The Menendez Brothers: A Nightmare On Elm Drive | PART ONE (Episode 83)

What do The Cheesecake Factory, the movie Batman and a couple of shotguns have in common? All three of them are important details in this week's episode!

It was a crime that sent shock waves through Beverly Hills. On August 20, 1989, Jose Menendez, a wealthy movie mogul, and his wife Kitty were murdered in their million-dollar mansion. The killers? Their own sons, Erik and Lyle.  Were they bad seeds or was this a bad family? 

In part one of our series, we dissect the madness of the Menendez family. It's a story of money, privilege and power -- and what happens when the American Dream turns into a Nightmare. There are details so insane you may not even believe them!  

 

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Transcript

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It was a crime that sent shockwaves through Beverly Hills. A wealthy movie mogul and his wife murdered in their million dollar mansion, the killers, their very own sons. The case captivated the nation and it made Eric and Lyle Menendez household names. Then they went to prison and the story was over, right? Not so fast. The brothers are back. They've gained a new generation of followers on social media and there's explosive new evidence that could potentially set them free. Join us for Menendez mania today on death in entertainment Live from Los Angeles. 911. What is your emergency? Here in Hollywood now. 2 counts of murder, injury and death! Oh my God! Shocking new details that has stunned the entertainment world. Um, This makes me a little nervous. The hair stood up on my arms. Just like in the movies. What do you call this thing anyway? Death in entertainment! Hello deado world baby die pod universe look at us now look at us now like think things have changed here for the better live and in color. This is what the studio has always looked like but not what we've always looked like. Yeah, we did a little thing trade situation here which we switch things were out. We basically just cleaned a couple surfaces. Yes in moves. Yeah. Me and Kyle made a mark sandwich. Studio mark is now in the middle. He's going skin. I kind of liked the looseness here I can kind of like punch you in the head Kyle and then slap Alejandro with my left hand. There we go. Yeah. What is going on everybody? My name is Kyle Ploof. My name is Mark Mulkerron. And I'm Alejandro Dowling. And would you believe it? We are on episode 83 Talking today about the Menendez brothers in their shenanigans. 83. We could be we could be running for president this year. Yeah, that's right. Reagan, yes. I am not an invalid. Well, yeah, that's that's Nixon too. We're all over the map. I mean, it killed my parents. And if you haven't listened to this podcast before, if this is your first time, we're letting you know, we're a comedy True Crime podcast. So if there's gonna be some laughs along the way. You know, we're gonna do our due diligence to make sure everybody is respected. But we do have fun here. Okay, we have fun. It's gonna get a little nasty, but we're gonna have a lot of facts. We're gonna throw rocks at you. That's gonna change your life. Yes, it's true crime with jokes. Hey, get used to it. Yeah. And also get in the car because we're going on August 20 1989. Oh, I'm in bitch like someone that calls bitch. August 20 1989. In the pop culture world, what is going on? Kya what was on TV? I will evening of Sunday, August 20. This is actually crazy. On TV. It's the Battle of the Sunday night movies on NBC irreconcilable differences, which was Drew Barrymore correct Yeah, so that was a theatrical movie. And this is when it would go to video and then the network's would also get the rights to play them and it would be a big event. Yeah. on CBS. We had Nick Knight. Ironic at night. No, that is the worst title. Also just confusion. It was something that already exists in television. Yeah, this is odd with the K knight with a K Yes. And I was like Knight writers like white knight. It was actually about the character of Nick Knight. A failed pilot actually. Oh, in the days like Twin Peaks. They did that with where they made a pilot movie and when it went to series Oh wow. And so this was supposed to go to series it starred Rick Springfield. And then it didn't but then they revived it years later with forever night. Okay, so there you go. Not let this night go away. I did not expect Allah hunter to have the whole lineage of the story of night. The trilogy, failed pilot TV movie, okay. on ABC. And most importantly, this is a crazy detail that will come up later in this podcast. The Spy Who Loved Me. Why will it be crazy? I wonder? I wonder? Yeah, we shall say no more. Is that where they got The Spy Who Shagged Me from Austin power. Oh yeah. Must have been they stole from Yeah, nothing gets past Martin. No buck stops right here let's get into some of the movies here guys do it at the movies AMC century 14 in Los Angeles. I don't know where this where's this century city? It's only like six miles away. Okay, it's still an AMC. I thought it was brand new I had no idea this is another thing that's gonna come up in the podcast I'm sure it's it's definitely a place that where some of this stuff goes down he and I would like to preface this mark by saying that the actual number one movie this weekend was Uncle Buck, which was new but it was not playing at the Century 14 They messed up so please let us know what was playing well, I'll let you know right now I'm Batman and THX who great movie when they tried to sell it on THX sound like my head was gonna explode. I saw a guy's t shirt the other day and said when I come and makes the THX sound which I thought was funny sex lies and videotape great Steven Soderbergh movie Yeah, his first film Wow. Yeah with James Spader is in that made a big splash Yes, it did. Laura Sanjaya como Yes. Before it just shoot me. Yeah. Who else? Who is Kevin the eyebrows Peter Gallagher's in that eyebrows? Yeah, he's the guy from the OC with the eyebrows eyebrows Pete. He was in that and so wasn't what's her name because her daughter is big now. The third is famous are fat cheeses. Andy McDowell. Andy McDowell. His her daughter's like a big actress. Now she was in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. So another little factoid for you look into Hey, Eddie, and Nick Knight. Don't forget about Yeah, yeah. A lot of factoids here. Eddie and the cruisers to Eddie lives. Yeah, in case you thought Eddie died. He Yeah, die. He is back a lot of weird Trilogies or stories with random people we should know about but we don't license to kill a Bond movie. Do the right thing. Great. Spike Lee movie. Lock up. Turner and Hooch love. classic movie. Yeah, I liked it. I came for the hooch. I stayed for the Turner. Field of Dreams. Another classic. These are all just bang classics this weekend. 1989 headbangers it did Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the last good Indiana Jones. I would say they made Yeah. Another heartache for Mark changes obvious things to you. I like the one with the aliens inside the booth. Yeah, well, there's one coming out like next one. Playdead con I heard it was like the worst piece of shit ever. We're not gonna you know, there goes the Tom Hanks fans. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I said, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids which is another classic thing. Yeah. What a great weekend for the movies. As you said a lot of bangers Yeah. And there's gonna be a couple more bangers. It's gonna be some mash on this evening this first chapter is called Nightmare on Elm drive. Are they you're gonna say st because you're a big Freddy Krueger, I would have but I was looking at the notes. This is always the big argument between you guys. Yeah. Sunday, August 20 1989. We're going right there. Let's do it. We know what's on TV. Yep. And we know it's playing in theaters, especially in Central City. Yes. Eric and Lyle Menendez. 