about abuse in the first place. in between the two trials, there were allegations that he was asking people to fabricate testimony. letters surfaced after the first trial in which lyle was alleged to have encouraged people to lie for the defense. so the defense decided they couldn t put him on the witness stand, so erik menendez had to carry the ball for both brothers. and he was a good witness, but he was not as strong as lyle menendez had been at the first trial. reporter: and that expert testimony about the impact of the alleged abuse on the brothers state of mind? judge weisberg severely limited the number of experts because he felt their testimony was repetitive. one not allowed to testify was dr. vicary. i was shocked. and i said, well, they ve gutted the defense. i mean, there is no defense without that. reporter: that specific ruling was in large part due to the objections raised by the new prosecutor leading the people s case. deputy d-a david conn.
about abuse in the first place. in between the two trials, there were allegations that he was asking people to fabricate testimony. letters surfaced after the first trial in which lyle was alleged to have encouraged people to lie for the defense. so the defense decided they couldn t put him on the witness stand, so erik menendez had to carry the ball for both brothers. and he was a good witness, but he was not as strong as lyle menendez had been at the first trial. and that expert testimony about the impact of the alleged abuse on the brothers state of mind? judge weisberg severely limited the number of experts because he felt their testimony was repetitive. one not allowed to testify was dr. vicary. i was shocked. and i said, well, they ve gutted the defense. i mean, there is no defense without that. that specific ruling was in large part due to the objections raised by the new prosecutor leading the people s case.
dateline obtained a copy. it s never been broadcast before. in it, lyle wrote about their father, and the murders. he bore two brilliant children only two, they carry his name and his pride. we did not do anything for the money. he went on we alone know the truth. we alone know the secrets of our family s past. i do not look forward to broadcasting them around the country. i pray that it never has to happen. secrets? at this point, even attorney leslie abramson knew, none of them. lyle and erik revealed nothing. not to abramson, and not to the forensic psychiatrist she hired, william vicary. what struck me in that initial interview was how together the older brother, lyle, was. i mean, he was articulate. he made good eye contact. he had very thoughtful, organized answers.
circumstances. 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 your life? well, it was very traumatic. traumatic indeed. the doctor said leslie abramson asked him to delete notes she felt could be viewed as evidence of premeditation. and reluctantly, he said, he agreed. the california medical board punished vicary 34 months probation. abramson disputed vicary s version of events. and after an investigation, the state bar, years later, cited insufficient evidence of violations and closed her case.