Law & Order True Crime (2017): Season 1, Episode 4 - The Menendez Murders: Episode 4 - full transcript

Defendants Erik and Lyle
Menendez, how do you plead?

Not guilty. Not guilty.

Jerry told me everything.

You violated the
doctor-patient privilege.

She was at risk. We both were.

As I told you, Lyle
had threatened me.

There were a series of sessions
between Dr. Oziel and the defendant.

I have ruled that none of these
communications are privileged.

Erik, what if I can't make
the nightmares stop?

When I was five or six, Dad would
massage my penis with his mouth.

Yesterday, he told me when he
turned 11, his father started raping him.



As a mother and a
human being, I believe it.

As a lawyer, I will believe
it when I can prove it.

I never told anyone.

Dad said if anyone ever found out,
something bad would happen to me.

Well, how about
Dr. Oziel? Did you tell him?

No, he reported everything
back to my parents.

That was the arrangement.

How about after the murders?

Lyle and I made a
deal not to talk about it.

We didn't want anyone to have
a bad impression of our parents.

I thought Dad stopped
after I had confronted him.

That couldn't have
been easy to do.

No, if I had known that he
was still doing that to Eric,

I never would have
gone to Princeton.



I never would have left
him alone in that house.

Lyle knew about your abuse.

He figured it out when I was 12.

That Dad was doing stuff to me.

Like rough stuff.

And he went up to
Dad and told him to stop.

But, it just made things worse.

What will happen if you
ever told anyone again?

You'll hurt me. Wrong!

What will I do?

You'll kill me.

That's right.

I believed him.

I was nothing to him.

What about you, Lyle?

What about me, what?

Listen, we have kids killing their parents
all the time in Central Los Angeles.

And nobody writes about that.

This is just another domestic
murder with a bit of glitz.

The signatures don't
match. Even I can see that.

Goodreau did not sign
the gun permit application.

Well, Les, go to forensics
school, get yourself a degree

and then you can tell the
experts to go screw themselves.

I feel like the police gods
are laughing at us, Tommy.

Twelve months and all we got
is the word of a complete nutjob.

Zoeller. Go, go, go.

Hey, how's it going?

Yeah? Where is it?

Okay, thanks.

Erik's Ford Escort
has been located.

It's in New Jersey.

Great. It'll take months to
get an out-of-state warrant.

Not my way.

License and
registration, please.

Yes, sir, Officer.

Did I do something wrong?

Your registration has expired.

I have to take this vehicle
down to the station house.

Step out, please.

Nothing, huh?

You checked it. Tore
the car apart. Right.

Okay. Send me the
report. I appreciate the help.

No gunpowder
residue, no blood traces.

Ticket stubs for Batman?

No.

The police gods are really
kicking our ass, Tommy.

Erik has a natural
acting talent.

I don't know if he
could make a living at it,

but as far as commitment
and enthusiasm go,

he was a star.

He told me his parents made
him withdraw from your class.

His father didn't think acting
was good enough for his son.

I felt terrible for Erik.

It was like he had the
life knocked out of him.

Did he ever talk about
his life at home? His dad?

I never got the sense
he found much joy there.

He had ways of
communicating his unhappiness.

One time he surprised the class
with this soliloquy from Richard ll.

I have been studying how I may compare
this prison where I live unto the world

And for because
the world is populous,

And here is not a creature
but myself, I cannot do it.

Yet I'll hammer it out.

Thoughts tending to ambition,
they do plot unlikely wonders,

how these vain weak
nails may tear a passage

through the flinty
ribs of this hard world,

my ragged prison walls.

And for they cannot
die in their own pride.

The class was mesmerized.

It's about King Richard's
loneliness in prison.

When I asked him
why he chose that piece,

he said it was because
I'd said how difficult it was.

Especially for him.

Yeah. Why, especially?

He has dyslexia.

Really?

He never mentioned it.

The school didn't know either.

When I asked his mother, she said
he had been diagnosed years earlier.

His mother never
told the school?

She acted like his dyslexia
was an embarrassment.

That's too bad.

There was so much we
could have done for Erik.

It sounds like it would have been
Jose's idea not to inform the school.

Kitty deferred to him on all
things that concerned their sons.

I'm really trying to get a fix on
what kind of a mother she was.

So, why did she come to see you?

Depression.

She found out her
husband had multiple affairs.

