --> 00:37:47,698 is, is this newly discovered evidence that 775 00:37:47,765 --> 00:37:49,567 would have changed the verdict? 776 00:37:49,634 --> 00:37:53,104 And Lacey says she does not believe it would have. 777 00:37:53,170 --> 00:37:55,606 They're still stuck with the planning, 778 00:37:55,673 --> 00:38:00,011 the cover-up, the money that they spent afterwards. 779 00:38:00,077 --> 00:38:04,348 I think that could argue the sexual abuse occurred. 780 00:38:04,415 --> 00:38:10,221 On the other hand, at the moment these men are driving down 781 00:38:10,287 --> 00:38:13,424 to San Diego, paying for the murder weapons, 782 00:38:13,491 --> 00:38:17,828 coming back, and waiting for an opportune time 783 00:38:17,895 --> 00:38:21,599 to go in and kill their parents, the molestation 784 00:38:21,666 --> 00:38:23,734 is not occurring right then. 785 00:38:23,801 --> 00:38:26,170 I do not believe that at the time 786 00:38:26,237 --> 00:38:28,139 they murdered them, that they were 787 00:38:28,205 --> 00:38:31,108 in danger at that particular minute of being murdered 788 00:38:31,175 --> 00:38:32,009 by those people. 789 00:38:32,076 --> 00:38:33,411 I think they hated them. 790 00:38:33,477 --> 00:38:35,846 They might have had a good reason to hate them. 791 00:38:35,913 --> 00:38:39,517 But we can't condone vigilantism. 792 00:38:39,583 --> 00:38:43,521 When you calmly and logically look at the facts 793 00:38:43,587 --> 00:38:47,758 surrounding the killing, it's a murder. 794 00:38:47,825 --> 00:38:50,895 But Gardner believes the new evidence would have made 795 00:38:50,961 --> 00:38:52,563 a difference to the jurors. 796 00:38:52,630 --> 00:38:55,900 He says evidence of abuse can mitigate a crime, 797 00:38:55,966 --> 00:38:59,637 and that's why prosecutors fought so hard to keep it out 798 00:38:59,704 --> 00:39:01,572 of the second trial. 799 00:39:01,639 --> 00:39:05,376 Sexual abuse, physical abuse is relevant to your state of mind. 800 00:39:05,443 --> 00:39:07,478 And state of mind is the key in determining 801 00:39:07,545 --> 00:39:09,480 whether something is murder or whether something 802 00:39:09,547 --> 00:39:10,981 is manslaughter. 803 00:39:11,048 --> 00:39:14,552 What this evidence does is it puts you back in the situation 804 00:39:14,618 --> 00:39:16,187 that they were in with the first trial, 805 00:39:16,253 --> 00:39:18,389 that there was corroboration for the abuse. 806 00:39:18,456 --> 00:39:20,424 And in the first trial, remember, 807 00:39:20,491 --> 00:39:23,861 two juries were divided over whether the brothers should 808 00:39:23,928 --> 00:39:26,997 have been convicted of murder or manslaughter. 809 00:39:27,064 --> 00:39:29,133 The court declares a mistrial. 810 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,002 Gardner thinks this new evidence, combined 811 00:39:32,069 --> 00:39:36,407 with that of the first trial, rules out murder entirely. 812 00:39:36,474 --> 00:39:39,343 My hope in the case is that the judge will realize 813 00:39:39,410 --> 00:39:42,446 that this new evidence is indeed credible and persuasive, 814 00:39:42,513 --> 00:39:44,081 and he'll vacate the convictions. 815 00:39:44,148 --> 00:39:46,817 If that happens, it would be up to the Los Angeles County 816 00:39:46,884 --> 00:39:50,688 District Attorney's Office whether to retry the case. 817 00:39:50,755 --> 00:39:52,757 In a statement, the district attorney's office 818 00:39:52,823 --> 00:39:55,559 said it is investigating the claims made 819 00:39:55,626 --> 00:39:57,394 in the habeas petition. 820 00:39:57,461 --> 00:40:00,564 Alan Andersen wants to see his cousins released. 821 00:40:00,631 --> 00:40:02,533 What I would say to the prosecutors, to a judge 822 00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:06,370 would be, please, look at all of the evidence. 823 00:40:06,437 --> 00:40:07,671 They are speaking the truth. 824 00:40:07,738 --> 00:40:11,609 They shouldn't be in there as long as they've been. 825 00:40:11,675 --> 00:40:15,012 But still, Kitty Menendez's brother Milton Andersen 826 00:40:15,079 --> 00:40:17,014 feels just the opposite. 827 00:40:17,081 --> 00:40:20,284 He says he doesn't believe the new evidence is credible. 828 00:40:20,351 --> 00:40:21,719 I don't think it's evidence. 829 00:40:21,786 --> 00:40:24,688 And he wants his nephews to stay put. 830 00:40:24,755 --> 00:40:28,859 I think they should die of old age in prison. 831 00:40:28,926 --> 00:40:32,596 I loved my sister, and I protected her in life. 832 00:40:32,663 --> 00:40:36,934 And I will love my sister and protect her in her death. 833 00:40:37,001 --> 00:40:40,337 Lyle Menendez says he understands his uncle's pain. 834 00:40:40,404 --> 00:40:44,108 Part of my remorse is for the pain I caused people like him. 835 00:40:44,175 --> 00:40:46,143 As they await a judge's decision, 836 00:40:46,210 --> 00:40:48,679 Lyle and Erik Menendez, who reside 837 00:40:48,746 --> 00:40:51,615 in the same prison since 2018, are 838 00:40:51,682 --> 00:40:56,654 focused on rehabilitation and continuing their education. 839 00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:59,590 I connect with other prisoners that have sex abuse histories 840 00:40:59,657 --> 00:41:00,958 and work with them. 841 00:41:01,025 --> 00:41:04,495 Both brothers are married to women outside prison. 842 00:41:04,562 --> 00:41:06,630 I think it has made a huge difference to have 843 00:41:06,697 --> 00:41:10,234 love and support like that. 844 00:41:10,301 --> 00:41:12,503 I try not to be defined by that one night. 845 00:41:15,072 --> 00:41:19,510 It's sort of a lifelong journey not to be 846 00:41:19,577 --> 00:41:20,811 defined by that one night. 847 00:41:25,616 --> 00:41:28,953 [THEME MUSIC] 848 00:41:31,355 --> 00:41:33,157 Need more time with 48 Hours? 849 00:41:33,224 --> 00:41:36,460 Go deep behind every true crime episode with firsthand accounts 850 00:41:36,527 --> 00:41:38,429 from 48 Hours investigations. 851 00:41:38,495 --> 00:41:41,599 Were you at all prepared for what happened in this case? 852 00:41:41,665 --> 00:41:43,267 Shock is the word that comes to mind. 853 00:41:43,334 --> 00:41:46,403 Get inside the twists and turns and get in on the case. 854 00:41:46,470 --> 00:41:49,373 Listen to Post Mortem from 48 Hours, now available 855 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:51,709 wherever you get your podcasts.