The latest on the case of Erik and Lyle Menedez
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00:00:00The new question just this week, could two of the most infamous killers ever soon be
00:00:05headed toward freedom?
00:00:06David Lyle and Eric Menendez making new headlines 35 years after murdering their parents.
00:00:12All the breaking details on 2020 right now.
00:00:15As I went into the room, I just started firing.
00:00:20What was in front of you?
00:00:23My parents.
00:00:26The press frenzies just this week.
00:00:2820 family members of both sides are here to urge the DA to re-sentence.
00:00:34This family is saying they've been punished enough.
00:00:37One of the most notorious double murders ever.
00:00:39I'm just a normal kid.
00:00:41Oh, Eric, you're a normal kid who killed your parents.
00:00:46Now fact.
00:00:47I wish that I could take that moment back.
00:00:50And Ryan Murphy's fiction getting a new generation obsessed.
00:00:55I would say people do believe that it was an act of self-defense.
00:00:58At the same time as a re-examination in the DA's office.
00:01:02You said that you might rule on the re-sentencing in October.
00:01:07Everybody has an opinion about this case.
00:01:09This is not a child abuse trial.
00:01:10This is a murder trial.
00:01:11Tonight, their only side-by-side interview.
00:01:14I couldn't accept it.
00:01:16You couldn't accept it, but you called the police.
00:01:19You pretended that you hadn't done it.
00:01:21Plus what has never aired before.
00:01:23How close the two of you are.
00:01:27And the evidence getting a new look now.
00:01:29That's the man here.
00:01:30He tried to rape me.
00:01:32Tell me about the letter.
00:01:33Eric wrote in the letter, I'm afraid every night.
00:01:36I think it's total BS.
00:01:38It's all nonsense.
00:01:40Was this a miscarriage of justice?
00:01:42I'm just going to find out what time I'm being picked up.
00:01:58We're here to support Eric and Lyle.
00:02:01It's time.
00:02:02Time for them to be released.
00:02:07We're going to go have breakfast with the supporters of Eric and Lyle that we're getting
00:02:13ready for the press conference at 1.
00:02:17It's a family reunion and it's a time for gathering and showing a collective support,
00:02:26which we hope is sending a powerful message to the world and to the district attorney.
00:02:32We want to see these boys released from prison.
00:02:34It's time.
00:02:36Well, hello everybody.
00:02:38Oh, time has come.
00:02:45It's been long enough.
00:02:47I get so emotional thinking about it.
00:02:49This is a prime example of showing support for the family is what all of us are doing
00:02:53now because we love the boys so much.
00:03:02This week, nearly 20 members of both sides of the Menendez brothers family came out in
00:03:07full force in front of dozens of cameras to emotionally plea for their release.
00:03:12This is about truth, justice, and healing.
00:03:15I never thought this day would come.
00:03:18It's time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the
00:03:22shadow of their past.
00:03:25They were boys, young, scared, and abused by their father in ways no child should ever
00:03:31experience.
00:03:33It is time.
00:03:34Time for Eric and Lyle to come home.
00:03:37They're notorious cases back in the headlines, 35 years after their parents' brutal murder.
00:03:43What's the problem, what's the problem?
00:03:53It was from the jump, one of the biggest cases in Los Angeles and in the country.
00:03:59No one could believe that these two young men had killed their parents this way.
00:04:04Entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife were slain in the family room of
00:04:08their Beverly Hills mansion.
00:04:10You had two young brothers armed with shotguns accused of killing their parents.
00:04:21Their freedom, once unimaginable, is now looking more and more possible.
00:04:26You know, how they killed their parents, Jose and Kitty, was always clear, but why
00:04:31they did it has divided the nation.
00:04:34Remember this was not a whodunit.
00:04:38This was why.
00:04:39Physical, verbal, psychological, sexual abuse that went on for years.
00:04:44Lyle and Eric Menendez are stone cold murderers.
00:04:49None of the abuse excuse evidence is corroborated, but even if you accept that it's true, abuse
00:04:54does not justify a revenge killing.
00:04:57Never, never, never, ever.
00:05:00We are in a fascinating time in society now and everybody has an opinion about this case.
00:05:06There are some who argue that the sex abuse was fabricated.
00:05:10Sure they do.
00:05:11They don't want to admit the truth.
00:05:12From ABC News, this is 2020.
00:05:13Tonight.
00:05:14I killed my parents.
00:05:152020 covered the Menendez murders extensively from the start, and when a new generation
00:05:28discovered it in the age of TikTok, we were there.
00:05:32Enter TikTok.
00:05:33Amazing.
00:05:34The Menendez story going viral in 2021.
00:05:38I don't believe they got a fair trial.
00:05:40They don't deserve to live the rest of their life in prison.
00:05:44I think they're seen as the victims of a less enlightened time.
00:05:49I would say people of my generation predominantly do believe that it was an act of self-defense.
00:05:54I just told him, I don't, I don't.
00:06:04Now the wildly popular scripted Netflix series, Monsters, is creating a new wave of interest
00:06:10in the case that's gaining momentum.
00:06:12And he said that he didn't mean to hurt me, but he loved me.
00:06:15Rosie O'Donnell, who's become friends with the brothers, is now calling for their release.
00:06:21Do you think their punishment fit their crime?
00:06:24Their punishment has outlasted.
00:06:26They were 21 and 18 when they committed their crime.
00:06:29Their brains were not even formed yet.
00:06:31All as a powerful movement builds online to set the brothers free.
00:06:36With the Milli Vanilli song, Lyle dedicated to his parents blowing up on TikTok.
00:06:44These kids, they get impassioned, you know, that 18, 20 in college and they blew up this
00:06:50Freedom Menendez Brothers, absolutely blew it up.
00:06:53But TikTok is more the court of public opinion.
00:06:56It's not the law.
00:06:57TikTok is 100% the wrong forum for this.
00:07:01The reason we have rules and law is because when awful, awful things like this happen,
00:07:10we have a forum.
00:07:11It's called the court system.
00:07:13And now the court system itself might have to reconsider.
00:07:16In 2023, the Menendez Brothers attorneys filed a new motion citing newly resurfaced evidence
00:07:24in a push to get them out of prison.
00:07:27The catalyst was something in real time that wasn't available, something else that was
00:07:32not available.
00:07:33The evidence?
00:07:34A letter from Eric Menendez to his cousin alluding to his father's abuse, written months
00:07:40before the murders.
00:07:41I knew immediately that it was a potentially major piece of evidence.
00:07:47The other piece of evidence?
00:07:48A new alleged victim of the father, Jose Menendez.
00:07:52This one is a former member of the 80s boy band Menudo, Roy Roseo.
00:07:58The Menudo star said that Jose molested him in his home.
00:08:05In that home.
00:08:06Not surprising.
00:08:07The significance is now, oh, this does support that this man, Jose Menendez, was a sexual
00:08:14predator, not only with his children, but with other people's children.
00:08:19And now a blockbuster move.
00:08:21The L.A. district attorney announced that his office is reviewing the Menendez case.
00:08:27One of the most notorious murder trials in U.S. history.
00:08:30Well, Sandra's district attorney is considering whether Lyle and Eric Menendez should be resentenced.
00:08:34The decision to move forward is now in the hands of the district attorney, who'll need
00:08:39to consider the questions, have the Menendez Brothers served enough time?
00:08:43And have they been rehabilitated?
00:08:45Do you think the Menendez Brothers will walk free someday?
00:08:47Given the totality of the circumstances, I don't think that they deserve to be in prison
00:08:53until they die.
00:08:54Okay?
00:08:55I don't believe that.
00:08:58Lyle and Eric Menendez have been behind bars now for more than three decades.
00:09:03And they've only ever spoken once, sitting side by side, to our own Barbara Walters.
00:09:09Tonight, never before seen excerpts from that iconic interview.
00:09:13Do you think you're evil?
00:09:17My name is Lyle Menendez.
00:09:27I am the kid that did kill his parents, and no river of tears has changed that, and no
00:09:38amount of regret has changed it.
00:09:44I think I will end up dying, still being in the nightmare of this horrifying events
00:09:51and tragedy.
00:09:52Can you show your interview, Lyle?
00:09:58This was the first big trial.
00:10:00I covered it.
00:10:01It was the American dream come crashing down.
00:10:08Lyle and Eric Menendez seem to have it all.
00:10:16From the outside, the Menendez family were living the American dream.
00:10:21An immigrant from Cuba who had risen to the heights of Hollywood power, his wife and their
00:10:29two sons, who were star tennis players and destined for great colleges.
00:10:39They had achieved the American dream.
00:10:40They were living in the mansion in Beverly Hills.
00:10:43They were living behind the gate.
00:10:44So on the outside, to most people, this was the perfect all-American family.
00:10:49People assume that if you have money, you have no problems.
00:10:52And you're certainly not going to do anything like kill your parents, because you've got
00:10:56it made.
00:10:57And it turns out that rich people have dysfunctional families just as much as poor people.
00:11:02One kid killing the parents is a bad seed.
00:11:06Two kids killing the parents is a bad family.
00:11:19Jose Menendez was an immigrant.
00:11:21He immigrated from Cuba at about the age of 16.
00:11:26With this ferocious drive and talent.
00:11:30Jose and Kitty Menendez met when they were both students at Southern Illinois University.
00:11:36Kitty was my sister, my younger sister.
00:11:38She was stunningly beautiful.
00:11:41And I mean beautiful on the outside and even more so on the inside.
00:11:45They got married when they were both in college.
00:11:50Jose Menendez rose to the really heights of corporate power.
00:11:54He was a music executive.
00:11:55He was a movie executive.
00:11:57And he was a domineering personality.
00:12:00Kitty Menendez had dreams of becoming an actress.
00:12:04And after her sons were born, Jose basically told her, you can't work.
00:12:09You need to take care of our sons.
00:12:11The boys were extremely spoiled.
00:12:14I would tell Kitty, I said, you know, there's got to be some discipline in their life somewhat.
00:12:18And I think it would be smart for you to rein them in a little bit and hold them accountable
00:12:22for some of the things that they do.
