Did the Menendez brothers kill their therapist? Jerome Oziel’s Life Explained – Life in Hollywood

Lyle AND Erik Menendez are still serving life sentences for the brutal murders of their parents on August 20, 1989, when their brothers – then 21 and 18 – shot them to death in the family’s Beverly Hills mansion.

Initially, the Menendez brothers were not the main suspects. But seven months after the crime, Lyle and Erik, now 56 and 53 respectively, were arrested Judalon Smyth informed the police that the younger sibling had confessed to the murder during therapy. Smyth, who was the lover of the brothers’ psychologist, Dr. Jerome Ozielshe learned about the confession after Oziel shared confidential information with her, including the existence of audio tapes of the confession.

Now, 35 years later, the latest story is the Menendez brothers case Ryan Murphy AND Ian Brennan‘S Monster anthology series. Titled Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendezstars of the series Nicholas Alexander Chavez AND Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik, z Javier Bardem AND Chloë Sevigny portraying your parents, Jose AND Kitty Menendez.

Here’s everything you need to know about Oziel, played by: Dallas Robertsincluding his current whereabouts.

Is Dr. Oziel alive?

Is Dr. Oziel still a practicing psychologist?

In 1997, Oziel was stripped of his psychology license after being “accused by a state panel of violating confidentiality rules and having sex with female patients,” according to Los Angeles Times. By this time, Oziel had moved out of California and was no longer practicing. His lawyer explained to the agency, “It just didn’t make sense to go back to California and spend many thousands of dollars defending a license that he doesn’t use in a state where he doesn’t live.”

Oziel later addressed the situation in a statement to: Hubbubexplaining: “I did not surrender my license because of the indictment, which means I abandoned my practice because I did the things that were alleged in the original indictment. This is categorically and completely false.”

He added in frustration, “I ended my internship because I had a large business offer that was very lucrative, and I moved to become the CEO of a large company in another state HALF A YEAR BEFORE I capitulated… No agency ever stated that I did anything inappropriate or wrong.”

However, Smyth, in revealing the Menendez brothers’ testimony, also stated that Oziel “played games with her and gave her drugs, which he did not have permission to do,” according to Vanity fair.

What role did Dr. Oziel play in the Menendez brothers case?

Oziel played a key role in the Menendez brothers’ case as the therapist to whom Erik confessed to the murder of his parents. In October 1989, two months after the murders, Erik left a frantic message for Dr. Oziel, leading to a therapy session on Halloween. During the session, Erik, who was depressed and had nightmares about his parents, talked to Dr. Oziel for about an hour. Later, while walking, Erik simply confessed, “We made it.”

It was only after Oziel ended his extramarital affair with Smyth several months later that she went to the police and revealed what she knew about the testimony.

Dr. Oziel’s involvement went beyond hearing Erik’s confession. His testimony became crucial in the trial, despite challenges related to medical and patient confidentiality. Oziel claimed that the brothers had threatened his life, which allowed his testimony to be admissible.

Throughout the entire trial, Erik’s defense attorney, Leslie Abramsonworked to discredit Oziel, accusing him of manipulating and exploiting patients. She vowed to expose him “in every way known to man and God” and accused him of having “exploitative, manipulative and sexualized” relationships with patients and other women, according to Los Angeles Times.

Smyth initially told police that she overheard the Menendez brothers talking about how they put their mother’s eye out of its socket when Oziel allegedly instructed her to overhear their conversation. However, during the trial she testified that she did not directly hear them confess to murdering their parents. Smyth also repeated Abramson’s claims about Oziel’s inappropriate relationships with patients, stating that she was brainwashed by him during their affair, which resulted in contradictions and inconsistencies in her testimony.