18 and 21. spent the day swimming and playing tennis behind their family's mansion. in Beverly Hills of course. They called their friend and former tennis coach Perry Berman to see if he wanted to go to the movies later. But Perry was not home. And when he returned the call their dad Eric and Lyles dad Jose told Perry that the boys were out shopping at the Beverly Center. Lyle finally touch base with him around 5pm Perry already had plans to attend the taste of La Food Festival in Santa Monica. So Lyle told them he'd meet him there. After the movie. They were going to go see a movie. So the boys ate dinner with their parents Jose and their mom kitty, as they usually did. Then they drove to the AMC multiplex in Century City. Jose and Katie decided to stay in that evening. It will was the housekeeper's night off after all, and they were enjoying a nice relaxing summer evening at home. They settled into their comfy sofa to watch The Spy Who Loved Me in the TV room, which is in the back of the house. A large bookcase framed the room, showcasing a library of books and dozens of first place tennis trophies, because Lyle and Eric, they were kind of a big deal in the tennis world. It peaked Kyle's interests a little, a little bit. Not too much. Jose, Kyle, you're gonna love these details. Jose was in tight shorts and a sweatshirt say les kitty wore jogging pants and sneakers. Wait a second. They had dishes of strawberries and ice cream on the table in front of them. With his feet up on the table. Jose started to doze off. The alarm system was turned off that night because the kids were always setting it off by accident by accident. Hell one neighbor heard firecrackers around 10pm but thought nothing of it. And I have a quick clip here of witness to that. It sounded like firecrackers sounds like gunshots doing this. Yeah. That's a kid who lives in Beverly Hills. It was shooting metal bullets out of it. Why is it some kid from Brooklyn? kid from Newsies happened to be walk Yeah, here's what I saw. I was just selling the vapes and next thing you know mango mango. Bullets are coming from nowhere over Broadway I say. So their friend Perry remember him scary Perry. He left not as scary as the brother. Yeah, he left the taste of LA at 10:20pm and then went to bed. He received a call from Lyle 15 minutes later asking him why he wasn't at the festival. Perry told them they'd waited a while and then assumed that the brothers weren't coming. Lyle told him they got lost sorry. He then insisted that they still meet up because he had questions about his tennis game. It wasn't sure they'd be time to meet up before he returned to Princeton that fall. He's an ivy Leaguer is not only a great tennis player, but an ivy leaguer? Yeah. Perry reluctantly agreed. And they made plans to meet up at the Cheesecake Factory before I'll called back yet again, to say that they better meet at the mansion because Eric needed to pick up his fake ID. He wanted to join them for drinks and he's only 18. Remember, Perry put his foot down and said he would not make the extra pitstop and that he'd meet them at the restaurant directly. Yeah, without like traffic, you know, you don't want to be driving all over the place for some other person that screwed up. I told you, I would meet you at the Cheesecake Factory. This is like the early days of the Cheesecake Factory to Yeah, when their menu was just the size of a phonebook, whittled it down to half that. It used to be three cheese, pasta and I was fortunate. Well, the brothers never made it there. What will happen? Around

11: 13:31

30pm The boys returned home to find their parents brutally gunned down and they must have been shocked that didn't know that happened. It's a shocking thing to walk in. Of course, especially if you had nothing to do with it. Yeah, especially. It was a gruesome sight. Their parents didn't resemble humans anymore. They were that ripped apart by bullets. Did they see their parents as human to even before that though? We'll get into that. Yeah, there was blood splatter throughout the entire room. And then Lyle took control and dialed 911 And let's hear that call. I just want another clip of that kid. That's like I was outside the house. All I heard was It was crazy. Like a nuclear bomb, but like Yeah, but like firecrackers but on Fourth of July. Turns out he wasn't even in town that night. He says a lot of stories people are they still there? Yes. No. Why is this 911 lady she's so shocked like wait, why? Isn't that her job? Lady I'm calling 911 Yeah, wait a second. Someone killed your parents. She's like, this is the cheesecake bad. Get out the rock. Okay, hold on a second. Yeah, those are crocodile tears. I'm not buying that. So he said somebody killed right bears? Boy. Uncanny my impression. Yeah, well that tape was played so often around the time of this whole thing going on I don't want to get ahead of anything but yeah, though that that, you know bullshit you know, Tears was just like everyone heard it in news nonsense. Not right away though really. And another neighbor said they saw one of the brothers curled up on the front lawn hysterically crying. Everything pointed to a mafia head that first night we watch because the brothers implied it was Oh, okay. Well the dad was like an executive. And so you never knew if he got tied up in any shady business deals with something that could Yeah, could have happened, you know? Yeah. Was it the executive was like the Olive Oil Corporation. We're gonna get into that too. Don't worry. Cheesecake Factory. Brought in the three cheese. This is all a little prelude. Yeah, okay. It was just a factory before he got there. Oh, you brought the cheesecake that it was on if you that cheesecake. I did that. That was me. And Sean Parker came around and was like, You should lose the and factory. Yeah, college cheesecake. You know what's cool, a billion cheesecake? And they're like, No, fuck, yeah. So, Eric, when as far as to point the finger at a guy named Noah Blum, a distributor of pornographic films and a former associate of the Banano organized crime family. Oh, wow. How did he make that connection? Because he had met Jose once before. So a porn porn mafia guy. Usually, mob hits were done with a single bullet to the back of the head and never included the wife. Yeah, so there's some holes in this. What would you call it? story? The story? Yeah, that's what's that word I'm looking for. So you're saying porn mafia guys have some principles? They don't kill the wife. Well, yeah, never. The kid is never the wife. Yeah, yeah. That's why like, sometimes when you know people were in the Irish mob wars, they would leave a note to their wife and kid being like, Hey, I gotta take off for a while keep you guys safe. Yeah, they just wouldn't touch the house and give them money. Sometimes the surviving members Yeah, like Sorry, we had the whack Louis but yeah, here's a couple of shock people people used to have frickin value. Yeah, what happened these days when men were men Yeah. You got Menendez can you know wack but there was seven firecrackers up their parents says yeah, Cheesecake Factory. Yeah, leftovers all over the fucking chest. And now spaghetti is macaroni noodles with ketchup. Yeah. I'm like a schmuck. Where's the gravy? My room for these murders? They were 1412 gauge shotgun blast five to the head and body of Jose 40. And Katie was hit with nine nine times. Yeah, that was a Roman candle. Oh, they lit her up like July 4. Nine times like Ferris Bueller. Remember? Jones so the first round of shots apparently struck Katie in her chest. Right arm left hip and left leg so all over that's a lot of shots to like, especially with a shotgun. I'm sure she's a smaller lady to like, you know that. That's way that's overkill. Literally overkill. She was once a beauty queen. Really? Not so beautiful that night? Yeah. For the beauty queen dancing scene or something like that. The shell casings were removed from the scene and murder suicide was quickly ruled out after the cops conducted residue tests on the bodies. What it's like well, yeah, there's no residue on his non existent hands. Everything's just destroyed just living liquefy the box. They're picking them up with a thermos. Gotta take this guy down the lab. Go with the closed coffin. