The Juror & The Journalist
Partners in (true) crime
Hazel Thornton was an Integrated Technology Planner at Pacific Bell in Pasadena, CA when she reported to jury duty in Van Nuys on June 28, 1993. She served seven months as Juror #9 on the first Erik Menendez murder trial, which ended in a 6-6 gender-split hung jury mistrial. (Lyle’s jury was also hopelessly deadlocked.) The press called her one of ‘Leslie’s Girls’ and ‘Erik’s Women’ because she voted for manslaughter, not murder. Her book, Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror, originally published in 1995, was revised and re-released in 2017. She has appeared on Court TV, Oprah, 20/20, Dateline, A&E and KOB-TV, among many others. She is now retired from her second career as a professional organizer and lives in Albuquerque, NM. She loves researching her family history and has authored two more books: What’s a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy and Go With the Flow! The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook. Visit Hazel at www.org4life.com, or www.MenendezJuror.com.
Robert Rand is an Emmy award-winning journalist who began covering the Menendez murders the day after the August 20, 1989 killings. He is the only journalist who has interviewed the Menendez brothers both before and since their arrest. He was in court daily during both trials and provided on-camera analysis for Court TV, ABC GMA and CBS News. He has written articles for the Miami Herald, Playboy, and People magazine, and been interviewed for several high-profile documentaries about the case. He earned the trust of the family and interviewed hundreds of people connected with the case, including Hazel Thornton, Juror #9. The manuscript for his 2018 book, The Menendez Murders, was the primary source material for the 2017 NBC limited series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. Visit Robert at www.MenendezMurders.com.
Robert & Hazel reconnected in 2017 as a result of renewed media interest and have joined forces to educate the public about the case. They have appeared in many of the same documentaries and have lectured at events in Los Angeles and Albuquerque. They enjoy answering audience questions – and busting persistent Menendez myths — from their unique perspectives sitting across the courtroom from one another during the first trial. They agree that the verdict should have been manslaughter, not murder. And they believe in Menendez Miracles.
The Menendez Boxes Project (photo album)
The Juror helps the Journalist get organized!
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Menendez Lecture at Oasis Albuquerque & After Party (photo album)
“A Juror’s Inside Scoop on the Menendez Murders Trials”, with special guest Robert Rand.
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#Menendez25 (social media campaign)
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first trial, we posted a “25 Years Ago Today” journey featuring excerpts from Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror. It spanned 7 months, from jury selection (posts commencing June 2018) to the two deadlocked juries (posts ending in January 2019). Just search Facebook and Twitter for #Menendez25.
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The Menendez Mistrial 27 Years Later
CourtTV LIVE with Vinnie Politan (14:00 min. January 28, 2021)
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Instagram Live!
April 5, 2021
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