Sept. 18, 2025

"CHARLIE KIRK'S KILLER CHARGED WITH TERRORISM, MENENDEZ BROTHERS DENIED & JUDGE WHO SHOT WIFE FACES JUSTICE"

Show Notes
Transcript

Reid Carter covers Tyler Robinson being charged with terrorism for assassinating Charlie Kirk - because apparently shooting political speakers is now officially terrorism, unlike shooting CEOs. The Menendez brothers' latest appeal gets denied because Netflix documentaries don't equal new evidence. Day 2 of Jose Soto-Escalera's trial reveals he bought the murder weapon with his mistress's credit card. And California Judge Jeffrey Ferguson faces sentencing for shooting his wife during an argument about dinner. Thursday proves that whether you're a revolutionary, a Netflix star, or a judge, murder is still murder - unless you're Luigi Mangione, apparently.

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WEBVTT

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Caliogus Shark Media. Good morning, I'm read Carter. Thursday, September eighteenth,

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twenty twenty five. Today on Celebrity Trials, Tyler Robinson, who

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assassinated Charlie Kirk, has been charged with terrorism. Yes, terrorism,

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shooting a conservative speaker is terrorism, but shooting a healthcare

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ceo isn't make it make sense. The Menendez brother's latest

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appeal has been denied because shocking development being popular on

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Netflix doesn't mean you didn't shotgun your parents. Day two

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of the Pregnant Mistress murder trial revealed Jose Sodo Escalera

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used his victim's credit card to buy the cord he

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strangled her with. That's not just evil, that's economically efficient evil.

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And a California judge who shot his wife during an

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argument about dinner faces sentencing because even judges sometimes solve

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marital disputes with This is Celebrity Trials. Tyler Robinson appeared

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in court Tuesday to be formally charged with the assassination

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of Charlie Kirk. The charges first degree murder, obviously, but

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also terrorism. That's right, terrorism, the same charge that just

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got thrown out against Luigi Mangioni in New York for

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shooting a CEO, but shooting a conservative speaker, that's terrorism.

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The legal system, ladies and gentlemen, where consistency goes to die.

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Robinson appeared via video link from the Salt Lake County jail,

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where he's being held in isolation for his own protection.

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Apparently even murderers don't like political assassins. He looked different

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from his arrest photos, thinner, pale. The reality of facing

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death penalty terrorism charges will do that to you. Utah

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prosecutor Michael Stevens laid out the charges, first degree murder

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for shooting Kirk, terrorism for doing it to intimidate conservative

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speed makers and suppress political speech, use of a firearm

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in a crime of violence. Lying in Wait, the death

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penalty is on the table, and in Utah they're not

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afraid to use it. Robinson's public defender, Sarah Martinez, entered

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not guilty pleas across the board. She told the judge

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her client is suffering from mental health issues exacerbated by isolation.

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Mental health issues the new universal defense for political violence.

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But here's what makes the terrorism charge stick in Utah

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where it didn't in New York. Robinson's manifesto explicitly stated

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he wanted to quote make conservative speakers afraid to appear

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in public. He wrote about creating a chilling effect on

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fascist propaganda. He wanted other speakers to cancel events out

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of fear. That's textbook terrorism, violence intended to intimidate a

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civilian population for political goals. Luigi Mangione just wanted to

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kill one CEO. Oh Robinson wanted to terrorize an entire

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political movement. The prosecution revealed new evidence from Robinson's laptop

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seized when he was arrested at that Nevada motel, hundreds

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of files on conservative speakers, their schedules, their security protocols,

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their families. Charlie Kirk wasn't the end, he was the beginning.

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They found a list titled Priority Targets. I won't name

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the people on it because they don't need more attention

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from copycats, but it included major conservative figures, their home addresses,

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their children's schools. This wasn't just about Kirk. This was

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about starting a war. Robinson had also been in contact

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with others online encrypted messages discussing direct action and propaganda

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of the deed, anarchist terminology for political violence. The FBI

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is now investigating whether Robinson was part of a larger network,

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whether Charlie Kirk's assassination was supposed to trigger other attacks.

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At the hearing, Robinson tried to speak. Judge Catherine Morrison

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shut him down immediately, mister Robinson, you'll have your chance

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to speak. A trial today is for charges, not speeches.

