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For them, we're going to sit here. Where do you want us to sit?

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Where do you want us to sit? Which one do you want to sit?

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Let's see which comes out to us, and then we'll do the other. No, we sit in here. Yes, sir. No, he lets us here. He lets us sit in the wheelchair? He lets us sit in for us. No, Bob, we sit in here. Bob, we sit over here. I'm going to have to go sit over here.

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May I see and come to order.

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Division 5 is once again in session.

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Now, we'll keep him in mind. Judge presided.

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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

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Good afternoon.

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You're right.

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This is the case of the people of the State of California versus Eric Galen Menendez and Joseph Lyle Menendez. The record will reflect the defendants are present with counsel and the people are represented. Would the defendants please rise? Eric Galen Menendez. Yes. Is that your true and correct name? Yes. Joseph Lyle Menendez. Is that your true and correct name? Yes, Your Honor. Eric Gaelin Menendez. You are charged in count one with a violation of Penal Code, Section 187A, murder of Jose Menendez, a human being. For financial gain while lying in wait with a firearms. You are further charged in count two with a violation of Penal Code Section 187A, murder of Jose Menendez, a human being, for financial gain while lying in wait With a firearms. You are further charged in Count Two with a violation of Penal Code, Section 187(A), murder of a Maria Menendez human being for financial gain while lying in wait with a firearms. You are further charged with special circumstances for which you could be sentenced to death.

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Do you- Also, the people at this time are moving to release the contents of the affidavit.

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We've discussed this with counsel, and they'd also like an opportunity to brief that issue as well on the day of the continuance. So I don't have anything to help you with that.

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Your Honor, we would, however, like to receive the document so that we can prepare the matters for further proceedings on March the 26th, as well as prepare for a bail motion on behalf of Eric Mendez in this instant. That being the case, we would ask that the matters be provided to counsel immediately and to counsel on. And that including the affidavit for the search warrant.

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Understanding that this discovery is going to be to release the counsel under the circumstances where they're going to have an opportunity to review it for purposes of these motions. And it's not to be disclosed to any further counsel except those who are immediately operating with counsel.

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We have no difficulty releasing this discovery.

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It's It's our understanding that the matters will be released to us and only us, and that we will not be allowed to release them to anyone other than discussing with our client.

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In light of the representations and motions of counsel, The arraignment and plea in this matter is continued to March 26, 1990 at 02:00 PM. It is further ordered that the affidavits be released to count for the defendants are each ordered not to discuss the contents, either directly or indirectly, of the sealed affidavits with anyone other than their clients without further court order. The matter will be continued also to the 26th of March for investigation regarding any potential conflict of interest. And of course, for determination of the status of the seal affidavits, further motions and any bail motions.

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Your Honor, on behalf of Eric Mendez, the record should reflect that he will waive time till March the 26th for these purposes.

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That would be the next matter for the court to request. Mr. Eric Galen-Mendez, you have the right to have your arraignment and plea within 48 hours of your arrest and your preliminary hearing within 10 days of your arraignment and within 60 days of your arraignment. Do you give up that right? That's all. Council, join. Yes, sir. We are. Thank you, Mr Shapiro. People, join. People, join. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr Shapiro. People join. People join, yes, sir. Thank you, Mr Al-Haya.

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May the record reflect that I am handing-Excuse me, we need to have a waiver for Mr..

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Joseph Lyle-Manend. We can do that.

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Joseph Lyle-Manend. You have the right to have your arraignment within 48 hours of your arrest, your preliminary hearing within 10 days of your arraignment and plea, and within 60 days of your arraignment and plea. Do you give up that right? Council joins? Yes, Thank you, Mr. Chaliff. People join. Thank you, Mr. Al-hath.

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Your Honor, may the record reflect that I am handing the discovery of the people's case to Council for Mr..

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Joseph Lyleman-Hendès and to counsel for Eric Mendès. And the council would just send a receipt on that.

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I appreciate it.

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The record will so reflect The record should also reflect that it contained within these documents are a copy of the complaint.

