Hazel Thornton was working as a telecommunications engineer in Pasadena, California in 1993-4 when she served for 7 months as Juror #9 on the 1st Menendez brothers' murder trial, which ended with two hung juries. Her 1995 book, Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror, was republished in 2018 with updated material. She is now a retired professional organizer, active family historian, and author living in Albuquerque, New Mexico.