Lyle and Erik Menendez proceed to serve lifestyles sentences for the brutal murders in their folks on August 20, 1989, when the brothers—then 21 and 18—shot and killed them of their circle of relatives’s Beverly Hills mansion.
To start with, the Menendez brothers weren’t top suspects. On the other hand, seven months after the crime, Lyle and Erik, now 56 and 53 respectively, have been arrested after Judalon Smyth reported to police that the more youthful sibling had confessed to the murders right through treatment. Smyth, who used to be the mistress of the brothers’ psychologist, Dr. Jerome Oziel, discovered in regards to the confession after Oziel shared the confidential knowledge together with her, together with the lifestyles of audiotapes of the confession.
Now, 35 years later, the Menendez brothers’ case is the newest topic of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan‘s Monster anthology sequence. Titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Tale, the sequence stars Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik, with Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny portraying their folks, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Right here’s the whole lot you wish to have to find out about Oziel, portrayed through Dallas Roberts, together with his present whereabouts.
Is Dr. Oziel Alive?
Sure. As of September 2024, Dr. Oziel—now referred to as Jerry Oziel—resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He’s lately running on the Marital Mediation Heart, the place he is helping {couples} give a boost to their relationships via mediation as an “choice to getting divorced.”
Is Dr. Oziel Nonetheless a Practising Psychologist?
In 1997, Oziel used to be stripped of his psychology license after being “accused through a state panel of breaking confidentiality regulations and having intercourse with feminine sufferers,” in keeping with the Los Angeles Occasions. By means of that point, Oziel had already moved out of California and used to be not training. His legal professional defined to the opening, “It simply made no sense to return again to California and spend many 1000’s of bucks protecting a license he doesn’t use in a state he doesn’t live in.”
Oziel later addressed the location in a remark to Bustle, clarifying, “I didn’t give up my license because of the accusation, which means I gave up my observe as a result of I did issues alleged within the unique accusation. This is flatly and entirely false.”
He added, with frustration: “I had phased out my observe as a result of I had a big trade be offering that used to be extremely profitable and moved to be the CEO of a big trade in every other state A YEAR AND A HALF PRIOR to the give up… No company ever discovered I did a factor that used to be wrong or fallacious.”
However Smyth, at the side of revealing the Menendez brothers’ confession, additionally claimed that Oziel “performed thoughts video games together with her and distributed medicine to her, which he used to be now not approved to do,” in keeping with Self-importance Honest.
What Function Did Dr. Oziel Play within the Menendez Brothers Case?
Oziel performed a pivotal function within the Menendez brothers’ case because the therapist to whom Erik confessed to the murders of his folks. In October 1989, two months after the killings, Erik left a frantic message for Dr. Oziel, resulting in a treatment consultation on Halloween. All over the consultation, Erik, who used to be depressed and having nightmares about his folks, spoke with Dr. Oziel for roughly an hour. Later, whilst on a stroll, Erik merely confessed, “We did it.”
It wasn’t till Oziel ended his extramarital affair with Smyth, a couple of months later, that she went to the police and published what she knew in regards to the confession.
Dr. Oziel’s involvement prolonged past listening to Erik’s confession. His testimony turned into key within the trial, regardless of demanding situations because of doctor-patient confidentiality. Oziel claimed the brothers had threatened his lifestyles, which allowed his testimony to be admissible.
All the way through the trial, Erik’s protection lawyer, Leslie Abramson, labored to discredit Oziel, accusing him of manipulating and exploiting sufferers. She vowed to reveal him “in each means identified to guy and God,” and accused him of getting an “exploitative, manipulative, sexualized” courting with sufferers and different girls, in keeping with the Los Angeles Occasions.
Smyth to start with advised police that she had overheard the Menendez brothers speaking about how they’d shot their mom’s eye out of its socket, as Oziel had allegedly recommended her to eavesdrop on their dialog. On the other hand, right through the trial, she testified that she had indirectly heard them admit to killing their folks. Smyth additionally echoed Abramson’s claims about Oziel’s irrelevant relationships with sufferers, mentioning that she have been brainwashed through him right through their affair, which led to contradictions and inconsistencies in her testimony.