The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story’

The second installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monster anthology on Netflix has arrived. After chronicling the grotesque murders dedicated by serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in 2022, the subsequent chapter focuses on the lives and crimes of the notorious Menendez brothers.

The ten-episode second season follows Lyle and Erik Menendez, the brothers who fatally shot their dad and mom of their Beverly Hills house in 1989. The high-profile murders of leisure government Jose Menendez and his spouse, Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, gripped America all through the ’90s.

Prosecutors portrayed the brothers as cold-blooded killers motivated by a need to inherit their household fortune, whereas the protection argued that Lyle and Erik have been victims of bodily, emotional, and sexual abuse by their dad and mom.

Learn on to dive into the gripping true-crime case featured in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, together with what the brothers did, what occurred at their trials, and what they have been sentenced to.

What Occurred To Jose And Kitty Menendez?

On the night of Aug. 20, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez have been discovered shot a number of instances at shut vary within the household room of their Beverly Hills mansion. As a result of brutal nature of the killings, police initially suspected mob involvement.

Officers arrived on the scene after Lyle Menendez, then 21, known as 911, frantically shouting, “Somebody killed my dad and mom,” in line with CBS Information. Lyle and his 18-year-old brother Erik advised police they’d found their dad and mom shot to demise once they arrived house.

Jose Menendez labored for a movie studio and oversaw the house video division, main investigators to initially suspect that the murders have been linked to his enterprise dealings. Nonetheless, suspicion rapidly shifted to the couple’s sons, who have been seen spending lavishly on Rolex watches, actual property, and enterprise investments.

When Did Lyle And Erik Menendez Develop into Suspects?

Six months after the murders, authorities obtained a tip from Judalon Smyth, who was the mistress of Erik’s psychologist, Jerome Oziel. In line with Time.com, Smyth advised police that Erik confessed to the killings in remedy, and there have been audiotape information of it.

The Supreme Court docket of California in the end dominated that prosecutors may use Oziel’s tape-recorded notes of two classes with Erik and Lyle, by which the brothers admitted to killing their dad and mom.

On March 8, 1990, Beverly Hills Police arrested Lyle Menendez exterior the residence the place his dad and mom have been murdered. Two days later, Erik Menendez surrendered at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport upon getting back from Israel, the place he had been taking part in tennis.

What Occurred At The Menendez Brothers’ Trials?

The trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez started on July 20, 1993, and was broadcast stay on Court docket TV (now TruTV), leading to a nationwide media frenzy. The brothers have been tried collectively however had separate juries to find out their sentences. If convicted of first-degree homicide, the brothers confronted the demise penalty, CBS Information reported.

The Menendez protection group argued that the brothers killed their dad and mom in self-defense. Each brothers testified that they have been abused by the hands of their dad and mom. Lyle Menendez took the stand and stated that his mom and father abused him, and his dad began sexually abusing him on the age of 6.

Lyle testified that his father stopped sexually abusing him when he was 8, however Erik stated that the abuse by no means ended for him and that he advised his older brother Lyle days earlier than the homicide was dedicated. Family members, associates, and acquaintances of the Menendez household testified for the protection about incidents of bodily and emotional abuse.

The brothers claimed {that a} confrontation between Lyle and their dad and mom escalated to the purpose the place they feared their dad and mom would kill them to maintain the household secret from being uncovered. They testified that they believed their dad and mom meant to kill them that night time, which is why they went into the household room and commenced taking pictures.

Prosecutors, led by Deputy District Attorneys Pamela Bozanich and Lester Kuriyama, argued that cash was the motive, claiming the brothers sought management of their dad and mom’ $14.5 million property. Lyle and Erik allegedly spent as much as $700,000 of their inheritance on luxurious objects, enterprise ventures, and journey.

For instance, Lyle bought a $60,000 Porsche 911 Carrera to switch the Alfa Ramero his father had given him. Erik turned in his Ford Mustang 5.0 hardtop and acquired a tan Jeep Wrangler. Lyle additionally purchased $40,000 price of garments and a $15,000 Rolex watch, and Erik employed a $50,000-a-year tennis coach, in line with Vainness Honest.

The DAs additionally contended that the killings have been premeditated, noting that the brothers had bought the shotguns days earlier than the crime. Deliberations occurred for weeks, however each juries have been whether or not the brothers must be convicted of homicide or manslaughter. In the end, the decide declared a mistrial.

In October 1995, the retrial started, and there was just one jury as an alternative of two. Decide Stanley Weisberg additionally prevented the proceedings from being televised, restricted testimony about sexual abuse claims, and prohibited the jury from voting on manslaughter costs as an alternative of homicide costs, in line with Time.com.

Prosecutors asserted that the brothers have been mendacity concerning the abuse, calling it “the abuse excuse.” Lyle Menendez declined to take the stand throughout the second trial.

What Had been Lyle And Erik Menendez Sentenced To?

After just a few days of deliberating, the jury discovered Lyle and Erik Menendez responsible of first-degree homicide. The brothers have been sentenced to 2 consecutive life jail phrases with out the potential of parole.

In January 2017, Lyle advised ABC Information that he had accepted his crime. “I’m the child that did kill his dad and mom, and no river of tears has modified that and no quantity of remorse has modified it,” he stated on the time. “I settle for that. You might be usually outlined by just a few moments of your life, however that’s not who you might be in your life, . Your life is your totality of it…You’ll be able to’t change it. You simply, you’re caught with the choices you made.”

For the newest on Lyle and Erik Menendez, learn the article beneath to seek out out the place the brothers are actually and the brand new proof supporting their claims of abuse that might get them out of jail quickly.

ForbesThe place Are Lyle And Erik Menendez Now? New Proof Might Get Them LaunchedBy

Watch the official trailer for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story beneath.