00:12:24And of course, she would come right back and, Brian, don't tell me how to raise my boys.
00:12:29She wanted Lyle and Eric to be as competitive as she was and as her husband was.
00:12:35For 20 years, the Menendez family lived in Princeton, New Jersey.
00:12:39And then Jose became an executive in the entertainment industry.
00:12:42So in 1987, the family moved to California.
00:12:47And they were really, really proud to have this house that they had found there.
00:12:51I mean, this is just the most beautiful setting.
00:12:56Jose and Kitty Menendez were very concerned about the facade of their family.
00:13:00They wanted the public image to be perfect.
00:13:03Lyle and Eric were very influenced by what their father thought.
00:13:09And they wanted, at all times, to please dad.
00:13:13Describe your relationship with your father.
00:13:15Brutal.
00:13:17Painful.
00:13:21Torturous.
00:13:25And yet, I admired him because he was so strong.
00:13:33And he was everything that success was, that I was taught that success was.
00:13:40And I thought that he was the most powerful and brilliant person I had ever met.
00:13:46I was his firstborn son.
00:13:48That was very important to him.
00:13:50And he was a very forceful and, I think, very brutal person.
00:13:58And my bond with him was, I thought, strong.
00:14:05Because we had been through so much together.
00:14:09Lyle Menendez was going to be the better, improved version of Jose.
00:14:13For Jose Menendez, having a son go to an Ivy League school like Princeton
00:14:18was the end of the American dream.
00:14:21But Lyle Menendez had mediocre grades, was not a great student.
00:14:25He really wasn't Princeton material.
00:14:28Lyle was flunking out of Princeton, not only academically,
00:14:32Lyle was flunking out of Princeton, not only academically,
00:14:35but socially he was doing things he wasn't supposed to do.
00:14:41Eric and Lyle Menendez kept screwing up.
00:14:44They were hanging out with a group of friends that began doing what was called
00:14:49hot prowls, in which they would sneak into a house when nobody was there.
00:14:56At one point, Lyle Menendez actually committed a burglary
00:15:00with several of his friends.
00:15:02Lyle showed his little brother that he had done this crime,
00:15:05and his little brother said, well, I can do the same thing.
00:15:07The initial victims were the parents of some of their friends.
00:15:10And in the first burglary, over $100,000 of items were taken out of the house,
00:15:15including cash and jewelry taken from a safe.
00:15:18Now, it was my understanding that their burglaries consisted of backing up
00:15:22a moving van to a house that was empty and cleaning out the house,
00:15:26which is different from breaking into a house and stealing the family's silver.
00:15:30What's that about?
00:15:31I think they were practicing to be criminals.
00:15:33I think they thought being criminals would be a fun way to earn a living.
00:15:37They wind up getting arrested, and Jose, in his inimitable way,
00:15:44decided that he was going to quickly put it to rest.
00:15:47And he went out and he visited every one of the homes that had been robbed.
00:15:51He apologized, and his son apologized,
00:15:55and he wrote him a check right on the spot.
00:15:57When poor kids do a burglary,
00:15:59like they go to their neighbor's house and take the big screen TV,
00:16:02they go to juvenile court or they go on probation or something like that.
00:16:06When rich kids do it, they go to the psychiatrist.
00:16:09Joe, when he found out that the children had been arrested,
00:16:13he was ashamed by them getting caught,
00:16:16because I think Jose thought that life was about winning,
00:16:21and probably it was not as important how you got there.
00:16:25Joe was never satisfied.
00:16:27Lyle and Eric, I think, had a strong fear of Dad.
00:16:32It was so obvious, but it was not spoken.
00:16:38The impression I got about Jose Menendez's character
00:16:41was that he could be charming when he chose to,
00:16:44but that his basic nature was very abusive,
00:16:47and that he was abusive to his sons especially and to his wife.
00:16:51When you say uncomfortable, you mean like everyone was on pins and needles?
00:16:55Everybody was on pins and needles, and everything had to be just perfect,
00:17:00just the way Jose would want it.
00:17:02Appearances meant a lot.
00:17:04Yes, appearances were everything.
00:17:06When we went to their house, there was a ferret, always.
00:17:09And the ferret died one day,
00:17:12and Katie and Joe assumed that one of their dogs had killed it.
00:17:18And one of their dogs was a black, very aggressive dog.
00:17:22They had aggressive dogs.
00:17:23The children opened the refrigerator one day
00:17:26and found the dog's head inside.
00:17:31To me, the Menendez brothers became homicidal monsters
00:17:36that were shaped by Jose Menendez.
00:17:40Next up, this is a rare look inside the 2020 vault.
00:17:45Never-before-seen footage.
00:17:48The first thing you said to me was that you missed your mother.
00:17:51I remember thinking it a very strange thing to say.
00:17:54The Menendez Brothers
00:18:10This is a rare look inside the 2020 vault.
00:18:14Never-before-seen footage of Barbara Walters'
00:18:17exclusive 1996 interview with the Menendez brothers.
00:18:22It's hard for people to understand, I guess,
00:18:25how close the two of you are.
00:18:29On the other hand, had you not been that close,
00:18:33all of this might never have happened.
00:18:38It's true.
00:18:41I think in the environment we grew up in,
00:18:45home was like a fearful, demeaning place.
00:18:48And for Eric and I,
00:18:51I bet it's probably not uncommon for
00:18:54siblings that grew up in those kind of homes
00:18:56to be unusually close,
00:18:59because they have to be there for each other
00:19:02and there's so much stress.
00:19:05It is true that this happened,
00:19:09in part because Eric needed my help.
00:19:17He blames himself for that,
00:19:19and I blame myself for not protecting him earlier.
00:19:23And we just, you know, we try to just go on.
00:19:29I think the Menendez brothers were close
00:19:32because they were fighting the common enemy,
00:19:34which was their father.
00:19:36He believed that life is like war,
00:19:38and that anything you do to achieve your end is fine.
00:19:41Including, it turns out, killing your parents.
00:19:45There are people, a great number of people,
00:19:48who think that you two are spoiled brats.
00:19:50What do you say to them?
00:19:51I don't know that there's anything I can say to them.
00:19:54Because I came from a family of wealth,
00:19:58it doesn't make me spoiled.
00:20:00I'm just a normal kid.
00:20:02Oh, Eric, you're a normal kid who killed your parents.
00:20:06Yeah, I know.
00:20:07And you still say you're a normal kid?
00:20:11Well, I didn't have normal experiences, but I am.
00:20:15I did that, and there's not a day that goes by
00:20:19that I don't think about what happened
00:20:21and wish that I could take that moment back.
00:20:24Is it hard for you, Lyle?
00:20:28It is difficult to be a whole 28 years defined by a day.
00:20:39That day, according to the brothers,
00:20:42was the culmination of years of unspeakable abuse
00:20:45by their father, Jose.
00:20:47This was a very chaotic, traumatic, dysfunctional,
00:20:52horrific family situation.
00:20:59You could see when they were younger,
00:21:02and less so as they got older,
00:21:04that there were these two lively, fun children,
00:21:08young boys, who just became sadder and sadder
00:21:11through the years.
00:21:15Karen's sister Diane was living with the Menendez family
00:21:18and babysitting for the brothers
00:21:20when she says Lyle confided in her.
00:21:23When Lyle told me about the abuse,
00:21:25he was eight years old at the time.
00:21:29I was in my room, changing the sheets on my bed,
00:21:32and Lyle came in saying that he was afraid
00:21:37to sleep in his own bed because his father and him
00:21:39had been touching each other down there.
00:21:43And I went upstairs and got Kitty.
00:21:45By her demeanor, I could tell that she was not
00:21:48believing any of this.
00:21:50Lyle told his cousin Diane that he had been molested,
00:21:54and she told his mother Kitty.
00:21:56But Diane says Kitty adamantly denied that this was true,
00:22:00and she was very upset, and could that be
00:22:02because perhaps now the secret is out?
00:22:05You know, it is hard to wrap your head around that
00:22:08until you think about the fact that she knew.
00:22:13Eric, you and I met once before, several years ago.
00:22:16This is even more footage from that Barbara Walters interview
00:22:19that has never been seen before.
00:22:21The first thing you said to me was that you missed your mother.
00:22:24I remember thinking it a very strange thing to say.
00:22:27Describe your relationship with your mother.
00:22:30My relationship with Mom was very close.
00:22:35There was not a lot of communication,
00:22:38but I saw her as...
00:22:42I heard and saw her get beaten by my dad,
00:22:46and so I loved her, and she loved me.
00:22:50There wasn't a lot of communication,
00:22:53but there was a bond between us
00:22:57where she would try to reach out to me with a smile,
00:23:03and I would try to help her through it.
00:23:08We went through it together.
00:23:14If Jose was with one of the boys down the hallway,
00:23:17you were not allowed to go down the hallway.
00:23:20That, to me, is chilling.
00:23:22He had sexually molested me before I was a teenager,
00:23:26and it was a much different experience than Eric's.
00:23:30Because you were little?
00:23:31Because I was little, I guess.
00:23:33But it was difficult to be close to my father
00:23:37and yet have so much conflict in the home.
00:23:42Now a crucial piece of evidence has resurfaced.
00:23:45A long-forgotten handwritten letter from Eric Menendez
00:23:48to his cousin Andy.
00:23:50And guess what?
00:23:51Barbara Walters first revealed it in 2016.
00:23:54It was given to me recently by a Menendez relative.
00:23:58A letter 15-year-old Eric had written
00:24:01to his cousin Andy about his father.
00:24:04It's still happening, Andy, but it's worse for me now.
00:24:09I never know when it's going to happen,
00:24:12and it's driving me crazy.
00:24:14Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.
00:24:18I need to put it out of my mind.
00:24:22I know what you said before, but I am afraid.
00:24:30That letter predates the killings by eight to nine months.
00:24:34That letter details Eric's disgust and frustration
00:24:38and trauma over the repeated sex acts by his dad,
00:24:42and how disgusted he was,
00:24:44complaining to his very close cousin Andy.
