Recently, Netflix released Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, sending shock waves through the media and bringing back the Menendez brothers’ story. Produced by Ryan Murphy, this new 9-episode series tells the story of the Menendez brothers and the brutal murder of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.
Jose Menendez immigrated from Cuba when he was young and later met his wife, Mary Louise “Kitty.” They had two sons; the first was Lyle, and only 3 years later, Erik. They lived in Princeton, New Jersey, for the majority of their younger years but later moved to Beverly Hills for their father’s job as a powerful businessman in the music industry.
Starting at the young age of 6, the older brother Lyle had begun being sexually molested by his father, Jose Menendez. For two years, this abuse continued until Lyle told his father to stop. Shortly after that, Jose began sexually molesting Erik, the younger brother, when he was 6, and continued molesting him up until a few weeks before the murders. In fear of being killed by his father, Erik remained silent about the horrific actions his father was taking upon him.
When Erik was 19 years old, he told his brother Lyle about the molestation that had been occurring over the past 13 years after his father told him he wasn’t allowed to go away for college and had to stay living at home. Erik, distressed, knew that staying home for college meant the rapings would continue with his father with no ending in sight. Lyle confronted Jose after learning this new information, in which Jose told him he would kill them if he told anyone. They had also found out around the same time that their mother, Kitty, had been aware of the molestation of both of the boys during their lifetimes and chose not to take any action to stop it from happening.
In fear of their lives, the brothers purchased shotguns at a store in San Diego, California, and returned home. On August 20, 1989, only a couple of days after purchasing the shotguns, the brothers shot their parents multiple times, killing them both. The boys then went to the movies and later came home and called the police, claiming someone had shot their parents.
The police arrived at their home, took statements from both of the brothers, but did not perform a gunshot residue test on either of them nor searched their cars in which they would have found bullets in the trunk. In the weeks following the killings, the brothers went on an extensive shopping spree in an attempt to suppress their suicidal thoughts and regret of murdering their parents. This spree was later utilized by the prosecution against the brothers, claiming they murdered their parents for money. Erik, suffering intensely, ultimately confessed to his therapist, Dr. Oziel, about the murders.
Dr. Oziel, violating privacy laws, told his girlfriend and wife that Erik had confessed and had Lyle come to his office to discuss the murders. He used blackmail against the brothers by recording their confession and tried to use their vulnerability to benefit himself financially.
It only took a couple months for Oziel’s girlfriend to go to the police with this information after fighting with Oziel. The police found the recordings and arrested both brothers.
Their trial began 3 years after their arrest, with Leslie Abramson defending Erik and Jill Lansing defending Lyle. During the trial, the brothers shared their experiences with their father and the horrific stories of things he had done to them. Family and friends of the brothers testified, claiming Jose was not a good person, and one cousin specifically claimed one of the brothers had told her about the abuse when they were children. Unfortunately, the trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. Years later, they redid the trial; however, specific regulations were put on the Menendez brother’s defense, leading their defense to be extremely weak. They lost the trial and received life in jail without parole.
Almost 30 years later, and the brothers are still in jail. The new Netflix series has brought much popularity to the case, and many people are supporting the possibility of reopening the case. However, the producer Ryan Murphy has received a considerable amount of backlash from the public for misrepresenting the brothers in the show and adding or changing important information.
Eva Neamonitis, who just finished the series, claimed, “I thought the show was amazing, and I hope the brothers get freed soon.”
Lauren Kachadorian, who also watched the show, said, “I really enjoyed watching it. I thought it was very exciting, and I hope their trial is reconsidered because they deserve justice.”
On October 7, 2024, a new documentary streamed on Netflix called The Menendez Brothers, featuring interviews from Lyle and Erik through phone calls while they’re in jail, 35 years after the murders. Many believed that Monsters was a fabricated representation of the horrific abuse the brothers experienced. However, in this documentary, the brothers spoke out about what really happened and why they killed their parents. Netflix also interviewed jurors on their case, family members such as Kitty Menendez’s sister, and the prosecutor of the case, Pamela Bozanich. The defense attorney for the brothers and Erik’s therapist, Dr. Oziel, denied being a part of the documentary. There were many key points in the documentary that covered topics that were not mentioned in the series.
Many believe that the shopping spree post-killing was for “greed,” but Lyle highlighted in the documentary that it was to cover up his suicidal thoughts. Additionally, Pamela Bozanich shares that she had difficulty finding personal testimony of Jose Menendez’s family or friends and has never met a person with something nice to say about Jose. She said that Jose’s death was “a plus for mankind” when discussing his personality. However, she later expresses her thoughts on the brothers’ claim that their parents abused and molested them, claiming she does not believe any of it.
Overall, both Monsters and The Menendez Brothers shine light on the terrible molestation and abuse the brothers endured and the horrific murder of the parents in 1989. Although there is a strong movement to bring justice to the brothers, it is still possible they could spend the rest of their lives in jail. We highly recommend both the series and the documentary if you are interested in this case.
