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Erik and Lyle Menendez, pictured here in the late 1980s, grew up in California. Their parents, José and his wife Mary "Kitty," had moved from New Jersey to Calabasas after José had secured an executive position first with the Hertz Corporation and later RCA Records.
The case has received renewed attention over the years through television documentaries and video-sharing social media platforms such as TikTok. And given society's greater understanding of the type of physical abuse described during the trial, the brothers' statements are today falling on far more sympathetic ears.
In the wake of the hit Netflix show, a new court hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez has been set for November 29, more than 28 years after they were convicted of the double homicide. The hearing is set to refocus attention on one of the most infamous murder cases in recent US criminal history.
The recent Netflix series 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' dramatizes the story of two brothers who killed their parents. But it's been criticized by one of the real-life men it is based on.
At some point during the evening, Lyle and Erik entered the den and shot their parents dead. Later that night, Lyle dialed 911 and told the operator that someone had killed their parents. Erik was heard sobbing in the background.
In 1988 with teenage rebellion kicking in, both brothers began committing a string of burglaries throughout the neighborhood. Their errant behavior prompted José Menendez to relocate his family to Beverly Hills. While neither sibling demonstrated any academic qualities, Erik had a genuine talent for tennis, and seemed destined for a career in the sport. But his father's overbearing insistence that Erik succeed in everything started to weigh heavily on the young man's shoulders.
The Menendez home was a million dollar-plus mansion (the house is pictured here in the 1990s, the new owners' cars parked in the driveway). On the evening of August 20, 1989, José and Kitty were watching television in the den of their plush property.
The trials of the Menendez brothers, each heard by two separate juries, began in July 1993. Inside the courtroom, prosecutors argued that the brothers were after their inheritance. But both Lyle and Erick claimed they had shot their parents in self-defense.
The case immediately attracted nationwide notoriety. It had all the ingredients of a primetime soap opera: a wealthy family torn apart by scandal, a truly grisly crime, and, center stage, two handsome and beguiling young men.
The Menendez brothers are currently imprisoned at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.
The second trial took place in 1995. On this occasion, TV cameras were banned from the courtroom and both brothers were tried together before a single jury.
The first trials lasted for six months, and the juries retired. After a month of deliberations, the proceedings ended in a mistrial due to the two deadlocked juries. A retrial was quickly ordered.
Judge Stanley Weisberg determined that there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that the brothers were in imminent danger when they murdered their parents.
The Menendez brothers were charged with two counts of first-degree murder. They made their first appearance in court for a series of pretrial hearings. From day one the proceedings were broadcast live by Court TV.
However, the judge did allow the defense to argue that the brothers shot José in the heat of passion, but not their mother Kitty. Elaborating, he concluded there was enough evidence to suggest that José might have provoked his sons into committing homicide, but not enough to indicate that Kitty did.
The defense also tore into Kitty's reputation as a woman who struggled with alcoholism and substance abuse. She was, they said, a broken wife and useless mother, someone deeply hurt by her husband's numerous affairs.
Then in a sensational accusation, both brothers said that they'd been subject to emotional and physical abuse at the hands of their father for years.
The lurid details shocked a nation riveted to their TV screens. The graphic accounts cut even deeper among the wider Menendez circle, splitting friends and family members.
Both brothers tied the knot while serving their sentences. In July 1996, Lyle married Anna Eriksson by proxy over the telephone. The couple divorced in April 2001. Erik married his current wife Tammi Saccoman (pictured) at Folsom State Prison in June 1999. In November 2003, Lyle swapped vows for the second time, with Rebecca Sneed, at a ceremony in a visiting area of Mule Creek State Prison.
The Netflix series 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' and the more recent release of 'The Menendez Brothers,' a true crime documentary film also distributed by Netflix, have prompted further calls for the case to be reviewed. On October 16, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez' sister, called for the release of the brothers during a press conference outside the Criminal Courts Building in Los Angeles.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the brothers painted a damning picture of their parents. José, they alleged, had physically assaulted Erik in an intimate fashion just days before the murders. When Lyle confronted his father about his conduct, he took José's furious reaction as a death threat.
Mrs. VanderMolen was accompanied by her niece, Karen VanderMolen. Both want to see Erik and Lyle Menendez freed. The Netflix productions, plus recently uncovered evidence that suggests José Menendez was responsible for the abuse of another, unrelated individual, may well see the brothers released from jail.
Sources: (Biography) (BBC) (NPR) (E! Online) (The Week) (Variety) (People)
See also: The most mysterious murders of all time
Detectives initially investigated Lyle's suggestion the murders might be business related, implying mob-related activity. But in the months after the slayings, the brothers spent an estimated US$700,000 of their wealthy father's fortune—hardly the sort of activity expected of two young men who had found their parents dead in a brutal, bloody murder scene. Their suspicions aroused, police arrested Lyle on March 8, 1990, while Erik turned himself in three days later.
Lyle did not testify in the second trial. Erik, though, testified over 15 days about allegations of abuse. The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence that José had abused his sons, which was central to the defense's claim that the brothers had killed their parents out of fear.
During the trial, a diagram of the Menendez home was used to pinpoint the study where Erik said his father conducted "serious conversations" with both him and his brother.
The brothers always maintained that they feared their parents were going to kill them to prevent stories emerging about the alleged abuse of their sons. During the trial, mannequins were used to illustrate bullet wounds to both Kitty and José. Kitty was shot 10 times, José six times.
Writing from prison, Erik Menendez accused the show of being "rooted in horrible and blatant lies" and called the portrayals of himself and his brother "vile and appalling."
The series chronicles the notorious case of the real-life brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their mother and father. The story, however, has drawn accusations of "dishonesty" from Erik Menendez.
Ultimately, both Lyle and Erik were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder on March 21, 1996. They were sentenced to life without parole, each receiving two consecutive life terms.
In the decades since their incarceration, multiple legal appeals of their convictions have been rejected by reviewing judges.
A controversial Netflix television series and recently uncovered new evidence have fueled speculation that two brothers convicted of a double homicide nearly 30 years ago may soon be released from prison. It was back in 1989 that Erik and Lyle Menendez shot and killed their parents at their family home in Los Angeles. The siblings were later convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole. There is now, however, a strong possibility that the brothers will be resentenced and ultimately paroled. So how real is the prospect of the two men enjoying freedom anytime soon, and what exactly were the circumstances leading up to that terrible night some 35 years ago?
Click through this gallery revisit the shocking story of the Menendez brothers.
The Menendez brothers: Unraveling a tragic family story
A Netflix drama has refocused attention on one of the most notorious crimes in recent US criminal history
LIFESTYLE Crime
A controversial Netflix television series and recently uncovered new evidence have fueled speculation that two brothers convicted of a double homicide nearly 30 years ago may soon be released from prison. It was back in 1989 that Erik and Lyle Menendez shot and killed their parents at their family home in Los Angeles. The siblings were later convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole. There is now, however, a strong possibility that the brothers will be resentenced and ultimately paroled. So how real is the prospect of the two men enjoying freedom anytime soon, and what exactly were the circumstances leading up to that terrible night some 35 years ago?
Click through this gallery revisit the shocking story of the Menendez brothers.