00:24:47You know, in hindsight,
00:24:49I wish that I would have been stronger
00:24:52about what Lyle was telling me
00:24:55so that I could have done something to help them.
00:25:01There was certainly no indication of any kind
00:25:04that there was ever any abuse.
00:25:06I mean, it just didn't happen.
00:25:08What do you say to people who say,
00:25:10well, I think they made it up?
00:25:12I say, well, you have your own opinion, but I know the truth.
00:25:15There was a confrontation.
00:25:18It's very difficult to understand the emotion
00:25:22and the fear and the conflict
00:25:26that is building over the years to something like this.
00:25:30It's difficult to just say, well, this is why this happened.
00:25:33There was going to be a violent confrontation at some point.
00:25:36It was shot?
00:25:38Yes.
00:25:39Who was the person that was shot?
00:25:41My mom and my dad.
00:25:48On the Tuesday before the murders,
00:25:51Lyle Menendez and his mother Kitty were having an argument.
00:25:55She got so upset that she began striking the older brother,
00:26:00and she even ripped off his toupee.
00:26:02And Eric was actually in the hallway,
00:26:05and he saw this happen,
00:26:07and he didn't even know that his brother was wearing a toupee.
00:26:10Which his father had forced him to wear
00:26:13because he started having thinning hair.
00:26:16And the brothers had a very emotional conversation
00:26:19in which they agreed that there were so many secrets in the family.
00:26:23And at that point, Eric broke down, and he started crying.
00:26:27And his brother said, what's wrong with you?
00:26:29What are you crying about?
00:26:31And Eric said, dad, dad has been doing things to me.
00:26:39So this family was reaching a crisis point.
00:26:42Lyle Menendez confronted his father
00:26:44after Eric had told him
00:26:46that he was still being molested by his father.
00:26:49Jose Menendez got furious,
00:26:51threatened to cut them out of the family,
00:26:53cut them out of the will.
00:26:56Then, with this secret about to come out,
00:26:59Lyle and Eric Menendez, the defense claimed,
00:27:02genuinely believed that Jose Menendez was going to kill them.
00:27:06And they thought, we have to kill him before he kills us.
00:27:10You know, there are some questions that everybody asks,
00:27:14like, why didn't you run away?
00:27:19And I wish that I could have.
00:27:23I tried to run away when I was 12,
00:27:25and my father found me, he caught me,
00:27:28and said, if you ever run away, I will kill you,
00:27:31I will find you, and I will kill you.
00:27:36August 20, 1990,
00:27:39August 20, 1989,
00:27:41was an unusually warm, balmy evening in Beverly Hills.
00:27:46Most of the neighbors who lived near the Menendez mansion
00:27:49had their windows open to let fresh air in.
00:27:53Beverly Hills is a quiet town.
00:27:56Even the business district kind of folds up at 7 o'clock.
00:28:00We average two murders a year,
00:28:02and really don't know what you're in for
00:28:05when you get a murder call.
00:28:07What's the problem?
00:28:10What's the problem?
00:28:12Someone killed my parents.
00:28:14Pardon me?
00:28:15Someone killed my parents.
00:28:16What? Who?
00:28:18Are they still there?
00:28:19Yes.
00:28:20The people?
00:28:21No, no, no.
00:28:23Were they shot?
00:28:24Yes.
00:28:25They were shot?
00:28:26Yes.
00:28:27What happened?
00:28:28Stay down!
00:28:29I have hysterical tears in my eyes.
00:28:31What happened?
00:28:32Who was the person that was shot?
00:28:34My mom and my dad.
00:28:36Your mom and dad?
00:28:37My mom and my dad.
00:28:39Okay, hold on a second.
00:28:42Okay, we're on our way over there with an ambulance.
00:28:47Twelve shots in the middle of Beverly Hills on a Sunday night
00:28:50and no one calls the police.
00:28:52We're waiting at the house.
00:28:53No one shows up.
00:28:55And I still can't believe it.
00:28:58I'm sitting on the stairs afterwards
00:29:00thinking the police are going to be there in seconds.
00:29:02They've got roving patrol.
00:29:03And people, many, many people did hear the shots.
00:29:05Many neighbors came in and said they heard all these shots
00:29:07but nobody called because they just figured
00:29:10this is Beverly Hills.
00:29:11This doesn't happen in Beverly Hills.
00:29:13So you called the police but at that point
00:29:15you had already decided.
00:29:17We had decided not to.
00:29:18You weren't going to say anything.
00:29:19We had decided that our feeling was not
00:29:22we'll just explain what happened and it'll be okay.
00:29:25We were very stunned and we felt that we would go to jail, obviously.
00:29:32It was a selfish reason to just not want to have to go through that.
00:29:39By this intersection I could actually see the police tape
00:29:42and the police cars in front of Nenda's house.
00:29:46Hello, this is the police department.
00:29:48Okay, I want you to come outside.
00:29:50Okay, please come out the front door.
00:29:52I'm going to tell my brother.
00:29:54You tell your brother.
00:29:55Everybody that's here, come outside.
00:29:57Okay, okay.
00:30:01As we walked in the front door
00:30:03the only thing I could really detect is the silence.
00:30:08It was just eerily quiet.
00:30:10It was just so quiet inside.
00:30:12From the foyer was a staircase
00:30:14and then in the back of the foyer
00:30:16was this library family room
00:30:18which is where the murder occurred.
00:30:21The television was on
00:30:22so it was just a normal evening for them.
00:30:26Kitty was wearing white.
00:30:28She was covered in blood.
00:30:30Jose had a shotgun blast to the back of his head.
00:30:33Blood everywhere.
00:30:34There was brain matter on the ceiling, on the windows.
00:30:37It was really horrendous.
00:30:44There were some typical protocols
00:30:47that police would normally do at a homicide scene
00:30:50that weren't done in this case.
00:30:52There are things that could have been done that night
00:30:55that would have proven that they were the killers.
00:30:59The murder weapons were in their cars.
00:31:01Nobody bothered to look.
00:31:04Among the things that the police decided
00:31:06not to subject Lyle and Eric to
00:31:08was gunshot residue tests on their hands
00:31:12to determine if they had fired a firearm.
00:31:14At the time we felt they were victims
00:31:17and you're not going to press them
00:31:19because their parents just got blown away.
00:31:23The sons told police they left their parents at home
00:31:26to go to the movies.
00:31:27The parents said they came home from a movie.
00:31:32We didn't have an alibi.
00:31:34All we did was say we were at the movies.
00:31:36But they never checked you for gunpowder.
00:31:38You did phone the police.
00:31:39That day they didn't.
00:31:41Eventually they changed their policy.
00:31:43Jose was shot five times.
00:31:45Once to the head and four others to the body.
00:31:49I had nightmares.
00:31:50I had nightmares about it.
00:31:52I could see their house
00:31:54and I could see them taking them out
00:31:56as I saw on TV, the bodies.
00:32:03Tell me as clearly as you can
00:32:05why you murdered your parents.
00:32:08First thing that comes to mind is terror.
00:32:10I was so afraid.
00:32:12I was running downstairs
00:32:14and I was crying
00:32:16and my mother was on the couch
00:32:18and she had been drinking
00:32:20and she said,
00:32:22what's wrong with you?
00:32:23And I said, nothing, nothing.
00:32:24You wouldn't understand.
00:32:25And she said, oh, I understand.
00:32:26What do you think, I'm stupid?
00:32:28And she told me
00:32:30that she had known all my life
00:32:32what my father was doing.
00:32:34And Lyle said to my mother,
00:32:36are you going to let this happen?
00:32:39And she said to him,
00:32:40you ruined this family.
00:32:43A few days before,
00:32:44I had said to myself,
00:32:45I'm never going to let my father touch me again.
00:32:48And just before the shootings,
00:32:50my dad told me to get to my room,
00:32:52he was going to come up
00:32:53and there was going to be sex
00:32:55and it was like an explosion in my mind.
00:32:58No.
00:33:01But their behavior
00:33:02in the next days and weeks
00:33:04would call into question
00:33:05their real motive.
00:33:09Entertainment executive
00:33:10Jose Menendez and his wife
00:33:11were slain in the family room
00:33:12of their Beverly Hills mansion
00:33:13by killers using
00:33:1412-gauge shotguns.
00:33:15They were murdered,
00:33:16killed gangland style,
00:33:17in cold blood.
00:33:18Homicide detectives
00:33:19say it could have been
00:33:20a mob hit,
00:33:21contract killings.
00:33:22They tried to make it look
00:33:23like a mafia hit
00:33:24by the neighbors
00:33:25and the police
00:33:26and the police
00:33:27and the police
00:33:28and the police
00:33:29and the police
00:33:30and the police
00:33:31and the police
00:33:32and the police
00:33:33and the police
00:33:34and the police
00:33:35and the police
00:33:36and the police
00:33:37and the police
00:33:38It was a mafia hit
00:33:39by the kneecapping.
00:33:40They told the police
00:33:41it was a mafia hit.
00:33:42When you heard
00:33:43about the shooting,
00:33:44what went through your mind?
00:33:45Initially, you know,
00:33:46they thought
00:33:47it was like a mob hit.
00:33:49So at first,
00:33:50they were even worried about,
00:33:51you know,
00:33:52extended family.
00:33:53People were calling
00:33:54and saying,
00:33:55we want you to,
00:33:56you know,
00:33:57be really careful.
00:33:58Lyle and Eric
00:33:59weren't suspects at first.
00:34:00Police were looking elsewhere.
00:34:01The sons said
00:34:02they discovered the bodies
00:34:03when they arrived home
00:34:04several hours later.
00:34:05How many shots
00:34:06do you think went off?
00:34:07About six,
00:34:08in a row.
00:34:11The police felt
00:34:12it necessary
00:34:13to start investigating
00:34:14the organized crime aspect,
00:34:15and they soon realized
00:34:16that was a dead end.
00:34:17They knew
00:34:18that the brothers
00:34:19had done it.
