A dramatic, based-on-true account of the 1989 trial of the Menendez brothers that shocked the nation is coming to Netflix as part of producer Ryan Murphy’s anthology series “Monster.” Last year, Season 1 of the series, in which Evan Peters played serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, received six Emmy nominations and a nod for supporting actress Niecy Nash.
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” stars Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez and Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, as well as Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as their sons and murderers Lyle and Erik Menendez.
It all began on the night of August 20, 1989, when Lyle, then 21, called the Beverly Hills Police Department on 911 and said, “Someone killed my parents!” When police arrived at the Menendez family mansion in Beverly Hills, they found Jose and Kitty brutally murdered while watching television. Jose was shot six times and Kitty was shot ten times. At first, investigators thought the murder had something to do with Jose’s business dealings at Live Entertainment and was perhaps linked to mafia activities.
Erik and Lyle told police they were at the movies watching Batman at the time of their parents’ murder. While police investigated the crime, the brothers went on a shopping spree. In just six months after their parents’ murder, they spent $700,000 of their inherited wealth. Their purchases included a Porsche, a Rolex, a restaurant, a $40,000 investment in a rock concert, and more.
However, everything came crashing down for Erik and Lyle in March 1990, when Judalon Smyth tipped off the BHPD. She claimed she had taped confessions made by then 19-year-old Erik during his therapy sessions with Dr. L. Jerome Oziel. Smyth was Dr. Oziel’s lover.
As the investigation continued, the evidence against the brothers mounted. However, their film alibi could only protect them for a certain time. On March 8, 1990, Lyle was arrested. Two days later, Erik turned himself in at the airport. It was assumed that the brothers had murdered their parents in order to get their hands on their father’s $14 million fortune.
The already gruesome story took another twist when the trials began in July 1993. During his testimony, Lyle explained how his father and mother had sexually abused him from the ages of six to eight. Erik echoed his brother’s testimony, claiming that his father had also abused him from the age of six, but that unlike his brother, the abuse never stopped. The end of the alleged abuse came when he confided in his brother what had happened, because the next day they killed their parents.
In the stands, the brothers cried as they talked about the alleged abuse, explaining that it was because of it that they inflicted pain on each other as children. Andy Cano, one of their cousins, testified that Erik told him about his father’s abuse when he was 10 and Cano was 13. Erik asked if it was normal for his father to “massage” him. He later had to promise to keep these mentions secret out of fear for his father. Another of their cousins, Alan Andersen, testified that Jose showered with the children during his visits and that Kitty did not let him near the room at those times.
The case ended in a mistrial because the jury could not reach a unanimous decision. The retrial began in October 1995. This trial focused more on the facts surrounding the murder and its brutality. The prosecution was able to successfully challenge much of the evidence surrounding the abuse, calling this defense the “abuse excuse.”
At that trial, Lyle refused to testify. On July 2, 1996, the Menendez brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In the years since their conviction, the brothers have attempted to appeal the sentence, but their appeals have been denied.
There have been other dramatic reenactments of the infamous murder, including the Lifetime movie “Menendez: Blood Brothers.”
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is now streaming on Netflix.
