were ready for the cameras. it was the first televiseda courtroom drama that captivated the united states. it was a huge deal. spoke erik and lyle menendez convicted of murdering their own parents. i shut my mom. it wasn t real. it just wasn t real. they are sociopaths. and big ones. chilling details. a letter ending in secrets, too dark to imagine. this is so out of the norm. did they kill in cold blood? or in crippling fear? it was gut wrenching. they spoke the truth about what happened. here from the brothers themselves. let s go through this bit by bit. there was no way he was going to let this secret get out. silence destroyed our s whole family. . symbol of their success. here ait was, the shining symbol of their success. here finally an address for the of their long struggle, their amazing rise, beverly hills, california. careful what you wish for. all these years later, it s still the case that has the power to shock. it s beverly hills, th
reporter: the prosecution believed the brothers were flat out lying about the abuse, and the events leading up to the murders, and as it turned out their testimony gave the state a big opening. they offered their mental state as a defense. so when you offer your mental state as a defense you have waived your psychiatric patient privilege. reporter: the oziel tape. remember that? by testifying, the brothers had put their mental state on center stage meaning the tape was now fair game. the defense played the tape to take the sting out of it. what erik and i did took courage beyond belief. reporter: detective zoeller remember had never heard the tape before, and he was dumbfounded. this was supposedly a candid confession tape, but on it the brothers never once mentioned the issue that was now the very core of their defense. why did you ever murder your parents? oh, because they were sexually molesting us. that never came out. why wouldn t he tell his therapist?
as it turned out their testimony gave the state a big opening. they offered their mental state as a defense. so when you offer your mental state as a defense you have waived your psychiatric patient privilege. the oziel tape. remember that? by testifying, the brothers had put their mental state on center stage meaning the tape was now fair game. the defense played the tape to take the sting out of it. what erik and i did took courage beyond belief. detective zoeller remember had never heard the tape before, and he was dumbfounded. this was supposedly a candid confession tape, but on it the brothers never once mentioned the issue that was now the very core of their defense. why did you ever murder your parents? oh, because they were sexually molesting us. that never came out. why wouldn t he tell his therapist? big deal? the prosecution thought so, but by then the jury had already heard many hours of tearful