00:34:20But knowing it
00:34:21and proving it
00:34:22are two different things.
00:34:23The Menendez family fortune
00:34:24quickly became a focus
00:34:25for the police.
00:34:26The Menendez family fortune
00:34:27quickly became a focus
00:34:28for the police.
00:34:29The Menendez family fortune
00:34:30quickly became a focus
00:34:31for the police.
00:34:32The Menendez family fortune
00:34:33quickly became a focus
00:34:35for the police.
00:34:37Five weeks
00:34:38after the murders,
00:34:39Eric and Lyle Menendez
00:34:40received an insurance
00:34:41policy payout
00:34:42of $400,000.
00:34:43They went on
00:34:44a huge spending spree.
00:34:45I mean,
00:34:46if I killed my parents,
00:34:47I don't think
00:34:48I'd buy a Porsche
00:34:49the first week.
00:34:52They weren't shattered
00:34:53and traumatized
00:34:54by grief.
00:34:56They were having
00:34:57a grand old time
00:34:58spending the money
00:34:59of the dead man.
00:35:01Bought cars,
00:35:02bought suits,
00:35:03bought watches,
00:35:04luxury goods.
00:35:06So much has been made
00:35:07over the decades
00:35:08of the boys'
00:35:09spending spree.
00:35:11There were,
00:35:12you know,
00:35:13the Rolex
00:35:14and the this and the that.
00:35:15I just kind of
00:35:16laugh at that
00:35:17because that's how
00:35:18they were raised,
00:35:19spending money.
00:35:20And they may have
00:35:21gone out and had
00:35:22a spending spree,
00:35:23but it was probably
00:35:24the first time
00:35:25they got to choose
00:35:26what they wanted to buy.
00:35:27They didn't go on
00:35:28a spending spree
00:35:29out of grief?
00:35:30No.
00:35:31I would think
00:35:32that you would be
00:35:33that you wouldn't be able
00:35:34to buy Rolexes
00:35:35and invest in businesses.
00:35:37Explain to me.
00:35:38Let me understand.
00:35:39I'm, you know,
00:35:40I'm the public.
00:35:41Lyle didn't buy
00:35:42anything without
00:35:43first approving it
00:35:44with my uncle
00:35:45or my aunt.
00:35:46You weren't just
00:35:47two greedy kids
00:35:48who wanted a lot of money.
00:35:49That's what you're saying.
00:35:50I didn't know
00:35:51what to do with the money.
00:35:52I went to,
00:35:53it got to a point
00:35:54where I have
00:35:55all this money
00:35:56and so much pain,
00:35:57I don't know
00:35:58what to do with it.
00:35:59You went
00:36:00to your psychologist,
00:36:01Dr. Oziel,
00:36:03and you told him
00:36:04that you had
00:36:05committed this crime.
00:36:06You were in torment
00:36:07and you told him.
00:36:08It got to a point
00:36:09where I could no longer live.
00:36:10I felt that I was
00:36:11the worst person on earth
00:36:12and I,
00:36:13I, I,
00:36:14it got to a point
00:36:15where I couldn't live
00:36:16with myself anymore
00:36:17and I needed help
00:36:18so I just could not
00:36:19face God.
00:36:20I could not face God
00:36:21with what I had done
00:36:22and so I went to him
00:36:23and that is what
00:36:24the catalyst was
00:36:25for me getting arrested
00:36:26and Lyle.
00:36:27This exchange
00:36:28with Barbara Walters
00:36:29shown for the first time
00:36:30sheds light
00:36:31on Lyle's reaction
00:36:32and the brother's relationship.
00:36:34When you heard
00:36:35that your brother
00:36:36had confessed,
00:36:38you knew that you
00:36:39would be arrested.
00:36:40Weren't you furious
00:36:41with him?
00:36:42It really,
00:36:43I was,
00:36:44I was upset
00:36:45that he had not
00:36:46come to me
00:36:47but we had
00:36:48trouble communicating.
00:36:49We kind of separated
00:36:50because when
00:36:51we were together
00:36:52we would be
00:36:53too reminded
00:36:54of what happened
00:36:55and so he
00:36:56started to look
00:36:57to other people
00:36:58and in that way
00:36:59it was upsetting.
00:37:00Dr. Ozeel
00:37:01went on to
00:37:02tape conversations
00:37:03with both Eric
00:37:04and Lyle
00:37:05and Dr. Ozeel's
00:37:06mistress,
00:37:07Judilon Smith,
00:37:08overheard the confession.
00:37:10She's the one
00:37:11that came to the police
00:37:12and said,
00:37:13I have information
00:37:14about Ozeel.
00:37:15They didn't talk
00:37:16about shooting
00:37:17the father
00:37:18a whole lot.
00:37:19They did talk
00:37:20that they had
00:37:21to keep shooting
00:37:22the mother.
00:37:23Eric filled
00:37:24Dr. Ozeel in
00:37:25on many details
00:37:26about what had happened
00:37:27including where
00:37:28they bought the shotguns.
00:37:30ABC News has
00:37:31learned that two
00:37:3212-gauge shotguns
00:37:33were purchased
00:37:34at this sporting
00:37:35goods store
00:37:36in San Diego
00:37:37on August 18th,
00:37:38two days before
00:37:39the murders.
00:37:40You bought the guns.
00:37:41It wasn't something
00:37:42that just happened
00:37:43that moment.
00:37:44You'd thought
00:37:45about it.
00:37:46No.
00:37:47You bought the guns
00:37:48in advance.
00:37:49They just weren't
00:37:50in the house.
00:37:51Yes, we bought
00:37:52the guns in advance.
00:37:53So, this didn't
00:37:54just happen
00:37:55that moment.
00:37:56We bought the guns.
00:37:57There was many
00:37:58a series of
00:37:59events.
00:38:00It first was revealed
00:38:01that I had told Lyle
00:38:02about the secret.
00:38:03My dad said
00:38:04to Lyle,
00:38:05you're going to
00:38:06tell everyone
00:38:07and I'm not going
00:38:08to let that happen
00:38:09and that's when
00:38:10we bought the guns
00:38:11because we didn't
00:38:12know what was
00:38:13going to happen.
00:38:14So, all the pieces
00:38:15fell together
00:38:16and we were able
00:38:17to make the arrest.
00:38:22I couldn't
00:38:23believe it.
00:38:24The family
00:38:25was on the phone
00:38:26to each other.
00:38:27We were talking
00:38:28about how could
00:38:29this possibly be?
00:38:30Prosecutors say
00:38:31greed drove the boys
00:38:32to shooting their
00:38:33parents to death
00:38:34last August.
00:38:35Fourteen million
00:38:36dollars provides
00:38:37ample motive
00:38:38for some people
00:38:39to commit murder.
00:38:40To me,
00:38:41it was like a
00:38:42nightmare,
00:38:43like a movie,
00:38:44like it couldn't
00:38:45be reality.
00:38:46When the suspicion
00:38:47turned to the brothers
00:38:48and they were
00:38:49arrested,
00:38:50what was your
00:38:51reaction to that?
00:38:52I was very upset
00:38:53but I have to say
00:38:54I wasn't surprised.
00:38:55It's not like I ever
00:38:56suspected them
00:38:58but in my mind
00:38:59I thought
00:39:01it makes sense.
00:39:02Because?
00:39:03Because they just
00:39:05had no way
00:39:06to make
00:39:08to make a life
00:39:09for themselves,
00:39:10to get away from
00:39:11this man.
00:39:12Do you think
00:39:13you're evil?
00:39:14Oh no,
00:39:15I'm the opposite
00:39:16of evil.
00:39:17He's not an evil
00:39:18person and I'm not
00:39:19an evil person.
00:39:20This was a
00:39:21horrific murder.
00:39:22The community
00:39:23and the general public
00:39:24wanted to see
00:39:25justice done
00:39:26in this case.
00:39:27With the Menendez
00:39:28trial,
00:39:29a family tragedy
00:39:30became a media
00:39:31frenzy.
00:39:33This was one of
00:39:34the very first
00:39:35trials aired
00:39:36gavel to gavel.
00:39:37This trial
00:39:38was a sensation.
00:39:39People watched
00:39:40it wall to wall.
00:39:42Good afternoon.
00:39:43But now,
00:39:44with the family
00:39:45exerting public pressure
00:39:46and a scheduled
00:39:47court hearing
00:39:48next month,
00:39:49a reversal of fortune
00:39:50could be in the works.
00:39:51My hope is
00:39:52is to have him
00:39:53over for Thanksgiving dinner.
00:39:54You want the Menendez
00:39:55brothers home
00:39:56for Thanksgiving?
00:39:57Yeah.
00:40:06The abused
00:40:07son of wealthy
00:40:08parents.
00:40:09And found their
00:40:10parents lying dead.
00:40:11Were slain in the
00:40:12family room.
00:40:13The Menendez
00:40:14murders that stunned
00:40:15the country.
00:40:16There are people
00:40:17who think that you
00:40:18are evil,
00:40:19that you are
00:40:20monsters.
00:40:21The bombshell
00:40:22trial that
00:40:23transfixed everyone.
00:40:25I just told him,
00:40:26I don't,
00:40:27I don't.
00:40:32You heard
00:40:33about
00:40:34some of the
00:40:35things
00:40:36that he liked
00:40:37to do
00:40:38to his little boy.
00:40:39I was saying
00:40:40the boys
00:40:41because it's a
00:40:42shorthand for
00:40:43the dirt bags over
00:40:44there who killed
00:40:45their parents.
00:40:46Do you like to
00:40:47speak about the
00:40:48case right now?
00:40:49But now,
00:40:5035 years later.
00:40:51I get the feeling
00:40:52here that we
00:40:53are being heard.
00:40:54It's getting a
00:40:55fresh appraisal.
00:40:56Plus,
00:40:57the support
00:40:58of so many
00:40:59family members.
00:41:00It's far
00:41:01too much
00:41:02punishment.
00:41:03They were
00:41:04punished just
00:41:05by being with
00:41:06that man.
00:41:07Does sexual
00:41:08abuse lessen
00:41:09your responsibility
00:41:10for murder?
