and he says, well, is he saying that s what he thinks happened here at the house? or did they actually commit the crime? strange. as was the story the brothers told about discovering their parents bodies. the brothers said they saw this haze in the air and some smoke that they smelled. like gunpowder smoke or gunpowder smoke. but i mean, that dissipates pretty darned quick. well, the officers got there right after they did. and they didn t smell anything. the gunpowder smoke, and fantasizing about the perfect crime, and the screenplay, and even what might be called a confession. it all led detective zoeller to start thinking the unthinkable, that the brothers had murdered their mom and dad. and he wondered, would erik tell the story of the shooting to craig again? this time on tape. they decided to wire up craig and go to this restaurant. but this time, erik wasn t at all talkative.
ruled that the confession tape made by dr. oziel could not be presented as evidence. of course, the defense had already conceded that lyle and erik killed their parents. nearly four years after the murders. july, 1993. if convicted here, lyle and erik could face the death penalty. their judge was stanley weisberg. who had already presided over high profile cases, notably the rodney king beating case, whose result sparked the l.a. riots. judge weisberg ruled that each brother would have his own jury. and the electronic media that wants access to this courtroom. reporter: he allowed cameras in the courtroom. the idea that there was a camera in a courtroom in california was so new, so novel. reporter: reporter alan abrahamson, once an attorney himself, covered the trial for the l.a. times. you weren t just playing to the jury. you were playing to all of america. reporter: the judge s
Transcripts for MSNBC Dateline 20220122 09:09:15 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
or did they actually commit the crime? reporter: strange. as was the story the brothers told about discovering their parents bodies. the brothers said they saw this haze in the air and some smoke that they smelled. reporter: like gunpowder smoke or gunpowder smoke. but i mean, that dissipates pretty darned quick. well, the officers got there right after they did. and they didn t smell anything. reporter: the gunpowder smoke, and fantasizing about the perfect crime, and the screenplay, and even what might be called a confession. it all led detective zoeller to start thinking the unthinkable, that the brothers had murdered their mom and dad. and he wondered, would erik tell the story of the shooting to craig again? this time on tape. they decided to wire up craig and go to this restaurant. reporter: but this time, erik wasn t at all talkative. erik didn t admit anything. but i think his conscience said, you better not talk too much
Transcripts for MSNBC Dateline 20211206 08:09:15 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.