Judalon Smyth Exposed More Than The Menendez Brothers
She was instrumental in revealing their crimes and helping their defense
Gunshots broke the silence of the Beverly Hills neighborhood on an otherwise idyllic August night in 1989. What followed would be a mystery that enveloped the city and the state. The crime ushered secrets from the crevices of the people involved in the crime.
Jose and Kitty Menendez were murdered that night. Police found precious few clues as to who could have fired the shots. Some speculation revolved around the mob being behind the killings.
That theory was proposed by the victims’ sons, Lyle and Erik. They insisted that the mob must be behind the hit. Yet, neither seemed very worried about being targeted themselves.
Police wondered why.
The answer was that the mob didn’t kill Jose and Kitty Menendez. The real murderers were their sons, Lyle and Erik. How did the police come to this conclusion?
They had suspicions early on but there was no evidence to support their theory. Instead, the case would be solved by a woman scorned. A woman looking to expose her boyfriend for the lech that she saw him as.
Surprisingly, the boyfriend was not Lyle or Erik Menendez. The former partner of the woman was their therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel.
His former girlfriend was Judalon Smyth. She also happened to be his former patient.
Therapist Or Boyfriend?
Judalon Smyth needed help. She needed someone to talk to and discuss her life and the things that were bothering her. What she got was Dr. Oziel, who was a lusty and randy man.
The two started an affair just weeks into her treatment. Oziel began using her insecurities against her. If they argued, he would needle her with insults and get her back under control.
During their relationship, Oziel allegedly sexually assaulted her. She also accused him of brainwashing her. He vehemently denied that he did anything with her.
He also claimed that the two did not have a relationship. This was proven to be false. She was not his only mistress, nor the only woman that he held power over that he assaulted.
Oziel brought in further complications when he talked to Smyth about the Menendez brothers. He confided in her that Erik confessed to killing his parents.
Moreover, he claimed that Lyle threatened to kill him.
This made Smyth nervous. What would stop one of the brothers from hurting her? Oziel claimed that she was safe, neither of them knew her.
But knowing that they killed their parents put her on edge. Adding to her anxiety was the threat that they would kill again. She needed to be protected.
Oziel thought she was being paranoid. He claimed that he was working to get the brothers to continue their sessions with him. Being their therapist meant he couldn’t be called to testify against them.
As long as he stayed quiet, they would be happy. And he would stay silent as long as they threw some cash his way.
Move In For What?
Alarm bells went off for Smyth. Her lover was convinced that he could control two men who killed their parents. And there were threats against his life. How would he be able to keep her safe?
“Let me move in with you and your wife,” she said. It was for her peace of mind. She also reasoned that she could see if Oziel was really going to leave his wife. Something he had promised to do since the beginning of their relationship.
He agreed.
The living situation seemed to calm things down on the Menendez front. Lyle and Erik seemed content to continue seeing Oziel, the threats dried up.
Oziel was loving towards her for a while. They would sneak away and enjoy trysts, seemingly under his wife’s nose. For the first time, Smyth began to believe that everything was going to be alright.
But it wasn’t going to last. Oziel began to act cold towards her. His wife, formerly welcoming to her, stopped speaking to her. At times, they both seemed to be afraid of her.
Smyth began to act compliant and did what they asked her to do. She did everything from the dishes to sleeping with him, even when she didn’t want to.
“This is wrong, I don’t want to do this,” Smyth said during one particularly violent encounter. Oziel persisted.
“Clean yourself up,” he said after he finished.
The perfect world she created for herself began to crumble. She knew she needed to do something to save it. There had to be a way to make everything right again.
“You need to move out. We are over, we never should have started. You are psychotic,” Oziel said to her. The words devastated her.
“You’ll regret this,” Smyth vowed.
Menendez Bros In Crossfire
Smyth went to the Los Angeles Police Department. Her intention was to report Oziel for sexual assault. The cop took her statement and listened intently to the story as it unspooled.
A few times, she was asked to repeat herself. The cop was not interested in what Oziel had done to her. There was something else that they were trying to get out of her.
“Why did you move into his house?” The cop asked. Smyth shook her head and took a deep breath.
“I was afraid of Lyle Menendez. He threatened to kill my boyfriend, and I was worried that he would come after me too. He and his brother confessed to killing their parents, my boyfriend has tapes of their confession,” she said.
She was whisked to Detective Les Moeller’s office. Once again, she had to tell the story, but this time it was hyper-focused on the brothers. Nobody cared about what Oziel did to her.
After the brothers were charged, Smyth learned that she was on the witness list. She was going to be one of the star witnesses for the prosecution.
However, the defense had a plan too to use her as well. On cross-examination, she was asked about her relationship with Oziel and what she knew of him.
Smyth was used to discredit her former partner.
It worked. The first jury was hung. They could not agree on whether the brothers were guilty of murder or if they acted in “imperfect” self-defense.
She was not called to the stand for the second trial. The brothers would be convicted of first-degree murder.
As for Smyth, she did not capitalize on her fifteen minutes of fame. She chose to become a footnote in the Menendez Brothers saga. Only coming out to do one interview for Murder Made Me Famous in 2015.
For Sam’s Story Check Out Murder & Mayhem UK
For Karen’s Story Check Out 2 Sides 2 Every Crime
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I didn't think the Melendez fiasco could get wilder, but you sure showed me haha. Smyth felt so paranoid she moved in with her therapist lover and his wife...ahem, what? This is wild. Nicely done peeps.