Yahoo Lifestyle Where Are Lyle and Erik Menendez From Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ Now?
Following The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Netflix has released Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which tells the tale of two brothers who killed their parents on August 20, 1989. But where are Lyle and Erik Menendez now?
Released yesterday (September 19, 2024), the nine-part series is a dramatization of a very real crime that unfolded over 30 years ago, which saw two brothers fatally shoot their parents in their Beverly Hills home, later citing abuse as their motive.
How old were Lyle and Erik Menendez on the night of the murders?
Lyle, who was 21 at the time of the murders, and his 18-year-old brother Erik walked into their parents’ home on the evening of August 20, 1989, carrying shotguns.
What happened on the night of the Menendez murders?
Their mother Kitty was shot 10 times, while their father José was shot six times, with a fatal blow to the back of his head. At the time, the brothers said they had been out to see a movie, Batman, all the while getting rid of the guns and changing out of their clothes. When they came back and “discovered” their parents’ bodies, Erik dialed 911 and sobbed on the lawn in front of their house while telling agents, “Someone killed our parents.”
Police initially believed their version of events, and didn’t initially suspect the brothers, even failing to test them for gunshot residue or question their alibis. Instead, police agents began their investigation into what could have happened to the couple, looking into mob ties and potential suspects.
It was only when the Menendez brothers started spending their inheritance, blowing a reported $700,000 in six months on Rolex watches and cars, that they were eventually arrested and police alleged that money was their motive.
What happened during Erik and Lyle Menendez’s trial?
While Erik and Lyle initially denied any involvement in the murders, Erik *did* eventually confess to what had happened to Jerome Oziel, his psychologist, who then told his mistress Judalon Smyth about what he’d been told.
When Oziel broke off their affair, Judalon told the police about what Erik had said, and the brothers were arrested—Lyle first in March 1990, before Erik turned himself in three days later, and six months after the murders.
The case took place from 1993 to 1996 and was highly publicized. It also involved two juries, two trials, and a mistrial. During the court case, the prosecution argued that the siblings killed their parents in an attempt to inherit their family fortune.
The brothers have always remained adamant that they suffered years of abuse at the hands of their parents, José and Kitty, saying they killed them out of self-defense after their parents inflicted physical, emotional, and sexual abuse on them.
Eventually, in March 1996, Lyle and Erik were found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder, both receiving consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
Where are Lyle and Erik Menendez now?
After receiving their life sentences, Lyle and Erik were sent to two different prisons. In 2018, they were moved to the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego and allowed to serve the rest of their sentences in the same prison and ultimately in the same housing unit. It was the first time the brothers had seen each other for almost 22 years.
In 2023, the brothers filed an appeal for a new hearing, based on new evidence they said included testimony from Roy Rosselló, who claimed to have also been raped by José Menendez at the age of 14. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirmed the report to CNN in May 2023, commenting, “We have received the habeas petition in the Menendez matter and it’s currently under review.”
At the end of the Netflix crime drama, it’s stated that “Lyle and Erik Menéndez maintain their allegation of sexual abuse at the hands of their mother and father. They continue to serve life sentences without possibility of parole.”
Neither Erik nor Lyle are eligible for parole and will spend the rest of their lives in prison. They are now aged 53 and 56.
‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ is now streaming on Netflix.
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