THE case of the Menendez Brothers shook the world when they were convicted of slaughtering their own parents.
Their gruesome story has been retold in Netflix’s Monster, and one person who was involved in the killers being caged was their therapist’s mistress Judalon Smyth.
Judalon Smyth testifying at the first trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez in Los Angeles, November 12, 1993[/caption]
On the evening of August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez shot and killed their parents José and Kitty Menéndez.
José was the first to be hit, suffering six shots, while Kitty was shot ten times.
The brothers later confessed that they killed their mom and dad in the living room of their Beverly Hills mansion to their former therapist, Dr Jeremy Oziel.
But someone else later claimed they were listening in on their confession – Dr Oziel’s mistress, Judalon Smyth.
Meet the mistress
Smyth met Dr Oziel in June 1989, initially seeking relationship therapy.
Smyth’s relationship with Dr Oziel was complicated and dysfunctional.
She was unable to afford his $150-per-hour sessions and ultimately became sexually involved with him.
The confession
Erik Menendez confessed to the therapist on October 31, 1989.
Crucially, Smyth learned that Dr Oziel had made tape recordings of his sessions with the Menendez brothers.
On March 5, 1990, several months after Dr Oziel ended their affair, Smyth went to the police with this information.
She told them that not only had Erik confessed to the therapist, but that he also had a tape recording of it.
In 2015, Smyth gave her first and only interview about her Menendez trial in the Reelz Channel’s true-crime docuseries Murder Made Me Famous.
She said: “It was a little confusing for me the way the media was. I really didn’t understand the attack I was going to come under for doing the right thing.”
She added: “It took a long time for me to do the right thing [going to the police about the taped confession]. But ultimately, I did.”
Significant breakthrough
This revelation led to a significant breakthrough in the case, as following Smyth’s tip, police obtained a warrant to search Dr Oziel’s home, where they seized the tape recordings.
Dr Jerome Oziel pictured in court during the Menendez brothers trial[/caption]
The brothers were arrested shortly after, with Lyle being taken into custody on March 8, 1990 and Erik surrendering to police three days later.
Smyth’s disclosure initiated a multi-year legal battle over the admissibility of these recordings as evidence, ultimately leading to their use in the trials and playing a crucial role in the brothers’ conviction.
‘Sex IOU’
During the first Menendez murders trial in November 1993, Smyth’s testimony raised eyebrows.
She spoke about a “Sex IOU” she gave Dr Oziel promising her devotion to him, signed with her cats’ paw prints — which was depicted in the Netflix Monsters series about the case.
It was a little confusing for me the way the media was. I really didn’t understand the attack I was going to come under for doing the right thing
Judalon Smyth
Smyth also contended that Dr Oziel planned to leave his wife for her — claims which were backed up by voice recordings.
In one such recording, Dr Oziel told her that he had impressed his daughters by describing Smyth as “the biggest crystal seller in the world”.
In 1989, she moved into the Oziel family home for what was supposed to be two days — but ended up staying for three months.
She described the stay as “not romantic, but there was sex” and claimed to be friends with Dr Oziel’s wife.
But contradicting this, Laurel stated at a news conference that the family felt “held hostage by this woman in our own home”.
Lyle and Erik Menendez photographed in 2018[/caption]
Conflicting accounts emerged about this period, with the Oziels claiming Smyth threatened suicide or exposure of the Menendez case if asked to leave.
While Smyth countered that she felt like a “prisoner of war” and that Dr Oziel threatened to commit her to a mental hospital if she left.
Credibility
Smyth’s testimony was crucial for the defense strategy.
Initially, Smyth claimed she had overheard the brothers discussing “shooting their mother’s eye out” while eavesdropping outside Oziel’s office door, allegedly at his instruction.
Dallas Roberts as Dr Jerome Oziel in Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story[/caption]
However during the trial she changed her testimony, stating that she had not directly heard the brothers admit to the murders.
She then claimed Dr Oziel manipulated the brothers into recording their confession, stating: “He needed to get them to say incriminating things on a tape so we would have the tape to protect us”.
Smyth’s credibility was questioned due to the gaping inconsistencies in her statements.
Defense attorney Leslie Abramson even admitted: “She’s a witness with credibility problems, and I grant you, she’s got loads of them”.
Despite this, her testimony significantly impacted the trial.
The Menendez brothers’ first trial, which heavily featured Smyth’s testimony, ended with hung juries.
The second trial, which did not involve the doctor’s mistress as a witness, resulted in guilty verdicts for both brothers.
