It’s been 28 years since the Menendez brothers were convicted of murdering their parents. They find themselves once again in the spotlight, thanks to the series “Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez” and the documentary “The Menendez Brothers” expected on Netflix. While the two men are still hoping for a reduction in their sentences, we take stock of another central character in their story: lawyer Leslie Abramson.
Also read: The true story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, the killers of season 2 of “Monsters”
Three years of additional investigation
Three years passed between the first prosecutions and the conviction of the two brothers. After a first unsuccessful trial in 1993, the jurors feeling unable to reach a decision, Lyle and Erik Menendez were prosecuted again in 1995. Seven months later, on March 21, 1996, they were found guilty and sentenced the following summer , to a life sentence.
But for Leslie Abramson, the matter is not over. For three more years, the California Bar suspected her of asking a witness to change evidence presented during trials. She is in fact accused of having pushed Dr. William Vicary, the psychiatrist whom she had sent to examine the psychological state of Erik Menendez, to modify his notes.
@iwillchangeyourverdict //#menendezjustice #justiceforthemenendezbrothers #erikmenendez #lylemenendez #leslieabramson #netflixseries #monsters ♬ traitor – Olivia Rodrigo
During the trials, the doctor presented the notes he took during more than a year of monitoring the youngest parricide brother. Observations that he was asked to modify by the lawyer, according to one of his testimonies. But in 1999, the Californian bar closed this investigation for lack of evidence.
The difficult Spector affair
In 2004, Leslie Abramson was hired for another headline-grabbing case. She then defended Phil Spector, producer of stars like Tina Turner and John Lennon, accused of killing actress Lana Clarkson on February 3, 2003.
The matter is difficult. Abramson is already being called upon to replace Robert Shapiro, known for defending OJ Simpson. A few months later, she left her place to Bruce Cutler, who had already worked with mafioso John Gotti.
The agreement would not have been cordial between the lawyer and the producer. During an incident in May 2004, he allegedly interrupted her in the middle of an impromptu press conference. To which she responded, according to “Town & Country” magazine: “Philip, please, my dear, I would like you to stop saying things. »
Their collaboration therefore ended the same year, the lawyer explaining to CBS: “If we wanted to remain ethical and competent, we had to resign. » A few months later, Spector would be convicted of murder.
Two divorces and two children
Long before defending the Menendez brothers, Leslie Abramson married a pharmacist, with whom she had a daughter, Laine. After a first divorce in 1969, she married Tim Rutten, journalist for the “Los Angeles Times”. During the Menendez brothers’ trial, the couple adopted a boy.
In 1994, on the set of Barbara Walters, she explained: “I think my ability to feel a maternal attachment to all kinds of people, to want to take care of them, allowed me to succeed in the courts. » (Comment taken by “People Magazine”)
Leslie Abramson and Tim Rutten divorced in 2007. The latter died in 2022. According to “People Magazine”, they had remained close.
Her law license ended in 2023
Since then, the lawyer has been more discreet. Her legal license, allowing her to practice as an attorney, was active until 2023. She was 80 years old at the time, and has defended more than 50 clients since beginning her career in 1970.
In 1996, she told the Washington Post: “Jane d’Arc, and all those who were burned at the stake, are my models. » A comparison which seems to apply perfectly to her defense of the Menendez brothers, whom she considers victims of a painful childhood, pushed to the limit by their father’s violence.
The Menendez brothers, the “best clients she ever had”
She also confided in this special relationship that she had with the two boys. Also at the “Washington Post”, she says: “I have defended other people accused of murder over the last 27 years, and these boys have nothing to do with them. »
For her, “they are not murderers, but children who broke down after living in a difficult environment”. Faithful to this maternal instinct that she mentioned earlier, she then speaks of them as “adorable” boys: “They are the best clients I have ever had. »
