Page 6 - Robert Rand News Today

>> one thing that we have asked the judge to do is to limit the so-called abuse excuse. >> the approach that the prosecutor david conn took was to attack at every -- at every turn and not give any free passes there. >> reporter: andrew wolfberg is a lawyer today. back then he was the youngest member of the menendez retrial jury. >> at the time, the defense attorney was saying, "this was a family that was win at all costs. the ends justify the means." to say that their parents had abused them was...

Jose menendez, but he couldnt complete it without talking to two people. joses sons, lyle and erik. the brothers had blown him off for several weeks. but finally, on october 20th, 1989, exactly two months after the murders, rand got his shot. >> i showed up at the menendez mansion at 3:00 in the afternoon. and -- a young woman in her twenties answered the door and she said, "oh erik and lyle are out playing tennis. th -- theyll be back at some point." >> the woman invited rand in to tour the hou...

>> reporter: guilty of first degree murder. but the fates of lyle and erik menendez were not the only headlines -- more came in the penalty phase. dr. vicary finally got to testify. and under oath, he had to admit something -- >> the drama involves this man, defense psychiatrist william vicary, who has disclosed that he deleted dozens of portions of his notes because, quote, "leslie abramson told me, this has to come out." >> what did it feel like to be you in that particular circumstance of you...

Wanted to get into politics. >> he was going to become senator of florida, and then he was gonnaspend his life making cuba a territory of the united states. >> now, with his fathers death, erik said he and his brother wanted to fulfill his fathers dream. >> i wanna become senator of florida and my -- my brother wants to become president of the united states. >> then the mood shifted and erik described what he saw when he walked into the family den on august 20th. >> they werent real. >> no. >> t...

>> he just said that it was our secret, that bad things would happen to me if i told anybody. >> reporter:lyle testified his father stopped abusing him when he turned eight. he said for years he had no idea his brother was a victim too. then erik took the stand. >> he would have me give him oral sex, and he would stick the needles or the tacks into my thighs as he was doing this. >> reporter: erik testified that when he refused to cooperate with his fathers demands -- >> he came back with the kn...

I would tell the police, and that i would tell the family. >> reporter: then according to lyle, his father said something that sounded like a threat. >> he said we all make choices in life, son. erik made his, youve made yours. i thought we were in danger. >> reporter: and so the brothers drove down to san diego to buy the shotguns for protection, they said. two days later, said lyle, he and his father had another argument about the abuse after which lyle said his parents went into the den and s...

Take shape. >> im hearing a lot of very negative and at least heavily psychologically abusive things, but its not answering whats wrong with this kid, cause hes incredibly sweet. how does he walk into a room with a shotgun, this kid? and it doesnt add up. i mean, im totally, totally puzzled. and thats when i bring in vicary. >> reporter: dr. william vicary, a forensic psychiatrist and graduate of harvard law school, agreed to meet with the brothers in jail. he knew going in, police believed lyle...

Wasnt making kind of decisions in a chaotic situation like that. but, you know, reflecting afterwards, you know, it haunts me. it -- it does haunt me. >> reporter: the other -- comment that would come up was, "well, they-- you know, they coulda just gone out and got in the car and driven away, you know? they-- they didnt have to do this." >> a person like my father is not going to allow you to just take something that will ruin his life that he has so carefully crafted. hes not going to. hes not...

Firing. >> in what direction? >> in front of me. >> what was in front of you? >> my parents. >> at some point was your gun empty? >> yes. could see somebody moving, seemed like moving in the direction of where my brother should be. >> reporter: lyle said he returned to the car, re-loaded, and ran back into the house. >> and what did you do after you re-loaded? >> i ran around and shot my mom. >> reporter: so did they act while in the mistaken belief they were defending their own lives? yes, said...

Not just physical but sexual. >> he and his dad had been touching each other and he indicated it was in his genital area. >> reporter: and diane told us she observed even more. >> three of them would take showers together. lyle was 15 and erik was 12. >> reporter: prosecutor bozanich was, to say the least, skeptical. >> if my daughter needed me to lie for her, id lie for her. if it was a life and death thing, of course, you would. if its your cousin that you grew up with, of course you would. >>...