Chilling truth behind dark Netflix hit series

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story has topped Netflix charts, and the truth behind the twisted murders is only just beginning to emerge three decades later.

The pair had an abundance of evidence suggesting sexual abuse had taken place, but it failed to sway the court. Picture: Getty

On the evening of August 20th, 1989, José and Kitty Menéndez were watching TV in their living room in Beverly Hills when their two sons, Lyle and Erik, entered the room carrying 12-gauge shotguns.

According to police, a gun barrel was shoved into José’s mouth after he’d already been shot four times, and a final blast blew off the back of his head. Kitty, who was shot 10 times, attempted to crawl away while her sons reloaded before receiving a fatal blast to the cheek.

The real-life brothers were sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole. Picture: Getty

Hours after the brutal murders took place, the eldest brother, Lyle, cried down the phone while calling 911, saying: “Somebody killed my parents!”

The shocking story is the subject of a brutal new Netflix series, which acts as the sequel to the platforms 2020 smash hit: Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has already shot to the top of Netflix charts around the world, as well as sparking outrage among some viewers, and now it’s time to learn the truth behind the harrowing case.

During the brothers’ trials, which took place from 1993 to 1996, Lyle and Erik – who were 21 and 18 at the time of the killings – claimed they had endured a lifetime of abuse at the hands of their father, a millionaire Hollywood entertainment executive.

They seemed like the perfect American family at first glance. However, beneath the surface, trouble was brewing long before the grizzly murders.

In 1976, eight-year-old Lyle told his cousin Diane Vander Molen that his father was sexually abusing him. Molen told his mother, Kitty, who took her husband’s side.

While Lyle said his father only touched him once when he was eight, Erik said he had been molested all throughout his teenage years.

The pair had an abundance of evidence suggesting sexual abuse had taken place, but it failed to sway the court. Picture: Getty

Some witnesses corroborated the violence and unhappiness that reportedly took place inside the Menéndez house during the trial: Alan Andersen, Lyle and Erik’s cousin, who was called to the trial, said of José: “Hitting the kids with the belt, never had a problem with that. And Kitty. She wouldn’t get up to console the children, nothing.”

As a result of their allegations, the defence argued that the pair should be tried for manslaughter instead of murder.

Sadly for the brothers, despite two family members corroborating their sexual abuse claims, their attempts were denied and in July 1996, they were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They will be spending their entire lives in prison.

Three decades later, their case caught the attention of true crime buffs on social media, many of whom shared outrage at the sentencing.

In the months after their deaths, the Menendez brothers started living lavishly, wildly spending their inheritance.

The pair travelled around the world, bought two hours and spent in total around $1.3 million (AUD).

Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez are playing the brothers in the Netflix hit series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images.

Their behaviour quickly put them under the suspicion of police, who the pair had told that they were out of the house at the time of the murders.

The police employed the help of Erik’s friend, Craig Cignarelli, who they asked to wear a wire and ask Eric outright if he murdered his parents. Erik denied it but later confessed to the crime to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel.

The trial became a TV sensation in the US in 1993 and was broadcast live to the nation. While the brothers were tried separately, both admitted to killing their parents out of self-defence.

They were sent to different prison units and kept apart for 22 years. However, in 2018, they were finally reunited after being moved into the same unit.

“I burst into tears. I had to walk a long way to see him … when he got brought over in a van, I was able to see him coming off and meet with him and I wasn’t sure how I would react,” said Lyle.

The brothers, pictured above in 2023, were recently reunited behind bars. Picture: Supplied

“I don’t know that I really ever recovered from [the separation],” he told Daily Mail TV. “It’s like a healing of a wound to be reunited. It’s been 25 years since the trials, I think that’s long enough.”

Last year, the brothers filed a motion asking for a new hearing after former boy band member Roy Rosselló alleged in a documentary that he too had been raped by José Menéndez as a child.

“We have received the habeas petition in the Menendez matter and it’s currently under review,” The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office told CNN in May last year. A habeas corpus petition is a legal action through which a person can challenge the legality of their detention or imprisonment.

More evidence emerged when a 2018 book detailing the murders revealed a letter written nine months before the gruesome murders, 17-year-old Erik confided in his 15-year-old cousin about the ongoing sexual abuse by his father. The letter was never shown in court.

While it remains uncertain whether the Menendez brothers will be granted a new trial, The brothers’ lawyer, Mark Geragos, claimed in September of this year that there may be a possibility of resentencing.

“In my mind, it [the evidence] clearly is enough,” Geragos said. “I think they should be resentenced.”