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. They're sweeping up the lamp. So the Menendez brothers appeared very distraught. So out of compassion. Detectives decided to skip the routine chemical tests they would have determined if either of them fired a gun that night. Because when you fire a gun like there's some residue As you know, there's no way of not knowing that you fired a gun. They test your right arm, don't they? They test Yeah, they test both your hands and your arms to see if there's any gunpowder that came back onto you. Yeah, the kickback gunpowder. Neighbors watched in disbelief as ambulances loaded up the bodies from the crime scene. Beverly Hills averages two murders per year. Not usually in the same night just hit the quota. Yes, they did. Yeah. Yeah. Those neighbors must be going wild. Yeah. Within days, detectives hit a dead end investigating that mafia theory. Yeah. And their sights were now set on Eric and Lyle. The only difficulty was there was no evidence linking them to the crime. Hmm. But did they get the test of the see if they fired gunshots? The kids know after a while. Laughter a couple days. It's like it's too late. Yeah. So they fumbled that right and right off the bat. Yeah, they couldn't think that these good wholesome boys that are fake IDs. Could have done anything like this. Not in Beverly Hills. I got a different time, I guess. Now the zip code maybe? Yeah. Well, I think in LA you know, though, especially around the Rodney King times, you know, people. The LAPD weren't the greatest group of people in the world not to say they've gotten much better. But yeah, you know, they probably thought it was an outside influence that came and killed them. You know, they made the shortlist once or twice a couple of times. Now, we're gonna backtrack a little. And this chapter is called Meet the Menendez is wow. There they are. Looks like a happy, nice family who, who's doing great. Jose was a Cuban emigre. Born in an upper middle class family in Havana, Cuba, in the 1940s who Havana and he was a top rated swimmer sent to the US at age 16 To escape Castro's regime and landed in Pennsylvania. And then while studying at Southern Illinois University at age 19. He met a dame named Mary Anderson, nickname, kitty, kitty by Gary Anderson. I stirred Anderson. No offense to anyone out there, but I always found kitty to be an annoying nickname. I remember kitty Dukakis remember Michael Dukakis? His wife, she she's the one that drank like all the bleach like because she was like she was yeah, it's always some lady that drinks bleach. Yeah, I don't know why I'm sorry. It's a true story. You did. She had some troubles, but she survived and she's doing a lot better now. Oh, she's fine. Yeah. Wow, she's still married to Michael Dukakis. And he ran for president didn't work out. He's the guy that got on the tank and he looked like a fool and he lost his horse wouldn't be approved and so yeah, Kitty is a interesting name. For some reason I thought both of the Menendez parents were Cuban. I didn't know Keno? Not Cuban not at all interested in a blonde former beauty queen. Yeah, bombshell. I mean, that's subjective. Yeah. But yes, he was a pretty lady. And how did they make it out to Los Angeles? They so they're like he starts in Pennsylvania moved to Southern Illinois University. Yes, guys all over the map. Yeah, we're moving along. Now. We'll get we'll end in Los Angeles. Okay, so he ended up earning a degree in accounting from Queens College in Flushing. Wow, this guy. What the hell they soon Welcome to two babies. Joseph Lyle Menendez, born on January 10 1968. And Eric Galen Menendez born on November 27 1971. I never knew Lyle's name was his middle name. He's got Joseph Joey. Hey, Joey what's up? Joey Menendez Lyle Yeah, Lyle and my allow crocodile name that ends in IO with a why tonight Naomi about it. The family settled in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, Jersey. Now this makes it the mafia element kind of makes sense now and Jose had a rapid career rise a classic American success story. He was an executive at hertz hertz the rentacar please yeah. You motion to me like I like it. What am I Jonny hertz over here? And then the record division at RCA Hey, where he signed the Eurythmics Duran Duran, what an Menudo and a $30 million deal I couldn't always from a noodle Yeah, minute. I couldn't picture him listening to your rhythm is this Yeah. This is the next band Yeah, Dave Stewart said that he was very odd Jose Menendez really Dave Stewart from the eurythmy. Yeah, who was like the brainchild behind you read the books with any Linux? Yes. Yeah. And when Stuart presented his new album to Jose, Jose told them I love it. It's just like the Ghostbusters. I don't see the comparison between the movie Ghostbusters and the you read the books? I can't even say that. You read them at your rhythmics. And what's your influences are the movie Ghostbusters and your written? Yeah, I like you're not ready. That's great implemented. With Menudo. Jose took an obsessive personal interest in the group that he did. And that may come up later again, really him and Dave Stewart were in flagrante wouldn't know me nudo Oh. Mark off of the year with Eric and Lyle went to an exclusive Princeton day school and trained to become as I mentioned, highly ranked tennis and soccer players later throwing soccer aside and focusing on tennis. Tennis is you're going to start young with tennis and you won't really want to be you know, a good prospect. It's a very tough thing to get into. There's a lot of like, elite people that that put their kids in the tennis Yeah. The elite of the elite. That's what pretty much is. Yeah, I mean, then does family is Yeah. In 1986. Jose was passed over for a promotion at RCA so he left the company and uprooted the family to Los Angeles. He quickly established himself at international video entertainment, later known as live entertainment. Oh, a video distributor there was a division of Corrado pictures. Corrado, of course responsible for Rambo and Terminator, which I'm named after. Right, Kyle? Oh, really? Kyle Reese. I'll Reese call crocodile Yes. As an executive there, Jose oversaw big profits. The year before his arrival, the company lost $20 million. Then it earned$8 million in 1987 and $16 million in 1988. Jose was a shrewd businessman. Yeah, some said he was well liked. Most said He was despised and then he made a lot of enemies along the way. He would say things like what are we paying you for? To the underlings. He sounds like a typical just asshole boss. Nothing too spectacular. Just Jack prick hack. Yeah hack because he was favorite music is Ghostbusters. What do you expect? Colleague Roger Smith called him a control freak. And then he went above and beyond anybody he'd ever dealt with in the industry. So Jose had a few personal friends. He was not proud of his heritage either. But he also knew how to use it to his advantage. He had a desire to run for US Senate from Florida one day in order to free Cuba. Wow. So he had designs that he was going to be huge ambition. Yeah, keep ascending. Wow. Kitty was a deeply unhappy woman, an alcoholic and also into pills. She was suicidal throughout her adult life. There are three attempts on her life that we know of. She was severely distressed over Jose's allegedly infidelity. Apparently, he had a woman he was seen in New York City on the side. And so he's like, very detached. Also, he's just like, out of town a lot. Yeah. On business. Yeah. And whatever. And, you know, she's just stuck there along with those two kids. And she probably doesn't have a lot of Beverly Hills friends like she's she's probably not the Real Housewives aren't kicking around Beverly Hills yet, so she doesn't really have like, some crew to to run the town with. Yeah, it's like anybody who marries someone that's, you know, rich, self made and sociopathically ambitious, you're gonna get cheated on. Yeah, that's it is what it is. And I wonder about some of those CEOs and presidents of companies. Oh, Hunter. First you have to be a bit of a sociopath to get there in the first place. Yeah. Yeah. There's nothing more scary than that generation like that hard worker that feels they really need to prove themselves. Yeah. It's like astronomical. The amount of psychopaths and sociopaths and like the C suite jobs like the fortune 500 Yeah, CFO CEOs, all those because it's only like, you know, a few percent of the actual population but it's like 50% Yeah, like