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Yes, the document is a carry copy of the complaint.

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Any concurrence?

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No, your Honor. Court will stand in recess on this matter until March 26th.. All right, you may continue.

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Thank you, Your Honor. Mr. Menendez, do you recall actually going to shop with your brother prior to going to the jewelry store to get the Rolex watches and the money clips?

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What do you mean by shop? I went there specifically to buy a sports jacket.

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Was there any other purchases that you made that day besides the sports jacket?

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I don't remember any.

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Were you with your brother all the time that day?

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I know I went to Bullets with him because I didn't have any suits or any sports jackets.

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You had indicated that you had bought A coat, is that correct?

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Yes.

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Did you have to buy some slacks to go along with the coat?

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I don't think so. I think that I had slacks at my house. I know that I wore slacks on different occasions, but I just don't remember.

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Do you recall pulling out cash at any one of those transactions to pay for the purchase that day?

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I don't think so. It was an expensive code. I don't think I would have paid in cash.

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Is it your belief that credit cards were used, sir?

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Probably.

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Mr. Menendez, you had indicated that you believed the BBC stood for what? Reprise the question. Do you recall being asked on direct examination about what you believe BBC stood for? Not specifically. Do you recall testifying that you believed Dr. O'seill must have been referring to the British Broadcasting Company?

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I remember doing that on cross.

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In this movie that was discussed, you believe was on the British Broadcasting Company?

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I don't know what he was referring to. It's in his notes exactly. I was just giving him my best guess.

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Now, would another one of your guesses be the Billionaire Boys Club?

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I don't know what shows Dr. O'neill watches or what he was referring to there. The only reason I can guess is by the language of when he says on the BBC. So I don't know.

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And in fact, what he was referring to is something that you had stated to him, that you had watched a movie on the BBC, correct? No, that's not what he was referring to. Now, isn't it true that you know the BBC to mean the Billionaire Boys Club?

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The BBC are initials for Billionaire Boys Club. There was an area here that was preserved. Yes. Is it? Yeah, that is The initials BBC are for several things. One of them is Baylor Boys Club, definitely.

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Do you recall on November 29th, 1989, having a discussion with Craig Signorelli about forming a group of four people?

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It wasn't really a discussion. I was telling him an idea I had. Okay.

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And you were saying that you wanted to form a group of four people, of people that you could trust, correct?

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Yeah, I specifically remember doing that. I was doing that on purpose.

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And that these people would be working under you and they would be making one to $2 million a year, correct?

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At that point, I was just spinning my wheels. I didn't have any idea.

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Do you recall Craig Signorelli say to you, like in BBC? Do you recall that question?

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Yeah, I recall that.

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And do you recall your answer, like in BBC, but that you know it's just everywhere? Do you remember making that statement? Yeah. Do you recall that you stated that you wanted to get something that would set you apart from the other people in this company?

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No.

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Do you recall talking about a Rolex watch, one that you would have to buy in a... I believe you put it... You'd have to order it. It's blue that fades into black. Do you remember making that statement? Relative to this group that you were going to form, everyone would have to get this Rolex watch?

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No. If you can show me.

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Can I approach your eye? It's page A3 of 10. Of 10. And then as I'm going to show you a transcript, it's page A3 of 10 regarding the conversation that you had with Craig Signorelli on November 29th, 1989. Yeah. Should we take a look at this section?

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Yeah, now I remember.

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When you were discussing this group of four people that would make one to $2 million, and you discussed having a Rolex watch, what were you talking about?

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I was specifically talking about forming a group of people that you could trust Because I was trying to send Craig a message that I didn't trust him, and that I believe that he was telling people what I told him. And so I was saying, Yeah, I wish... It wasn't something that I was actually planning on doing. I was saying, yeah, I wish I could form this company. I wanted How can I do this. These are some people who I can trust. And he said, everyone should have a handshake. Everyone should wear something that his status just sets them apart. And I was trying to to say, I don't trust you. I think you're telling the police. And this is one of the things I was doing.