She blamed her sons for
getting in between her and Jose.

Her whole world
revolved around Jose.

I didn't get any
sleep last night.

You know I've had
insomnia for weeks now.

Just when I was dozing off, I'd
hear Erik screaming in his bedroom.

What happened?

I thought, "Jesus Christ,
he's gonna wake up Jose."

So much racket.

So, I went in his room...

Was Erik okay?

He was fine.

It was just a nightmare.

But from the way
he was shaking...

What did you do?

I didn't do anything to him.

It was just a nightmare.

I meant, what did
you do to comfort him?

I took him to his bathroom and
made him take a cold shower.

Like my father used to do with my
brothers when they had nightmares.

How comforting.

Did she ever hint or imply that Erik
was sexually abused by Mr. Menendez?

No.

But she once told me that there
were sick secrets in the house.

She never would
explain what she meant.

I just talked to Erik's doctor
and his tennis coaches.

They didn't see any
evidence of sex abuse.

And he never said
anything to them.

It's hard to imagine, if it
went on as long as Erik says,

his mother wouldn't have
noticed and done something.

I can't figure Kitty out.

She told her shrink the family
had sick secrets, but didn't say what.

Maybe Kitty didn't understand.

Maybe she was afraid.

I don't think she had a
maternal bone in her body.

But we need this to make
sense to us, never mind the jury.

How fantastic.

Diane Sawyer has an interview
with our favorite whackadoo.

Judalon? Yeah.

It just aired on the East
Coast. It's explosive.

Are Lyle and Erik
Menendez guilty?

Did they murder their parents?

Yes, they did.

You know this?

Yes, I heard it from
their own mouths.

That they killed their parents.

What is she saying?
What is she saying?

How does she know?

She says that at
Dr. Oziel's request,

she was right up there
on his fourth floor office,

listening in the next room
when Erik and Lyle met with Oziel

on that Halloween
night last year.

I can't believe
Grandma's watching this.

Aunt Terry, Aunt Marta, our
whole family is watching this, Lyle.

Erik said that Lyle made
him take the first shot.

One of the things that Lyle said
that was really disturbing to me was,

"Well, for once my
father would have to

congratulate me on
planning the perfect murder."

Oh, mio.

Carlos, we don't
know if it's the truth.

For what would
they kill their parents?

Fourteen million.

Erik and Lyle had
no idea about money.

They thought it grew on trees.

Shame on you for believing a
stranger over your own nephews.

Family is everything.

That's what Jose would say.

Why didn't Dr. Oziel
go to the police?

There is the issue of
doctor-patient privilege

and Jerry made audio notes.

He has tapes of Lyle
and Erik confessing.

And indeed, that tip
from Judalon Smith

led police to Dr. Oziel's
home, and bank vault,

where they confiscated
17 tape-recordings.

That's it. There's no
question they did it.

Now, Lyle, this is a
diabolical creature.

Jerry compared him to Ted Bundy.

What're they gonna think of us?

It's gonna be okay, Erik.

We just need to...

Just keep it together, Erik.

She gave an interview
to Diane Sawyer.

Today, she is in Vanity Fair
spewing her lies to Dominick Dunne,

all with the DA's blessing.

The jury pool is being
poisoned, Your Honor.

These interviews are as much as
shock to us as they are to the defense.

Come on, Pam.

The DA himself appeared
on Diane Sawyer's show.

Your honor, Judalon
Smith has half the county

believing there is a taped
confession by my clients.

Dr. Oziel's tapes
are compromised.

The only fair thing is for you to reverse
your decision and keep the tapes out.

Nice try, Miss Abramson.

Maybe what needs to happen
is for you and Miss Ferrero

to work out a plea bargain.

This crime so offends the District
Attorney, I can't imagine anything

Miss Abramson has
to offer would satisfy us.

Miss Ferrero has no qualms
making deals with contract killers

and serial rapists.

Her cynicism is
what's offensive.

She said I was the
worst sex of her life.

That's defamation, Ross, not
to mention physically impossible.

It's not worth it, Jerry.

I'm sorry, I have to go.

Our father had this
creed he made us learn.

"Today, I will be
master of my emotions.

"If I feel depressed,
I will sing.

"If I feel sad, I will laugh.

"If I feel fear, I
will plunge ahead.

"I will be master
of my emotions."

And why was mastering
your emotions important?

Dad thought it was a sign of
weakness to show emotion.