CEO like hyper Farmers and stuff. Yeah. And that's why shareholders want to hire them because they're like pit bull maniacs. And they'll go in there and like, be like this guy, Jose, and just kind of, you know, run roughshod over the entire company till it's running. Right? Yeah. And on the flip side, Katie had aspirations to be an actress, which ended when the kids were born. And Jose ordered her to be a stay at home mom. And she would call him at the office every 30 minutes that sometimes just asking them what do you want on your pizza tonight? Wow, so she just on on her for her choice. She was Mike micromanage by her husband. Yeah, so she's the one making the phone calls and stuff. She also could have been doing that to fuck with him to make him finally be like, Alright, go out. Do your own fucking thing. Yeah, maybe yeah, just what I do oversaturated him with like questions like, should I should I pick up this vase and put it back down? Like you told me? Yeah, this is what you want. Should I just the parents spoiled Lyle and Eric, but also controlled them get this. They did their homework for them. Wow. So then when the kids went to school and took tests, they would fail. You actually I'd like to someone doing homework for me idea. But then it kind of like washes out with the test. It just wouldn't make. Yeah. And they were very much pushed into tennis. Wasn't their choice. Yeah. Although they became very good at it. So it did turn into something they enjoyed. Yeah. Till they got beaten into submission and to enjoy in tennis, basically. And they had to be the best. Yeah. Or just show up. Yeah. Jose wouldn't be proud. Yeah. They hid Eric's dyslexia from all his teachers. And one teacher said, Why didn't she tell us about this? Because we could have helped him? Yeah. So they weren't able to really progress mentally. Yeah. Well, there's a fear you'll get put in like a special class or something. Yeah, some people just want to hide what they consider to be like a defect or something wrong. Yeah. Because it'll dampen their image or like, make them not look as pristine as they are for sure. When he was sitting down. It's all a veneer of bullshit. And he was held back and they lied about that. And said, Oh, isn't Eric in such and such grade this year? And she was like, no, no, he's always been in fourth. When he's 19 Yeah. He has a mustache. Madison, back to school. And if they were around now, the Menendez family, they for sure would have been embroiled in that varsity blues scandal. Oh my god. Yeah. That would have been patient zero. That would build a whole new cell for them. Yeah. So the family lived in Calabasas. So they moved to Calabasas or this is their first location was Calabasas first location was Calabasas gotten it went to California Yeah. Kardashian country. Of course. I love Calabasas. They were in the middle of building their dream home. 13 acres with beautiful mountain views. But then they suddenly fled to Beverly Hills. Why? Well, I'll tell you. Let's hear I'm talking to myself. I'm on the edge of my seat here. The brothers got into some criminal activity in summer. 1988. Hot prowls they're called burglary and grand theft at two homes totaling more than $100,000 in money. And Jules Damn that. For inflation. That'd be like $30 million. Yeah. Jose stepped in and fix the situation as he usually did by putting a bandaid on it. Most of the stolen goods were returned, and he wrote a check to make up the difference. Eric took the fall for both brothers because he was under age and Lyle was a Princeton guy. tarnish his name. Wow. Eric got probation and was ordered to undergo counseling. kiddies psychologists recommended a man named Dr. Jerome oziel in Beverly Hills. Sounds like trouble. And there's an incident where Katie Odede on Xanax and alcohol around this time and she was admitted to Westlake hospital. This is like a household and peril. In late 1988 Jose bought a house at 722 elm Drive in Beverly Hills to get away from Calabasas the hell of Calabasas Yeah. Usually people move out to like the for the more rural suburbs. Yeah, he blamed Calabasas that there was a bad crowd there. So the new place is 9000 square feet eight bedroom Mediterranean style red tile. Roof courtyard swimming pool tennis court and a guest house Nice. previous tenants included Elton John and Prince man. Actress Robin Greer who I've never heard of says she once hosted a baby shower for Nicole Brown Simpson there wow the Menendez is refused to buy it furnished because Jose had too much pride so I was a house furnish that I don't know I don't know if I if I would like that. The problem is they were new money so they had no taste. So they ended up failing this beautiful home with tacky furniture went to like IKEA. Yeah, something like that. Robin Greer is majorly known from Falcon Crest 1986 87. TV series. She's on 23 episodes. Other than that she was on Freddy's Nightmares for one episode. Quantum Leap. They came from outer space Dear John, and Roseanne as customer number one. Do you remember the Jackie Thomas show? That was actually Tom Arnold show. Oh, really got his own show called The Jackie Thomas show. I don't know why they called it that and 93 She played bimbo? Oh, no. That's her last credit that the coveted role of hot career there. Yeah. Nice work if you can get it to Menendez family would live at the house less than one year. Wow. Because they just upgraded and they were still happy and they moved on. Eric Bell Ford. Everything's good, right? Yeah. Eric transferred to Beverly Hills High. And Lyle was enrolled at Princeton University where his dad had donated$50,000 to get him in. Yeah, this is verse to get him in to get him in. Yeah, wow. Well people do that today. You know, they it's just done through various ways you know, they funnel it through like nonprofits and like all this nonsense like I sorry my son's kind of not what you take care but you take 50k Right? Yeah. He can't read or write. Shoots a hell of a shotgun Johnny below and he's gonna He's gonna drop off Eric had to say Johnny below. My friend Johnny below is going to drop off a bag is yours whatever is in it. Is yours it's some cash and a finger. Yeah, and some baloney it's all a people's fucking tools from Calabasas. Eric had made friends with a kid named Craig Cigna rally signal rally signal rally this side. Let me see Yeah, belly, the son of a TV executive. He was the captain of the Calabasas tennis team, where Eric was the number one singles player. They once got into a fight with rival students that escalated quickly and resulted with Eric's broken jaw. That makes sense. This bonded them together. They gave each other nicknames King and shepherd, feeling that they were something special. So they used to sit at the Overlook overlooking the city and just dream about being big shots. We're gonna we're gonna run new city. It's like a like the entourage or something. Yeah, it's so funny when like rich kids fight. It's either one of two things, either. They're actually really tough, like, very annoyingly, because you want them to be a pussy, or they always get their job broken like that. I remember I saw Spencer Pratt on the hills. Yeah, he was gonna fight some guy. Oh, he's got a punchable face. Yeah, he just goes Welcome to La bro. Like the mean streets, even though he's like some rich house or something. Yeah. Main Streets of Laguna Beach. Seriously. Alguna Les Brown. The mean sands Yeah, of Laguna Beach. According to signal rally, Eric was ostentatious and flamboyant. Eric would enter a store. And if the clerk didn't help him right away, he'd stand up on the table and say, Hey, I'm here to buy something. Wow. So he's like the ultimate rich kid prick. I mean, Cigna really is definitely a rich kid too. Because if anybody I know called someone ostentatious and flamboyant. It would just be he was gay. There were a lot of rumors that Eric was gay. Yeah, really. Not that verbose, ostentatious now he was gay. Is him in the signal rally kid. Are they eating one big piece of spaghetti together? One big bologna. Johnny bologna. Johnny gave him his own. So they co wrote a screenplay together titled friends. Not Not to be confused. I always spit out. Not to be confused with it sitcom. Yeah, would come years