Warning: This article contains spoilers for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Ryan Murphy Ian Brennan waited thirty years to make Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez to NetflixBut they may not have captured the full story of the ongoing saga of Erik and Lyle Menendez. The Los Angeles siblings became international celebrities after they murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty (Mary Louise), in their luxury mansion in 1989. Erik and Lyle were eventually convicted of killing both parents after separate trials as individuals, with the state trying them together in a joint trial following those failed trials. The legal battle has been prolonged as the case has expanded to include fictional Mafia hitmen, a corrupt psychiatrist and his drug-addicted mistress, Jude Nelson, and confessions of incest. As bizarre as the court proceedings were, the two years leading up to the double murder were even more astonishing.
Follow their interesting interest and goofy headlines. Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer StoryIn the second season of the hit Netflix series, Murphy and co-producer Brennan head to the Pacific Coast, where the writing team recounts the trials of the Menendez brothers and the events that led to their murders. Expect a fair amount of betrayal and opportunism as the series delves into the underbelly of high society, a cautionary tale about the downward spiral of greed and privilege. Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny play the doomed Jose and Kitty. Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch tackle the slick killers in this crime anthology.
Knowing where to begin is as difficult as knowing how to end. Murphy and Brennan probably need a second season this season, because this tragedy is far from over. Naturally, this horrific chapter in Los Angeles history is filled with endless drama and intrigue that would leave even the most desperate screenwriter gasping for air. So what can we expect from the new series, and why hasn’t it been made? Monster Did the producers choose this case?
The Origins of America's Love of True Crime
Before OJ or Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard, The Menendez brothers' trials were the ultimate celebrity scandal, and arguably the scandal that paved the way for America's preoccupation with the latest form of entertainment: the prolonged legal ordeal of celebrities. Court TV was launched in conjunction with the media circus, a staple of 90s pop culture that is no longer around. The brothers were not celebrities at the time of the crime. But the media covered and examined every available second of the incident, allowing the curious and the complainant to delve into the details.
The Menendez family's father was a Cuban refugee who made it big in Los Angeles, eventually moving into a mansion once owned by Prince and Elton John. The Beverly Hills kids lived the typical pampered-kids life, playing tennis, driving fancy foreign cars, and attending the best schools—Lyle is at Princeton and his brother Eric is about to attend UCLA.
The executions of Jose and Kitty Menendez were initially treated as a potential Mafia hit, tied to Jose's work as an entertainment executive.A team of bodyguards is hired, supposedly to rescue the sons from the mafia hit squads out to finish the job, or so Eric and Lyle would have us believe. The police's suspicion quickly shifts from the underworld to the murdered couple's two young sons, one of whom is still in his teens.
Although they went so far as to buy tickets for Batman And the new James Bond movie as a cover story, Their lies were exposed, and they confessed that they had indeed killed their parents with a shotgun on the night of August 20, 1989.The brothers’ alibis fell apart. Jerome Oziel (played by Dallas Roberts in the miniseries), the brothers’ therapist, was forced to testify at the first two trials, even though this was a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality. Oziel’s incompetence was so great that he allowed his mistress to record the sessions in which the brothers confessed. It is worth noting that he never showed up at the third trial. The prosecution’s case was so airtight that they didn’t even have to bother with him.
Why Murphy and Brennan chose the Menendez brothers
It's hard to pinpoint why this story was chosen, but Murphy and Brennan must have felt pressure to be more careful in their choice of outrageous legal events. Given the controversy surrounding the show's final season, MonsterWhen exploring Jeffrey Dahmer's crimes, they likely chose a more nuanced, morally gray crime that invites less criticism.
Fans will recall that Netflix and the producers were lambasted for glorifying Dahmer’s demented sexual fantasies. Rita Isbell, the sister of Dahmer’s victim Errol Lindsay, wrote in a 2022 Business Insider piece that the project’s focus on so-called “murder porn” was cynical and disrespectful to the victims and families who had to live with the trauma that the show so brilliantly depicts, with each episode complete with a star-studded soundtrack to accompany the murders:
“…the victims have children and grandchildren. If the show was in any way beneficial to them, they wouldn't feel so cruel and neglected. It's sad that they're making money off of this tragedy. It's just greed.”
Less than perfect crime for Eric and Lyle
We should expect more politeness. The brothers' crime will play less of a role than their failed cover-up attempt and their brazen social climbing. It was their lack of remorse that ultimately led to their downfall, and it was what defined them. This lack of sorrow is evident in the New York Knicks basketball team trading card, which shows the team members smiling in courtside seats at Madison Square Garden as they spend lavishly after inheriting the family fortune.
Acquaintances and employees describe the brothers as constantly seeking out more trivial toys in their pursuit of the high life. His friend Glenn Stevens, whom Lyle met at Princeton, recalled that Lyle was not content with an Alfa Romero sports car and wanted a Porsche instead, and went so far as to buy his own restaurant for $300,000 (just the down payment). As the money rolled in, he suddenly began wearing a Rolex and spending lavishly instead of sadly.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Stevens noted that Lyle seemed relieved, with Lyle telling him, “Well, I've waited a long time to be in this position, so I'm ready for this.” Prosecutors claimed their crime was inspired by a 1987 NBC television movie. Billionaires Club Starring Judd Nelson, it was distributed by their father's company and aired briefly before the murders.
They have practically handed over the verdict to the prosecutor. According to People Magazine, Eric went so far as to write a script about a kid killing his parents for an inheritance two years ago, hinting that this was originally his idea, or at least, a concept the two had been thinking about for years.Eric's other hobby was burglary, for which he was arrested in 1988. Their pattern of behavior and the scenario condemned them in the eyes of the public long before a jury could convict them. They were not masterminds.
Twists in the plot of the story of Erik and Lyle Menendez
They were sentenced before most of the docudrama’s fans were born, but that’s not the end of the story. After a seven-year trial, the failed psychotherapist, Dr. Oziel, was banned from practicing in California. In part because of the publicity he gained, Oziel was caught having sex with his female clients, among a long list of other outrageous allegations. It destroyed his career, which, as it happened, was a specialist in sexually-related psychological conditions.
As for the guilty, Lyle and Eric's reputations grew so much that both were inundated with fan mail, both married women they met through prisoner correspondence services, and both lived out fantasies of fame and admiration. Thirty-seven years after his script failed, Eric's teenage fantasy is finally in Hollywood's reach. He's too busy trading a can of tuna to a skinhead henchman to see the movie. Be careful what you ask for, kids.
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Although the media has largely forgotten about it, recent evidence may exonerate the duo, proving that their claims of self-defense against their father were justified. Let us recall here that the third trial had eliminated the defense of abuse and revenge. Few mourned the jury’s verdict at the time, but this new revelation may lend credence to the brothers’ portrayal of the crime as an attack on a cruel father and an empowerment of the mother who had threatened their children into silence.
We can only wonder if Monster The editors had time to come up with a series finale title as the case enters another phase that could see one or both of the killers released. The miniseries also stars Nathan Lane and Ari Graynor in supporting roles. Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez It will be available to stream exclusively on Netflix on September 19.
