VAN NUYS : Lyle Menendez Jurors Each Questioned by Judge
Deliberations in the Menendez brothers’ murder trial, which resumed Monday after a three-day weekend, were interrupted for one of the two juries as the judge held one-on-one questioning with the panelists behind closed doors.
Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg quizzed jurors on the Lyle Menendez panel about “alleged possible misconduct by individual jurors” but found no wrongdoing, according to a statement issued through a court spokeswoman. The judge then ordered deliberations to continue.
Jurors are subject to many restrictions, such as not to follow news coverage of the trial or discuss the case outside the jury room.
The questioning of jurors came as Lyle Menendez’s jury entered its 13th day of deliberations. Erik Menendez’s jury was in its 11th day of deliberations on a different floor of the courthouse.
Two juries heard the case against the brothers because some evidence was admitted against only one defendant. Lyle Menendez, 25, and Erik Menendez, 23, are charged with murder in the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun slayings of their parents, Jose Menendez, 45, and Kitty Menendez, 47.
Earlier Monday, the Lyle Menendez jury heard the re-reading of testimony about how the brothers used false identification to buy shotguns two days before the slayings.
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