We had to be strong.

That's why Erik and I never told
anyone what was happening to us.

To him.

You said "us."

What was happening to you?

I'm only here to listen, Lyle.

I know you're in pain.

Vicary thinks that I can
help you, and I think I can.

But that first step
has to be yours.

It wasn't right.

Parents aren't supposed to...

She'd make me touch her.

Your mother?

Yes.

When I was 11.

She'd make me come into
her bed and do things to her.

That I knew I
shouldn't be doing.

I knew there was something off about
her, but I never would have guessed that.

So Erik was abused by
his father from the age of six

Lyle was abused
at 11 by his mother.

Even in its perversity,
it doesn't make sense.

Like, there's a piece missing.

There is.

John and I feel that Lyle
was abused by Jose as well.

Then why tell us
about his mother?

Probably testing the waters.

A boy being abused by his mother is
in some ways more acceptable to him.

Devil's advocate.

Maybe the reason Erik and
Lyle's stories don't line up

is the same reason we can't
find any evidence to back them up,

Because they are not true.

Inconsistencies don't
mean that the boys are lying.

It just means that maybe they
haven't told us the whole story yet.

Well, how long
till they do that?

Did you think about it?

Yeah.

And you're okay with it?

That's it. Let's go.

We want to tell
our family the truth.

We don't want them to
hear it from anyone else.

Is that okay?

I think it's the
right thing to do.

You boys made
the right decision.

We'll help any way we can.

Thank you.

This is good. I needed to
know they would come clean.

How have you boys been?

Are you getting enough food?

It's fine, Aunt Marta.

Uh, there's something Erik and
I feel the family needs to know.

And we're counting
on you to tell the others.

Erik and I killed our parents.

It wasn't for the money.

Dad was molesting my brother.

- He molested Erik.
- Why would you say that?

The only thing your
father has left is his name.

Now you want to
take that away, too?

Mom too. She molested me, too.

She did things to me too.

No, no, no. Dios mio.

I don't want to hear it.
- Carlos.

Let them speak.

It is the truth, Uncle Carlos.

We want to take
responsibility for what we did.

But we want the family to know

that Mom and Dad did things to us that
they needed to take responsibility for.

So, that's why you killed them?

Huh?

Carlos.

That's no excuse to take a life.

No, it's not.

But we thought we
were fighting for our lives.

Enough!

We've heard enough.

Please.

We love our parents.
We love you guys.

Please forgive us.

The police have nothing, your
best witnesses, Oziel and Judalon

are pieces of crap
on the sea of life.

And once the
tapes are out, Pam...

There's no plea
offer forthcoming.

Kids killing their parents
is a crime against society.

You said it so yourself. Kids
kill their parents all the time.

And in California, those kids
don't end up on death row.

What if I told you there was
sexual abuse in the family?

Nothing you pull out of
your hat surprises me, Leslie.

Sorry, Jill. There will
be no deals on this one.

Ira, you are using these boys
as a pawn to get re-elected.

It is desperate,
and it's unfair.

These are not violent people.

Erik and Lyle are
not career criminals.

Hey, look me in
the eye right now

and tell me, you believe
these boys deserve to die.

You know they don't.

Leslie, I speak on behalf of
every attorney in this office

when I say, "I've
had it with you."

Call the deputies. I need Miss
Abramson escorted out of here.

You can't bully
me, Ira. Let's go.

Out! No, it's wrong,
and you know it!

Well, that went well.

No, it didn't, Leslie.
It didn't go well at all.

We just blew our only
chance for a plea bargain

And now the boys go
to trial for their lives.

Dad told me if I screamed,

he would hit me so hard that I
wouldn't be able to cry or scream again.

Imagine that I had
a gun to my head.

That was the fear that I had.

I live with that fear every day.

How could you?

You lied to me!

Jamie, please.

You killed your parents!

And you're still lying!

You're sick!

Jamie, I understand you
have to do what's right for you.

You've been a part
of this family for so...

Jamie's moving out
of the guesthouse.

She doesn't want
to see Lyle anymore.

I know this all must
be very confusing.

Mom.

What Erik said about Uncle Jose,

it's true.

Erik made me promise not to
tell my mom about massages

that his dad was giving him.

It was a pinky promise,
but I was ten, so I thought...

We know about pinky promises.

So when you would visit your
Uncle Jose and your Aunt Kitty,

did your Uncle Jose
do anything to you?