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But Robinson couldn't help himself. As they were leading him out,

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he shouted, I'm a political prisoner. This is fascism. Political prisoner,

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you shot an unarmed man from a rooftop while he

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talked to college students. You're not a political prisoner. You're

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a coward with a rifle who thought murder would make

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you a hero. The judge set trial for March twenty

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twenty six, no bail. Obviously, Robinson will spend the next

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six months in solitary twenty three hours a day, one

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hour for exercise, no contact with other inmates, because even

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they want to kill him. His parents were in court.

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They looked destroyed. Their twenty two year old son, who

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they thought was just passionate about politics, turned out to

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be planning a murder spree. His mother cried through the

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entire hearing. His father stared at the They'll spend the

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rest of their lives wondering what signs they missed. Charlie

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Kirk's widow, Erica, wasn't in court. She's still in hiding

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with their two children. Death threats from both sides, some

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celebrating her husband's death, some blaming her for not protecting him,

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some threatening to finish what Robinson started. The terrorism charge

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changes everything. If convicted, Robinson faces the death penalty or

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life without parole in ADX, Florence, America's supermax prison, where

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terrorists go to slowly go insane in underground cells. The

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unibomber died there. The Boston Marathon bomber is there. The

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nine to eleven plotters are there, and if convicted, Tyler

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Robinson will join them. The twenty two year old who

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thought he was starting a revolution will spend the next

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sixty years in a concrete box, forgotten by everyone except

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the guards who feed him through a slot. Robinson wanted

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to be remembered as a hero who stood up to fascism. Instead,

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he'll be remembered as the coward who murdered a father

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of two and turned polytical discourse into a shooting gallery.

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His manifesto won't inspire revolution, it's just evidence at his trial.

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Charlie Kirk is still dead, his children still ask when

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Daddy's coming home, his wife still sleeps alone, and Tyler

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Robinson is learning that terrorism charges mean you don't get

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to be a martyr, You just get to be a

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monster in a cage. The Menendez brother's latest attempt at

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freedom has been denied, proving that no amount of Netflix

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documentaries can undo a double shotgun murder of your parents.

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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesik ruled yesterday that

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Lyle and Eric Menendez failed to present any new evidence,

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warranting a new trial their claim that evidence of their

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father's sexual abuse wasn't properly presented at their second trial

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in nineteen ninety six, the same evidence they've been claiming

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for thirty five years, the same abuse excuse that didn't

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work then and doesn't work now, because even if Jose

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Menendez was a monster, and he probably was, that doesn't

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give you the right to reload and shoot your mother

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while she crawls away bleeding. The brother's attorney, Cliff Gardner,

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argued that society's understanding of sexual abuse has evolved since

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nineteen ninety six, that jurors today would be more sympathetic

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to abuse victims who kill their abusers, that the recent

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Netflix series and documentary have shown public opinion has shifted.

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Judge Jesseic's response was perfect, public opinion influenced by entertainment

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media is not grounds for a new trial. The evidence

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remains the same, the law remains the same. The verdict stands.

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Let me remind you what the Menendez brothers did, since

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Netflix tends to gloss over the details. August twentieth, nineteen

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eighty nine, Jose and Kitty Menendez are watching TV in

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their Beverly Hills mansion. Lyle and Eric enter with shotguns.

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They shoot Jose point blank in the he head. He

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dies instantly. Kitty tries to run. They shoot her in

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the leg. She falls, crawls toward the hallway. They shoot

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her multiple times. She's still alive. Lyle goes back to

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the car to reload, comes back, shoots her in the

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face to quote put her out of her misery. Then

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they go to a movie Batman. They buy tickets, establish

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an alibi, return home, and call nine to one one

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claiming someone killed their parents while they were at the movies.

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They almost got away with it, spent their inheritance on

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rolexes and restaurants. Eric bought a Porsche, Lyle bought a restaurant,

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living their best lives while their parents rotted in the ground.

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It was only when Eric confessed to his therapist and

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the therapist's girlfriend went to police that they got caught.

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And even then they claimed abuse. Poor little rich boys

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who had no choice but to execute their parents for money,

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I mean because of abuse. The new motion claimed their

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trial attorney, Leslie Abramson, was ineffective, that she should have

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presented more evidence of Jose's abuse, that she should have

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called more witnesses. But here's what they don't want to discuss.

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Kitty Menendez, the mother. Even if you believe Jose was

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an abuser, Kitty was a victim too. She was an alcoholic, depressed,

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allegedly abused by the same man, and they executed her

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while she crawled across the floor. The brothers are now

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fifty six and fifty three. They've been in prison for

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thirty five years. They've gotten married in prison, both of them.

