CA - Court upholds Menendez brothers' convictions

[GoBuckeyes]

Again, they should have been convicted of manslaughter, which would have amounted to 25 years.

If that.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

In the second trial, Judge Stanley Weisberg (who had also presided over the previous Menendez trial) not only barred television coverage, he also put severe limits on what evidence and testimony the defense could use. At the time, both the judge and the District Attorney's Office were under a tremendous amount of pressure to get a conviction, not only because the first trial had ended in hung juries but also due in large part to the OJ Simpson acquittal. Prosecutor David Conn also fought to keep the testimony and evidence from the defense from the first trial out. This included photos of the brothers taken when they were children, in which they were naked and the emphasis was on the lower parts of their bodies. He ultimately won, and the only testimony allowed by the defense until the penalty phase was that of the brothers themselves. They had no family members, friends or experts (on child sexual abuse and medical evidence), as they had had in the first trial, to corroborate their claims. The only other defense witnesses who testified were not permitted to do so until after the brothers had been convicted. The brothers, despite the terrible crime they committed, were still legally entitled to a defense, and the judge and prosecution made sure that they didn't have one. Ironically, it is for this very reason that the brothers can now appeal their case once again. At the time, it was argued that "the battered woman syndrome" could not be used for them because they are male, which is ridiculous because males can be and often are abused. Jose Menendez was 44 years old at the time of his death, and in very good physical shape, so it's not hard to believe that he posed a threat, and he was also a very prominent, powerful individual; and no matter what the parent is always seen has having more credibility in abuse situations, even when the abused children grow up. I speak from personal experience, because by the time I was able to talk about the abuse I suffered as a child, I was accused of lying, told that there was something wrong with me and that I was crazy. Kitty Menendez, while in some ways a victim in her own right, was not an innocent bystander. No matter how bad things got, and how unhappy she and her sons became, she refused to leave the marriage; she always chose to stay with Jose. She essentially chose her husband over her children, and she failed to protect them. The argument that the brothers were adults who could have left is a valid one, but you have to remember that neither Lyle nor Erik had the skills necessary to survive in the real world, because their parents did not allow them to live normal lives. In many ways, psychologically and emotionally, they were still children.

Most of the brothers' family members rallied to their defense, testified for them in the first trial and remain supportive of them. While they agree that nothing excuses what Lyle and Erik did, they also know that the brothers were not given the unconditional love, nurturing and guidance that they needed.

It has been confirmed by family members (and by Erik Menendez himself in a taped interview with journalist Robert Rand in October 1989) that Jose showered with his sons, even when they were old enough to do so themselves. This is not normal. Neither is the fact that when the family lived in Calabasas, Jose drilled a hole in the ceiling of Erik's bedroom in order to spy on him. In the first trial, it was ironically, the prosecution who wanted to present this evidence (which Judge Weisberg would not allow), claiming that the reason that Jose did this was because he was "concerned about his son's sexuality". In a blatant attempt to present their own agenda, they overlooked the fact that this behavior on Jose's part was not only highly inappropriate, but actually exposed a disturbing character trait. (The prosecution in both trials was always trying to prove that Erik was gay or bisexual, and that was the real reason that he knew about sex between males, and Jose, who was known to be homophobic, was upset about this. Erik did admit to being confused about his sexuality, and if his father was molesting him, that could account for why. Also, many fathers who sexually abuse their sons are homophobic). Spying on someone in an area that is supposed to be private, such as a bedroom and/or a bathroom, is actually a form of sexual abuse. When Jose Menendez did this, he was committing what is called "psychological incest". Again, this is not normal behavior; parents who are loving, respectful and genuinely concerned about their children do not drill holes in walls or ceilings in their children's bedrooms and spy on them. If this scenario had involved a father spying on a daughter in the same manner, no matter what the reasoning, I highly doubt the prosecution would have tried to present it as evidence; not only would it have been an outrage, but it would have been a benefit to the defense.

As for the possibility of a third trial, time will tell.

Well said. I'm hoping for a third trial, and for acquittals or time served.

 

[cocomod]

@Seattle1 , let us know what you think! She is pretty convincing! Rosie should be on their defense team!

 

[ChrisH77]

I'm hoping for a third trial, and for acquittals or time served.

I doubt there is ever going to be a third trial. If the brothers’ convictions are vacated, there will probably be a plea bargain that will set them free.

