Lyle Menendez makes shocking claim about Dr. Jerome Oziel in new documentary

The new Netflix Menendez brothers documentary sees Erik and Lyle sharing their perspective on the infamous true crime case as it happened, including the most controversial individual of the initial murder trials: therapist Dr. Jerome Oziel. 

Warning: some may find this content distressing.

For context, before the 1989 murders of Kitty and Jose Menendez, Erik had been sent to Oziel for therapy sessions after he and Lyle were caught stealing from a nearby property.

In 1990, as police investigated the murders, a major break in the case arrived when Oziel’s mistress and patient, Judalon Smyth, went to the police to claim he had obtained a taped confession from the Menendez brothers. 

After the recordings were seized, Erik and Lyle were arrested, and two conflicting arguments emerged. 

On the one hand, Oziel claimed the brothers had threatened him, allowing him to waive patient-doctor confidentiality. On the other, the brothers accused Oziel of blackmailing them into making a confession. 

The therapist – who now goes by Jerry Oziel – later lost his license, while Smyth went on to be a witness for the defense, alleging that she had been “brainwashed” by Oziel. 

New true crime doc The Menendez Brothers, which landed on Netflix today (October 7), sheds further light on the controversy surrounding Oziel, giving Lyle and Erik the opportunity to explain what happened. 

In an interview conducted from prison, Lyle makes a shocking claim about the former therapist: that his father only booked him as he knew he’d waive his anonymity.

According to his accounts, this gave Jose Menendez complete control over what his son was saying in what should have been a confidential safe space to open up. 

“My father refused to hire Dr. Oziel unless he signed a document saying that everything Erik told him he would relay to my father,” says Lyle. “And Dr. Oziel signed a document to that effect.”

He adds, “My father chose this sleazy psychologist because it was the only psychologist who would be willing to waive confidentiality so his son couldn’t actually confide in the doctor.”

Although he’s since forgiven him, Lyle explains that he was angry with Erik at the time for confessing to Oziel as they both knew he couldn’t be trusted. Erik adds, “I went to Dr. Oziel because I really wanted to kill myself.”

Elaborating on the confession, Lyle states, “He (Oziel) wanted one tape in which, at some point on the tape, he told us, ‘You guys say you killed your parents.’ 

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, this is terrible. Let me help you guys and then we work through this in a confidential way.’ That’s what a normal therapist would do. Dr. Oziel was right into blackmail.”

When asked about Oziel’s claim that he was threatened by the Menendez brothers, Lyle replies, “No, I never threatened Dr. Oziel. I don’t go around threatening people. 

“I had never had an act of violence in my life until my parents’ shooting. Obviously he wasn’t feeling that threatened. He didn’t go to the police and say, ‘I feel threatened.’ He knew that he could. He chose not to.”

The Menendez Brothers is streaming on Netflix now. You can read more about the petition to set the brothers free, the Monster Season 2 ending explained, and what legal experts say about their current situation.