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They have conjugal visits. They have fans who think they're victims.

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They have Netflix documentaries painting them as sympathetic figures. But

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Jose and Kitty Menendez are still dead. They didn't get appeals,

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they didn't get documentaries. They got shotgun blasts to the

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head in their own home by the children they raised.

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Judge Jessic ended his rule with this. The defendants were

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adults when they killed their parents. They planned the murders,

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they tried to cover them up. They were convicted by

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a jury. That conviction stands regardless of how many documentaries

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are made. The brothers will appeal to the California Supreme Court.

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They'll lose there too, because being abused doesn't give you

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a license to kill, because sympathy doesn't equal innocence, because

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Netflix isn't a court of law. Lyle and Eric Menendez

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will die in prison as they should, and all the

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documentaries in the world won't change the fact that they're

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not victims. They're killers who happen to have a sad story.

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Will be right back with Day two of the Pregnant

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Mistress trial, where the murderer was too cheap to buy

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his own murder weapon. Day two of Jose Sodo Escalera's

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trial brought a detail so pathetic it would be funny

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if a pregnant woman wasn't dead. Prosecutor Anna Martinez revealed

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that the electrical cord used to strangle Melissa Rodriguez was

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purchased with Melissa's own credit card. Jose made his seven

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months pregnant mistress buy the weapon he'd used to kill her.

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The Home Depot receipt was entered into evidence June fourteenth,

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twenty twenty four, three forty seven PM. One heavy duty

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electrical cord forty seven dollars and ninety nine cents paid

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with Melissa Rodriguez's visa, the same card she'd been using

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to buy baby supplies. Security footage from Home Depot shows

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Jose and Melissa shopping together. She's waddling through the aisles,

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hand on her pregnant belly. He's leading her to the

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electrical section. She probably thought they were buying something for

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the baby's room, maybe a new lamp for the nursery. Instead,

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she was fine out nancying her own murder. The prosecutor

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had the receipt blown up on a screen right above

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the electrical cord purchase a baby monitor eighty nine dollars

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and ninety nine cents below it outlet covers for baby proofing,

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twelve dollars and ninety nine cents in between the cord

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that would strangle her and her unborn child. Detective Maria

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Santos testified about finding the receipt in Melissa's apartment. It

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was in a folder labeled baby expenses, where Melissa was

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tracking everything she bought for Sophia. She was so organized,

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so prepared for motherhood, she kept every receipt, probably planning

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to ask Jose to pay her back for half. The

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detective also testified about Jose's financial situation. His landscaping business

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was failing. He had seventy three dollars in his checking account.

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His wife controlled all the money through her family trust.

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He couldn't afford the electrical cord that cost less than

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fifty dollars. He made his victim by it. Think about

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that level of evil, not just planning to murder your

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pregnant mistress, but making her pay for the murder weapon.

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That's not just cold blooded, that's cheap blooded. The afternoon

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brought testimony from the home depot employee who helped them,

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Kevin Morrison. He remembered them because Melissa was so pregnant

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and Jose was so impatient. She kept asking Jose if

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this was really what they needed. He kept insisting it

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was perfect for what he had planned. Perfect for what

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he had planned. Melissa thought he meant some home improvement project.

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He meant murder. The defense tried to argue that buying

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something together doesn't prove murder, that lots of couples shop

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at home depot, that electrical cords have legitimate uses. Prosecutor

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Martinez's response, the defendant made his pregnant mistress by her

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own murder weapon, then used it to strangle her less

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than twenty four hours later. That's not coincidence. That's premeditation

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with a side of cruelty. The medical examiner testified again,

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describing how the exact type of cord purchased matched the

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ligature marks on Melissa's neck. Industrial grade, thick enough to

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support two hundred pounds, rough enough to leave the distinctive

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pattern found on her throat. Jose's wife, Maria was back

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in court, still standing by her man. She actually smirked

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when the receipt was shown. Smirked like making your mistress

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by her own murder weapon was clever instead of monstrous.

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The jury looked disgusted. One woman shook her head when

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she saw the receipt. Another man rubbed his temples like

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he had a headache. That's not good for the defense.

