Victims or Monsters?: The Chilling Tale of Lyle and Erik Menendez
Convicted in 1996 for the double murder of their parents, brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez claimed their crimes were the result of years of abuse. Now, their case may get a second look
Background
Lyle and Erik Menendez, sons of José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, grew up in California in the 1970s. The brothers lived a life of luxury, residing with their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion. Their father, a hard-working immigrant from Cuba, had found great success in his work as a film executive in Hollywood.
As a result of his success, José was able to afford a lavish lifestyle for his wife and children. By all accounts, the Menendez family portrayed a picture-perfect example of the American dream.
However, things may not have been quite so dreamy beneath the surface. Lyle and Erik later claimed that their seemingly high-end lifestyle was anything but idyllic. According to the brothers, their father was abusive and controlling, and their emotionally unstable mother did nothing to help the situation; these claims would later become central to their defense in one of the 1990s’ most sensationalized murder trials.
Double Murder
On the night of August 20th, 1989, the Menendez family’s story turned from a dream to a nightmare. José and Kitty Menendez were found brutally murdered in their home.
José had been shot numerous times in both the head and chest, with Kitty sustaining similar injuries as well as further post-mortem wounds indicating a substantial level of violence and rage.
Lyle and Erik, then aged 21 and 18, respectively, said they had returned home and found their parents dead, initially blaming an unknown intruder.
The level of violence alone made it highly unlikely that this had been the result of a robbery gone wrong. The brothers suggested this could have been the work of the mob, which would not have been entirely out of the question, given José’s connections and influence within Hollywood.
However, suspicion quickly fell on Erik and Lyle. Shortly after their parents’ deaths, the brothers treated themselves to extravagant shopping sprees, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of their inheritance on luxury goods and lavish trips.
Perhaps most telling, the brothers hired a tech expert to purge their father’s will from his computer. It certainly seemed that the Menendez brothers had something to hide, and authorities were determined to uncover it.
Recorded Confession
Several months after the murders, the case took a dramatic turn. Erik had been seeing a psychologist, Dr. Jerome Oziel, in the aftermath of his parents’ death. Consumed by the guilt that had been eating away at him, Erik confessed to Dr. Oziel that he and Lyle had murdered their parents.
Though Dr. Oziel was Erik’s doctor and therefore bound by patient confidentiality, the details of Erik’s confession became public record thanks to Oziel’s mistress, who had secretly taped and later leaked their sessions. This shocking revelation led to both Erik and Lyle being arrested in March of 1990, seven months after the murders of José and Kitty.
First Trial
The case went to trial in 1993, ending in a deadlock. The prosecution argued that Lyle and Erik had planned the murders, driven by their greed and desire to inherit their father’s fortune, which prosecutors demonstrated by recounting the lavish spending sprees following the murders.
On the other hand, the defense provided a dramatically different picture: two victims of abuse that had finally reached their breaking point. According to the defense team, Lyle and Erik had suffered immense physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their father, while their mother sat by and allowed her sons to suffer.
The defense attorneys cited José having recently updated his will to exclude his sons from the inheritance as the final breaking point that caused them to snap after a lifetime of horrific abuse.
Second Trial
During the brothers’ second trial in 1995, the evidence was restricted, with the presiding judge limiting the extent to which the brothers could use claims of prior abuse in their defense.
With fewer mitigating circumstances to sway the jury in favor of the victim narrative, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole following their second trial in 1996.
The case was highly sensationalized and created a media frenzy, leading to numerous documentaries, books, and even a television miniseries.
Public sentiment was, and still is, largely mixed: While some believe the Menendez brothers to be cold-blooded killers who murdered their own parents to satisfy their greed, others see them as lifelong abuse victims who finally snapped.
Today, Lyle and Erik Menendez remain behind bars at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego, California. Since their conviction in 1996, the Menendez brothers have gone through numerous appeals processes, all of which have been denied.
Per their attorneys, the brothers have created various programs, provided mentorship to other inmates, and worked on furthering their education while incarcerated. The fight for freedom, or at least the possibility of parole, is ongoing.
Push For A New Trial
Interest in the case has resurfaced in recent years, with social media movements calling for justice for the Menendez brothers and advocating for a retrial.
Former L.A. County district attorney George Gascón filed a petition for resentencing in the case, but as of December 2024, new district attorney Nathan Hochman has said he will ask for that petition to be withdrawn.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has expressed his support for re-examining the Menendez brothers’ case. Allegedly, new evidence of José Menendez’s sexual abuse has been uncovered per the defense team, and this evidence may have changed the outcome of the original trial.
However, in February of 2025, Nathan Hochman publicly stated that he would oppose a new trial for Erik and Lyle, even in light of potential new evidence.
Recent Developments
A hearing will be held on April 11th, 2025, to discuss the possibility of resentencing. If the court decides to move forward with a resentencing option, that hearing will be held on April 17th and April 18th.
With Governor Newsom expressing the option of a possible clemency case, the brothers will appear on June 13th for independent parole board hearings. The case is far from closed, and the story of the Menendez brothers continues to develop more than 35 years later.
Sources:
“Menendez Brothers Timeline: 1989 Murders to New Fight for Freedom.” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/US/menendez-brothers-timeline-1989-murders-new-fight-freedom/story?id=116243650.
“The Menendez Brothers: A Notorious American Murder Case Revisited.” BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c170l0n8j54o.
“Menendez Brothers Murder Case Facts.” Biography, A&E Networks, https://www.biography.com/crime/menendez-brothers-murder-case-facts.
“The Menendez Brothers: Revisiting an Infamous Case.” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/article/menendez-brothers-case.html.
“Lyle and Erik Menendez.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_and_Erik_Menendez.