Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story dives into the unsettling true crime saga of the Menendez brothers, who had been convicted of murdering their mother and father in 1989. Within the newest chapter from frequent collaborators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, Monsters revisits the story of the 2 brothers accused of brutally murdering their mother and father, citing years of abuse by the hands of their father, José.
The nine-episode sequence and subsequent however separate Oct. 7 documentary, The Menendez Brothers, has taken the platform by storm, respiration new life right into a case that first captivated audiences within the late ’80s — and nonetheless dominates CrimeTok. In accordance with The Wrap, the documentary alone drew 22.7 million views, immediately changing into Netflix’s most-watched movie worldwide, whereas Ryan Murphy’s dramatization pulled in over 52 million views in its first month.
The precise Menendez brothers trial would possibly really feel like historic historical past, happening because it did within the pre-internet period of 1993 via 1996, however these current releases have triggered a renewed curiosity within the case. That, together with new proof, has prompted the Los Angeles District Lawyer to ask for the brothers’ life sentence to be reexamined to allow them to have an opportunity at parole.
So, if you happen to’re intrigued by this infamous story, right here’s every part you want to find out about who the Menendez brothers are, what occurred again then, and the place they’re now.
Who’re the Menendez brothers?
Erik Menendez, left, and is brother Lyle, in entrance of their Beverly Hills residence.
Credit score: Los Angeles Instances through Getty Photos
Lyle and Erik Menendez had been born to José Menendez and Kitty Andersen, a seemingly typical energy couple who met in faculty in Illinois earlier than beginning their household. The 2 moved to New York in 1963, the place their first son, Lyle, was born in 1968. Erik adopted two years later, arriving in 1970 after the household settled in New Jersey.
José’s formidable profession path noticed him rising via the ranks at Hertz, then RCA Data, ultimately touchdown as CEO of Dwell Leisure. This promotion introduced the household to Calabasas, California, within the early ’80s. However by 1988, the Menendez household relocated to Beverly Hills as a result of brothers’ neighborhood housebreaking spree — swiping an estimated $100,000 in money and jewellery.
Throughout this time earlier than the murders, the brothers alleged that they suffered bodily and sexual abuse by the hands of José, a “relentless perfectionist,” and that their mom was an alcoholic who enabled the abuse. They allege that it began once they had been younger kids with their father, who turned his consideration to Erik after Lyle had turned six. An older cousin of the brothers, Diane Vander Molen, additionally supported their claims, telling ABC in 2017 that Lyle had informed her of the abuse when he was 8, again in 1976.
Murphy’s dramatization leans closely into this facet of the Menendez household story, portray an unflinching image of the brothers’ alleged trauma. Nonetheless, the present’s inventive liberties have sparked a backlash: Relations have publicly slammed the variation as “a phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare,” accusing it of being a “grotesque shock drama.”
Erik additionally responded to the present via his spouse Tammi on X (previously Twitter).
Murphy’s different sequence within the Monster anthology, The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, acquired comparable complaints — particularly from relations of Dahmer’s victims.
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The Menendez brothers’ homicide and trial
On Aug. 18, 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez bought two shotguns from a neighborhood gun store. Two days later, on the night time of Aug. 20, they confronted their mother and father, José and Kitty, who had been watching TV. The brothers claimed a heated argument broke out, culminating in a violent confrontation. Lyle and Erik would later argue that they acted out of self-preservation, fearing their father supposed to kill them that night time.
In accordance with their accounts, the catalyst for the murders got here weeks prior when Erik confided in Lyle in regards to the years of alleged abuse he had endured. This revelation led to a number of confrontations inside the household, with José allegedly threatening to kill them in the event that they dared converse out. This alleged concern for his or her lives grew to become central to their protection, framing the murders as a determined act born from years of trauma and intimidation.
Erik Menendez, left, and his brother Lyle, carrying jail outfits, are led into courtroom. June 15, 1990.
Credit score: Larry Davis / Los Angeles Instances through Getty Photos
Instantly after the murders, Lyle and Erik Menendez say they waited for police, satisfied that the noise from the gunshots would have prompted a neighbor to name 911. When nobody arrived, they took issues into their very own palms, disposing of their garments and the shotguns earlier than heading to a pageant on the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to ascertain an alibi.
After they returned residence and located the home nonetheless undisturbed, Lyle made the 911 name himself, tearfully telling officers that their mother and father had been murdered and suggesting that the killings could be related to the Mafia. Remarkably, although unsurprisingly, the responding officers didn’t conduct routine procedures like testing the brothers for gunshot residue, permitting them to slide beneath suspicion — for a time, at the least.
Within the months following the murders, whereas police chased leads on a supposed mob connection, Lyle and Erik Menendez dove into their new multimillion-dollar inheritance with reckless abandon. They indulged in luxurious flats and high-end enterprise ventures and splurged on Rolex watches, designer garments, and modern sports activities vehicles. Their lavish spending spree even put them within the public eye; the brothers had been noticed courtside at a New York Knicks sport, the place they had been inadvertently immortalized on a Mark Jackson buying and selling card.
After spending as much as $1 million within the months after the murders, police started to suspect Lyle and Erik Menendez of a monetary motive. Nonetheless, relations argued their lavish spending was nothing new. Regardless of their newfound freedom from their mother and father, Erik’s guilt led him to admit to his psychologist, Dr. Jerome Oziel. When Oziel’s mistress, Judalon Smyth, realized of the confession and later break up from him, she reported it to the police, ensuing within the brothers’ arrest in 1990.
The primary trial in 1993 captivated TV audiences as Lyle and Erik Menendez claimed they acted in self-defense, believing their lives had been in danger after enduring years of abuse from their father. Their accounts had been backed by relations, together with cousin Andy Cano and aunt Joan Vander Molen. Though every brother was tried individually, each trials ended with hung juries, leaving the case unresolved.
Of their 1996 retrial, a stricter choose restricted testimony concerning the brothers’ abuse allegations. This time, the end result was definitive: Lyle and Erik Menendez had been convicted on two counts of first-degree homicide and conspiracy to commit homicide, leading to life sentences with out the opportunity of parole.
Can Lyle and Erik Menendez be granted clemency?
As we speak, Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving life sentences, initially in separate prisons, although they had been reunited in 2018. Each brothers are married and have filed a number of appeals over time.
In 2023, they sought a brand new listening to after former Menudo member Roy Rosselló alleged that José Menendez had sexually assaulted him throughout his time at RCA Data. Rosselló detailed on the As we speak Present, after the discharge of the 2017 Peacock documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, that José drugged and assaulted him when he was 14 on the Menendez residence in New Jersey.
With this new proof, the brothers’ lawyer argues that Lyle and Erik ought to have been convicted of first-degree manslaughter relatively than homicide — a cost that might have led to their launch years in the past.
In 2024, recent proof and renewed public curiosity from Netflix’s Monster sequence spurred Los Angeles DA George Gascón to overview the Menendez brothers’ case. On Oct. 24, Gascón advisable that Lyle and Erik be resentenced to 50 years, noting that as a result of they dedicated the crime beneath the age of 26, they need to have been eligible for parole beneath present tips.
If a choose accepts this advice, the brothers may very well be free for the primary time in over 25 years.
