Santina Cerquetelli Staff Writer
Content Warning: This Article Contains themes of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
On Aug. 20, 1989, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez were shot and killed in their home in Beverly Hills, California. Almost immediately, the case spread massively as José Menendez was a big name in Hollywood at the time and no one knew who could have done this to them. It would take almost seven months to figure out who their killers were, and everyone was stunned to find out that it was none other than their own two sons: Erik and Lyle.
As if the brothers slaughtering their own parents was not shocking enough, what came in their defense became increasingly appalling as their case progressed. Their reasoning behind the murders was unexpected, claiming their parents had abused them since they were children, emotionally and even sexually.
The abuse they faced—which they had an overwhelming amount of evidence of—was mainly at the hands of José, but Kitty was also fully aware and seemingly complacent with José’s actions. The brothers claim they feared for their lives and that they had no choice but to kill them as a result of their parents’ social status and what would happen if Lyle and Erik tried to fight against them.
Their first trial ended in a hung jury and was dismissed, but during their retrial, they were forbidden from using the “abuse excuse” in their case. As a result, they were found guilty and were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in March 1996. Very little activity has been seen in the case since their conviction. That was until Ryan Murphy decided to make a docuseries about them in an attempt to share their story with the public.
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” directed by Ryan Murphy was released on Netflix on Sept. 19, 2024, and it immediately faced major backlash due to the overwhelming number of inaccuracies in the story that is supposedly about the Menendez Brothers.
The inaccuracy that is facing the most backlash is how Murphy portrayed the relationship between the brothers. There are several implications throughout the series that would lead the viewer to believe the relationship between Lyle and Erik was incestuous, which could not be farther from the truth.
The situation with these inaccuracies was further exasperated when the information came out that at no point during the curation of the show did Murphy attempt to interview or speak to the brothers or anyone in their families about the show, leading to the belief that all information Murphy acquired for the show was obtained from third party sources.
Upon being asked why he did not speak to either of the brothers, he stated he had “no interest” in talking to them. He then said the backlash he is facing was predictable. This makes me wonder if he knew what he was doing was wrong based on his confidence that viewers were going to confront him on these aspects of the series.
In a statement from Erik Menendez’s wife’s X account, Erik stated his opinion on the show saying “I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose.”
While any docuseries or biography can potentially have its fair share of inaccuracies, it is clear to see why it is so important to get the facts right in this specific case. These brothers have faced a horrible childhood only to be followed by 34 years (and counting) in jail and now are having lies spread about themselves to people who do not know the actual facts of the case. I am interested to see what will come of this situation and what, if anything, will be done to mend the supposed wrongdoings of Ryan Murphy.
There is speculation that the brothers will be releasing a documentary from their perspective to contradict Murphy’s called “The Menendez Brothers” that will feature extensive phone interviews from the brothers in an attempt to reveal a new perspective on the case. The opposing documentary is set to be released Oct. 7.