No.

Did you notice anything else? Things
that might have made you uncomfortable?

Well, this one time before bed,

Uncle Jose took Erik
and Lyle into the bathroom

to take a shower together.

The three of them? ANDY: Yes.

They had this shower
with three heads.

And after they came out,
Uncle Jose took them into a room

to play a game.

What kind of game? I don't know.

He'd lock the door and
wouldn't let me play.

They were in there
for almost an hour.

What did you play?

What did you play?

He went right to bed.

He didn't talk.

Well, thank you, Andy.
You've been very brave.

And we'll talk more later.

Mm-hmm.

Until then, don't discuss
this with anyone, okay?

Marta, you too. Okay.

Here we go.

Ma'am. Thank you.

Are you kidding me?

They upheld Albracht's decision.
The tapes are in. All of 'em.

It gets worse. They're releasing
Oziel and Judalon's sealed testimony.

Well, I can think of one person who'll
be more pissed about this than we are.

It is outrageous that the court
release testimony given under seal.

So, I feel compelled to address
the lies Judalon Smith told in court.

First of all,

I never asked her to
eavesdrop on my patients.

I never disclosed to her
the contents of any session.

I never hypnotized
her or gave her drugs.

None of her
accusations are true.

She wasn't even my patient.

That's all we have to say.

Before I leave, I'd like to send
a message to Erik and Lyle,

tell them I'm thinking of them,
I care for them a great deal

and I wish Leslie Abramson
the best of luck in defending them.

If Dr. Oziel wants to be helpful to
the boys, tell him to go kill himself.

You have messages from Soble at the
Times, Brand from the Miami Herald...

Has Tim called? No,
but your brother did.

717? That's not his area code.

He said that's the
number you asked him for.

Hello?

Hi. This is Leslie Abramson.

Is this Saul?

Because Jose died first,

the estate passed to
Kitty before she was killed.

Now, those boys can't
profit from their crimes.

So, the estate goes to
Kitty's immediate family.

To us.

Those boys get nothing.

But, they haven't
been convicted.

They confessed.

That's why we have to file
the lawsuit as soon as possible.

So they don't waste it all.

They need to pay for their sins.

They are our nephews, Milton.

Kids who I believe
were terribly abused.

That's all a bunch of crap.

We're done with these brats.

So you can be that cold-blooded?

Who're you calling cold-blooded?

I want you out of my
house. Both of you.

It's unbelievable
what money can do.

Uncle Brian doesn't know
what he's talking about.

What do you mean?

I spent the summer at Uncle
Jose and Aunt Kitty's house

when I was 15.

Lyle was eight. He told me
what Uncle Jose was doing to him.

I told Aunt Kitty.

She called me a little liar and
dragged him upstairs and shut the door.

We never talked about it again.

Did you tell anyone else?

No. I didn't know what
to do. I was only 15.

I was confused.

Okay, Diane. Thank you.
This has been very helpful.

We'll be in touch.

It's hearsay evidence about what an
eight-year-old may have said 15 years ago.

It's not gonna convince a jury.

Not if Lyle won't admit
that Jose abused him.

Not even then.

Our show-and-tell for the jury is
going to be all tell and now show.

All that abuse.

There's got to be something
tangible that Jose or Kitty left behind.

So, who bought the house?

A sheikh from Saudi Arabia.

You have the
directions to Calabasas?

Yeah, got 'em.

The house looks under
construction, but it's okay.

You can put everything inside.

That's it.

Everything is gone.

It's gonna be okay, Grandma.

He worked his
whole life for this.

I know.

I'm just a reporter, Donovan.

I don't have a
dog in this fight.

The cops say I'll have
to testify at this trial.

I'm not looking forward to it.

Me and Lyle really shared a lot.

Like what, for example?

Like, um...

Four months before the murders,

we were talking and

I told Lyle I was sexually
abused when I was a kid.

And he told me he
was molested, too.

By his dad.

Erik was, too.

I don't know, maybe he was just
saying that to make me feel better.

I don't know.

I'm sorry, uh...

You know if he told anyone else?

No.

But I told Glenn
Stevens what Lyle said.

But I told Glenn
Stevens what Lyle said.

I spoke to Stevens, he
wouldn't let me tape him,

but I took notes,
and he confirmed

that Goodreau told him
about Lyle and his father.

