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THE disgraced therapist of the Menendez brothers played a key part in the murder trial – and then lost his license shortly after the infamous pair were found guilty of killing their parents.
Lyle and Erik Menendez first confessed that they shot their parents to death in the living room of their Beverly Hills mansion to their former therapist, Dr. Jeremy Oziel.
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The notorious duo fired 14 gunshot rounds in total at Jose and Kitty Menendez on August 20, 1989, while the wealthy couple was watching TV in the den of their home.
Lyle and Erik later claimed they were acting in self-defense after suffering years of physical and sexual abuse from their parents.
The brothers told Oziel, who started working with the family after the brothers were implicated in 1988 burglaries, that they murdered their parents in a session just a few months after the slayings.
However, police weren’t made aware of the brothers’ confessions until months later, when Judalon Smyth, Oziel’s patient who he was having an affair with, leaked the information to authorities.
Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, out on Netflix now, shows a dramatic retelling of the real-life scandal, where Oziel broke psychologist-patient confidentiality by confiding in his mistress at the time about the confession.
In March 1990, after Oziel and Smyth broke up, Smyth came forward and told cops that she heard the brothers confessing to the murders through the therapist’s door.
The brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time of the killings, were arrested shortly after and charged with the murders.
That fall, authorities seized recordings of Oziel’s counseling sessions with the brothers.
A California judge ruled that they could be used as evidence in the murder case because the duo were believed to have threatened Oziel.
After the tapes were seized, a years-long legal battle ensued over whether or not the recordings were able to be used in court.
Some of the recordings were eventually found admissible – providing a key piece of evidence in the case against the brothers.
Oziel admitted that he had a relationship with Smyth to investigators in 1991, according to Newsweek.
He testified against the brothers during their first trial in 1993 – and prosecutors played a tape from December 11, 1989, that revealed the brothers confessing the killings to Oziel.
One of the incriminating comments caught on tape heard Lyle saying that he missed his parents, according to the Los Angeles Times at the time.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez are serving life sentences in prison after being found guilty of shooting their parents to death over 30 years ago.
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are shot to death
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested for the murders
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself in
July 20, 1993 – Highly publicized trial begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial
October 11, 1995 – Second trial begins
March 20, 1996 – Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder
July 2, 1996 – Menendez brothers are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison where Erik is held
April 4, 2018 – Erik and Lyle are reunited
May 2023 – Attorney representing the Menendez brothers files a habeas petition
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story comes out on Netflix
“I miss having my dog around, if I can make such a gross analogy,” Lyle added in the recording.
SMYTH TAKES THE STAND
Smyth also took the stand – but admitted she only turned in the brothers’ confession in hopes of bringing Oziel to justice.
I didn’t know the difference between what I heard and what I didn’t hear.”
Judalon Smyth
“He was the one who committed crimes against me, not Lyle or Erik Menendez,” Smyth said on the stand, alleging that her ex-lover kidnapped and raped her.
She then walked back her account in order to discredit Oziel and claimed that she had been brainwashed by the former therapist.
What to know about Dr. Jerome Oziel
Former therapist Dr. Jerome Oziel lost his license after he was accused of breaking confidentiality rules and having sexual relationships with his patients following his key role in the case against the Menendez brothers. Here’s what to know about Oziel:
- In 1972, he received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Arizona State University
- He moved to Beverly Hills to start a private practice after living in South Carolina
- In 1988, the Menendez family hired him to work with Lyle and Erik after the brothers were involved with a pair of burglaries in Calabasas
- The brothers confessed to Oziel that they had killed their parents months after the murders in 1989
- Judalon Smyth became Oziel’s patient in summer 1989 and the two began a sexual relationship, despite the fact that Oziel was married
- After they broke up, Smyth told police that the Menendez brothers confessed in March 1990
- Oziel became a key witness for the prosecution and said the brothers threatened him in order to keep him silent
- In 1997, Oziel surrendered his license after the California Board of Psychology accused him of improperly sharing information and having inappropriate relationships with his patients
- In 2017, Oziel said in a statement to Bustle that he didn’t surrender his license because of the accusations, but because he wanted to do business in another state
- He now goes by Jerry Oziel and lives in New Mexico, according to his online profiles
- He is listed as a staff member at Marital Meditation Center, where he leads seminars on marriage and relationships
“I have been brainwashed,” Smyth testified in court.
“I had been told over and over what I did hear, what did happen. I was confused.
“I didn’t know the difference between what I heard and what I didn’t hear.”
Despite Smyth’s denial, the Menendez brothers were both found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1996.
DOC LEFT CALIFORNIA
Oziel was officially stripped of his psychology license in 1997 after a state panel accused him of breaking confidentiality rules and having sex with female patients, according to The Times.
He didn’t live in California at the time of the decision. He also didn’t admit to any wrongdoing.
“It just made no sense to come back to California and spend many thousands of dollars defending a license he doesn’t use in a state he doesn’t reside in,” his attorney told the outlet at the time.
In 2017, Oziel told Bustle that he didn’t give up his license because of the accusations.
“I 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,” he said in a statement.
“I 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.
No agency ever found I did a thing that was improper or wrong,” he concluded.
The Arizona State University alum, who now goes by Jerry, went on to host seminars about relationships and sex, according to his website.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Oziel for comment.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
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