After killing parents Kitty and Jose Menendez, Erik Menendez confessed to his therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel, a move that ended up in his arrest thanks to a bizarre series of events involving the doctor's mistress.
Speaking out for the first time in over 10 years about the murders, his arrest and prison after getting life behind bars in A&E's documentary series "The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All," Erik casts doubt on Oziel's motivations to testify in the case.
Everything Erik Menendez Revealed About Murdering His Parents In First Interview Since 2005
View Story"Seeing Dr. Oziel, I was falling apart and I needed extensive help and therapy. I had huge, huge waves of guilt and remorse and I just broke down and I told him what I had done," Menendez explains in an exclusive clip from Thursday's episode.
Oziel had not only recorded Erik's confession, but was accused allowing his mistress at the time, Judalon Smyth, to listen in on their sessions. It was Smyth who reported the intel about the brothers to authorities after she and Oziel broke up. Oziel denied sharing any information at the time.
"When I went to him, he was married with children but he was having an affair with this woman Judalon Smyth and he would tell her things his clients talked to him about," says Erik. "Because he told Judalon Smyth, he was facing disbarment if he didn't specifically say he was afraid of Lyle and I," Menendez continues. "There was a clause in the law that says if he claims that he was afraid, then he could legally divulge that to another person."
According to Erik's POV, however, "[Oziel] was never ever afraid or threatened."
Not only does Menendez accuse Oziel of saying he was afraid to save his own hide in the special, he also accuses the doctor of trying to profit from the brothers' confession financially.
"He said he would feel comfortable not going to the police if we went into business together," Erik alleged in last week's episode. "It was very clear to me that he wanted money."
Oziel actually addressed renewed interest in the case fairly recently, telling Bustle: "For a little perspective, this event is current in some people's minds who follow famous murder cases, but I moved on nearly 25 years ago! It was something that happened that I happened to be a witness to, but really has nothing to do with my life over the last...QUARTER CENTURY!!! In no way do I identify with it nor does it in any way define me. You can let outside events 'control' you or you can decide to in no way let that happen. That is what I did ... I have a great life. When someone throws a lemon your way, you need to make lemonade. You will have stumbling blocks in your own life. We all do. Take charge of your own life and move past them in a healthy and positive direction when they occur."
"The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All" airs Thursdays on A&E.