00:41:11That was
00:41:12the question
00:41:13in the case.
00:41:14This is done.
00:41:15This is done.
00:41:16You understand?
00:41:17Tonight,
00:41:18the impact
00:41:19of a miniseries.
00:41:20The never
00:41:21before seen
00:41:22tapes from
00:41:23Barbara Walters'
00:41:24now iconic
00:41:25interview.
00:41:26The first thing
00:41:27you said to me
00:41:28was that you
00:41:29missed your mother.
00:41:30And a growing
00:41:31movement to
00:41:32set the brothers
00:41:33free.
00:41:34Do you think
00:41:35the Menendez
00:41:36brothers will
00:41:37walk free
00:41:38someday?
00:41:39We were with
00:41:40the family
00:41:41this week as
00:41:42they prepared
00:41:43for perhaps
00:41:44the most
00:41:45important press
00:41:46conference of
00:41:47their lives.
00:41:48Eric and
00:41:49Lyle Menendez
00:41:50have been in
00:41:51prison for
00:41:52serving life
00:41:53sentences.
00:41:54Several family
00:41:55members want them
00:41:56released and this
00:41:57afternoon they
00:41:58announced a new
00:41:59push for that to
00:42:00happen.
00:42:01Please know
00:42:02that I'm nervous
00:42:03and full of
00:42:04emotions.
00:42:05I never
00:42:06thought this
00:42:07day would come.
00:42:08I am Kitty's
00:42:09sister.
00:42:10I stand here
00:42:11today with a
00:42:12heavy heart and
00:42:13also with hope
00:42:14and justice and
00:42:15understanding.
00:42:16This new
00:42:17surge of
00:42:18interest this
00:42:19week is very
00:42:20reminiscent of
00:42:21the trial in
00:42:22Cambridge back
00:42:23in 1993.
00:42:24It was a
00:42:25spectacle.
00:42:26The trial was
00:42:27carried gavel
00:42:28to gavel by a
00:42:29new cable TV
00:42:30channel called
00:42:31Court TV and
00:42:32people were
00:42:33following it
00:42:34everywhere.
00:42:35It's like the
00:42:36crowds in the
00:42:37Roman Coliseum,
00:42:38you know,
00:42:39blood.
00:42:40They smell
00:42:41blood.
00:42:42When I first
00:42:43saw Eric Menendez
00:42:44walk into the
00:42:45courtroom my
00:42:46blood went cold
00:42:47because I had
00:42:48never seen
00:42:49someone who had
00:42:50that kind of
00:42:51blood before.
00:42:52The only
00:42:53question in
00:42:54this case is
00:42:55why did these
00:42:56killings occur?
00:42:57It will
00:42:58become apparent
00:42:59that this
00:43:00murder was
00:43:01unjustified and
00:43:02wholly premeditated
00:43:03and that but
00:43:04for a few
00:43:05mistakes they
00:43:06made this was
00:43:07almost the
00:43:08perfect murder.
00:43:09I knew that we
00:43:10could prove that
00:43:11the Menendez
00:43:12brothers killed
00:43:13their parents but
00:43:14I also started
00:43:15thinking about,
00:43:16okay, let's say
00:43:17I'm going to
00:43:18make up a
00:43:19case and I'm
00:43:20going to fabricate
00:43:21a sexual abuse
00:43:22defense because I
00:43:23can't think of
00:43:24any other reason
00:43:25why we're going
00:43:26to trial.
00:43:27And guess what?
00:43:28They did.
00:43:29Eric Menendez
00:43:30was the abused
00:43:31son of wealthy
00:43:32parents.
00:43:33Leslie Abramson
00:43:34was Eric's
00:43:35dogged defense
00:43:36attorney.
00:43:37She aggressively
00:43:38pushed abuse as
00:43:39the central issue
00:43:40of the trial.
00:43:41I didn't buy it
00:43:42at the start at
00:43:43all.
00:43:44I thought it
00:43:45was a total
00:43:46artificial
00:43:47construct to do
00:43:48it.
00:43:49It was
00:43:50organized from
00:43:51the death penalty.
00:43:52The origin of
00:43:53this killing was
00:43:54a lifetime of
00:43:55abuse at the
00:43:56hands of those
00:43:57same parents.
00:43:58I think the
00:43:59strongest piece of
00:44:00evidence that we
00:44:01had and certainly
00:44:02the most compelling
00:44:03for a prosecutor
00:44:04were the crime
00:44:05scene photos and
00:44:06the way that they
00:44:07killed their parents.
00:44:08This is her
00:44:09before and this
00:44:10is her after.
00:44:11And the problem
00:44:12for the defendants
00:44:13in this case is
00:44:14they can't explain
00:44:15adequately killing
00:44:16mom.
00:44:17Prosecutors
00:44:18carefully and
00:44:19meticulously laid
00:44:20out their case
00:44:21of two young
00:44:22brothers planning
00:44:23a vicious and
00:44:24brutal premeditated
00:44:25murder.
00:44:26They called
00:44:27Dr. Jerome
00:44:28Oziel.
00:44:29He's that psychologist
00:44:30who spoke at
00:44:31length to both
00:44:32brothers.
00:44:33Remember, they
00:44:34confessed to him
00:44:35about the murders.
00:44:36Well, basically
00:44:37they hated their
00:44:38father.
00:44:39They felt they
00:44:40had to kill him
00:44:41because he was
00:44:42constantly...
00:44:43This was a
00:44:44lengthy conversation
00:44:45that they...
00:44:46He ridiculed
00:44:47them.
00:44:48He put them
00:44:49down.
00:44:50He controlled
00:44:51their every activity.
00:44:52And did you ask
00:44:53them why they
00:44:54killed their mother?
00:44:55Yes, I did.
00:44:56The mother was
00:44:57more or less a
00:44:58victim, that the
00:44:59father had nothing
00:45:00but an abusive
00:45:01relationship with
00:45:02her.
00:45:03They also felt
00:45:04that they were
00:45:05putting the mother
00:45:06out of her misery,
00:45:07that she was a
00:45:08miserable,
00:45:09unhappy lady.
00:45:10Although they
00:45:11felt that the
00:45:12mother didn't
00:45:13deserve to die
00:45:14and shouldn't
00:45:15die, they
00:45:16included her
00:45:17in the plan
00:45:18along with
00:45:19killing their
00:45:20father, because
00:45:21it was the only
00:45:22way that they
00:45:23could figure out
00:45:24to kill their
00:45:25father.
00:45:26It ripped apart
00:45:27their stories
00:45:28and made them
00:45:29seem like
00:45:30petty liars
00:45:31covering up
00:45:32an appalling
00:45:33homicide.
00:45:34I'm sorry.
00:45:35I didn't mean
00:45:36to do that.
00:45:37You came home
00:45:38and found who
00:45:39shot?
00:45:40My mom and dad.
00:45:41You were crying,
00:45:42correct?
00:45:43Right.
00:45:44And at the same
00:45:45time, you were
00:45:46lying while you
00:45:47were crying,
00:45:48is that correct?
00:45:49Right.
00:45:50I think there was
00:45:51a near universal
00:45:52sense that this
00:45:53was going to be
00:45:54a sham defense
00:45:55and that it was
00:45:56going to be a joke.
00:45:57And then they
00:45:58got on the witness
00:45:59stand.
00:46:00What did you
00:46:01think was
00:46:02going to happen?
00:46:03I thought they
00:46:04were going ahead
00:46:05with their
00:46:06plan to kill us.
00:46:07I mean, you're
00:46:08familiar with kids
00:46:09saying, oh, my
00:46:10father's going to
00:46:11kill me, oh, my
00:46:12parents are going
00:46:13to kill me.
00:46:14No.
00:46:15Dad was going
00:46:16to kill us.
00:46:17I could not conceive
00:46:18of these strapping
00:46:19young men being
00:46:20in such terror that
00:46:21they had to kill
00:46:22their parents out
00:46:23of fear, so I
00:46:24didn't buy it.
00:46:25Now, after you
00:46:26entered the den.
00:46:27I was just firing
00:46:28as I went into
00:46:29the room.
00:46:30I just started
00:46:31firing.
00:46:32In what direction?
00:46:33In front of me.
00:46:34What was in
00:46:35front of you?
00:46:36My parents.
00:46:37She got up
00:46:38and ran because
00:46:39her kids came in
00:46:40with shotguns
00:46:41and started shooting.
00:46:42I cannot imagine.
00:46:43I mean, I just
00:46:44can't imagine
00:46:45anything like that.
00:46:46It's just so
00:46:47horrific.
00:46:48We fired lots,
00:46:49you know, many,
00:46:50many times, and
00:46:51there were just
00:46:52glass, and you
00:46:53could hear things
00:46:54breaking, and you
00:46:55could hear the
00:46:56ringing noises
00:46:57from the booms,
00:46:58and there was
00:46:59the smoke
00:47:00from the guns.
00:47:01I remember my
00:47:02dad coming
00:47:03forward in my
00:47:04direction.
00:47:05So he was
00:47:06standing on
00:47:07the edge of
00:47:08the room.
00:47:09He was
00:47:10standing in
00:47:11front of me,
00:47:12and I remember
00:47:13firing directly
00:47:14at him.
00:47:15Now, what was
00:47:16it that happened
00:47:17after the shooting
00:47:18ended?
00:47:19I heard a noise
00:47:20from my mom.
00:47:21Regrettably, the
00:47:22mother was not
00:47:23killed instantly.
00:47:24In fact, she was
00:47:25left crawling
00:47:26on the floor.
00:47:27And what did
00:47:28you do
00:47:29after you
00:47:30reloaded?
00:47:31I ran
00:47:32around and
00:47:33shot my mom.
00:47:34I shot
00:47:35my mom.
00:47:36I shot
00:47:37my mom.
00:47:38I shot
00:47:39my mom.
00:47:41Where did
00:47:42you shoot her?
00:47:46I reached
00:47:47over and
00:47:48I shot
00:47:49her close.