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Mr. Monet, were you going to start the British Broadcasting Company?

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No, that wasn't an idea I had.

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So what did you mean by the BBC?

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That's what Craig said.

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And you agreed with him. It was like the BBC. What did you mean by that?

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The Billionaire Boys Club. Okay.

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Now, you also made the statement, sir, that, and if you leave He's the group, fuck, I would not betray that group. What did you mean by that?

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I was telling Craig that I didn't trust him, and I thought he was betraying me.

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And what would happen to those people that betrayed you?

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I don't know. I was just making the statement to tell him, You're betraying me, but I'm not really a confrontational person like that, and I didn't know how to say it to him. So I was I was trying to give him the best message I could.

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You were trying to threaten him?

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No, I could never hurt Craig. I was just saying basically that I was hurt. I thought he was a friend of mine, and now I hear up in Santa Barbara that he's telling everyone what I told him. And so I'm trying to do my best now to convince him that I wasn't involved in the killing.

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So you were mad at him because he was telling the truth that you indeed were involved in the killing of your parents, correct?

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No, I wasn't mad I was mad at him for telling the truth. I was mad at him for telling people something that I told him at a time when I wanted his help. And that's all.

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Mr. Menendez, Dr. O'neill had testified that you told him that you believe that you couldn't be connected to the crime because the guns were purchased in San Diego. You couldn't be connected connected to the guns, the prints in the house were your prints, et cetera. Do you remember that testimony?

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Do I remember he testified to that, or is that what happened?

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Do you remember that testimony?

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Yes.

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And do you remember testifying in front of this jury that you believed from the first day that you would get caught? Do you remember that testimony?

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What I said is that I believed from the moment after that I would get caught. There was too many things the police could find.

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Do you recall, again, November 29th, 1989, in your conversation with Craig Signarelli for counsel, it's B-19 of '33, that you stated, I've known from the beginning, no clues, no one heard anything. And then again, at B-22 of 33 in the same conversation with Craig Signarelli.

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I'm going to get that, Your Honor, misquoting the statement of the Whitney on the 33rd.

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Page 19?

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B-19-33, Your Honor. So first Very well, young. It's very much Do you remember making this statement, sir? I've known from the beginning, no clues, no one heard anything. People heard things that in an unintelligible. Do you remember making that statement?

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No. Could I- He just said he went out of context about the response in the next statement.

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Well, his answer is no, he doesn't remember that. I believe he wanted to look at that.

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Yeah.

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Can I approach your eye? Yes. Thank you.

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Oh, yeah. I remember.

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Okay. When you say you've known from the beginning, there were no clues, no one heard anything. What did you mean by that?

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What I was saying is after I tell him that I don't know who did it. And he's telling me, Why don't you check it out? You should know. Don't you want to find out who did it? And I say to him, he said, Craig said, You're not going to check it out anymore? And I said, How am I going to check it out? And he says, I don't know. And I say, That's a good question. How can I check it out? I know they're not going to find anyone. I've known from the beginning, no clues. No one heard anything. People heard things that And then it goes on about fire crackers in the middle of August. Okay. I wasn't referring to me, though.

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Mr. Menendez, when you said, I know they're not going to find anyone, isn't that what you told Is Dr. O'neill, too?

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No, you're misunderstanding the two conversations. One in which I'm telling Craig, the reason I'm not going to go investigate myself is because they're not going to find anyone. And with Dr. O'neill, I told him that the police don't know anything And the only way they could find me was through the guns in San Diego.

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Mr. Menendez, do you recall telling Craig Signorelli on November 29th, 1989, regarding the people that committed this crime, the shooters of your parents, You stated, Man, we're talking about special hitmen, special shotguns, and knew exactly what they were doing in and out of the house. No one saw anything. No one heard anything. And Craig Signorelli responding, Doesn't make sense. And you responding, We're talking serious hitmen.

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Yeah.

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Now, you believed that you and your brother had done this in a way that you would not get caught, correct?