later. Yeah, no, it's just it was a screenplay. That's like just two guys sitting around. they're like, Hey, we're just friends. Okay? Yeah. Totally not ostentatious and flamboyant together there to Joey Tribbiani he's just saying that we're just friends. Back Get up there going to every location tell him hey, we're just friends. Do you guys want a booth? Or we're just friends with us? Did you not just hear me? Yeah. And they gave we just blow each other right? And they gave what? We want two straws, okay. Like what? I was thinking about how chicks when I was blowing the plot of this screenplay centers on a young man named Hamilton Cromwell, who murders his rich parents for the inheritance. And here's a little excerpt Kyle, actually, do you want to read the excerpt? Yes, the door opens exposing the fuck. It's like 50 Shades of Grey. Yes, any gay interior Cheesecake Factory. The door opens exposing the luxurious site of Mr. And Mrs. Cromwell lying in bed. Their faces are of questioning horror, as Hamilton closes the door behind them gently saying Good evening, mother. Good evening, father. All light is extinguished. And the camera slides now it's being read by Alec Baldwin. All light is extinguished. In the camera slides down the stairs as screams are heard from behind. This is just the actual set of rust funny if he didn't try to hide it at all, and it said interior Menendez living room. Yeah. So here's the kicker. He crossed out his dad's name. Yeah. Katie typed out the screenplay for Lyle. Wow. She's typing out her own fucking death scenario. I like I like that kitty kitty has final draft to Here kitty, kitty, kitty. you typed this out for me. Oh my god. Eric gave a copy of the script to his photographer friend Philip Cairney to read Kirani they had become friends after he shot sexy photos of Eric. Let's see this. Alright, let's take a look at these. Oh. Look at this guy. I mean, shirtless the shirts like hanging off his every shoulder. Is that even a shirt? It just looks like a piece of cloth. It could be a piece of cloth. Yeah. He's a piece of meat. Just rag who knows? Oh, yay. Oh, geez. We're getting the unvarnished Kyle. So as you can see, Eric showed interest in becoming an actor or model. He saw himself as something bigger than he was. Or he's like any la kid. Sure. fluffer twink any of that. He wanted to be in the business. I was unleashed today. And I've heard that he gave a rousing performance of a Hamlet's soliloquy in class. So he was an actor in in high school in college. Yeah. High School. Okay. Before the trouble that summer of ADA Lyle actually embarrassed his father the fall previously you have embarrassed of father twice. He was suspended from Princeton after one semester no to getting caught cheating in Psych. 101. Home well, he doesn't. He's not a good student. You know? I'm sure it's really hard to go into Princeton. Yeah, I'm sure this set him the fuck Jose the fuck off because he's like psychology. Really? I'm a sociopath. I know everything about psychology. Yeah, I fucking ruin people's minds. And you can't even fucking get through 1101 class if I asked you for anything. Oh, yeah. And he basically just gave him a big fat Silver Spoon. And like, I'll just toss that away. Yeah, but I think wild needs like he needs like an on campus like a tutor? Tutor. Yeah. Learn how to read someone to help them something to like fall, you know, go to classes with that's why his name is Lyle. Because he's dyslexic. He's using his middle name as his first name because he's switching him up. Yeah, Lyle Joseph that started kicked off like that, you know, they're gonna go down the wrong dyslexic path. My name is Lyle, Joseph Lyle. License here. it wrong. So clearly not Ivy League material, and that's why he was hanging around and getting into trouble with Eric. Okay. Lyle briefly worked in live entertainment with his dad. How do you get that job? It rhymes with separatism. And, according to sources he acted like a spoiled rich kid this good. He left early to go to his 10 His lessons. He was allowed to return to Princeton after a one year suspension. At this point, Jose was losing patience. Brother in law Carlos Barrault says that Jose was planning to revise his will and cut out his sons. Wow man, both of them, both of them. In school. Eric was a loner, always carrying around his tennis racket, I guess. No books or anything was his stick. And his stick? Yeah, the contract always carries around his tools. But he had it in like a violin case. added in a fucking toolbox to time and while Eric was shy, Lyle was a ladies man. Some say even a playboy. Yeah. Jose didn't approve of a lot of the older women he was choosing to date though. Older women. Yeah, like I was into older women. He's like, you're gonna be bagging one of my side pieces. Get out of my honeypot. Yeah. And Jose even let me show you how to swing that rack and he's behind her. Jose even intervened to buy one of his girlfriends and abortion when she became pregnant. And he said, let me get this. Yeah. And he sent one of them to Europe pay for her to go to Europe for some modeling excursion. Just to get her away from Lyle. Wow. In summer the dad did this Jose. Oh, intervening in the kids lives like this controlling who he was micromanaging his life to just like kitty. Yeah. And Katie, I don't even know. That's micromanaging. I saw more as her just being bored as hell yeah. In the House who could be bored in LA maybe in the 80s Beverly Hills. It was boring. But Well, someone who's cooped up with her two sons. And one of them's like, just not there. And the other one, like she doesn't want to shoot, they have the means to have someone take care of the kids. She wanted to be an actress. Of course, she's losing her mind. She has no purpose other than typing up her son's script, which is sounds like shit, but it's also her actual murder being typed up. It's actually that she's excited about it because the first time she's read a script in a while. Yeah, exactly what she wants to audition for the Jackie Thomas show. Oh, and to be on that too. They don't worry. You got the roll. Tomorrow story snorting coke. Yeah, that's a good perfect I used to fuck Roseanne you know? Too bad. She couldn't get on that Nick Knight Yeah, Rick Springfield, rolling those parts out to anyone. In summer 1989 Lyle moved out to the guest house while Eric remained in the main house. This next chapter is called millionaire orphans. So we're going to fast forward a little bit after the murders. In the aftermath of the murders, the brothers bounced around between fancy hotels. They eventually rented two condos at the marina City Club towers. There aren't Marta Kano flew in from Florida to be with them. She would stay at the Elm drive house leading up to the trial not to give anything away. Well, this is crazy. The Marina City Club towers I thought were always like 50 Plus or 60 Plus, everyone. From my actual work that I've done in here. It's always been for super old people. I just assumed that it was like an old thing. So are you just elderly dopes just fucking hanging out with a bunch of friggin 90 year olds? in Marina Del Rey? Yeah, I was in the older women. Beatrice you are looking very sexy today. I love your blue curve. Yeah, well, he's like I'm taking my girlfriend out to dinner. It's like 430 early bird special. I had 7pm. Yeah. Perry Mason. I'm going to be watching Nick Knight. Yeah, I heard it's great. So I know you're wondering, the Elm drive property was not fully paid off. Oh, it eventually sold to a mystery writer. And you have a bit more of an update. Right, Kyle? Yes, whoever owns it now is that if it's not a company that does events, they rent it out for events so there was a client's there was a client of mine that had want to see where people want to see where fucking people got put in a blender. Do I got the event for you? Yeah, literally, they this person I know was at the Menendez I was for a party, a corporate party. We got to add that to the tour. Yeah, absolutely. Well, the problem is when you try to resell that, like legally, a realtor has to tell you that there were murders in there like that. It depends some states they have to openly disclose it in some states. They only have to say it if you ask. But I mean it's such a