00:47:53I thought that
00:47:54when Lyle
00:47:55described the
00:47:56killing of
00:47:57his mother,
00:47:58that a normal
00:47:59jury would
00:48:00find it
00:48:01reprehensible
00:48:02and convict him.
00:48:03You know,
00:48:04we loved
00:48:05our mother.
00:48:06Oh, yeah,
00:48:07really?
00:48:08You loved
00:48:09your
00:48:10mother?
00:48:11Yeah.
00:48:12I was
00:48:13completely
00:48:14focused on
00:48:15the idea
00:48:16that Eric
00:48:17and Lyle
00:48:18Menendez
00:48:19were greedy
00:48:20rich kids
00:48:21that had
00:48:22killed their
00:48:23parents because
00:48:24they were
00:48:25in a hurry
00:48:26to inherit
00:48:27their money.
00:48:28Why did
00:48:29you need
00:48:30to buy
00:48:31a Rolex
00:48:32watch four
00:48:33days after
00:48:34your parents
00:48:35were killed?
00:48:36I didn't
00:48:37need to.
00:48:38I was
00:48:39going up.
00:48:40So you
00:48:41just thought a
00:48:42$9,000,
00:48:4318-karat
00:48:44gold Rolex
00:48:45would go
00:48:46nicely with
00:48:47your funeral
00:48:48suit?
00:48:49And I
00:48:50thought that
00:48:51that was
00:48:52a very
00:48:53powerful part
00:48:54of the
00:48:55prosecution
00:48:56case.
00:48:57It persuaded
00:48:58me.
00:48:59I mean,
00:49:00I didn't
00:49:01think there
00:49:02were fear
00:49:03for their
00:49:04lives.
00:49:05I didn't.
00:49:06What do
00:49:07you mean
00:49:08you're
00:49:09telling Lyle
00:49:10that,
00:49:11uh...
00:49:12You're
00:49:13telling Lyle
00:49:14what?
00:49:15So whoever
00:49:16tells the
00:49:17better story
00:49:18in a trial
00:49:19that's
00:49:20anchored in
00:49:21the facts
00:49:22as they
00:49:23come out,
00:49:24that's
00:49:25who's
00:49:26going to
00:49:27persuade
00:49:28the jury.
00:49:29Your Honor,
00:49:30can I
00:49:31ask a
00:49:32leading
00:49:33question?
00:49:34If you
00:49:35don't ask
00:49:36it,
00:49:37you're
00:49:38in the process
00:49:39of answering
00:49:40so there's
00:49:41no need
00:49:42to ask it.
00:49:43Can you
00:49:44answer the
00:49:45question?
00:49:46Yes.
00:49:47Okay,
00:49:48is you
00:49:49telling Lyle
00:49:50what?
00:49:51That my
00:49:52dad had
00:49:53been
00:49:54less than
00:49:55me.
00:49:56You could
00:49:57hear a
00:49:58pin drop
00:49:59in the
00:50:00courtroom,
00:50:01and that's
00:50:02when I
00:50:03thought,
00:50:04oh,
00:50:05that's
00:50:06what
00:50:07they were
00:50:08claiming
00:50:09as an
00:50:10act.
00:50:11The first
00:50:12thing they did
00:50:13is they
00:50:14always dressed
00:50:15in pastels,
00:50:16and they
00:50:17always wore
00:50:18the little
00:50:19crew neck
00:50:20Ralph
00:50:21Lawrence
00:50:22sweaters
00:50:23and the
00:50:24little polo
00:50:25shirts
00:50:26underneath
00:50:27to make
00:50:28them look
00:50:29like little
00:50:30Easter egg
00:50:31candies.
00:50:32And they
00:50:33were referred
00:50:34to as
00:50:35the
00:50:36dirt
00:50:37bags
00:50:38over there
00:50:39who killed
00:50:40their parents.
00:50:41For 12
00:50:42years,
00:50:43between the
00:50:44ages of
00:50:456 and
00:50:4618,
00:50:47my client,
00:50:48Eric Menendez,
00:50:49was sexually
00:50:50molested
00:50:51by his
00:50:52father.
00:50:53The sex
00:50:54abuse defense,
00:50:55the abuse
00:50:56excuse,
00:50:57was new
00:50:58in the
00:50:59law,
00:51:00and so
00:51:01people were
00:51:02very,
00:51:03very
00:51:04concerned
00:51:05about the
00:51:06evidence
00:51:07that
00:51:08witnesses
00:51:09it.
00:51:10The
00:51:11brothers never
00:51:12mentioned the
00:51:13alleged abuse
00:51:14to their own
00:51:15therapist,
00:51:16but they
00:51:17said they
00:51:18did have a
00:51:19corroborating
00:51:20witness.
00:51:21When Eric
00:51:22Menendez was
00:51:2310 years
00:51:24old, he
00:51:25told his
00:51:26cousin,
00:51:27Andy Cano,
00:51:28that he'd
00:51:29been sexually
00:51:30molested
00:51:31by his
00:51:32father.
00:51:33I
00:51:34remember
00:51:35him asking
00:51:36me to
00:51:37make a
00:51:38promise to
00:51:39him never
00:51:40to reveal
00:51:41that to
00:51:42anybody.
00:51:43It's hard
00:51:44to explain
00:51:45that away,
00:51:46and then
00:51:47when their
00:51:48own
00:51:49testimony
00:51:50came,
00:51:51it was
00:51:52very,
00:51:53very
00:51:54powerful.
00:51:55And
00:51:56between
00:51:57the
00:51:58ages of
00:51:596 and
00:52:008,
00:52:01he would
00:52:02guide me
00:52:03on my
00:52:04movements,
00:52:05and I
00:52:06would
00:52:07have
00:52:08oral
00:52:09sex with
00:52:10him.
00:52:11The
00:52:12days that
00:52:13Lyle and
00:52:14Eric
00:52:15Menendez
00:52:16testified
00:52:17to their
00:52:18claims of
00:52:19sexual abuse
00:52:20are among
00:52:21the most
00:52:22unforgettable
00:52:23days I've
00:52:24ever had as
00:52:25a journalist.
00:52:26What else
00:52:27did he do
00:52:28to you?
00:52:29Well,
00:52:30he used
00:52:31objects.
00:52:32What
00:52:33kind of
00:52:34objects?
00:52:35A toothbrush
00:52:36and some
00:52:37sort of
00:52:38shaving
00:52:39utensil
00:52:40brush.
00:52:41And
00:52:42did he
00:52:43try to
00:52:44anally
00:52:45penetrate you
00:52:46with something
00:52:47else?
00:52:48He did.
00:52:49And
00:52:50what was
00:52:51it?
00:52:52It
00:52:53was
00:52:54an
00:52:55injection
00:52:56of
00:52:57something
00:52:58that
00:52:59he
00:53:00gave
00:53:01me.
00:53:02Did
00:53:03you ask
00:53:04him not
00:53:05to?
00:53:06I
00:53:07just
00:53:08told him
00:53:09I
00:53:10don't...
00:53:11I
00:53:12don't...
00:53:13I'm
00:53:14sorry.
00:53:15And
00:53:16what
00:53:17did
00:53:18he
00:53:19do
00:53:20to you?
00:53:21He
00:53:22gave
00:53:23me
00:53:24an
00:53:25injection
00:53:26of
00:53:27something
00:53:28else.
00:53:29I
00:53:30just
00:53:31told him
00:53:32that I
00:53:33didn't
00:53:34want to
00:53:35do
00:53:36this
00:53:37and that
00:53:38it
00:53:39hurt me.
00:53:40And
00:53:41he said
00:53:42that he
00:53:43didn't
00:53:44mean to
00:53:45hurt me
00:53:46and he
00:53:47loved me.
00:53:48At
00:53:49one point
00:53:50he was
00:53:51asked did
00:53:52he do
00:53:53something
00:53:54to Eric
00:53:55and he
00:53:56dissolved.
00:53:57I
00:53:58took him
00:53:59out to
00:54:00the woods.
00:54:01I
00:54:02took a
00:54:03toothbrush
00:54:04also and
00:54:05I
00:54:06played
00:54:07with
00:54:08Eric
00:54:09in the
00:54:10same
00:54:11way.
00:54:12And
00:54:13I'm
00:54:14sorry.
00:54:15And
00:54:16he says
00:54:17it with
00:54:18such shame
00:54:19but what
00:54:20is even
00:54:21more
00:54:22convincing
00:54:23and I
00:54:24was sitting
00:54:25about ten
00:54:26years
00:54:27ago
00:54:28apologizing
00:54:29as their
00:54:30own secret
00:54:31horrible
00:54:32sordidness
00:54:33comes out
00:54:34into public
00:54:35on television.
00:54:36Did you have
00:54:37some hope
00:54:38over that
00:54:39summer of
00:54:401989
00:54:41for some
00:54:42improvement
00:54:43in your
00:54:44life?
00:54:45Yes.
00:54:46And
00:54:47what did
00:54:48you expect?
00:54:49I was
00:54:50going to
00:54:51go to
00:54:52college.
00:54:53How
00:54:54significant
00:54:55was
00:54:56that?
00:54:57A
00:54:58lot.
00:54:59A
00:55:00lot.
00:55:01A
00:55:02lot.
00:55:03Why
00:55:04was it all
00:55:05I thought
00:55:06about?
00:55:07Yeah.
00:55:08Because
00:55:09it would
00:55:10end
00:55:11the sex
00:55:12and that's
00:55:13all I
00:55:14thought
00:55:15about.
00:55:16How
00:55:17did you
00:55:18feel at
00:55:1918
00:55:20about the
00:55:21fact that
00:55:22your father
00:55:23was having
00:55:24a
00:55:25very
00:55:26difficult
00:55:27time
00:55:28with
00:55:29his
00:55:30wife?
00:55:31It
00:55:32was
00:55:33a
00:55:34very
00:55:35difficult
00:55:36time
00:55:37for
00:55:38me.
00:55:39It
00:55:40was
00:55:41a
00:55:42very
00:55:43difficult
00:55:44time
00:55:45for
00:55:46me.
