“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” has just been released on Netflix, the second season of the series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan which aims to tell the worst stories of serial killers who have had a strong impact on society. After a first chapter on the Jeffrey Dahmer case, Monsters returns with the story of the brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez who, in 1989, killed their parents in Beverly Hills, they will be the protagonists of Monsters 2. But let’s go into more detail to find out what the true story of these two killers is.
The True Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez
It all started on August 20, 1989 when, after a chilling phone call to the Beverly Hills police, the lifeless bodies of José Menendez and Louise “Kitty” Andersen were found inside their villa. They were killed by a weapon, a pump-action shotgun that with several shots fired at close range, massacred the bodies of these two people inside the walls of their luxurious home.
The bodies were found by the couple’s two sons, who, after going out to the cinema, immediately returned because they realized they had forgotten their documents at home. Here they found the two bodies torn apart by bullets and immediately called the police. Initially, they thought it was a mafia crime because of the blows to the knees, a trademark of this type of crime linked to the mafia and then José had contacts with local organized crime.
The two brothers, shocked by what happened, are not even considered as possible murderers at first and therefore begin to enjoy the huge fortune of their rich parents, even hiring an expert to eliminate the latest version of their mother’s will that excluded them from the inheritance. They spend six months between extra luxury vacations around the world, crazy purchases and a life of luxury spending a sum equal to about 700 thousand dollars.
At this point, however, the police begin to suspect and discover, after some investigation, that the weapons used to kill Josè and Kitty had been bought by their sons Lyle and Erik shortly before their death. In addition, the technician who had helped the brothers to cancel the will is also tracked down, even though he will not confess. Only Dr. Oziel, Erik’s psychologist, will be able to obtain the final confession of the crime, leading the boy to confess the whole plan to kill his parents, from the purchase of the weapons to the clean clothes prepared to change immediately after the event, to the alibi of the cinema and the forgotten documents. Erik also confesses that he was unable to kill Kitty but that it was Lyle who shot her in the face without any remorse. After the first confession, the psychologist will begin to record each session but without revealing the truth to the police for fear of repercussions on his life. However, the psychologist’s secretary, who is also his lover, will report everything to the police. Thus, the police, with the confession in hand, will be able to arrive at the arrest.
Monsters Review: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez
During the trial, Lyle and Erik always maintained a defiant attitude, almost laughing in front of the judge. But the psychologist’s recordings were overwhelming so the defense seemed practically impossible. The Menendez brothers often changed their version of events until they ended up saying, in July 1993, that they had killed their parents in self-defense after mental, physical and sexual abuse by their father and mother who, knowing everything, never defended them.
These testimonies are so detailed that they seem sincere even if, they were questioned by the fact that the boys never spoke about these things to the psychologist.
But something else condemned them. Lyle and Erik Menendez had claimed to have purchased the weapons three years before the murder to defend themselves from their father’s abuse, but the prosecution’s lawyers were able to prove that the store was closed the day the two claimed to have purchased the weapons. Thus, the two were found guilty and sentenced, in 1996, to life in prison.
The true story of Ed Gein, protagonist of Monsters 3
