Recently, controversy has spiraled as to whether or not the Menendez brothers had lawful reasoning behind murdering their parents. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has received further evidence on the case, and will soon review it to see whether or not Lyle and Erik deserve a resentence. 

Ultimately, the question is asked: is this evidence sufficient enough to release two murderers from infinite jail time? 

The Childhood of the Menendez Brothers 

In the few years leading up to the murder of their parents, the Menendez brothers lived with their father José, and mother Kitty. José Menendez worked in the entertainment industry, working with bands as big as Duran Duran. The family lived in a 5 million dollar home in Beverly Hills, which had been previously occupied by Micheal Jackson and Elton John. 

From the outside, the brothers looked as though they were living the complete American dream, with a beautiful home and hard-working parents. On top of this, Lyle and Erik were nationally ranked tennis players. 

However, trouble started early with the brothers, as Erik was a part of numerous burglaries as a teenager. Lyle, who enrolled at Princeton University, was suspended from the college for plagiarism. Neither of the brothers faced jail time, but their criminal actions foreshadowed their near future. 

Convicted of Murder

On August 20, 1989, the Menendez brothers brutally shot and killed their parents. At the time, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18. 

Neither of the brothers admitted to their crime at first, and in the following months, they spent $700,000 of their inherited fortune on fancy cars, vacations, a professional tennis coach, and clothing. 

However, Erik was the first to admit to murdering his parents. On October 31, 1989, Erik confessed to his therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel, who recorded the conversation. 

While Dr. Ozeil didn’t give the police the tapes himself, Judalon Smyth, whom Dr. Ozeil was having an extramarital affair with at the time, told the police of the tapes.  

In March of 1990, the cops got hold of the tapes, and the Menendez brothers were arrested. For two years straight, a legal battle persisted as to whether or not the tapes were actually admissible in court. In August of 1992, the Supreme Court of California ruled that 2 out of the 3 tapes were admissible as evidence. 

Trials 

Beginning in 1993, the trials of the brothers absolutely captured the nation. The trials were broadcasted on Cable TV, which heightened the national frenzy over the brothers and their crimes.

The prosecution of the trial argued that the brothers killed their parents with motivation for their $14.5 million inheritance. Dr. Oziel was a key witness for the prosecution. 

However, Lyle and Erik argued that they had killed their parents for reasons of self-defense. They explained the horrific emotional abuse and domineering actions that they endured from their father. Lyle and Erik claimed that their father had molested them; Lyle from when he was 6 to when he was 8, and Erik from when he was 6 to when he was 18. Erik, who was said to have come up with the idea of murdering his parents, was sexually abused up until the time of the murders. 

The first trials of Erik and Lyle were inconclusive, resulting in two hung juries. The second trial, which was far less broadcasted, was judged by Judge Stanley Weisberg. Weisberg ruled that the evidence of Josè Menendez’s abuse was insufficient.

Given that their father’s abuse was the brothers’ main defense claim, the second trial resulted in the conviction of Lyle and Erik of first-degree murder. In July 1996, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole. 

Monsters and Other Documentaries 

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, is a Netflix series that premiered on September 19, 2024. The series focuses on the lives of the two brothers, both before and after the murders of their parents. 

Monsters capitalizes on the dreadful abuse that the brothers endured from their parents. Javier Bardem, who acts as José Menendez, plays a brutal character who demands to be obeyed. Chloë Sevigny, who acts as Kitty Menendez, portrays Kitty as an alcoholic and a drug addict who will choose her husband over her own kids at all costs. 

Monsters is similar to the documentary The Menendez Brothers, which was released on Netflix on October 7, 2024. The documentary includes interviews with Lyle and Erik conducted from prison, and watchers are able to hear the story from the brothers’ own perspective.

Monsters is more of a melodramatic, Hollywood-style series, but is so incredibly intense. The series focuses heavily on the emotional and sexual abuse that the brothers endured from their parents, which in the 1980s, wasn’t as talked about.

Ava Greenbaum, a senior at Pentucket, watched the series. “Even in just the first few episodes, and even though the show is dramatic, it shows how manic the boys were and how deeply the parents’ abuse affected them. The show starts with when they killed their parents, and when you see how they act immediately after their crime, you see how the boys aren’t in the right state of mind. You can tell there is something so wrong.”

Logan Lewis, a junior at Pentucket, has also been watching the show. “It was really heartbreaking, to be honest, to know that that’s the way that people lived. I feel like I understood where the boys were coming from because of how sad their life was.” 

When the brothers were given their trials in the early 1990s, mental health and abuse were not prevalent topics. In society now, we are more aware of abuse and how deeply people can be affected by it.

The recent releases of the shows have also brought light to the story for younger audiences, who weren’t alive at the time of the murders and trials. Younger audiences are able to see what happened, form an opinion, and engage in the brothers’ story. 

A Second Chance?

After spending almost 30 years in jail, Erik, now 53, and Lyle, now 56, will receive a new trial on November 29, 2024. 

Two new pieces of evidence have come up in the brothers’ defense. One is a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin eight months before the murder, which included allegations of abuse. The other is a declaration by a former Menudo band member named Roy Rosselló, who claims to have also been assaulted by José Menendez.

Murder in no way is okay, but neither is spending life in jail without justice for dreadful, mental-altering abuse. With their new trial within the next month, it will be interesting to see what happens to the brothers. 

Will they spend the rest of their lives in jail, or should they get a second chance?