RYan Murphy’s Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez has become one of the most popular shows on Netflix since its premiere last week. The series is based on the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989.
The men serving life sentences are living through a cultural moment that goes beyond Murphy’s dramatization. Over the past five years, TikTok users have revisited the case, bringing new attention to Lyle and Erik’s revelations that their father sexually abused them while their mother ignored it. It also raised questions about how their story was presented in the courtroom. Prosecutors argued the brothers murdered their parents to gain access to their multimillion-dollar estate. The defense said they acted in self-defense.
The documentary was released on October 7 The Menendez brothers, debuts on Netflix and includes interviews with the brothers themselves, the lawyers involved in the trial, the journalists who covered it, and the jurors. For those who have seen Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez— or just want to prepare for the documentary – here’s a guide to what to watch, read and hear about the case.
What to read
“Nightmare on Elm Drive” by Dominick Dunne for Vanity Fair
Named after the address of the Menendez family mansion in Beverly Hills, the article appeared in the October 1990 issue of Vanity Fair describes the brothers’ extravagant spending spree after the death of their parents and Erik’s confession of the crime to his therapist. Dunne continued to report on the case in the 1990s and is portrayed by Nathan Lane on Murphy’s show.
Read the story here.
They said we would never make it: My life with Erik Menendez by Tammi Menendez
Tammi Menendez first wrote to Erik when she saw coverage of the 1993 trial and felt compassion for him. They became pen pals, and after Tammi’s husband died, she visited Erik in Folsom State Prison, where they married in 1999. The purpose of the self-published book is to highlight the Menendez brothers’ perspective on what happened in their childhood home. The book is currently out of print but can be found on resale sites.
The Menendez Murders: The Shocking, Untold Story of the Menendez Family and the Murders That Shocked the Nation by Robert Rand
The 2018 book is the culmination of the reporting by Robert Rand, who had followed the case from the beginning, originally for the Miami-Herald And playboy. It describes the sexual abuse the Menendez brothers suffered and spoke about during the trial. The book also inspired the dramatic scene of Netflix Monster in which Kitty Menendez (Chloë Sevigny) rips off Lyle Menendez’s (Nicholas Chavez) toupee at the dinner table.
Buy The Menendez Murders Here.
What you should see
Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders
The NBC miniseries, which aired in 2017, is a dramatization of the Menendez case, centering on the brothers’ defense attorney Leslie Abramson, played by Edie Falco. Falco has never said whether or not she thinks the verdict was fair, arguing that that is a decision left up to the lawyers. She credits Abramson for humanizing the men, arguing that there is a tendency to divide people into “good people and bad people, and I think she wanted to convey to people that maybe you don’t always know who is who.”
Buy episodes here.
Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boys
The Peacock documentary series features Roy Rosselló, the star of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who claims that Jose Menendez sexually abused him when he was represented by the record company RCA and Menendez was an RCA executive. The filmmakers use Rosselló’s testimony to lend credence to the Menendez brothers’ long-standing claim that they murdered their father because he sexually abused them.
Watch the series on Peacock.
The Menendez murders: Erik tells all
The 2017 A&E docuseries bills itself as the most comprehensive interview with Erik Menendez to date. In addition to phone interviews with Erik, the filmmakers also interviewed prosecutors, family friends, law enforcement officials, and legendary journalists such as CNN’s Larry King and Associated Press trial reporter Linda Deutsch. In a statement released to coincide with the series, Erik said, “The tragedy did not end that night, as devastating as that night was. For my family, it did not end there, and it continues to this day… It will never end.”
Watch the series on Amazon Prime Video.
What you should hear
Murder & The Menendez Brothers: A courtroom TV crime thriller
Nearly three decades after Court TV’s coverage of the Menendez case helped popularize true crime as a genre, the company expanded its coverage of the case in a 2020 podcast. The episodes detail how the brothers evaded arrest for seven months and focus on the Beverly Hills Police Department’s investigation, and include interviews with detectives and a 9-1-1 dispatcher who took the fateful call from Lyle Menendez.
Listen here.
The Menendez brothers’ fight for freedom
This 2024 CBS 48 Hours special features an interview with Lyle Menendez from prison and explores possible new evidence the brothers hope could lead to their release. Cliff Gardner, one of their attorneys, references a letter Erik wrote to his cousin Andy Cano eight months before the murder, describing his father’s erratic behavior and his fear for his life. Cano testified in the brothers’ defense but died in 2003. The letter was never presented at trial because Cano’s mother found the letter in storage after his death.
Listen here.