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Melissa Rodriguez saved every receipt for her baby, tracked every expense,

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was building a life for her daughter, Sophia, even though

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she'd be a single mother. She thought that electrical cord

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was just another expense to track, another thing to add

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to her careful budget. Instead, it was the last thing

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she ever bought. Forty seven dollars and no ninety nine

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cents plus tax, the cost of her own murder charged

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to her credit card, which Jose probably thought he'd inherit

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along with her small life insurance policy. Day three continues Tomorrow.

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The prosecution will present Jose's text messages from after the murder,

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where he pretended to be worried about Melissa's disappearance while

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her body was rotting in his warehouse more in a moment. Finally,

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California Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson faces sentencing today for

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murdering his wife during an argument about dinner. Yes, dinner,

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the meal that ended a marriage and a life. Ferguson

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was convicted in August of shooting his wife Cheryl in

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their Anaheim Hills home. The argument she wanted to go

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out to eat, he wanted to stay in. She insisted

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he got his gun. One shot to the check est.

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Cheryl Ferguson, sixty five, died in her kitchen while her husband,

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a sitting judge who'd sentenced hundreds of people, stood over

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her body and called his lawyer. Not nine to eleven,

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his lawyer. The lawyer told him to call nine one one,

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so he did, forty seven minutes after shooting his wife,

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forty seven minutes of watching her die while figuring out

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his legal strategy. That's not panic, that's calculation. At trial,

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Ferguson claimed it was an accident, that he was showing

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Cheryl the gun to scare her into backing down about dinner,

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that it went off accidentally, that he didn't mean to

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kill his wife of forty years over restaurant reservations. The

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prosecutor destroyed that defense. The angle of the bullet showed

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Ferguson was pointing the gun directly at Cheryl's heart. The

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trigger pull on his glock requires five and a half

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pounds of pressure. You don't accidentally apply five and a

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half pounds of pressure while arguing about olive garden versus

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staying home. Today, Ferguson faces forty years to life. He's

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seventy three. Forty years is a death sentence. The man

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who spent his career sending people to prison will die

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in one. His attorney is asking for leniency, claiming Ferguson's age,

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his career of public service, his clean record should count

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for something, that one moment of rage shouldn't define his

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entire life. One moment he shot his wife over dinner plans,

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then watched her die while calling his lawyer, then tried

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to claim it was an accident. That's not one moment.

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That's multiple decisions to value his freedom over his wife's life.

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The victim impacts statements have been devastating. Cheryl's sister described

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a woman who stayed with an increasingly angry man out

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of loyalty, who made excuses for his temper, who thought

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forty years of marriage meant something. It meant nothing when

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push came to shove over dinner reservations. Judge Jeffrey Ferguson

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administered the death penalty in his kitchen. No trial, no jury,

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no appeals, just execution for the crime of wanting to

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eat out. The legal community is watching this sentencing closely.

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Ferguson was respected, he was considered fair. He was the

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judge you wanted if you were innocent. Now he's proof

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that anyone can be a killer, even the people we

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trust to administer justice. Cheryl Ferguson was sixty five. She

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was a retired teacher who volunteered at literacy programs. She

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loved trying new restaurants, which is why she wanted to

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go out that night. She died for the crime of

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wanting to try the new tie place instead of eating leftovers.

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Judge Jeffrey Ferguson will be sentenced this afternoon. He'll stand

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where hundreds of defendants stood before him. He'll hear a

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judge pronounce his fate. He'll be led away in the

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same shackles he watched put on others. Sometimes justice is poetic,

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Sometimes the judge becomes the judged. Sometimes the gavel falls

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on the one who used to wield it. That's celebrity

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trials for Thursday, September eighteenth. Tyler Robinson charged with terrorism

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for killing a conservative speaker while Luigi Manjoni's terrorism charges

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get dropped for killing a CEO, The Menendez Brothers learning

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Netflix sympathy doesn't equal legal innocence, Jose Sodo Escalera making

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his victim by her own murder weapon because evil apparently

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operates on a budget, and Judge Ferguson about to be

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sentenced by one of his former colleagues. Tomorrow, We've got

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updates from the Kiss and Kill Verdict. Watch Seriously, how

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long does it take to convict someone who wrote their

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murder plan down? Plus whatever fresh horror Friday brings. I'm

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read Carter. Remember, if you're planning murder, don't make your

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victim buy the weapon. If you're claiming abuse, don't reload

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to shoot your crawling mother. And if you're a judge,

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maybe just order takeout instead of taking out your wife.

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See you tomorrow, y,