Chapter 95 Section 17

On January 13, 1994, after 16 days of deliberation, Eric Monadez's jury returned a "unable to decide" conclusion to the court.Because the results of the court debate have divided the jurors, it is difficult to determine whether the young man in the dock is a murderer who murders money or is a victim of violent parents.This is known as a "hung jury" or "hung verdict" - the trial is suspended because the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision. Twelve days later, Joseph Lyle Monadez's jury came to the same conclusion. At this point, the trial, which lasted more than eight months, came to an end.

A little over a year later, in August 1995, the second trial in the Jose-Katie Monadez double-murder trial opened.Judge Stanley Weisberg ruled that Lyle and Eric Monadez will be tried as co-defendants, meaning there will only be a 12-member jury. The day the jury was selected was August 21, just after the sixth anniversary of the deaths of José and Katie. At this time, the Monadez family has lost all their wealth and survived in name only.Before the trial, the Los Angeles District Superior Court announced that Lyle and Eric Monadez's current economic situation has made them eligible for public defenders provided by the government for the poor.The two attorneys assigned to Lyle by the court were Charles Geschler and Terry Taurrey.Eric's former lawyer, Leslie Aranson, is still willing to continue defending her client, but this time, like other public defenders, she only receives a "meager salary" from the government, which is the same amount she received at the first trial. Compared with the US$750,000 attorney fees of the US$750,000, the difference is self-evident.Leslie's new assistant is Barry Levine.

Since the first trial, there have been some new developments in the case.To be precise, some evidence in favor of the prosecution has emerged.One is that on the second day of the murder, Lyle and Eric moved the deceased parents' safe to a lawyer's house in an attempt to find the Monardez couple's will.Next, in July 1991, Lyle wrote to one of Eric's classmates, Amir Elamini, asking him to appear in court to testify against the brothers.In addition, Lyle also instructed his girlfriend, Jaime Bishaxi, to go to the library to look up cases of child abuse crimes, especially the acquittal of parents after killing their parents.

Based on the above situation, the public prosecutor re-proposed the motive of committing the crime "for the purpose of obtaining economic benefits", and finally shifted the focus of the entire case from the tone of the first trial - "long-term abuse and harassment from parents led to family tragedy ". In fact, after the last trial, many people in the judiciary and the press conducted various analyzes and discussions on the failure of the prosecution. In the article, several witnesses were summoned continuously for several months, and this topic was repeatedly emphasized.The public prosecutor had to parry, but was led by the defendant, so that this situation was formed: it was not the two criminals who were tried in court, but their parents—the two victims.

For this reason, immediately after the first trial, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office replaced two prosecutors and replaced them with David Conn, Assistant Attorney General and Major Cases Team Chief, and Kaju Nayela. The opening remarks of the second trial began on October 11, 1995. Chief prosecutor Dave Conn first showed the court photos of the murder scene and autopsy, and then stated to the jury that the Monadez brothers killed their parents. Afterwards, the fact that the safe was removed from the scene immediately pointed out that the bones of the Monadez couple were still cold, and Lyle and Eric couldn't wait to try to get their hands on their parents' property, thus establishing the tone and theme of "murder for money".

Eric's defense lawyer, Leslie Aranson, is still standing by her view from two years ago that the brothers shot their parents "instinctively" because they believed that, in order to prevent the "family scandal", Hosse and Sooner or later Katie would lay hands on them.Leslie told the jury: "We will prove to you that because of the abuse, harassment, torture, destruction and intimidation he has suffered over the years, Eric has become a frightened bird, in constant panic and fear." Charles Geschler, who represented Lyle, said Hosse and Katie were controlling their sons to the point of unscrupulousness.They seem to have some kind of supernatural function or power to monitor the brothers' every move.Charles pointed out that the motive of committing the crime "for the purpose of obtaining financial gain" could not be established at all, because Lyle and Eric believed that "Hosse had separated them from the father-son relationship in the new will."

The prosecution began their hearing with three audio cassettes. Disc 1, A month after the murders, the investigators of the Pavillon Hills Police Station and Lyle and Eric.Jurors heard not only that the two defendants lied to police, but also that the brothers repeatedly assured police that they and their parents had always been on good terms and that there had never been any entanglements or conflicts. In the second set, Lyle and Eric confess to Dr. Geromi Ozer that they killed their parents. In the third set, Lyle made a 911 call in the middle of the night on August 20, 1989. Among the witnesses for the prosecution was a woman named Clara Waite, whose husband was the probate attorney hired by Hosse.Clara told the court that on August 21, 1989, the Monardez brothers moved the family's safe to the Waiters' home. On August 22, Mr. Waite opened the safe in the presence of the brothers and their uncles Carlos Barratt and Brian Anderson. It was empty.

At the first trial, representatives of Katie's natal Anderson family testified for the prosecution.This time, even the Monadez family stood against Lyle and Eric.Jose's brother-in-law and close friend, Carlos Barratt, said on the witness stand that he and the rest of the Monadez family had never heard of Jose and Katie's treatment of them before the murders. Two sons had been sexually abusive.Carlos also said that two months before the murder, Hosse told him that he was going to remove Lyle and Eric from his will because he was very disappointed with Lyle's performance at Princeton University.As for Eric, José thought he was too cowardly, lacking in talent and courage.