Menendez Letter a Deception Plot, Prosecutors Say

Attempting to undermine the credibility of the Menendez brothers’ defense, prosecutors Friday introduced portions of a jailhouse letter in which Lyle Menendez allegedly tells a potential defense witness to testify falsely that the brothers asked for a handgun for protection from their parents.

“Here is an outline of what you need,” Lyle Menendez allegedly wrote, instructing Amir (Brian) Eslaminia to say that he gave the gun to brother Erik the day before the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun slayings of entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty.

The letter, which police uncovered during a search earlier this year, was sent to Eslaminia, a former Beverly Hills High School classmate of Erik who befriended the brothers after their parents were slain.

“I think it’s a very strong piece of evidence,” Deputy Dist. Atty. David P. Conn said afterward. “It very clearly suggests an attempt to lie and fabricate the evidence. It goes to the credibility of Lyle and Erik Menendez.”

Eslaminia, whose own father was slain in 1984 during a bizarre extortion plot by the infamous Billionaire Boys Club, told the jury that he visited the brothers in jail. The visits, Eslaminia testified, “eventually culminated in a idea of [Lyle] that I would render testimony that would be beneficial to his defense.”

Eslaminia never testified as a witness in the first trial, which ended in January, 1994, with juries for both brothers deadlocked between murder and manslaughter convictions.

During the first trial, Lyle and Erik Menendez admitted shotgunning their parents to death, but said the fired out of fear for their lives after years of physical and sexual abuse.

Defense attorneys vigorously fought the letter’s introduction, which Leslie Abramson, attorney for Erik Menendez, called “devastating.”

Prodded by Conn’s questions, Eslaminia repeated several times, “No sir, none of this stuff ever took place.”

Fear was a theme throughout the letter as Lyle Menendez allegedly gave detailed instructions to Eslaminia. The letter began:

“You receive a call at your apartment or house on Aug. 19, a Saturday, in the late morning. You answer the phone and it was Erik. He sounded very nervous.”

Eslaminia was told to say he met the brothers in Erik’s car. “You sat alone in the back,” said the letter, postmarked July 9, 1991.

“Erik said they were in great danger and needed two handguns. Both of us seem jumpy, rushed and nervous. You asked why they were in danger. Erik said he couldn’t say why and you would have to trust him.”

The letter instructed Eslaminia to say he suggested that the brothers seek help from the police or their father “since Erik had always told you he had powerful connections (Mafia).” But Erik said police wouldn’t believe them.

“Lyle said, ‘You don’t understand. We don’t have time to explain, can you help us or not?’ ”

The letter continued the scenario: The three drove back to the house. Lyle took the handgun, and said he would be in touch, and the brothers drove off.

“You told nobody about the incident and you were very nervous that we were in trouble. The gun you gave us was loaded... When you heard about our parents’ deaths, you were shocked and you realized Lyle and Erik were right, there was real danger.”

Two days after the slayings, a Tuesday, according to the letter, Erik returned the gun. He still seemed nervous, the letter stated, but said “he and Lyle would be fine, it was obvious whoever it was only wanted his parents.”