Where is Judalon Smyth now? Here's what happened to her after the Menendez brothers trial

27 September 2024, 15:40

By Sam Prance

Judalon Smyth and Dr. Oziel's storyline in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is based on real-life events.

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In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Judalon Smyth plays a key role in the Menendez brothers trial. Where is the real-life Judalon Smyth now though? Here's what happened to her after the infamous court case took place.

Played by Leslie Grossman, we first meet Judalon Smyth in Monsters when Erik Menendez's therapist Dr. Oziel calls her after Erik confesses to killing his parents with his brother Lyle Menendez. We learn that Dr. Oziel is having an affair with Judalon and it's Judalon who later tells the police about the Menendez brothers' confession.

How much of Judalon's story in the show is real though? The true story differs slightly from what we see in the series.

Read more: Where Is Dr. Oziel Now? Menendez Brother's Therapist And What Happened In Real Life

Where is Judalon Smyth now?

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story trailer

How accurate is Netflix's Monsters?

In real life, Judalon had a tape-duplicating business and she started an affair with Dr. Oziel in 1989 shortly after they first met. When Dr. Oziel phones Judalon about Erik's confession in the show, he asks her to come to his office as a witness. In real life, Judalon did show up at the office but Dr. Oziel has claimed that he never asked her to do so.

As depicted in the show, Judalon lived with Dr. Oziel for a while and she told police about Erik and Lyle's confession after Dr. Oziel broke up with her. Originally, Judalon alleged that she'd overheard Erik and Lyle confess to shooting their mother but she later denied this in court.

According to the LA Times, Judalon calimed in her testimony that Dr. Oziel "brainwashed her, programmed her and left her victimized, frightened and traumatized." Dr. Oziel denied Judalon's claims.

What has Judalon Smyth said about the Menendez brothers trial?

Apart from one appearance in the 2015 true-crime docuseries Murder Made Me Famous, Judalon has chosen to live a life outside of the limelight. Discussing how she was treated during the Menendez brothers trial in the show, Judalon said: "I really didn’t understand the attack I was going to come under for doing the right thing."

She added: "There was some paper that said something about me having loose lips. It’s like, excuse me, if that was your mother and father getting murdered, would you like someone to have tight lips or loose lips? I mean, it took a long time for me to do the right thing but ultimately, I did."

Elsewhere, she explained: "There was one newscaster that called me a 'nutball' on the radio. It was frightening. Someone comes forward and then you crucify them." Judalon hasn't spoken about the case publicly since.

According to Judalon's personal LinkedIn page, she is now a trained and NREMT certified Emergency Medical Technician. However, she hasn't updated her profile since 2012.