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No.

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And that's what you're talking about.

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No, you're just pulling it out of context again. Craig and I are again having a conversation. It's the same conversation about the fact that nobody knows, and he keeps suppressing me. Well, don't you want to find out who did it? Aren't you going to find out who did it? And he's apparently trying to get me to say something because he's on tape. And I'm telling him, These were hitmen. I don't know who did it. No one heard anything. I'm not going to be able to find out who did it. These are serious people. They knew what they were doing, et cetera.

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That's what was happening. This statement that you make mirrors what Dr. O'neill said you said, that you didn't think you were going to get caught, and you didn't think there was any way for you and your brother to have to stand trial on case. Isn't that correct?

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No, it doesn't mirror what Dr. O'neill said in the slightest.

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I have nothing for that this time.

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Any redirect? No, no, no question.

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All right, thank you. You may step down. You may step down, sir. Thank you.

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What do you believe was the originating cause of you and your brother ultimately winding up shooting your parents?

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Me telling.

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You telling what? Me telling Lyle that You telling Lyle what? Was it you telling Lyle about something that was happening?

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My dad. Okay.

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My dad.

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Ronan, can I ask a leading question?

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If you don't ask?

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My dad. Wait one second, please. Okay, let me ask. No, he was in the process of answering, so I was going to need to ask him.

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Can you answer the question?

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Yes.

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Okay. Was you telling Lyle what?

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My dad had been molesting me.

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Getting back to your tennis. When you would be practicing, would your father be there participating in your practices?

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In tennis? Yes. Not every time, but most of the time my dad was there. Any time he could be there, he would be there.

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And when you were playing in tournaments, was your father there?

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Yes. Or he would fly in. And a lot of times I remember I would start the first couple of points, and then I'd see my dad show up in a business suit, having just arrived.

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Would you be glad to see him? Yes. Did he make it more fun for you to be in tournaments?

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No.

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Why not?

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Well, whenever my dad was around, it was very heavy pressure, and I prefer to be just with the coach. But for some reason, when I was away from my dad, I had trouble playing. And so I remember the semifinals of one big Championship tournament with a rival that I had beaten earlier in the spring in front of my dad easily. This was a big master, like 50 people watching, and I lost 6:0, 6:0. And my coach looked at me like, Oh, my God. How are we going to tell your dad? He was pale. Sometimes I just couldn't play. If my dad was not there. And I don't know, sometimes it was the nerves of just having to explain to him the match.

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What do you mean explain to him the match? If your father wasn't there, would you have to tell him about the match?

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Every game.

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It's exactly how the match progressed.

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When you say exactly how the match progressed, would you call your father at work or see him when he got home? How would you tell him?

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I call him immediately. He wanted to know immediately.

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So would he be at work?

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He would normally be either at home or... Sometimes he would be... I guess, no, I guess a tournament He was mostly at work, but I call him after practices, and I would be playing late. He would get home and expect a call from either the coach or from me. Or we reach him at the office. His secretary would always say he's out to lunch, he's busy. As soon as he found out it was my tennis coach, Oh, he just walked in. And then he'd want everything, exactly the temperament.

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Tell me what you would tell him.

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He We talked to the coach first, and I could hear my coach saying, he did real well. I know it was a close match, depending on whatever happened. Just describe the match. Then he'd say, your father wants to talk to you. Dad would ask me to have the coach leave the room so he could talk to me in private. And he would say, Tell me what happened. I heard this, what happened. I want to know why Why did this happen this way? As far as... Let me give you examples. He would say, You elected to serve first. And I'd say, Yes. He'd say, Okay. Do you go through the first three games like we arranged? Because he would have exactly what I was supposed to do for the first almost 25 points, where I would just have a set strategy. Sometimes it would go off during the point, but pretty much I would either serve in a volley to the deuce cord, stay back on the ad court. And if it was 30 all, he'd have different strategies. And I'd explain to him how I followed those strategies, and he'd want to know why they didn't work out.

