February 17, 1996
Web posted at: 12:30 a.m. EST
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Closing arguments are set for Tuesday in the Menendez brothers double murder retrial. Testimony ended Friday and the judge dealt the defense what could be a major setback.
Judge Stanley Weisberg tossed out the "imperfect self-defense" theory, which was central to their case. The theory suggested the brothers killed their parents out of a real, if unreasonable, fear that the parents would kill them.
Weisberg also ruled the defense could not argue the brothers killed their mother, Kitty, in the heat of passion. Since this would rule out a voluntary manslaughter conviction, if the Menendez brothers are not acquitted in their mother's death, they face either first- or second-degree murder convictions.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 11 years, but a first- or second-degree murder conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Voluntary manslaughter remained an option for a verdict in the death of the father, Jose Menendez.
On Friday the defense called a surprise witness, Douglas Love, an investigator for the public defender's office. His testimony was the final attempt by the defense to discredit Dr. Roger McCarthy, the engineer from Failure Analysis who used computer graphics to recreate the Menendez crime scene.
The jury has been dismissed until Tuesday, when closing arguments will begin. Oral argument regarding jury instructions will take place Friday afternoon.
This is the second trial of the Menendez brothers, who admitted shotgunning their wealthy parents to death on August 20, 1989. They maintain they killed their parents out of fear for their own lives after years of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse.
The prosecution contends they were greedy and feared they were cut out of their parent's will. Their first trial, which was heard by two juries, ended in deadlocks in January 1994.
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