Do you think
Stevens would testify?

He was pretty clear he
wouldn't, unless he was forced to.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Rand.

I'll fly to New York and talk
to Goodreau and Stevens.

I'll go with you.

Well, it's Lyle's
business, I can handle it.

There's someone I need to see.

Is that you?

I'm me. Are you you?

Damn it, you still have my nose.

I thought you'd
outgrow it by now.

Nice to see you, Daddy.

The chicken pot
pie is good here.

Come on, honey.

And what if Lyle goes free? Hmm?

I've got to think about that.

Are you afraid of him?

Is that why you wanted
to meet in a public place?

He knows I know things.

I already spoke to Goodreau
and he's willing to testify.

I just need you to go on the
record about what he told you

about Lyle being molested.

Don't you want to help Lyle?

You were friends.

I thought he was my friend.

And then I realized
he was using me.

He gave you a job, Glenn.

Running a chicken wing shack.

Look, I've got a good
job now on Wall Street.

I'm not about to
give that up for him.

I mean, besides,

how can I help someone
who did that to his parents?

Happy birthday, dear Erik,

Happy birthday to you.

Thank you, Leslie.

It's just another birthday.

Oh, no such thing.

I saw my dad last week.
Hadn't seen him since I was 14.

You know how many
birthdays he missed?

But that didn't stop me.

I got you a present.

We just found out today,

California Supreme Court agreed
to review the ruling on Oziel's tapes.

Wow.

Do you think we
have a chance? I do.

They know the issues at stake
here are bigger than just your case.

So, Erik.

I need to understand why
what happened happened.

Maybe if you tell me

the last time your
father abused you...

It was two weeks
before everything.

I got accepted to UCLA.

I told my parents I
wanted to live on campus.

And Dad said no,

that he wouldn't pay for it unless I
spent four nights a week at home.

That's when I knew it
was never gonna end.

And that's when things
started to get out of control.

How do you mean?

We thought our parents
were gonna kill us.

Lyle looks to be
about eight. Erik, six.

How do we know it's them? We
can't see their faces, just their bodies.

I compared them with photos
of them from the swimming pool

The birthmarks match.

The floor matches other
pictures from the Princeton house

and the handwriting on the outside
of the envelope matches Kitty's.

I've taken pictures of my daughter
in the bathtub, but these are...

It's kiddie porn.

Pictures of their genitals? Like, what
kind of parent takes photos like these?

Someone could argue
these were taken by accident.

These photos were
carefully saved and cataloged.

This is no accident.

Leslie, I doubted their
story, but not anymore.

So, this is it. You've
searched the rest of the boxes.

I turned the house upside down.
Same as the house on Elm Drive.

Erik told me that he and Lyle
thought their parents would kill them.

They were afraid
for their lives.

That fits with what
I've been reading.

Kids who are sexually
abused have no sense of safety.

The two people who are supposed to
protect them are the ones hurting them.

It would be better if the
murders were a direct response

to an act of abuse.

Erik said his father last abused
him two weeks before the murder.

It's too much time elapsed.

So how are we gonna
fit this into a narrative

the jury is gonna understand?

We have to find
a way through this.

'Cause we owe it to these boys.

The verdict was
announced just hours ago

Four officers acquitted in
the beating of Rodney King.

Many blame the verdicts
on Judge Weisberg's decision

to move the trial to Simi Valley
where many police officers reside.

And right now we're
getting images of the reaction

in South Central, Los Angeles.

Let's go immediately
live to the scene.

The situation over here is

getting more and more
dangerous by the minute

with reports coming in of buildings
being set on fire and looting.

Merchants in Koreatown just North of
here are reportedly forming armed patrols.

Oh, my God, Tim.

What kind of world
is this for our kid?

All this hate and cruelty.

This baby we're adopting,
what if we can't protect him?

The people of Los Angeles
are sending a message.

No more disasters like
McMartin and Rodney King.

No mistakes on my
watch. Is that clear?

Mister Garcetti, I have no
intention of losing Menendez.

Winning is a
given, Miss Ferrero.

Bozanich. I got
married recently.

Bozanich.

You grew up in Palos
Verdes, didn't you?

Went to Wellesley, all
that fancy upbringing?

I need to know if you
can go for the jugular.

I was born to be a
prosecutor, Mr. Garcetti.

