{"id":260224,"date":"2024-09-19T19:05:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T19:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/19\/what-to-know-about-the-menendez-brothers-therapist-hollywood-life\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:11:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:11:14","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-menendez-brothers-therapist-hollywood-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/19\/what-to-know-about-the-menendez-brothers-therapist-hollywood-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About the Menendez Brothers\u2019 Therapist \u2013 Hollywood Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Dallas\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n<\/svg>
\n<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tView gallery\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/svg>
\n<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/svg>
\n<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/svg>
\n<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Lyle<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Erik Menendez<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0continue to serve life sentences for the brutal murders of their parents on August 20, 1989, when the brothers\u2014then 21 and 18\u2014shot and killed them in their family\u2019s Beverly Hills mansion.<\/p>\n

Initially, the Menendez brothers<\/a> were not prime suspects. However, seven months after the crime, Lyle and Erik, now 56 and 53 respectively, were arrested after Judalon Smyth<\/strong> reported to police that the younger sibling had confessed to the murders during therapy. Smyth, who was the mistress of the brothers\u2019 psychologist, Dr. Jerome Oziel<\/strong>, learned about the confession after Oziel shared the confidential information with her, including the existence of audiotapes of the confession.<\/p>\n

Now, 35 years later, the Menendez brothers\u2019 case is the latest subject of Ryan Murphy<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ian Brennan<\/strong>\u2018s\u00a0Monster<\/em> anthology series. Titled\u00a0Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story<\/em><\/a>, the series stars\u00a0Nicholas Alexander Chavez<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cooper Koch<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>as Lyle and Erik, with\u00a0Javier Bardem<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Chlo\u00eb Sevigny<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>portraying their parents,\u00a0Jose<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Kitty Menendez.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything to know about Oziel, played by Dallas Roberts<\/strong>, and what he\u2019s doing now.<\/p>\n

What Role Did Dr. Oziel Play in the Menendez Brothers Case?<\/h2>\n

Oziel played a pivotal role in the Menendez brothers\u2019 case as the therapist to whom Erik confessed to the murders of his parents. In October 1989, two months after the killings, Erik left a frantic message for Dr. Oziel, leading to a therapy session on Halloween. During the session, Erik, who was depressed and having nightmares about his parents, spoke with Dr. Oziel for about an hour. Later, while on a walk, Erik simply confessed, \u201cWe did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until Oziel ended his extramarital affair with Smyth, a few months later, that she went to the police and revealed what she knew about the confession.<\/p>\n

Dr. Oziel\u2019s involvement extended beyond hearing Erik\u2019s confession. His testimony became key in the trial, despite challenges due to doctor-patient confidentiality. Oziel claimed the brothers had threatened his life, which allowed his testimony to be admissible.<\/p>\n

\"L<\/p>\n

Throughout the trial, Erik\u2019s defense attorney, Leslie Abramson<\/strong>, worked to discredit Oziel, accusing him of manipulating and exploiting patients. She vowed to expose him \u201cin every way known to man and God,\u201d and accused him of having an \u201cexploitative, manipulative, sexualized\u201d relationship with patients and other women, according to the <\/span>Los Angeles Times<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smyth initially told police that she had overheard the Menendez brothers talking about how they had shot their mother\u2019s eye out of its socket, as Oziel had allegedly instructed her to listen in on their conversation. However, during the trial, she testified that she had not directly heard them admit to killing their parents. Smyth also echoed Abramson\u2019s claims about Oziel\u2019s inappropriate relationships with patients, stating that she had been brainwashed by him during their affair, which caused contradictions and inconsistencies in her testimony.<\/p>\n

Is Dr. Oziel Still a Practicing Psychologist?<\/h2>\n

In 1997, Oziel was stripped of his psychology license after being \u201caccused by a state panel of breaking confidentiality rules and having sex with female patients,\u201d according to the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a>. By that time, Oziel had already moved out of California and was no longer practicing. His lawyer explained to the outlet, \u201cIt just made no sense to come back to California and spend many thousands of dollars defending a license he doesn\u2019t use in a state he doesn\u2019t reside in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oziel later addressed the situation in a statement to Bustle<\/em><\/a>, clarifying, \u201cI did not surrender my license due to the accusation, which implies I gave up my practice because I did things alleged in the original accusation. That is flatly and completely false.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added, with frustration: \u201cI had phased out my practice because I had a major business offer that was highly lucrative and moved to be the CEO of a large business in another state A YEAR AND A HALF PRIOR to the surrender\u2026 No agency ever found I did a thing that was improper or wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Smyth, along with revealing the Menendez brothers\u2019 confession, also claimed that Oziel \u201cplayed mind games with her and dispensed drugs to her, which he was not licensed to do,\u201d according to Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Where Is Dr. Oziel Now?<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

As of September 2024, Dr. Oziel\u2014now going by Jerry Oziel\u2014is living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and working at the Marital Mediation Center. He focuses on helping couples improve their relationships through mediation as an \u201calternative to getting divorced.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t<\/div>\n

[ad_2]
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ad_1] View gallery Lyle\u00a0and\u00a0Erik Menendez\u00a0continue to serve life sentences for the brutal murders of their parents on August 20, 1989, when the brothers\u2014then 21 and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":260225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260224"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}