SOUTHLAND : 911 Menendez Call to Be Heard
A judge ruled today that an audiotape of Erik and Lyle Menendez’s 911 emergency call, in which they reported finding their parents dead in their Beverly Hills home, will be made public.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge James Albracht ruled that the tape will be released by Thursday. The request was lodged by several media agencies.
Albracht also ordered the release of an edited videotape showing authorities seizing material from the office of Beverly Hills psychologist Dr. L. Jerome Oziel, who was treating Lyle, 22, and Erik, 19.
Oziel is at the center of a debate regarding audiotapes he made of therapy sessions with the brothers after their parents’ slayings.
Defense attorneys contend that any conversations Oziel had with the boys are privileged communications and should not be made public.
But prosecutors claim that the privilege does not apply in this case because the brothers purportedly threatened the doctor to remain quiet about their sessions with him. A hearing on that issue is scheduled for June 8.
The brothers are accused of repeatedly shooting Jose Menendez, 45, and his wife, Kitty, in a purported plan to collect an estimated $14-million inheritance.
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