 

[Noirdame79]

I doubt there is ever going to be a third trial. If the brothers’ convictions are vacated, there will probably be a plea bargain that will set them free.

Yeah, I doubt there will be another trial. Some witnesses are now deceased, and some are in poor health. Time served, plea bargain, vacated etc seems more likely if the DA decides to proceed.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

*After the verdict comes in, at the last minute, Erik Menendez and his brother, Lyle, are sent to separate prisons. Erik marries and begins to mount an appeal. Will his case be given another chance? Find out in Season 1, Episode 5, "Final Verdict."

 

[Noirdame79]

Lyle and Erik playing tennis



Kitty and her sister, Joan Vandermolen. Joan is now in her 90s and she stated earlier this year in the Peacock documentary that she wants Lyle and Erik to be free before she passes away. She loved her sister dearly but realized that she didn't know her as well as she thought.

Jose and Kitty. Diane Vandermolen, Kitty's niece, stated in the docuseries, Erik Tells All (2017) that in all the time she spent with the family, she never saw Jose and Kitty be physically affectionate toward each other (hug, kiss, etc), but they would pose for photos.




Erik with his cousin Diane and aunt Joan. This visit took place approximately a year before Lyle and Erik were reunited (Lyle was transferred to the Donovan Correctional Facility, where Erik was incarcerated).

 

[Noirdame79]

An undated photo of Kitty Menendez and Diana Ross



This photo of Erik was taken in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in August of 1989



Roy Rosello



Jose Menendez (far left) poses with members of the boy band Menudo (Ricky Martin is standing in front, Roy Rosello is at far right) and the group manager/owner, Edgardo Diaz. Rosello stated that this photo was taken after Jose had assaulted him.

 

[Noirdame79]

Outside the courtroom during the first trial, reporter Robert Rand posed with Lyle's attorney Jill Lansing, and Erik's attorney, Leslie Abramson



The first trial defense team - Jill Lansing, Leslie Abramson, Michael Burt, and Marcia Morrissey



Court TV Reporter Terry Moran is supportive of the Menendez brothers and wants them to be free.

 

[Noirdame79]

Erik and his cousin, Kathleen (Vandermolen) Simonton, 1976. That summer, 15-year-old Kathy had her first (and only) visit to the Menendez house in Monsey, New York. Her 17-year-old sister Diane accompanied her and the girls shared a room in the basement. Although the sisters both noticed tension in the household and were told not to go down the hallway when Jose took the boys to their room and locked the door, they each had a very different experience. Diane was treated well and would testify that Kitty was a mentor to her, but Kathy, by contrast, was treated badly and was so unhappy that she went home early, and never visited again. It was shortly after Kathy left that Lyle, who was then 8 years old, went to Diane and asked to sleep in the other bed in the basement and told her that he and his father had been touching each other "down there". Diane immediately told Kitty, who told her that she was wrong, and that was the end of the discussion. In the summers of 1978 and 1979, Diane stayed briefly with the family, and she noticed each time that the dynamic in the family became more and more tense. She stayed with the family from July of 1982 to June of 1983, when they were living in the house in Pennington, New Jersey. Jose and Kitty took advantage of Diane's presence by cutting their housekeeper's hours had Diane do most of the housework and all of the yardwork, and had her drive the boys to tennis. At this time, Diane also had a part-time job and was attending college. While the situation was difficult, it made Diane even more determined to reach her goal of finishing school and buying a car so she could move out, which she did as soon as she was able. (She also noted that when Jose was away on business trips, Lyle and Erik would argue over which one of them would get to sleep with Kitty).



Erik and his aunt (and godmother) Marta Cano (Jose's sister)



Lyle with his aunts, Terry (his godmother) and Marta



Erik and his cousin, Andy Cano (Marta's son) who died of a drug overdose in 2003

 

[Noirdame79]

Menendez: A Killing In Beverly Hills (1994) is a two-part miniseries that aired on CBS in June 1994.

Karen Lamm ( June 21, 1952 – June 29, 2001) was a model, actress, and film producer. She was married and divorced twice from Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, which was her main claim to fame. Lamm claimed to have befriended Kitty Menendez in the last year of her life and said that Kitty confided in her about family problems (which doesn't seem to fit with Kitty's nature), but she maintained in an interview on The Joan Rivers Show in the autumn of 1993 that the problems were caused by Lyle. Rivers mentioned during the interview that Lamm was involved as a producer of a TV movie based on "her account of the crime", which would air in the late spring of 1994, Menendez: A Killing In Beverly Hills, which Lamm was credited as executive producer and Dominick Dunne's articles in Vanity Fair magazine listed as a source. In the interview, a brief clip was shown of Lyle's testimony where he revealed his father sexually abused him. Lamm said she never believed that, she thinks Lyle was "a good actor" and said it was impossible for a young adult male to be sexually abused by his father.

