Menendezes’ Uncle Called a Mercenary : Trial: Defense suggests that the brother of the slain woman is testifying against his nephews to ensure his family’s inheritance. He responds by saying the size of the Menendez estate has dwindled and may be depleted by the end of the trial.

A defense attorney suggested Tuesday that Lyle and Erik Menendez’s uncle is a mercenary witness testifying against them to ensure his family’s inheritance, but the uncle insisted he doesn’t need the money.

Brian Andersen, whose sister, Kitty Menendez, was slain with her husband, Jose, also said he understands that the Menendez estate, once estimated at $14 million, has dwindled to between $700,000 and $800,000 and may be down to zero by the end of the Menendez sons’ murder trial.

Andersen, the only family member to testify for the prosecution, said it was he who negotiated with lawyers to represent his nephews after they were arrested. He said he did not know then that they had killed their parents.

Erik Menendez, 23, and Lyle Menendez, 25, say they shot their wealthy parents on Aug. 20, 1989, after years of psychological and sexual abuse, fearing the parents planned to kill them. The prosecution says the only motive was greed and it seeks the death penalty for the brothers.

Andersen acknowledged that defense lawyers Leslie Abramson and Jill Lansing came to his Illinois home in April, 1992, and told him the brothers had indeed killed their parents and explained their defense.

“Isn’t it true after we met with you in April, 1992, you didn’t contact the prosecution to say you wanted to be a witness?” asked Abramson.

“That is correct,” Andersen said.

But this October, he acknowledged, he filed papers in probate court asking that any money left in the Menendez estate be given to his stepmother, Doris Andersen, and seeking to cut out the executors who are members of the Menendez family.

“And it’s your understanding that unless Eric and Lyle are convicted, Doris Andersen has no standing to inherit?” Abramson asked.

“That’s always been my understanding,” the witness said.

Abramson noted that a probate judge took the matter off the calendar Nov. 3 to await the outcome of the murder trial.

“And after it was taken off calendar, you volunteered to testify?” asked Abramson.

“If that’s how the chronology works out,” said Andersen. “I can’t relate to the dates.”

She suggested that he stands to benefit if the Menendez relatives are cut out in favor of the Andersen relatives because the executors would be required to reimburse all fees they received from the estate.

On cross-examination, Deputy Dist. Atty. Pamela Bozanich asked, “Do you need the money?”

“I do not,” said Andersen, a commercial real estate developer.

Bozanich focused her questions on the family’s agreement to use estate money to pay large defense legal fees.

In his only break of composure, Andersen blurted out: “Mrs. Abramson told me if she didn’t receive the money soon, she was going to quit.”

Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg ordered the statement stricken and told jurors to ignore it.

Asked why he filed the probate action, Andersen said, “My father asked me before he died if I would stay with this until there was a conclusion and I’m doing that and doing the best that I can.”

Earlier, Andersen described his nephews as talking back to their parents and even cursing at them on occasion--a drastic departure from the picture painted by other family members.

Asked by Abramson to describe instances of such behavior, he said, “I do not recall one specific incident at this particular time.”

Before Tuesday’s session began, an alternate juror was dismissed after calling in sick for a second day.