Bang! “Come on, let’s go!” 21-year-old Lyle Menendez says to his 18-year-old brother Erik as the two try to cover their tracks after shooting their parents. Nobody thought two brothers living a lavish life in their Beverly Hills mansion could have committed such a crime.
The first degree murders are portrayed in the Netflix show “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, released on Sept. 19. The documentary, “The Menendez Brothers” by Alejandro Hartmann, which was released a month later on Oct. 7, included actual court footage of the trial.
“Monsters” had 8.7 million views and held the number one spot for over a week on the English TV list. The show is a continuation of the murder series “Monster” by Murphy. The first season featured the serial killer Jeffery Dahmer’s crime story. Similarly, Hartman’s documentary hit 22.7 million views in its first six days of availability, showcasing the popularity of both pieces.
“I first saw the show and documentary trending on TikTok and Instagram, and my friends knew about the case too,” freshman Adhika Chandu said. “After watching the show and documentary, I learned about the details of the case, such as the sexual assault and how the court ruled their crime.”
The criminal case was popular in the 90’s as Lyle and Erik experienced a luxurious life in their house and nobody could imagine them committing a crime like this. The Menendez brothers were convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brothers have served 35 years of their sentence so far.
The popularity of the case rose again in 2024, due to people on social media talking about the case and people becoming more aware of the sexual abuse details the brothers endured by their father, Jose Menendez and their mother, Kitty Menendez.
“I think shows and documentaries impact a case a lot, since people get wrong information shown to them and it’s important to give out the right information,” Chandu said. “For example, in ‘Monsters,’ it showed that Lyle was very aggressive and it showed Erik was gay, when in real life he stated several times he was not.”
The show received a lot of backlash due to the dramatized way its producers portrayed the crime and the brothers’ incestuous relationship. The documentary, on the other hand, featured interviews with the brothers and footage of them in court, so viewers found it to be more credible.
“The accuracy of the show and documentary all depends on who made the show,” Criminal Justice teacher Phillip Leger said. “For example, ‘Dateline’ is fact based, they interview people involved and that’s pretty much head on, but if you’re talking about ‘NCIS’ and some of those far-fetched shows, it’s a lot of Hollywood and they want to build the drama.”
Since the show and documentary came out, many people have questioned the actual motives of the brothers for committing such a crime. Some believe it was due to the sexual abuse of their father and mother, while others believe it was for money.
“I think a lot of the documentary was based around the Menendez brothers point of view and what they thought they went through and why they thought they should be let out, rather than presenting both sides of the case, because a lot of the documentary interviews were from the Menendez brothers,” junior Lily Fry said. “It did a good job in presenting the evidence, but it leaned more towards supporting the Menendez brothers.”
New pieces of evidence have been found regarding the case. A letter from Erik to another family member has been revealed as Erik details the abuse he endured by his father, Jose Menendez. An affidavit by a former Menudo band member Roy Rossello, who accused Jose Menendez of the same type of abuse.
“I care about the case and the Menendez brothers because I feel like back then, the case was not carefully looked at,” Chandu said. “It was taken horribly and I think a lot of people didn’t look at the clear evidence that they were being abused.”
The most recent concern in the Menendez brothers case is whether there should be a retrial due to discovery of new evidence being found. The show and documentary attracted people who were concerned for the brothers’ lives.
“I think a big part of getting convictions or getting people acquitted of charges has a lot to do with the public opinion,” Leger said. “If the majority of the public is kind of on one side of an argument, it’s almost impossible for the juries to not have some sort of bias built in, based on that.”
The Menendez brothers had an online hearing on Nov. 26. The court allowed 16 people with tickets to enter and the Menendez brothers’ family to speak to the judge. The hearing concluded with their resentencing delayed to Jan. 30 instead of the original date on Dec. 11.
“The Menendez brothers case is not only popular because of the shows and media coverage it’s getting, the case helps shed light on how men can be victims of sexual abuse and rape as much as women,” Chandu said.
