LOS ANGELES — It was never a question of whether they killed their parents.
Lyle and Erik Menendez bought two shotguns with cash. The next day, the brothers drove to a shooting range. And the following night, they murdered Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez as the couple ate ice cream and watched a movie in their Beverly Hills mansion.
"No! No! No!" Jose Menendez, their 45-year-old father, yelled as shotgun blasts echoed in the family's living room on Aug. 20, 1989, the brothers would later tell a therapist. He was struck five times, including in the back of the head. Their 47-year-old mother, wounded, crawled on the ground as the brothers reloaded before administering a final fatal blast.