Tomorrow, we'll hear from the
Supreme Court on the Oziel tapes

I need you to get the
trial moved downtown.

A majority black jury will
see the Menendez brothers

for the entitled rich
punks that they are.

They won't cut them any slack.

They ruled out the December
tape of Erik and Lyle.

Am I nuts, or did we
just win something?

Don't count your chickens.

They're allowing Oziel's
audio notes of Erik's confession.

Well, that's half a
victory. I'll take it.

That was the last chance Texaco.
There's no court left to appeal to.

So, now we know what the
prosecution's gonna do at trial.

We gotta build our case.

Sexual abuse led to the murders.

That will explain
Erik killing his father.

But until Lyle says Jose molested him
too, the jury won't see the connection.

Well, he acted to protect
his brother from abuse

just as he tried to
do when Erik was 12.

There are other ways of protecting
your brother short of killing your parents.

The jury needs to
see the whole picture.

Both parents
abused both brothers.

If the jury senses that
there's a piece missing,

that Jose molested Lyle too,

they're gonna think we're
trying to hide something.

So, we can build our defense

but it's not gonna hold
up until Lyle comes clean.

The grand jury has returned two
counts each of first degree murder

and a charge of conspiracy
against Lyle and Erik Menendez

The district attorney will
seek the death penalty.

Judge Ito, this is
extreme and unwarranted.

The DA is overreaching.

Noted, Miss Abramson.
Let's talk venue.

Your honor, this case
needs to come downtown.

So that justice can be served.

I know what you
want, Miss Bozanich,

but the downtown
calendar is full,

and this portends to be a
long and complicated trial.

I'm, therefore, calendaring it for
Judge Weisberg's court in Van Nuys.

Have a nice drive.

All right, that's
good for us, honey.

I know it's a burden
on you to come here.

If you can only manage
once a week, I won't mind.

I'm sorry, Erik.

I tried, I really tried.

I just can't stop picturing
you holding that shotgun.

Please don't do that.

It wasn't me.

I mean, I did it, but
it's not who I am.

Part of me knows that, I just...

I can't forget.

It's okay, Noelle. I understand.

I hope everything turns
out well for you, Erik.

God, it was so stupid of
me to say that to Oziel.

I wasn't threatening him, but
sometimes I say things like my Dad.

I just couldn't
believe Erik told him.

I love my brother, and this all started
because I was trying to protect him.

From your father.

Yes, he told me Dad was
still doing that stuff to him.

I didn't know. He was
such an intelligent man.

He was a great man.
Why couldn't he just stop it?

When Erik told you,
what did you do?

I confronted Dad.

Then things just went crazy.

We knew they were gonna kill us.

Dad always threatened that.

That he could kill us
and get a new family.

He had guns upstairs,

he was capable of that.

And I thought for sure after I
confronted him when Erik was 12,

he'd stopped hurting him.

Because that's how old I was
when he stopped molesting me.

And it all came out after that.

The abuse started when Lyle
was six and ended when he was ten.

And then Jose turned
all of his attention to Erik.

And then 11 years
later, he kills his father.

Eleven years of scar tissue
building up over his anger.

It's like a volcano dome
building up over boiling lava.

One day, that
volcano blows its top.

And yet he keeps saying
what a great man his father was.

Right. He's
idealizing his abuser.

It's a coping mechanism

when the victim is in an ongoing
relationship with his abuser.

I mean, in many ways, he's
patterned himself after his dad.

Lyle said he thought his
parents would kill them.

And Erik said the same
thing. Do you believe them?

I believe they genuinely
thought their lives were in danger.

Long-term abuse victims are often
hyper vigilant to the smallest threat.

They exaggerate
them in their own minds.

Thanks, Jon.

So, now we have our last piece.

What're you thinking?

Imperfect self-defense.

These boys were
abused from the age of six.

They grew up with no sense of
feeling protected by their parents.

This is what a
little faggot does.

Beaten into submission.

Fear me.

Terrified into keeping secrets.

"Sick secrets."

Wrong! What will I do?

You'll kill me.

That's right.

When they finally stood up to their parents
and threatened to spill those secrets,

they were made to believe
that their parents would kill them.

A genuine but
unreasonable belief

that their lives were
in imminent danger.

So they shot their
parents in self-defense.

Imperfect self-defense.

I believe that.

Do you?

Yes.

And do you believe
them? The abuse.

Yes, I believe them.

I believe in our case.