The Gruesome, Real-Life Murders Behind Netflix’s ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’

A dramatic, true-crime rendition of the 1989 Menendez brothers trial that perturbed the nation is arriving on Netflix from producer Ryan Murphy as part of his “Monster” anthology series. Last year, Season 1 of the show, which starred Evan Peters as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, went on to earn six Emmy nominations and a win for supporting actress Niecy Nash.

Now, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” stars Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez and Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, along with Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as their sons and killers Lyle and Erik Menendez, respectively.

It all started on the night of Aug. 20, 1989, when Lyle, then 21 years old, made a 911 call to the Beverly Hills Police Department, saying “Someone killed my parents!” When the police arrived at the Menendez family’s Beverly Hills mansion, they found Jose and Kitty brutally murdered by shotgun wounds while they had been watching TV. Jose was shot six times and Kitty was shot 10 times. At first, investigators thought the murder was related to Jose’s business dealings at Live Entertainment and perhaps linked to mob activities.

Related Stories

VIP+

Fall Season’s Scripted Reduction Bodes Badly for Broadcast TV

Apple TV+'s 'La Maison' Finally Gives Fashion the Dramatic Showcase It Deserves: TV Review

Erik and Lyle told police that they had been out at a movie theater watching “Batman” at the time of their parents’ murders. While the police investigated the crime, the brothers went on a spending spree. In just six months after killing their parents, they spent $700,000 of their inherited fortune. Their purchases included a Porsche, a Rolex, a restaurant, a $40,000 investment in a rock concert and more.  

However, it all came crashing down for Erik and Lyle in March 1990 when Judalon Smyth reported a tip to the BHPD. She claimed to have audio-taped confessions that Erik, then 19 years old, had made during his therapy sessions with Dr. L. Jerome Oziel. Smyth was Dr. Oziel’s mistress. 

Upon further digging, evidence began stacking up against the brothers. Their movie alibi could only protect them so long. On March 8, 1990, Lyle was arrested. Two days later, Erik surrendered at the airport. The brothers were perceived as assassinating their parents to earn their father’s $14 million fortune.

The already gruesome story took another turn when the trials started in July 1993. During his testimony, Lyle explained how his father and mother both sexually assaulted him from ages six to eight. Erik followed his brother’s testimony and claimed that his father also abused him from age six, but that unlike his brother the abuse never stopped. The end to the alleged abuse came once he confided in his brother about what had been happening because the next day they killed their parents. 

On the stands, the brothers wept while discussing the alleged abuse, explaining how that, as a result, they also inflicted pain on each other while they were children. Andy Cano, one of their cousins, testified that Erik had 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 give him “massages.” He later made him promise to keep those mentions a secret out of fear for his father. Another one of their cousins, Alan Andersen, testified how when he visited, Jose would take showers with the kids and how Kitty would not allow him near the room at those times. 

The case ended in a mistrial declared by the judge as the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. The retrial trial began in October 1995. This trial stuck more to the facts surrounding the murder and its brutality. The prosecution successfully objected much evidence surrounding the abuse and labeled that defense as the “abuse excuse.”

At this trial, Lyle refused to take the stand. On July 2, 1996, the Menendez brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.  In the years since their conviction, the brothers have attempted to appeal the case but have been denied.

There have been other dramatic recreations about the infamous murder, including the Lifetime movie “Menendez: Blood Brothers.”

“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is now streaming on Netflix.