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And I'd do my best to explain in a way that didn't admit that my backhand was off or that I wasn't concentrating or things like that.

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Now, would these be conversations that would last two or three minutes, or How long would you be explaining in detail what happened?

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An hour and a half. About an hour and a half, because we'd also then have to go into what was happening tomorrow. And he'd want to know exactly what I ate that day. Maybe it was the food that affected the match. And I would write out what I ate every time I was away from him so we could chart whether only bananas and so on in the morning seemed to be a winning percentage and so on. And I actually purchased a computer at one point that you could plug all these things in And it would give you the percentages of what happened when you ate this or when you tried this strategy or how many unforester errors. Very, very technical with my dad.

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At one point, were you The number one player in the Middle States Tennis Association? Yes. What is the Middle States Tennis Association? What area does that cover?

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That's the five states, most in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware.

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And how old were you when you were number one in that area?

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I was 17, I think. My first year of the 18 and Under's.

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So everybody eligible to play, and that would have been 18 or younger? Right. And you were 17 when you won? Right. And do you remember when you won that? Do you remember that period of time?

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I remember the year.

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Was your dad proud of you? Had you finally done enough?

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I He was proud of me, but by the time I could get to be number one, we were thinking nationally. And nationally, I was not where he wanted me to be. So we didn't really worry about the five states thing. We concentrated on the nation, what the other players were doing. And I was having trouble nationally, and that was always on his mind.

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So this wasn't a great moment for you then? Making a number one ranking in the Middle States Tennis Association was not that important? Did it seem to- Can we raise the question, please? Yeah. Did it seem to be important? I mean, did your dad seem to be real happy about this?

[00:31:52]

He really didn't say much about it. It just happened. The rankings came up. I noticed I was number one. But again, we were thinking Nationally, it was like, so what? And that was an upsetting year because we had lost again, Family of the Year, Tennis for New Jersey, to a family called the Lashleys. And my dad was pissed My mother called in to complain and the whole thing because my brother had a very good year that year also. So But we lost that, so he was very upset. Basically, he was upset with my brother for not having been number one also, which would have clenched it. And he was like five or something, four or five.

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So your brother was number four or five. If he'd been number one, it would have clenched it. It means he would have gotten the tennis family of the year? Right.

[00:32:49]

Why don't you pick a point here when it's convenient to take a break.

[00:32:53]

One more question, and we'll take a break. Did your sports activities seem to take up all of your dad's free time?

[00:33:05]

It took up any time he wasn't working.

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Did your mother ever express any resentment about that?

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Oh, yes. Many, many times.

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What would she say?

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She would say many things. She would say that I ruined her life, and she would explain to me why and how I ruined her life.

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What would she tell you about why and how How did that make you feel when you were in the film?

[00:33:31]

Well, if it was a... If she wasn't in a tantrum and she was just speaking normally, she would just explain all the things that she could have been an actress, broadcasting. I learned about her aspirations with disappointments of not being a child actress and wanting to go on in some acting or broadcasting sense. She told me that she had a job in New York to be a hostess at a restaurant, that she said she could make almost 50,000 a year, and that then suddenly she had gotten pregnant, that she had not wanted to get pregnant, that my dad had then forced her, well, gave her an ultimatum, either you leave or you stay home with my son and quit. So she chose to stay home, and essentially, her life was pretty much ruined from that point on. But then we would have more discussions about how much money was being spent on my tennis. All my dad's time on my tennis, who cares? And then I would hear about the lessons she couldn't have, the things that she couldn't have. And then there would be other times when she was in a tantrum, then it would just come out in a rage.

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What would come out in a rage?

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She would be throwing things and screaming and flailing and wanting and trying to hit you and saying you're a bastard. She cursed a lot. That Until your dad gets home, I'll tell him the things that you didn't do today. I wish you were never born. Why can't you be like your brother? What's the matter with you? Then I would try to say something. She would say, Shut up. I don't want to hear it. You're stupid. I hate you.