00:55:47It
00:55:48was
00:55:49a
00:55:50very
00:55:51difficult
00:55:52time
00:55:53for
00:55:54me.
00:55:55It
00:55:56was
00:55:57a
00:55:58very
00:55:59difficult
00:56:00time
00:56:01for
00:56:02me.
00:56:03It
00:56:04was
00:56:05a
00:56:06very
00:56:07difficult
00:56:08time
00:56:09for
00:56:10me.
00:56:11It
00:56:12was
00:56:13a
00:56:14very
00:56:15difficult
00:56:16time
00:56:17for
00:56:18me.
00:56:19It
00:56:20was
00:56:21a
00:57:52very
00:57:53difficult
00:57:54time
00:57:55for
00:57:56me.
00:57:57It
00:57:58was
00:57:59a
00:58:00very
00:58:01difficult
00:58:02time
00:58:03for
00:58:04me.
00:58:05It
00:58:06was
00:58:07a
00:58:08very
00:58:09difficult
00:58:10time
00:58:11for
00:58:12my
00:58:13family
00:58:14and
00:58:15my
00:58:21At the end of the day, this trial came down to did you believe them?
00:58:27I remember thinking he's either the best actor in the world or this is a true story.
00:58:32These two terrorist parents built two bombs that blew up and killed them.
00:58:41Jurors have told the jury they are unable to reach a verdict, hopelessly deadlocked.
00:58:47The seven-woman, five-man panel sat through six months of trial, deliberated for 25 days.
00:58:53The court declares a mistrial. That completes this hearing.
00:58:57I don't consider it a victory. A victory would be if my client were free.
00:59:00We never argued that child abuse is an excuse for murder.
00:59:04What we argued is child abuse creates a terrible fear,
00:59:08and that that fear in a certain set of circumstances can cause people to act because they feel they have no choice.
00:59:14It was divided 50-50 almost along gender lines.
00:59:18The women believed the Menendez brothers' story. The men did not.
00:59:23The men on my jury did not buy the sexual abuse story.
00:59:27They thought that it either didn't happen, or if it did happen, the boys liked it,
00:59:33because if they were teenage boys, why didn't they just leave?
00:59:38We are going to be trying the case a second time.
00:59:42The second Menendez trial began just eight days after what is known as the verdict heard round the world.
00:59:48We, the jury, in the above-entitled action, find the defendant, Orenthal James Simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder.
00:59:54He got away with murder, period.
00:59:56After the circus of the O.J. Simpson trial, and also the circus of the first Menendez trial,
01:00:02there was a lot of effort done by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office to get the second trial right.
01:00:10The second trial was totally different. There were no cameras in that courtroom,
01:00:14and the judge severely limited the heart of the defense, the claims of the abuse.
01:00:20Repeatedly, evidence was excluded that was admitted in the first trial.
01:00:24Witnesses were excluded that were admitted in the first trial.
01:00:28It was all about the sex abuse.
01:00:30All about the abuse, which was the cornerstone of their defense.
01:00:33Another big change going into the second trial, the jury does not hear Lyle's powerful testimony,
01:00:39largely because of conversations he had with this woman, Norma Novelli.
01:00:44I just thought he was this guy in jail, an underdog.
01:00:47I always thought of him as a younger brother, you know, to be looked after.
01:00:52Novelli recorded over 25 tapes worth of jailhouse phone conversations with Lyle, discussing his first trial,
01:01:00including concerns he had about the testimony of Dr. Jerome Azeal,
01:01:04that therapist who said the brothers confessed to him without ever mentioning sexual abuse.
01:01:22Novelli would later turn these conversations into an unauthorized book, using Lyle's words,
01:01:28keeping him off the stand at the second trial.
01:01:33Lyle and Eric Menendez have been found guilty of murdering their parents.
01:01:38It took a second trial for the two to be convicted of murder in the first degree.
01:01:42The brothers barely reacted, both slumped a little.
01:01:44Eric looked at a relative to say it would be okay, and exchanged looks with his brother.
01:01:49We believe that most people in this county, perhaps even in this country,
01:01:54now believe that there was justice in this case.
01:01:58I feel we stuck true to the instructions.
01:02:01I was jury number 11. Was there sexual abuse? That wasn't a question.
01:02:05But what we all agreed on was that beyond reasonable doubt,
01:02:09the defendants committed murder, based on the elements that were presented to us.
01:02:16What went through your mind when you heard that verdict, first degree murder, guilty?
01:02:23That I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison,
01:02:28without any possibility of ever getting released.
01:02:31Did you think of suicide?
01:02:33Yes. I thought of suicide, and the reason I didn't is because of what it would do to Lyle.
01:02:40If Lyle took his life, I would take my life the next day.
01:02:44It's important to you to stay together when you get moved to the state prison?
01:02:50Very important. That is what's gotten us through these six years, and through our life.
01:02:59The family that Eric and I grew up in, we had to be there for each other throughout,
01:03:06and it really created a bond that gets us through very rough periods.
01:03:11If we're not put in the same prison, there's a good probability I will never see him again.
01:03:20Some things that you cannot take, and there's some things that you can endure.
01:03:26With everything taken away, it's the last thing you can take,
01:03:31and that would be very, very difficult to live through.
01:03:41Today, the case of the brothers who brutally killed their parents is being viewed through a more evolved lens.
01:03:48We've seen Me Too. We've seen Time's Up. People are more willing to listen to victims today.
01:03:55And an old argument from the prosecution is getting a lot of new heat online.
01:04:01It's the people's position, first of all, that men cannot be raped.
01:04:06By the time Lyle and Eric Menendez sat down for this revealing interview with Barbara Walters back in 1996,
01:04:13they had already spent more than six years in this building at the L.A. County Jail.
01:04:19How are you different than the man who came in here?
01:04:23I'm a lot more open-minded. I'm a lot more open-minded.
01:04:29How are you different than the man who came in here?
01:04:34I'm a lot more mature. I came in here as an 18-year-old kid who didn't know anything.
01:04:40You've had a lot of therapy.
01:04:42Six years of intense therapy. I learned what love was about because of my grandmother,
01:04:47because of all my relatives who didn't say, I can't believe you did this.
01:04:51Instead they said, Eric, I know who you are. You're not the type of person who could do this for no reason.
01:04:57Have you had therapy, Lyle?
01:04:59The same. The same therapy.
01:05:01And it really works to just have someone you can communicate with that's willing to listen.
01:05:06It almost sounds like prison was a good thing for you.
01:05:09It was.
01:05:10It was?
01:05:11I mean, at first, I killed my parents.
01:05:15And I spent six months out there in horrible agony because I had done this.
01:05:22And then suddenly you're arrested.
01:05:24And everyone can know you did it, and you can finally tell people, and it's a relief.
01:05:29Lyle, you're looking at your brother like you almost never heard this before. Tell me how you felt.
01:05:33Emotionally, being in prison conditions was really not a shocking difference from life we had lived
01:05:42because we lived really a very stressful, fearful life.
01:05:49Despite their conviction for a gruesome double murder,
01:05:53the Menendez brothers had no shortage of admirers from outside the jail walls.
01:05:58Do either one of you have girlfriends?
01:06:01I do. I have someone who I love very much.
01:06:04Even though it's a very limited relationship because of where we are,
01:06:07the exchange of love and sharing, it keeps you in touch with yourself and softer.
01:06:14Otherwise, you can become very hard and cold in here.
01:06:19Eric?
01:06:20No, not at the moment.
01:06:22Eric, you know that the prosecutor brought up the fact that you might have been a homosexual
01:06:28and that this might have caused some of the fury on your father's part.
01:06:32Yes, he did.
01:06:34The prosecutor brought that up because I was sexually molested,
01:06:41and he felt that if I was sodomized by my father that I must have enjoyed it,
01:06:48and therefore I must be gay.
01:06:51It was upsetting to hear, but I'm not gay,
01:06:56but a lot of gay people write and feel connected to me.
01:07:01As the times have changed, so too have outdated attitudes towards sexual abuse.
01:07:07I have always thought that if the Menendez brothers were the Menendez sisters,
01:07:11they'd be free today.
01:07:13Would have been convicted.
01:07:15But an abuse victim often gets some kind of clemency.
01:07:21When you watched their testimony, what went through your mind?
01:07:24My body got all shaky.
01:07:26My stomach was all nervous, and my eyes filled with tears,
01:07:30and I knew they had lived through it.
01:07:33Rosie told me that as a survivor of child sexual abuse herself,
01:07:37she connected with the brothers.
01:07:39You cannot fake it.
01:07:40It's a coat of shame no one wants to wear.
01:07:42You are either on one side or the other.
01:07:44I definitely want to know which side you're on.
01:07:46I just cannot stop thinking about this, and it is really eating at my brain.
01:07:50We first looked at the TikTok movement to free the Menendez brothers back in 2021.
01:07:56They don't deserve to live the rest of their life in prison.
01:08:00It's the people's position, first of all, that men cannot be raped
01:08:03since they lack the necessary equipment to actually be raped.
01:08:08This argument from the Menendez trial is now getting renewed attention online
01:08:14from a new generation.
01:08:15That's why people are just angry.
01:08:17That is not okay.
01:08:20The explosion of interest in the Menendez brothers
01:08:23has been just fascinating to watch.
01:08:25Social media, TikTok, podcasts.
01:08:28You'll find the Menendez brothers, and you'll find lots of people fascinated by them.
01:08:33Movie night. Free Menendez brothers.
01:08:36We've seen Me Too. We've seen Time's Up.
01:08:39People are more willing to listen to victims today.
01:08:42In the 90s, many of the men jurors said to me,
01:08:46a father would never do that to his sons.
01:08:49And I think now society has evolved that we believe
01:08:52that these things do happen to boys as well as girls.
01:08:57But the court of public opinion has limits.
01:09:00The founding fathers of this country had an idea
01:09:03about how awful things ought to be decided.
01:09:06And those awful things ought to be decided in the courts, not TikTok.
01:09:10The topic of male sexual abuse is something that is very, very important.
