The Twisted True Story Behind Netflix's 'Monsters: The Lyle And Erik ...
Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. (L to R) Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, Nicholas Chavez ... [+] as Lyle Menendez in episode 204 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
COURTESY OF NETFLIXThe second installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's Monster anthology on Netflix has arrived. After chronicling the gruesome murders committed by serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in 2022, the next chapter focuses on the lives and crimes of the infamous Menendez brothers.
The 10-episode second season follows Lyle and Erik Menendez, the brothers who fatally shot their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The high-profile murders of entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, gripped America throughout the '90s.
Prosecutors portrayed the brothers as cold-blooded killers motivated by a desire to inherit their family fortune, while the defense argued that Lyle and Erik were victims of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by their parents.
Read on to dive into the gripping true-crime case featured in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, including what the brothers did, what happened at their trials, and what they were sentenced to.
What Happened To Jose And Kitty Menendez?Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. (L to R) Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, Javier Bardem ... [+] as Jose Menendez in episode 204 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Miles Crist/Netflix © 2024
MILES CRIST/NETFLIXOn the evening of Aug. 20, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez were found shot multiple times at close range in the family room of their Beverly Hills mansion. Due to the brutal nature of the killings, police initially suspected mob involvement.
Officers arrived at the scene after Lyle Menendez, then 21, called 911, frantically shouting, “Someone killed my parents,” according to CBS News. Lyle and his 18-year-old brother Erik told police they had discovered their parents shot to death when they arrived home.
Jose Menendez worked for a film studio and oversaw the home video division, leading investigators to initially suspect that the murders were linked to his business dealings. However, suspicion quickly shifted to the couple’s sons, who were seen spending lavishly on Rolex watches, real estate, and business investments.
When Did Lyle and Erik Menendez Become Suspects?Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. (L to R) Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch ... [+] as Erik Menendez in episode 202 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Miles Crist/Netflix © 2024
MILES CRIST/NETFLIXSix months after the murders, authorities received a tip from Judalon Smyth, who was the mistress of Erik’s psychologist, Jerome Oziel. According to Time.com, Smyth told police that Erik confessed to the killings in therapy, and there were audiotape records of it.
The Supreme Court of California ultimately ruled that prosecutors could use Oziel’s tape-recorded notes of two sessions with Erik and Lyle, in which the brothers admitted to killing their parents.
On March 8, 1990, Beverly Hills Police arrested Lyle Menendez outside the residence where his parents were murdered. Two days later, Erik Menendez surrendered at Los Angeles International Airport upon returning from Israel, where he had been playing tennis.
What Happened At The Menendez Brothers’ Trials?Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Nicholas Chavez as ... [+] Lyle Menendez in episode 207 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Miles Crist/Netflix © 2024
MILES CRIST/NETFLIXThe trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez began on July 20, 1993, and was broadcast live on Court TV (now TruTV), resulting in a nationwide media frenzy. The brothers were tried together but had separate juries to determine their sentences. If convicted of first-degree murder, the brothers faced the death penalty, CBS News reported.
The Menendez defense team argued that the brothers killed their parents in self-defense. Both brothers testified that they were abused at the hands of their parents. Lyle Menendez took the stand and said that his mother and father abused him, and his dad started sexually abusing him at the age of 6.
Lyle testified that his father stopped sexually abusing him when he was 8, but Erik said that the abuse never ended for him and that he told his older brother Lyle days before the murder was committed. Relatives, friends, and acquaintances of the Menendez family testified for the defense about incidents of physical and emotional abuse.
The brothers claimed that a confrontation between Lyle and their parents escalated to the point where they feared their parents would kill them to keep the family secret from being exposed. They testified that they believed their parents intended to kill them that night, which is why they went into the family room and began shooting.
Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. (L to R) Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, Nicholas Chavez ... [+] as Lyle Menendez in episode 202 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Miles Crist/Netflix © 2024
MILES CRIST/NETFLIXProsecutors, led by Deputy District Attorneys Pamela Bozanich and Lester Kuriyama, argued that money was the motive, claiming the brothers sought control of their parents' $14.5 million estate. Lyle and Erik allegedly spent up to $700,000 of their inheritance on luxury items, business ventures, and travel. For example, Lyle purchased a $60,000 Porsche 911 Carrera to replace the Alfa Ramero his father had given him. Erik turned in his Ford Mustang 5.0 hardtop and bought a tan Jeep Wrangler. Lyle also bought $40,000 worth of clothes and a $15,000 Rolex watch, and Erik hired a $50,000-a-year tennis coach, according to Vanity Fair.
The DAs also contended that the killings were premeditated, noting that the brothers had purchased the shotguns days before the crime. Deliberations happened for weeks, but both juries were whether the brothers should be convicted of murder or manslaughter. Ultimately, the judge declared a mistrial.
In October 1995, the retrial began, and there was only one jury instead of two. Judge Stanley Weisberg also prevented the proceedings from being televised, limited testimony about sexual abuse claims, and prohibited the jury from voting on manslaughter charges instead of murder charges, according to Time.com.
Prosecutors asserted that the brothers were lying about the abuse, calling it "the abuse excuse." Lyle Menendez declined to take the stand during the second trial.
What Were Lyle and Erik Menendez Sentenced To?Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. (L to R) Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch ... [+] as Erik Menendez, Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson in episode 207 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Miles Crist/Netflix © 2024
MILES CRIST/NETFLIXAfter a few days of deliberating, the jury found Lyle and Erik Menendez guilty of first-degree murder. The brothers were sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
In January 2017, Lyle told ABC News that he had accepted his crime. “I am the kid that did kill his parents, and no river of tears has changed that and no amount of regret has changed it,” he said at the time. “I accept that. You are often defined by a few moments of your life, but that’s not who you are in your life, you know. Your life is your totality of it...You can’t change it. You just, you’re stuck with the decisions you made.”
For the latest on Lyle and Erik Menendez, read the article below to find out where the brothers are now and the new evidence supporting their claims of abuse that could get them out of prison soon.
ForbesWhere Are Lyle And Erik Menendez Now? New Evidence Could Get Them ReleasedBy Monica Mercuri
Watch the official trailer for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story below.