massive has there been it's been a weird murders. And there's a lot of moment. Yeah. There's a lot of people that would probably want to live there more knowing that happen. Yeah, no, but sickos but yeah, sickos Yes, maybe not people that are like, I don't want weirdos that are in a murder driving by my house just to like investigate it. This ended up being a thing. That dye dye heads going berserk that with the whole disclosure thing. In Michigan, there was a woman who bought a house and she was sitting in her house watching this serial killer documentary and realized that she was sitting in the house where the serial killer had murdered all these women in the basement. And was so pissed, went back tried to take the real estate agent to court and the agent said, it's illegal to not tell you because you never asked and it was like and it goes up sorry, I'm counting all the money I made on your stupid ass by. So that's a good tip. Yeah, always ask was anybody murdered? Is anybody executed here? Yeah. Live entertainment went into public relations mode. After Jose died. They arranged a memorial service in an auditorium at the Directors Guild in Hollywood. The brothers spoke reverently about their parents with unusual calm and poise. Another funeral was held in Princeton, and then another one in Florida, which the brothers did not attend, because they were kind of funeral doubt at that point. And then those are bumming us out. They went on a spending spree. Despite their worries to the contrary, Eric and Lyle were listed as the sole beneficiaries of the Menendez estate, as estimated to be worth around $14 million. They each received around 250k immediately from a life insurance policy. Besides that, they were running around with Jose's American Express Platinum Card. The brothers were seen Renting furniture at antiquarian traders. Furniture Store. Hey, man, I know what I want to do with my money. I want to rent some furniture dog. Maybe that's what I want to read today's Anwar for a weekend. That could be the store where Ray combs worked when he Yeah, it could have been he gets what can I can I put you into this? loveseat for one weekend. Why are they Renting furniture? antiquarian traders? Yeah, going straight there. Yeah, I know what I'm doing odd ducks. Can I sign this $250,000 check over to you. And aquarium. Lyle bought a Porsche 911 Carrera. Now that's what I'm talking about. Well, Eric opted for the less flashy Jeep Wrangler. designer clothes. They also bought designer clothes and a Rolex watch. Couple of Rolexes so they're going against the Goodfellas rule which is to lay low don't buy new shit. Yeah. What gets people pop? They're buying the brand new Cadillac and the fur coat. Yeah, take this pocket jacket off right now. Get the fuck out and put it back where you got I don't care where you got to put it back. And then you get an ice pick in your fucking brain cavity. Yeah, like Carbone. Eric hired a personal tennis coach that costs 50 grand a year. Lyle bought a small restaurant. Really? He renamed Mr. buffaloes in Princeton, New Jersey. And he had told family members that it was something Katie always wanted of him to own a business. Yeah, I want she always wanted me to own Mr. buffaloes and Princeton New Jersey. This is That's it? Yeah, that we have a photo of Spring Street Cafe. That looks like a dump that looks like a sandwich shop. Yeah, it looks like a trailer. And he hired his buddy. The GM Yeah, his buddy. Oh, Trey Parker here. Yeah. And they would fly coast to coast on MGM Grand air. uh Wow. Wow. They didn't know MGM Grand had a had an airline. They did to lease fucking was there like a paramount? Paramount airlines? Yeah, there's a Mickey fun bus as well. Eric paid $40,000 For concert tickets, but ended up getting ripped off nice. So it was basically like wiping his ass with the money. They took a New Year's skiing trip to Lake Tahoe. That's not and it's suspected that the rather's attended a Knicks game at some point. It is not suspected. It is confirmed my friend. All right, Kyle, do you want to explain this? Yes, Mark Jackson was playing in a game and had this card come out and people didn't realize till after the murders happen that there was a curious looking fella over there on the left side. Two carriers looking fellas. Well, yes. But that appears to be the Menendez brothers right behind Mark Jackson on the left side there. That's he's playing card. That's Yeah, funny. That's on his like trading card. It's in that insane? Yeah, let me look up the latest price for this car because I believe it actually went for some money. I've heard that eBay cracked down and wouldn't let people mention the Menendez brothers when selling it. Wow, that's ridiculous. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, one is going for$750. And then there's a bunch of them that are going for like 10 bucks. Let's buy it. There's a 91. It's a 9.5 rated Mark Jackson, NBA hoops next card and use 750 bucks, man, and this would have been sometime in 1990. Yes. I wonder how many of those are fake though. Like, you can duplicate those cards? Probably. Yeah. So yeah, that's an interesting little tidbit there. The brothers were restless and constantly doing things and buying things, as you can tell. But one thing they did not have was an interest in finding their parents killers. Yeah. Their friends recall a morbid sense of humor. While deciding what movie to watch. One night, Eric suggested parenthood or the movie dad. Close pal, Glenn Stevens asked Lyle, how he was doing a couple of days after the murders. And Lyles response was I've been waiting so long to be in this position that the transition came easy. Yeah, I mean, that's the least of their, you know, guilt. In my opinion. I make jokes about my dead dad all the time. And so you have to have that kind of sense of humor. If I mean, the gallows humor. Yeah. A month after. It's all was only a month you were telling gainers about your dad a month after Kyle. I was telling him at my fucking dad's funeral. Sounds like a scream. Yeah. Some would say too soon. And Lyle was definitely stepping into his dad's shoes. In some ways. At this time. He was acting like a big shot. But I feel like you know what I mean? Like he was mister businessman, Mr. mover and shaker doing all these things. I mean, he bought a business for Christ's sake. Well, business come on. That was a good it's a sub shop. But I think the problem these guys are in so you're not going to be investing? I know. Therefore, I am out Yeah. You sell bad ham and cheese sandwiches. So therefore, I am out. No, but I think that these these these two, they're not realizing they don't have fuck you generational wealth money. They have $14 million, which is great. But it's still they're gonna hurt. You know that the real estate taxes in Beverly Hills are going to eat that up over time. They're just they're gonna get screwed. Clearly, the house is not paid off. Probably a guy mentioned that. Yeah. And it's like, yeah, they're not going to be okay. Unless they use all that money, pay off the house, make some really smart investment decisions and just live there. And even with that, you know, you're still not gonna you're gonna have to get a career. They don't have the foundation to make the money last. They weren't set up well by their parents. No. Well, I mean, some would argue 14 million is pretty good. No, I mean, no, it is just me Kyle to be an adult. Oh, yes. Docking arrest. Yeah. Their life skills like life lane. They're still young. So like they got a lot of time to to make some bad decisions that they're about. They're doing all of them right now. Yeah. Can't fight their way out of a paper bag is what my family would say. