Murder Counts Upheld in Menendez Case
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A judge Monday refused to toss out murder charges against two Beverly Hills brothers charged with the shotgun slayings of their wealthy parents.
Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg ruled that sufficient evidence was presented to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury to support murder charges against Erik Menendez, 22, and his brother,Lyle, 25.
The two are charged in the Aug. 20, 1989, slayings of Jose Menendez, 45, an executive of Live Entertainment, and Mary Louise (Kitty) Menendez, 44. The parents were killed in the den of their $4-million Beverly Hills mansion.
Defense attorneys asked that the grand jury indictment be set aside because of insufficient evidence. They also argued that prosecutors’ presentation of the case to the grand jury was faulty.
Michael Burt, attorney for Lyle Menendez, argued that prosecutors failed to instruct the grand jury that statements attributed to each defendant could not be used against the other defendant, district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.
Weisberg agreed with prosecutors that the grand jury had been properly instructed, Gibbons said.
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Correction
Mary Louise (Kitty) Menendez was 47 when she died, not 44.
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