Menendez Lawyer Calls ‘Monsters’ a ‘Piece of S---' During Rare Appearance
Erik’s Menéndez‘s former lawyer Leslie Abramson made a rare public appearance after the release of Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters — and she did not mince words about the show. Abramson, 81, was spotted out and about in Los Angeles in photos obtained by the U.S. Sun on Tuesday, October 8. The attorney, who was portrayed by […]
Erik’s Menéndez‘s former lawyer Leslie Abramson made a rare public appearance after the release of Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters — and she did not mince words about the show.
Abramson, 81, was spotted out and about in Los Angeles in photos obtained by the U.S. Sun on Tuesday, October 8. The attorney, who was portrayed by Ari Graynor on screen, was asked what she thought about Murphy’s take on the high-profile case.
“That piece of s— that I heard about? I don’t watch any of those,” she told the outlet. “I didn’t watch the last series, and I don’t watch any of the shows about it.”
While Abramson no longer represents Erik, 53, she made it clear she wouldn’t be speaking about them, adding, “I make no comments about my clients. None whatsoever. Attorney-client privilege never dies.”
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Abramson has remained tight-lipped about the Menéndez case since being Erik’s legal counsel during both trials in the ’90s. She did provide a statement to Netflix’s The Menéndez Brothers doc, which premiered on Monday, October 7.
“Thirty years is a long time. I would like to leave the past in the past,” read her statement. “No amount of media, nor teenage petitions, will alter the fate of these clients. Only the courts can do that and they have ruled.”
Erik and Lyle, 56 are both currently serving out their sentences of life without parole in California’s Donovan Correctional Facility after being arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder. They became persons of interest after their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were found shot in their home. Due to a confession they gave their therapist — which they didn’t realize was being taped — Erik and Lyle ultimately admitted to killing their parents following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
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The case initially ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. A retrial began in 1995, but the prosecution successfully objected to most of the evidence surrounding the abuse, which meant Erik and Lyle — who were now being tried together — needed to present a new defense.
The Menéndez brothers were ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in 1996. They continue to appeal the decision but have been denied over the years. However, projects such as Monsters, The Menéndez Brothers and more have seemingly offered Erik and Lyle another chance at a resentencing.
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Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced on Friday, October 4, that a new hearing has been set amid new evidence for Lyle and Erik’s murder case. Erik and Lyle’s legal team previously filed a petition with the court after singer Roy Rosselló alleged he was drugged and raped when he was a teen by the brothers’ father.
The court documents requested a retrial while citing new evidence in the case, such as Rosselló’s allegations against José and a newly discovered letter Erik wrote to his cousin Andy Cano describing his father’s alleged sexual abuse months before the murders.
Gascón said in a press conference in October that there could be potential for resentencing or possibly even a new trial. The court date for the decision is set for Tuesday, November 26.