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How old were you when you heard things like, I wish you were never born? What's up? What's up? Thank you. That's the end of the day.

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Okay, we'll take a recess, ladies and gentlemen. We'll resume at 15 minutes after the hour. Don't discuss this case with anyone.

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Don't form any final opinions about it, and we'll resume at 3:15.

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Why did you kill your parents?

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Because we were afraid.

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Do you have a lot of nice memories from your childhood? No.

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What was wrong, in your opinion, with the way that Jose Menendez wanted these kids coached?

[00:37:23]

I thought it was cruel. I'm sorry? I thought it was cruel.

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Okay. How was it cruel?

[00:37:32]

Because they had to physically suffer.

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Lyle came down, and he was asking if he could...

[00:37:39]

I thought he was there to say good night, and he started asking me if he could sleep down there because Kathy had already gone, and there was two single beds.

[00:37:47]

Okay.

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And what did you tell him?

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Initially, I pretty much just brushed him off because I wasn't taking him seriously.

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And what happened next?

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He proceeded to to indicate to me by touching himself down and saying that his dad and him had been touching each other down there.

[00:38:10]

I just told him that I didn't want to do this, and that it hurt me. And he said that he didn't mean to hurt me. He loved me.

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Was that important to you, that he loved you?

[00:38:29]

Yes, Barry.

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I remember at one time, he stuck me with a tack, and it really went far into me, and I went, and he just twisted his head around and looked right through me, and it was scary.

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It was very much like a jeopardy setting in regards to Jose drilling the kids with questions of the day, and only of that day.

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What do you mean questions of the day?

[00:39:01]

Well, it would be to where newspaper articles, such as certain encyclopedias, different events that happened throughout the day.

[00:39:11]

And an answer was needed quickly. You had to have an answer. You had to have an answer.

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Again, they're coming this way. We have both Eric and Lyle Menendez's attorneys, and here they come.

[00:39:28]

Let's see. We have on the far left in the red suit, that is Terry Taury, that is Lyle Menendez's attorney.

[00:39:36]

And next to her, Leslie Abramson in the MOAV suit with a blonde hair. And walking up to the podium, Charles Guesler, that is Lyle as his attorney. We'll see if we could get some a statement from them. Mr. Guesler, could you please give us your reaction to the verdict?

[00:39:58]

To the microphone, sir.

[00:40:00]

In front of the mic, please.

[00:40:02]

My reaction right now is... Are you happy? My reaction is what a tremendous relief. It's hard to know if the relief makes up for the tremendous strain of waiting for the verdict to come in, but I'm very relieved that it was a life verdict. I think that is the proper verdict given the findings that they made at the guilt phase, that this should not be a death case. I'm very relieved that it came out to be the proper verdict to life without parole.

[00:40:32]

How does your client feel? Did you ever speak with the jurors?

[00:40:35]

What did they say? We had a chance to talk to the jurors. I talked to them as people, not about the case. I'm not going to tell you what they said. That was just people to people. A chance to be people instead of attorneys and jurors again to each other. Lyle is relieved because he wants to live. Life without parole is not something to be forward to. So You can't say he's happy, but certainly he's relieved that it's life and not death. I think a lot of the difference was the difference in the way the defense was allowed to be presented this time from the way it was the first time. No one can ever say what makes a difference sometimes between one case and another. The individual jurors see things differently. The evidence is presented differently. It's viewed differently, and results sometimes are different.

[00:41:28]

Can we hear from Leslie Abramson, please, about Eric? Leslie.

[00:41:31]

Could you help everybody to identify yourself on tape a little easier?

[00:41:35]

Yeah, I'm Charlie Gaslitz, Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office.

[00:41:39]

Let's start live on channel 4. Can you please-Oh, I'm so excited. Can you please explain your reaction? Well, it's tremendous relief. I'm short, so you have to do this.

[00:41:50]

Lower the stand.

