Legendary TV judge Judy Sheindlin says she is set to sue In Touch Weekly for defamation after claiming she was on a “quest” to save the Menendez brothers.
Erik, now 53, and his brother Lyle, 56, are serving life sentences without parole for fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989 in the den from their Beverly Hills mansion.
In Touch Weekly, a celebrity gossip magazine, published an article Wednesday titled “Inside Judge Judy’s Quest to Save the Menendez Brothers Nearly 35 Years After Their Parents’ Murders,” citing what they claimed were his quotes in a Fox Nation documentary about the infamous case.
Sheindlin doesn’t even appear in the documentary, her rep and a Fox News spokesperson both confirmed, and is outraged by the story, telling DailyMail.com that she is prepared to sue the outlet for protect its solid reputation.
“I have spent 60 years building a reputation in the justice system, both as a judge and a television personality,” she said in a statement.
Legendary TV judge Judy Sheindlin says she’s set to sue In Touch Weekly for defamation after claiming she was on a ‘quest’ to save the Menendez brothers
Erik, now 53, and his brother Lyle, 56, are serving life sentences without parole for fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989 in the den from their Beverly Hills mansion.
In Touch Weekly cited what they claimed were his quotes in a Fox Nation documentary about the infamous case.
“In an instant, In Touch Weekly and everyone who republished this ridiculous article tarnished that reputation.
“There will be consequences and it will be the subject of a trial,” she added.
She confirmed that attorney Eric George would represent her in the lawsuit.
In Touch and their parent company, a360media, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com. Shortly before DailyMail.com published this article, the In Touch story was removed from the site.
However, Sheindlin still intends to take legal action.
The In Touch story claimed that Sheindlin, at one point in the documentary, called the trial “rigged” and participated in the couple’s second trial.
At one point in the trailer for the four-part series, Judi Zamos – an alternate juror in the brothers’ first murder trial – claims the trial is “rigged.”
The story also claims that Sheindlin said Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg wanted to conduct the second trial in a “very, very different” way than the first while begging defense attorney Leslie Abramson to demand that Weisberg recuse himself.
However, Sheindlin is absent from the entire series.
Sheindlin doesn’t even appear in the documentary, her spokesperson confirmed, and is outraged by the story, telling DailyMail.com that she is prepared to take the media outlet to court to protect its strong reputation.
The story claims that Sheindlin, at one point in his documentary, called the trial “rigged” and participated in the couple’s second trial. At one point in the trailer for the four-part series, Judi Zamos, an alternate juror in the brothers’ first murder trial, claims the trial is rigged.
Lyle, then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting their father, an entertainment executive, and their mother, but said they feared their parents were on the scene. point of killing them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual abuse. from Erik.
During their televised trial, the brothers claimed they had been abused by both parents for years. Prosecutors said there was no evidence of assault.
They said the sons were seeking their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate, with jurors rejecting the death sentence in favor of life without parole.
The special titled “Menendez Brothers: Victims or Villains” challenges the conventional narrative surrounding the murders, which saw the two men portrayed as “greedy rich kids” and callous killers.
“If they (the brothers) were ‘sisters,’ they wouldn’t have done this,” their lawyer Mark Geragos said of the media’s mockery. “They would never do that today.
“It’s ridiculous. They were already living in luxury. It wasn’t like luxury or wealth were aspirations, because they were already rich. You don’t get richer than you do in Beverly Hills,” Geragos continued.
“People have strong opinions, but they are not based on real facts. They rely on their recollections of the press and the narrative that was broadcast that “rich kids in Beverly Hills are killing their parents for money,” added their post-conviction lawyer, Cliff Gardner.
The Menendez brothers, who are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, say media coverage has portrayed them as criminals rather than victims of abuse. Lyle, left, and Erik, right, are pictured in recent photos from 2023
The brothers were transferred to the same housing unit at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center in San Diego in 2018.
During the trial, testimony regarding allegations of sexual abuse was limited.
Jurors were only allowed to vote on murder charges rather than manslaughter charges.
Last year, the brothers filed court papers seeking to overturn their convictions based on new evidence, including a letter written to a cousin of the brothers, Andy Cano.
Cano said Erik told him he had been abused by their father long before they were shot.
“I tried to avoid Dad. This still happens, Andy, but it’s worse for me now,” reads a letter written by Eric. “Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. …I’m scared…He’s crazy. He warned me a hundred times not to tell anyone, especially Lyle.
The two attorneys, Gardner and Geragos, filed a petition for habeas corpus last May, citing the letter saying the brothers’ convictions should be overturned.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon now has until April 11 to respond to the petition.
If the brothers’ convictions were to be overturned, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office would then have to decide whether to retry the case.
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