01:09:15But nobody should automatically believe a defense
01:09:18because they are emotionally impacted
01:09:20or sympathize with male victims of sexual abuse.
01:09:26Lyle and Eric Menendez were initially sent to separate prisons,
01:09:30but were reunited at the same San Diego prison in 2018.
01:09:35They're now both married.
01:09:38Barbara Walters spoke to Eric's wife, Tammy, in 2002.
01:09:42Why on earth would you change your whole life for Eric Menendez?
01:09:46He's the most sensitive kind. I mean, he's just, he's always there for me.
01:09:51I never had that before.
01:09:53You realize with all due respect that a lot of people think you're nuts?
01:09:56Oh, yes. I've heard it before many times.
01:09:59If I just say to you why, what do you say?
01:10:01My answer to that is I fell in love with him unexpectedly.
01:10:05Have you ever had sex with Eric?
01:10:07No.
01:10:08We can hug and kiss on the way out and hold hands during the visit.
01:10:13And the holding of the hands during the visit is everything.
01:10:17I can't offer her most of the things that another husband can
01:10:22in terms of being with her physically.
01:10:25What I can offer her is unconditional and complete devotion and love.
01:10:30She is everything to me.
01:10:32Lyle has also talked about the challenges of being a husband behind bars.
01:10:37I found I can have a healthy marriage that is complicated and built around conversation
01:10:44and finding creative ways to communicate and sharing
01:10:48without any of the props that are normally in marriage.
01:10:53And now, more than 30 years after Eric and Lyle Menendez
01:10:57were sentenced to life in prison, no parole,
01:11:00evidence is coming to light that the brothers hope can help set them free.
01:11:08The Show.
01:11:13Three decades after those shocking murders,
01:11:16Lyle and Eric Menendez's case is getting renewed attention.
01:11:19Everybody straight ahead.
01:11:21Thanks to Ryan Murphy's wildly popular and controversial dramatization,
01:11:25Momsters, on Netflix.
01:11:29The Show has introduced the brothers to a whole new generation
01:11:33and has set social media abuzz with support.
01:11:36I'm just really hoping that the new evidence in the Menendez brothers' case
01:11:39will be taken into account.
01:11:41This was like reality TV when it was on trial.
01:11:44And now, Kim Kardashian is using her fame to advocate for prison reform,
01:11:49supporting the brothers, writing,
01:11:51We are all products of our own experiences. Time changes us.
01:11:55And I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18.
01:11:59Kardashian even brought Cooper Koch to meet the brothers in person.
01:12:03He plays Eric Menendez in the Netflix drama,
01:12:06and the actor told Access Hollywood about the visit.
01:12:09The first person I saw when I walked into this gymnasium was him.
01:12:12We made eye contact and we just gave each other a big hug.
01:12:17You know, they're very light. They're filled with light.
01:12:22Kim Kardashian has visited the Menendez brothers.
01:12:25Yeah, and I applaud Kim because this is what she loves to do.
01:12:30Famed defense attorney Mark Garagos is now working with the brothers,
01:12:34who filed a habeas corpus brief,
01:12:36arguing there's newly submitted evidence in their case
01:12:39that the court never considered.
01:12:41The habeas is based on two things.
01:12:43A letter that was recovered that was written by Eric to his cousin Andy.
01:12:50That letter alluding to his father's abuse.
01:12:53That letter predates the killings by months.
01:13:00As I've heard described, it's very explicit, very detailed.
01:13:04It is very detailed.
01:13:05It talks about his revulsion at what was happening
01:13:09and the idea that he had to go through this,
01:13:13that it sickened him.
01:13:15It's heart-wrenching to see.
01:13:18The brothers' legal filing also includes a sworn affidavit
01:13:22from another alleged victim of Jose Menendez,
01:13:25a former member of the band Menudo,
01:13:27Roy Roseo, who worked with Jose and spoke out in a Peacock documentary.
01:13:39And why is the Menudo accusation so important?
01:13:43Well, twofold.
01:13:45Number one, it was somebody who was not Lyle or Eric.
01:13:50That is huge.
01:13:52Number two, the one thing I always thought was very moving about it
01:13:56is it happened at their house.
01:13:59That was the safe place for Jose.
01:14:04The Menudo star said that Jose molested him in that home.
01:14:11What do you think that demonstrates?
01:14:13I didn't have to have proof that the sexual abuse occurred.
01:14:17I already had it.
01:14:19But to the world, the significance is now,
01:14:22oh, this does support Jose Menendez was a sexual predator,
01:14:26not only with his children, but with other people's children.
01:14:33Good afternoon.
01:14:35Just this month, a potential game-changer.
01:14:38George Gascon, the Los Angeles County District Attorney,
01:14:41who's in a difficult fight for re-election,
01:14:44announced that he's reviewing the brothers' case with a new perspective.
01:14:48We have not decided on the outcome.
01:14:52We are reviewing the information.
01:14:55But I think it's also important that we recognize
01:14:59that both men and women can be the victims of sexual assault.
01:15:03Do you feel like the Menendez brothers' punishment fits the crime?
01:15:07Well, there are many different ways of looking at this, right?
01:15:10They clearly murdered their parents, and it was a brutal murder.
01:15:14To which they confessed.
01:15:16To which they confessed.
01:15:17We don't just get to take people's lives, right?
01:15:20If, in fact, they were sexually molested,
01:15:23and then you look at their age,
01:15:25and you look at the totality of the circumstances,
01:15:27you have to wonder, what would the right level of accountability be?
01:15:30Because they could have been easily being convicted of manslaughter
01:15:33instead of murder.
01:15:34And if that would have been the case,
01:15:36they would have been out many, many years ago.
01:15:39The DA is now deciding whether to recommend
01:15:42that a judge re-sentence the brothers,
01:15:44which could result in them being released immediately,
01:15:47with time served.
01:15:48And so what are the chances?
01:15:51You know, I'm working on it.
01:15:52I'm going through all the information.
01:15:56It's far too easy to say,
01:15:58well, they claim they were sexually abused,
01:16:00or if they were, that means they've got to get out.
01:16:03There are nuances, and most importantly,
01:16:06this is the type of thing that needs to be
01:16:08sorted out in a courtroom.
01:16:10That's why we have legal process.
01:16:13And now the people closest to Lyle and Eric
01:16:16are rallying to get them released.
01:16:18It's time to recognize the injustice they've suffered
01:16:22and allow them the second chance they deserve.
01:16:24Now here we are, both sides of the family united,
01:16:27sharing a new bond of hope.
01:16:29Hope that this 34-year nightmare will end
01:16:32and that we will be reunited as a family.
01:16:35Could this finally be the moment
01:16:37the brothers have been waiting for?
01:16:42♪♪
01:16:51It's going to be a long, hard road.
01:16:56We still have a great hope for the future,
01:16:59that maybe something will change.
01:17:02And that long-sought change now seems very possible.
01:17:08Every abused kid knew they were telling the truth
01:17:11when they watched them.
01:17:21There are no actors in America who could do
01:17:23what those two young men did on the stand.
01:17:27Rosie connected with the brothers
01:17:29and started visiting them regularly,
01:17:31even referring to herself as their big sister.
01:17:34When is it their time?
01:17:35When has justice been served?
01:17:37When can we as a society say,
01:17:39we made a mistake and we'd like to change that?
01:17:43♪♪
01:17:46They have now served 35 years.
01:17:49In that 35 years that they have served in prison,
01:17:53they've been model prisoners.
01:17:55They have gotten college degrees.
01:17:57They have done palliative care.
01:17:59They've worked with guide dogs.
01:18:01They know everything about that prison.
01:18:04And they've tried to change it and work for the better
01:18:07while they're inside.
01:18:08Tonight, a major show of support.
01:18:10Could they get a chance at freedom?
01:18:12We're here because we're in support
01:18:15and wanting to show the strength in numbers.
01:18:18This week, nearly 20 family members
01:18:20held an emotional press conference
01:18:22announcing their newly formed coalition,
01:18:25Justice for Eric and Lyle.
01:18:27If Lyle and Eric's case were heard today,
01:18:29there is no doubt in my mind that their sentencing
01:18:32would have been very different.
01:18:34And yet, despite their circumstances,
01:18:37they have chosen a life of light.
01:18:39Without hope of release, they persevered.
01:18:42The truth is, Lyle and Eric were failed by the very people
01:18:46who should have protected them,
01:18:48by their parents, by the system, by society at large.
01:18:52It's far too much punishment.
01:18:56They were punished just by being with that man all those years
01:19:00and having their mother ignore it.
01:19:02This is one of those things that people need to really think
01:19:06and they need to educate themselves
01:19:08before they take a strong position,
01:19:10because otherwise we're not being fair
01:19:12to the victims of violent crime.
01:19:13Now all eyes are on the district attorney
01:19:16who released a statement that read, in part,
01:19:18we have heard the heartfelt pleas from the Menendez family.
01:19:21Please know that our office is dedicated
01:19:23to a thorough and fair process
01:19:25and is exploring every avenue available to our office
01:19:29to ensure justice is served.
01:19:31If George Gascon recommends to the court
01:19:34to lower their sentences,
01:19:36the Menendez brothers, in theory,
01:19:38could be out of prison in a matter of weeks.
01:19:40My hope is to have them over for Thanksgiving dinner.
01:19:43You want the Menendez brothers home for Thanksgiving?
01:19:46Yeah.
01:19:47You are often defined by a few moments of your life.
01:19:52But that's not who you are in your life.
01:19:57Your life is your totality of it.
01:20:00If you survive it, you're left having to explain it,
01:20:03and it's just almost impossible to explain.
01:20:09And we will, of course, continue to follow
01:20:11all of the breaking news in this fast-moving twist of this case.
01:20:14And you can see even more of Juju Chang's report
01:20:16on Hulu's impact by Nightline streaming right now.
01:20:20Thanks so much for watching. I'm Deborah Roberts.
01:20:23And I'm David Muir from all of us here at 2020 and ABC News.
01:20:26Good night.