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They can't do some of their decisions were worse than others. Yeah. Arguably, yeah. I had some highs and lows. Jose's cousin Carlos found a copy of the 1980 will in a bathroom drawer one day, it stated that everything went to the suns which was like the other well, yeah, and then he later came across a file on the Family Computer labeled will and he could not access it. Lyle got wind of this and hired a computer expert to try and extract the file, but it couldn't be done. It was corrupted. So Lyle then instructed the guy to erase all the data on the hard drive except that file and then make it look like it hadn't been tampered with. Hmm. Why did you just throw it off like the you know, Pacific Palisades clip or something that just like, destroy it. He basically knew that that might have been the revised well So when he found out that it couldn't be opened he was like okay, cool. Now make it look like you didn't even you weren't he? Yeah, yeah. But yeah like you said if they don't want a real wheel to be found to like, distinguish whether or not they actually were do the money or it was gonna go somewhere else if he hadn't filed it with a lawyer then yeah toss it off the fucking Well I think the problem is that maybe all 100 saying this but there's other people sniffing around this so they don't want to get caught. You know that maybe they don't want their fingerprints on everything. Yeah. Family motive. Carlos found the computer they yes, they get the family the family sniffing around and maybe the the you know the brother of the guy who was killed and stuff smells a rat. Yeah, I would have just been like everything's in the trash. I'm selling the house because it's still underwater. We're not going to be able to pay this off. Let's sell the house or just burn it down be like on do like websites with the house. caught on fire? Well, yeah, the guy from Cohasset tried that. And even in trouble. Oh, yeah. Down the House. He murdered his wife in after he Googled how to how how to dismember a body, how long it takes before a body starts smelling. Yeah, like his wife was a guy in Cohasset. Massachusetts, his wife was cheating on him. She was like going back and forth to DC and like, for some reason, everyone thinks you're gonna get away with it by just burning down the house. burned and how are we gonna get out of this? Yeah, just turn that turn on Track five of the talking heads. You have David Byrne ever did anything like that? You'd be very suspicious based on that side. Yeah. He's a co defendant. Ironically, Corrado pictures collected $15 million because of a key man life insurance policy with Jose and they had a great quarter. Wow. Yeah. However, the$5 million beneficiary policy, which should have been paid out to the family was invalid because Jose failed to take the necessary physical exam. Oh my god. So there was bad blood between the family and the company. And there was also bad blood between director Tommy Lee Wallace and the company. We have a clip here. He directed a movie called Fright Night, part two, sequel to Friday, part one wins. And it got messed up after Jose's death. Let's see it. Finally this movie was done. And we were ready to roll and getting it all set for its big debut. This was on film. And so we were going to have a theatrical release, Herb Jaffe had made a deal with Jose Menendez for distribution and subsequent video distribution and all the rest. The Menendez brothers killed Friday Night Part Two, as well as their parents allegedly didn't get a release. It was a very frustrating process that happened after that. It was a one man operation and that man was very suddenly very finally did Eric Lyle, you fucking assholes. That's what I think you killed my movie. Wow, you must have projections for down the road. What you're expecting to make at some point, we think 1989 will be a tremendous year. Wow. Yeah, that fucking guy is out of his mind. He's like you killed my movie. I didn't expect that at the end there. I didn't know who's gonna take that turn and look at the camera. Clearly you motherfucker like what? That was the biggest tragedy out of this situation time. Yeah, right and I part two. In Fall 1989 Reporter Robert Rand was given the assignment to write about Jose, not the murders. But how a Cuban American success story ended in tragedy. In October, he sat down with Eric at the mansion. Eric described his dad as driven funny and antisocial. Quote, actually, Kyle, do you want to read this quote? Yes. There were no times for him to get real close friendships, and people became jealous of him on the weekend. He wouldn't want to socialize. He would always stay home. Instead of going to the movies with my friends. I would just stay home with him would even take showers together. Hello God. So he got this big bathtub and Lyle, me and my dad would just we would take showers together. We would do everything together. So put that in your pocket for later like that and your pipe and choke on a socket. This next chapter is called the walls close in. On Halloween, which landed on a Tuesday in 1989. Dr. Jerome oziel got a frantic phone call from Eric who said he needed to talk although the court appointed counseling had ended before the murders oziel had contacted the boys and offered his help. He became a kind of surrogate father offering legal advice shoulder to cry on, etc. But was there a financial motive? I wonder? Because it turns out he charged them $1,300 When he stopped by the house one day to offer his condolences. That's a real Beverly Hills friend for your right now they charge at 1300 Just for saying hello, I'm sorry pay me. Eric showed up in office. Bedford drive on the afternoon of October 31. Dr. oziel shared the space with other doctors including his wife, Laurel, who he had two kids with. Eric insisted they leave and go for a walk. And that's where he came clean. It had been eating him up. Lyle had no idea this was going on. Before this Eric also allegedly confessed to good friend and CO screenwriter Craig Cigna rally in a if I did it kind of manner. After returning to the office, Eric called Lyle and he hurried over. A woman was sitting in the waiting area. Lyle exchanged a few pleasantries with her and then went into oziel, his private office. So Leia was furious at Eric's confession. But they talked through it and it got very emotional. Eric came out crying and ran out of the building. Lyle and doctoral zeal exchanged some more heated words by the elevator. And at this moment, Ozias perception was that Leia was threatening him because he said something like, stay safe doc. Okay, so just to go missing. It was a document thrown in voice out the elevator door. Closing, I charged double for threats. When the boys left oziel phoned his wife and told her to take the kids and stay at a friend's house because he could be in danger. Instead of joining them however, he stayed with his mistress Judah Lon Smith, who happened to be that woman who was in the waiting area. She lived in Carthay Circle area of LA and operated an audio video duplicating service, and also sold crystals and greeting cards. Oh, so business is booming. This sounds like a Russian money laundering operation. It's a very 1989 business. Yeah. Are you here for the gift cards? Or do you want to tape duplicated? Or some crystals? Imagine coming in for both. Give me another copy of thick nice. Yeah, Johnny's breasts or something. Ozel convinced the brothers to meet him a second time. He informed them that the details they provided him last time were all captured on tape, a semi truth they weren't actually recorded. Instead oziel had taped himself describing everything that happened. But he would go on to record all their subsequent meetings, which is illegal in the state of California. How do you know that it is a two party consent state because I may or may not have wanted to record people's conversations with me. Oh my god, or conversations I was having with other people. And I found out it was illegal inadmissible. Why are you saying it like that? I'm like, afraid to proceed with this now. You should be very afraid to be here right now. Thinking back What did I say to Kyle? I'm afraid I have to move on. Yeah, the friendship between Eric and Cigna rally came to an end in early 1990. When Eric suspected him of talking to the police, which was true cops came to his friend and Cigna rally offered to wear a wire in an attempt to get Eric to confess on tape. The Mission failed he didn't end up incriminating himself and the recording was useless signal rally would go on to soak up the infamy and enjoy the spotlight as a bit player in this saga. Yeah, the problem with being friends with anyone in LA when you're younger, like that is not only you know, people just want to get famous