August 20, 1989: Lyle Menendez, age 21, and his brother Erik, age 18, shoot and kill their parents, Jose and Mary "Kitty" Menendez, at their home in Beverly Hills, California. It would take until March 8, 1990 before they were arrested, after Erik confessed the crime to his therapist.
They said they did it in self-defense, after years of abuse. The prosecution said they did it for the inheritance money. Their 1st trial ended in a mistrial. The 2nd trial ended in a conviction, and they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on July 2, 1996.
The brothers, who grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, remain in prison -- in separate State Prisons in California -- and both married women who wrote letters to them in prison. Most likely, the only way either will ever leave prison is in a coffin.
I am convinced that Congressman Bob Menendez, later a U.S. Senator, did not run for Governor of New Jersey in 1997 because the name "Menendez" still brought up memories of the brothers, even though he was not related to them. (His daughter, Alicia Menendez, is a show host on MSNBC.)
(UPDATE: Bob has since resigned from the Senate, and been imprisoned himself, on bribery charges. His son, Rob Menendez, was elected to his former seat in the House of Representatives. MSNBC has become MSNOW, and Alicia still hosts for them.)
As Jay Leno put it in his Tonight Show monologue, "They used a shotgun. They were going to use a pillow, but then, they would have been known as the Smothers Brothers."
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August 20, 1989 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 7-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Clay Parker didn't get out of the 3rd inning, but it was reliever Eric Plunk who was charged with the loss. Former Boston star Fred Lynn hit a home run for the Tigers. Jesse Barfield and Wayne Tolleson hit them for the Yankees. Don Mattingly went 0-for-3 with 2 walks. Dave Winfield missed the entire season with a back injury.
* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. Sid Fernandez started, but Don Aase blew the lead in the 9th inning. Eddie Murray and Willie Randolph, neither in the American League Eastern Division any longer, and both with Mets tenure in their futures, hit home runs for the Dodgers. Howard Johnson and Kevin McReynolds hit them for the Mets.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 5-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-6 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Barry Bonds went 0-for-4 with a walk.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Ozzie Smith went 2-for-6 with an RBI.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5. Wade Boggs went 1-for-5.
* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-4 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The California Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 1-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Kirk McCaskill pitched a 4-hit shutout, outpitching Bud Black, who allowed only 3 hits. The only run of the game came on a sacrifice fly by Wally Joyner in the bottom of the 7th inning, driving home Kent Anderson.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Mike Moore pitched 8 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and Todd Burns completed the 5-hit shutout. José Canseco hit a home run. Mark McGwire went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
* And the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-4 at the Kingdome in Seattle. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Bo Jackson went 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Rookie Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout.
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