Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story tells the sequence of events leading up to José and Kitty Menendez’s deaths and the fallout afterward, which involved charging and convicting Lyle and Erik Menendez for their parents’ murders. Monster season 2 follows the Menendez brothers’ story after the success of the show’s first season, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. On August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez surprised their parents with shotguns and killed them. Although the police did not initially suspect Lyle and Erik Menendez, their psychologist’s mistress turned in the tapes of Lyle and Erik confessing to killing their parents.
Lyle and Erik Menendez’s first trial in 1993 ended with a deadlocked jury and mistrial, but their second trial ended with convictions. The judge then sentenced Lyle and Erik Menendez to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has a remarkable cast of characters played by actors who embody the roles well. There has been a lot of debate over why Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents, and the show explores all the theories, focusing on the prosecution’s and defense team’s arguments.
Erik & Lyle Menendez Killed Their Parents Because Of José’s Sexual & Emotional Abuse
José Menendez Abused His Sons While Kitty Menendez Knew The Entire Time
According to the brothers, their father José Menendez sexually, physically, and emotionally abused his children. The physical and emotional abuse was reportedly an open secret in the family, but the sexual abuse occurred behind closed doors—and despite some suspicion from extended family members and his wife, no one knew about it. Lyle Menendez did not realize that their father was also sexually abusing his younger brother, believing he was the only victim of José Menendez’s sexual abuse. Lyle and Erik Menendez planned to reveal to the world what their father had done to them, which, in turn, made the brothers fear for their lives.
Erik and Lyle Menendez thought their father was going to kill them, so they killed him first out of that fear. The brothers also killed their mother, Kitty Menendez, because she secretly knew about the sexual abuse her sons had endured the entire time. However, Kitty Menendez refused to do anything to protect them. Lyle and Erik Menendez believed that she would take their father’s side in the matter and, if it came down to it, help him kill them. The brothers have stuck by this explanation since the beginning, and continue to do so today.
How Erik & Lyle Killed José & Kitty Menendez
Erik & Lyle Menendez Surprised Their Parents With Shotguns
Erik and Lyle Menendez killed José and Kitty Menendez on the evening of August 20, 1989. The brothers arrived at their house, each carrying a shotgun. When they entered the living area, their parents were watching television. Lyle and Erik Menendez immediately started shooting at José and Kitty Menendez, and it took a few rounds from each shotgun to kill them. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story states that Joséa and Kitty Menendez’s deaths occurred between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., but the brothers did not stage their 911 phone call until two hours later, at 11:47 p.m.
What The Prosecution Said About Erik & Lyle Menendez’s Motives For Killing Their Parents
Erik & Lyle Menendez Killed Their Parents For The Money According To The Prosecution
In both criminal trials, the prosecution argued that Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents out of financial greed. Before their deaths, José Menendez threatened to cut Lyle and Eric Menendez out of his will multiple times, even claiming he had done so already. The prosecution believed that the sexual abuse was made up to cover for their true motivation, which was ensuring they inherited their father’s money. Lyle and Erik Menendez also killed Kitty Menendez because the brothers only received the fortune in the event of both their parents’ deaths.
The prosecution’s arguments were a sharp contrast to what Lyle and Erik Menendez insisted—they killed their father because they had planned to tell people about his sexual abuse, and they feared he would kill them for it.
The prosecution’s arguments were a sharp contrast to what Lyle and Erik Menendez insisted—they killed their father because they had planned to tell people about his sexual abuse, and they feared he would kill them for it. However, it was much more difficult to prove sexual abuse despite the photographic evidence and witness testimony from extended family members. Lyle and Erik Menendez also spent outrageous amounts of money after their parents’ deaths, which further aided the prosecution’s argument. The first criminal trial ended with a deadlocked jury, so the judge declared a mistrial.
Other films, TV shows, and documentaries have been made in the past about Lyle and Erik Menendez’s story.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were retried in a second trial that seemed to not be in their favor. The media was ousted from the courtroom, and the defense was not allowed to use sexual abuse as a legitimate defense claim. Ultimately, the jury in the second trial convicted Lyle and Erik Menendez of first-degree murder, and the judge sentenced them to life in prison without parole in March 1996, where the Menendez brothers still are today. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story confirms that the brothers are still imprisoned, and they continue to insist their father had sexually abused them while their mother helped cover it up.
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