any way they can. And so that's why Paris Hilton and all those people were like gotten like the sex tape and stuff. So this guy Cigna rallies, like I'll take any ticket I can clearly the screenwriting is not working out. So I'm gonna try to do this and set up my friend get famous or get paid. Look at Bobby Lee basically she was doing that kind of stuff. Yeah. Oh, you wanted to sell the kid for 100 grand? Yeah, well, what are you talking about? Right show star in a movie or show blackmail? Some? Yeah, exactly. According to Julian Smith. On that Halloween afternoon, she stood outside the office door and overheard the confessions and threats. Allegedly. Ozel also shared details with her in case anything ever happened to him. Months later as the Relationship cooled Jude Alon Smith contacted the police herself and told them about the existence of audio tapes where the Menendez brothers are heard confessing to the murders, but they're useless. She added that the brothers threatened to kill oziel if he reported them, and she revealed where the shotguns had been purchased. The cops obtained a warrant to search Ozias offices and eventually found the tapes in a safety deposit box in a bank on Ventura Boulevard. Wow, it was rare for therapy tapes to be confiscated by police because of a doctor patient confidentiality. Isn't that HIPAA? But this was considered a special circumstance. HIPAA was six years away at this point. They keep forgetting that you can't you could easily just take tapes with medical records. They're mine now I don't get it's crazy. The tapes would not be allowed to be used as evidence in the courtroom. It admissible. Judy Lon Smith would go on to accuse oziel of manipulating her and dosing her with lots of drugs as he counseled her. She claims he choked her and led her to believe that her life was constantly in danger from his killer patient brothers. Oh, zeal denied the accusations. I know there's a lot of drama, a lot of weird characters and like not real, like smart adults. They're just everyone's a clown in this. I think Gosia was really trying to squeeze money out of them. Oh, for sure. He wasn't even like squeezing it. He was billing them. No, but I mean even even more like the invoice like the memo says like murder, confirmation or some or brazenly? I think he was setting himself up that he could be like, Alright, give me a million dollars and I'll never tell ya. This is an invoice for confirmation of murder, admission on payment upon arrival or whatever. Yeah, here's another invoice for deleting the admission that spells out everything. Remember, she had the tape business duplicates. On March 8 1990, Lyle was arrested by a team of Beverly Hills cops as he was leaving the house on Elm drive in his brother's Eddie Murphy Jeep Wrangler, his pal Glenn Stevens. He was still in the Wrangler was in the passenger seat, not the Porsche 911. Eric was out of town. In fact, he was out of the country playing in a tennis tournament in Israel. Wow. Accompanied by his private tennis coach. Eric Exactly. Eric flew to Miami and met with his relatives who live there is out Martha Martha Menendez, hello Fatah. His aunt advised him to fly to LA to face the music. So Eric, Menudo So Eric, called the police and told them he was flying in and they arrested him at LAX. Wow. Both brothers were held at the LA man's county jail on suspicion of murder and held without bonds. They must have really wanted they want to go pick them up at LAX. Rachel inside the bubble la joke. I think it's a real fucking joke that they're here in this picture. They're both like fucking laughing. Well, this one could be you're not taking this seriously. It's nervous laughter maybe. Attorney Leslie Abramson was hired to represent Eric Abramson had saved a dozen people from death row. Only her client Ricky Sanders received the death penalty, because he shot and killed four people at a Bob's Big Boy who's at the one in Bourbon County. I'm like they should tell you when you go in there. Some people were killed. not disclose. They have to disclose every time you welcome people were murdered here. Like smoking or not. Yeah, you gotta tune them out there. They have to say, by the way, people were murdered where you're sitting. And how do you want your eggs? Yeah. I asked her to milk. Abramson was known for her take no prisoners tactics, as the LA Times described her and that she spent her working life building a reputation as a four foot 11 Fire Rating mudslinging nuclear strength pain in the legal but it she also to top it off. She looks like she's cosplaying Barbra Streisand a little bit. Yeah. A little the hair. Yeah. Very showy. Yeah, coincidentally, this Abramson was at Queens College at the same time as Jose really I thought you're gonna say Seinfeld verbs like and he went down, so they very likely would have been in the same spots probably but they didn't know each other now. Okay. Gerald Chalifoux, who also defended the hillside Strangler was hired to represent Lyle Chalifoux. Earlier represented Eric in the burglary case in Calabasas, and he later withdrew due to his personal connection to the family. Attorney Gil Lansing replaced him. That brings us to summer 1990. Eric and Lyle were still publicly claiming their innocence. But their lawyers knew the truth. Abramson put them in touch with forensic psychiatrist, Dr. William Vickery. In the ensuing months, the boys would finally open up and reveal a long history of abuse in the family. They would also come clean about the murders with their aunts and uncles before they had to hear it from pundits on TV. Oh, wow. So you're saying that the lawyers knew the truth? They knew they actually admitted that they killed their parents? Yes. Oh, wow. There are some lawyers who want to know, and there's some lawyers that just say I already assume that they're guilty. And I don't need to know there's no way around it with this. Yeah, they already confessed on tape. And there's too much evidence at this point. The cops are already looking at them. And then their behavior. Yeah, but the tapes are bullshit. No, I know, but easily be dismissed and go get everything else then. Yeah, the way they were acting for sure. I wonder if their defense was straight up. We just didn't do it. If like if they would have got off on that they might have they would never tested for the bullet residue. And there's no way to actually prove this. Oh, no. allophones tracking you. Your every movement. It's just like, okay, their parents are home, somebody killed them. And they may or may not have been there. So they got rid of every piece of forensic evidence like they they burned their clothes. There was those blood spatters on them? I may explain that in a little bit. Okay. All right. It's hard to get there a little bit here. No, I'm just teasing a little bit. Yeah. both Eric and Lyle had girlfriends at the time of their arrest. They were at the old age home. They're sitting around waiting to someone to take him to the buffet. She died before the trial. Getting the driving gloves on to go out another victim of the Menendez brothers. The girls initially supported the brothers before jumping ship. Wow. Yeah, they support them when they thought they could get some money from them. And they're like, Oh, they're going to prison forever. Fuck these guys. Yeah, we're moving on to some silver foxes at the development here. And now we're gonna go into The People vs Menendez man. Coming up on the next episode, this is one of the most sensational crimes ever do explode in Hollywood. I'm just a normal kid. Oh, you're a normal kid who killed your parents? There's a big big trial going on here in Beverly Hills. You know about this? The Menendez brothers. I was just firing as I went into the room. I just started firing in what direction in front of me? The whole country is going crazy. But his tragic reality really fit material for adult entertainment? Yes, a murder plot as twisted as any movie mystery? Wasn't fear that made him kill? Or was it simply greed, the scandalous movies and outrageous books to lenders after Murder She Wrote Sunday. And after reading the trial, how the murders went down and the new evidence that could set them free. Menendez mania continues next time on death in entertainment.