Menendez Brothers' Trials: 1993-94 & 1995-96

Deputy District Attorney Pamela Bozanich declared that the tales of abuse were nonsense. She made Lyle admit that he had lied to detectives and had discreetly removed shotgun shell casings from his car while police combed the gory crime scene.

The brothers claimed they had bought shotguns for protection. Yet Bozanich established that they had deliberately bought the guns out of town with false identification, paying in cash so that the purchase could not be traced. Bozanich scoffed at Lyle's claim that he placed the muzzle of his shotgun against his fatally wounded mother's cheek and fired because he was "afraid" of her.

On November 3, after Lyle's emotional testimony and Bozanich's fierce cross-examination, the drama halted with a fresh dispute over Dr. Oziel's therapy session tape. Playing of the actual tape had been barred by the pretrial ruling. During the trial, however, defense attorneys had made the defendants' psychological health a crucial issue. Therefore, Judge Weisberg decided, the tape should be heard.