Chapter 93 Section 15

Judge Stanley Weisberg did not allow the defense to discuss details about Katie's condition in court, such as severe alcoholism and long-term use of antidepressants. Leslie said that a week before the murder, Katie and Lyle had a violent argument, during which Katie rushed forward and grabbed Lyle's wig, which made Eric who was present at the time terrified. , because he never knew that Lyle was already bald at a young age.It was also because of this discovery that Eric and Lyle got closer, and they confessed to their brother and the whole secret that they had been harassed and abused by their parents for a long time.

Leslie Aranson told the jury that Eric was eagerly looking forward to moving to UCLA as soon as the semester started and that he had had enough of living at home.But also a week before the incident, Hosse told him that after school started, he had to live at home several nights a week so that the Monadezs could supervise his homework because they didn't want Eric to repeat Lyle's mistakes at Princeton.Eric believes that this means that sexual harassment from parents will continue. If the opening speeches of the two parties are like architects drawing blueprints, the subsequent subpoena of witnesses and court debates is like building tall buildings brick by brick.

Prosecutors first played an audio recording of Lyle's 911 call to the Bavelle Hills Police Department in court.They wanted to show the jury how Lyle had been deceiving the authorities from the start and was a pretty good actor. Among the 26 witnesses summoned by the prosecution were Lyle's personal bodyguard Richard Winskowski, employees of the "Big Five" chain store in San Diego, two engineers who checked computers for Lyle, and the first person who went to Detective Michael Vacas at the scene, captain of the whaling ship chartered by Hosse on August 19, 1989, Chief Detective Les Zoyler in charge of the case, Inspector Sergeant Thomas Edmund, from the police Perry Polman, friends of the Monardez brothers, Craig Signaroli, Donovan Gudry, and Glenn Stevens, and Owen Gogh, the coroner's autopsy Deng, and Dr. Gerome Ozer.

The defense originally planned to call more than 90 witnesses, but was cut to 56 at the request of Judge Stanley Weisberg. The first to appear in court was Lyle Monadez, who testified on the witness stand for 9 consecutive days, the last 4 days of which were cross-examined by prosecutors. Lyall was calm and clear-headed throughout.He also admitted in his story that he sexually molested Eric when he was 5 years old.Talking about his mother, Lyle said Katie allowed her son to touch "any part" of her body when he was 11 and 12, even when José was sharing the bed with them.He said that in that stately mansion, his father Jose was so unreasonable, and his mother Katie was so mentally unstable, his only comfort at home was those plush toys.During Lyle's narration, he and Eric in the dock often wept with grief.

Responding to questions from Jill Lanson, Lyle told his jury that the brothers did not run away because they knew it would be futile.With Jose's character and power, he will definitely not let them go, and he will definitely be able to find them. Lyle also said he and Eric didn't think the police would believe their story either. Before being handed over to the prosecution for cross-examination, Lyle admitted he had planned to pay his ex-girlfriend Jamie Bissasi to perjure her in court that Hosse had tried to take advantage of her. Jamie refused and called the police. Eric followed Lyle on the witness stand.Contrary to his older brother, Eric has a sickly look, with a facial expression that is more dull than sad.He often lost his mind during the testimonies, and often digressed when he spoke, and even didn't make sense of what he said. He immediately denied what he said just now, and sometimes even his own lawyer showed a bit of impatience. .

Eric said that he felt that his mother, Katie, seemed to have special abilities. She knew his daily whereabouts, all his friends, and what he did. When discussing Hosse's sexual abuse of him, Eric said he had secretly put cinnamon powder in his father's tea and coffee because he had heard a classmate say it produced better-tasting semen.Like many of Eric's other testimony, the jurors doubted the veracity of this statement because cinnamon has such a strong smell that it is impossible to go unnoticed. During the cross-examination process, Eric's bad memory caused him a lot of trouble.For example, he said that on August 18, 1989, before going to San Diego, he and Lyle went to a "Big Five" sporting goods store in Los Angeles, where the brothers saw two pistols.Prosecutor's attorney Lester Kuliama repeatedly asked whether this was true, and Eric answered with great certainty.

Lester concluded by saying, "Mr. Monardez, do you know that since March 1986, the Big Five has stopped selling pistol-type firearms?" That is, they only sell long guns. The defense hired nearly a dozen expert witnesses from across the United States in a variety of professions relevant to the case, including psychologists, psychiatry professors, crime scene analysts and domestic violence researchers.These experts told the court that the behavior and character of the Monadez brothers reflected the aftermath of child abuse in one way or another, and they were undoubtedly victims of domestic violence.Experts also said that based on the degree of chaos at the crime scene, it is not difficult to judge that this is not a well-planned murder case, so the charge of "premeditated murder" cannot be established.The so-called "excessive massacre" proved by the autopsy reports of the two victims is completely in line with the crime characteristics of the abused children killing their parents.

After the defense's hearing is over, the prosecution begins their rebuttal hearing, or rehearing. An electrician named Grant Walker testified that on Saturday, August 19, 1989, after lunch, he was in the backyard of the Monadez home repairing the automatic switch for the outdoor pool.Lyle was playing tennis with a man at the time, and the Monardezes sat watching from a balcony not far away, while Eric stood beside his parents.Grant had witnessed Lyle scowling and being rude to his mother when Mrs. Monadez spoke to him.Eric also had an angry look on his face.This scenario is clearly inconsistent with the brothers' statement that they had been hiding from their parents out of fear in the days before the incident.