[00:41:54]

I'm not touching that thing, guys. That's right. I know. I know. It's not fair for my own former cameraman to ask me to look that way. Leslie, would you call this a win? Oh, man, what's a win? They're going to spend the rest of their lives in prison. On the good side, I will say that they're both such considerable human beings, that they will find a way to be productive. In fact, some of the jurors were saying that, too. It was their expectation that they would both find a way to contribute to society, even if they're in prison for the rest of their lives. I truly believe If that's true of them, where I could not say that that's true for most people in their situation. Did the jurors indicate there was any one most persuasive element that caused the verdict? Now, let me just say that we have not debriefed this jury at all, that we were just sharing with them how difficult how much of this case was for them as well as for us, how emotional, how torn they felt. They are very, very nice, decent people, all of them. I'm trying to do one at a time.

[00:42:59]

You already got Now, Warren gets one, then you get another one. Yes, Warren. Then Tony, even though she hasn't been that good to me this time around. But go ahead, Warren. What was it like waiting, not knowing what that verdict was going to be for the last three or four days? Well, I was asking people if there was some other way to spell hell besides H-E-L-L, because you just live in absolute hell. When any verdict comes in and you're waiting for a verdict, you can't do anything else but focus on that. The worst time of all is after you know there is one and you know that prayer no longer can help you because someone has signed that verdict for them. It's terrible. How are you referring them as... How do you refer them as considerable human beings ? Oh, please. I mean, anybody who asked that question does not understand that people are not just what they do. They are what they are. Tony, did you have a question? No. My reaction to the original verdict can be described as despair. There was no anger. I can't be angry with a jury that follows the instructions that they're given and analyzes the evidence the way they see it.

[00:44:11]

I mean, I'm not an objective observer of facts. It was just merely what the reality of what it meant was that never, ever would either of them ever have a life. Since they never had one, it doesn't seem fair in a moral sense, but I can't say it's unfair in a legal sense.

[00:44:29]

Could you ask the issue if Dr..

[00:44:31]

Hickory is being known slightly?

[00:44:32]

I could, but I'm not going to. Wait a minute. Mary Jane. Leslie, I hate to ask you this, but could you please explain to us what happened with Dr. Hickory? I'm glad you hate to ask that because I'm not going to answer it just now. Let me just say that I want to be able to assess what this record looks like. I mean, one of the things that has been very, very depressing to me ever since this whole disaster struck was how quick people are to judge you guilty when all you've done is try to assert your right to not have to answer a question that day in that forum. Because as most of you know, the next day we were in court, I withdrawn the assertion of the Fifth Amendment. I was advised by a lawyer who's a very good lawyer who had not seen a single piece of paper, a single word in a transcript. He doesn't know what's going on. And unlike some of my clients, I'm a client who takes my lawyer's advice. So I did that. And then I have watched people who claimed to be my friends and colleagues accuse me of everything under the sun.

[00:45:33]

I mean, in the press right now, I am tried, convicted in jail, disbarred, and in permanent disgrace. And that is really hard to take when you're under a gag order, number one, and when, more importantly, your client's rights are far more important than your own reputation or public image. I absolutely could not say anything on that record, openly, in front of the district attorney to refute what Dr. Vickery was blurting out, obviously, because he was caught by surprise when he shouldn't have been. But can't you refute it now? I can refute all of it, but I'm not going to take this for him because it's a long, fairly complicated explanation. But I can unequivocally say I did not violate any laws. I did not violate any ethical strictures. I doubt very much that I would ever be disbarred for such a thing. I mean, I can't see it, and I never could. Leslie, you can never go in for a person that lost your voice, but how difficult was it to watch Mr. Levin take over after that? It was actually a great relief, if you want to know the truth. I have never, ever thought.

[00:46:40]

I have never thought that emotionally I could make a penalty argument on behalf of Eric Menendez. I always felt I'd fall apart because I care a great deal about him. I have been his first friend for six years, and you cannot argue for your best friend. You cannot argue that thing. Can you imagine getting up there and asking someone to spare the life of your child?