From the book Bad Blood, by Don Davis, published in 1994:
New World Television and CBS were able to announce in March of 1990, the same month the boys were arrested, that an agreement had been reached on what show business types call a "development". Their contact was actress Karen Lamm, who had known Kitty Menendez for a year. Under Hollywood rules, this qualified the slender blonde as a total confidante of the murdered woman. Lamm, who had also happened to be an aspiring producer, knew a good thing when she saw it and explained to the Los Angeles Times that she had begun her push the previous December to scare away any potential competitors. "It's piranhas coming at each other, and they're all ready to bite, The point in announcing it as quickly as we did is that we were on this months ago, and this is a done deal, and it's important to let people know that," she said. At this point, there were still three years before the case would go to trial.

Lamm stated that she did not believe the sexual abuse, and Dunne always publicly claimed that he didn't believe the sexual abuse either. This explains why, apart from depicting a few incidents of physical and emotional abuse from Jose (played by Edward James Olmos) on his sons (played by Damian Chapa and Travis Fine) in the first half of the miniseries, the sexual abuse wasn't brought up until the second half when the brothers were testifying about it. There are no flashbacks, or any indication that sexual abuse took place other than the brothers' testimonies, and the corroborating testimony and evidence are never shown either. This was because Lamm and Dunne wanted to give the impression that the sexual abuse never happened and that it was fabricated while the brothers were awaiting trial (a theory that the prosecution in both trials, heavily insinuated, but had no evidence to support it). It also explains the portrayal of Kitty (played by Beverly D'Angelo); she is depicted as being a victim of everyone, which is clearly how Lamm wanted her to be portrayed, but of course, if you've watched the first trial, this is not an accurate portrayal of her. There's no doubt that this miniseries (along with another TV dramatization about the case that had aired a few months earlier) poisoned the jury pool and, along with Dunne's articles (which also conveniently left out the corroborative evidence) have presented a very prosecution-biased slant on the case.

This is a video of Dominick Dunne, Karen Lamm, and A.J. Benza interviewed on The Joan Rivers Show in
1993.

 

[Noirdame79]

2023 mugshots

 

[Noirdame79]

The house in Pennington, New Jersey, where the Menendez family lived before moving to California



This was the first house the family lived in when they moved to Los Angeles - the Calabasas mansion on Mulholland Highway



The Beverly Hills house on North Elm Drive (the second photo shows a view of part of the backyard, with the guest house

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[Quiet Time]

Thank you. I'll be watching.

 

[Noirdame79]

I hope I'll be able to watch this documentary, and hopefully, it will present both sides. I fully expect Kitty's surviving brother Milton Andersen to claim that there was no abuse (he's already called Roy Rosello a liar) but keep in mind that he, his late brother Brian, and their father Charles disliked Jose until he started making a lot of money, and then they wanted to be his friend. Brian also filed a document in probate court during the first trial that stated that he and his stepmother were entitled to a share of the estate because it appeared that Kitty had died after Jose. The probate judge stated that he wouldn't make a ruling unless Lyle and Erik were convicted, and then he agreed to testify as a rebuttal prosecution witness (he had refused to testify for either side prior to this). Ironic how Kitty's brothers always claimed that the killings were money-motivated, but it seems that they were the greedy ones.

 

[Quiet Time]

Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the program. The rainy/windy weather messed up the reception for my local channel. However, I did catch the older brother? at the beginning saying that he didn't believe that the boys were abused.

 

[Noirdame79]

Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the program. The rainy/windy weather messed up the reception for my local channel. However, I did catch the older brother? at the beginning saying that he didn't believe that the boys were abused.

Yes, Kitty's brothers (the other one is now deceased) are the only family members who didn't support Lyle and Erik. He's also called Roy Rosello a liar.

 

[iluvmua]

How many relatives of the Menendez brothers are still alive?

 

[Noirdame79]

How many relatives of the Menendez brothers are still alive?

Their father's sisters, their mother's sister and brother, and most of their cousins.