[00:47:04]

We're going to break away from Leslie Abramson, Eric's attorney now, and go to the picture at the bottom of your screen, a district Attorney, Gil Garsete, who will be speaking for the prosecution. Let's go there live. As long as I've In the description of the district attorney, I've said that this case was a first-degree murder case with special circumstances. The jury has agreed. We also felt it was appropriate that we asked the jury to recommend death. The jury has concluded that life in prison without the possibility of parole is sufficient punishment. The important thing, I What we need to remember here is that the jury has convicted the Menendez brothers a first-degree murder with special circumstances, and as a result of that, they will spend the rest of their lives in prison. When people feel that justice is done, it affects them in a very basic way. I think everyone, deep down inside, yearns for justice. It's a very important, basic feeling concept that we all have. When they feel that justice is done in a particular case, it renews faith in governmental systems. It renews faith in life. We believe that most people in this county, perhaps even in this country, now believe that there was justice in this case.

[00:48:46]

I'm going to thank publicly three of the people that were involved in this case. Dave Kohn, after I introduce him, will thank all the others. But to my right is Dave Kohn. To my left, Carol Nadera. Les Zoler from the Beverly Hills Police Department is to her left. I want to thank them on behalf of all people in the county of Los Angeles for the excellent work that they did in this case. And it just was not the work that you saw in the courtroom. It was much, much work. Certainly, Les, you've been involved from the very beginning for many years, that there was a tremendous effort made by all to seek justice, to seek the truth. We accomplished that in this case. I want to also thank the two prosecutors who handle this case the first time, Pam Bozanich and Lester Kuriyama, the two excellent prosecutors who did an excellent job. From their efforts, we learned a tremendous amount, and that enabled us to seek justice and to gain the justice that we have. Permit me now to introduce you again to Dave Kohn. David will introduce the others that have been really a very important part of this effort seeking justice, seeking the truth.

[00:50:17]

We've been once again successful in doing it. David.

[00:50:20]

Thank you, sir. I would also like to begin by thanking Detective Zola of the Beverly Hills Police Department. Department. I've had the pleasure to work with him now for two years, and he has tirelessly pursued justice in this case since 1989. He was the investigator then at the crime scene. He was the investigator right until the last minute here in the courtroom. So I'd like to thank the Beverly Hills Police Department for the outstanding investigation that they did in this case. I would also like to thank Gilgur O'Hsedi. Two years ago, Gilgur O'Setty stood before you and he told you that this is a first-degree murder case, and it would be pursued as a first-degree murder case. I would like to thank him for the opportunity that he gave, Governor Hara and I, to pursue this case. It was at a time when many people were suggesting perhaps this case was too complex. Perhaps justice would never be served in this case. Perhaps juries would not be able to see the truth in this case and returned with verdict to first-degree murder. And yet what we have seen here in the verdict of the jury 30 days ago was that they understood this case, that they were more than capable of evaluating the evidence in this case and reaching a just verdict.

[00:51:29]

So I'd like to thank Thank Mr. Gorsetti for giving us the opportunity to present this case and to seek justice in this case rather than a plea bargain or resolving the case in some other way. The verdict of the jury today, the sentence of life imprisonment of Justice has now been served. I would like to also thank several people in the private sector who generously contributed their time and their effort and their talent to assist in the verdict that we have achieved in this case. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Don Vincent of Decision Quest, who assisted us in the jury selection in this case. He provided us with insight and guidance into selecting the right type of jury that would be necessary to achieve justice in this case. But Dr. Don Vincent did more than assist us in the presentation of a case before a jury that would be able to follow the evidence and come back with a just verdict. He assisted us in putting together a winning team. Don Vincent introduced us to John Martell trial of San Francisco, an attorney in San Francisco who assisted us in the pre-trial strategy sessions and played a very important role in developing our ultimate strategy in this case.

[00:52:41]

We would also like to thank Dr. Roger McCarthy, a failure analysis in Menlo Park.

[00:52:47]

Dr. Thanks for watching. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media.