The True Story Behind Ryan Murphy’s Menendez Brothers Series
As a seasoned observer of human behavior and a student of justice system intricacies, I find myself deeply immersed in the Menendez brothers’ saga – a tale that has spanned decades and captivated the nation. Having spent my formative years following the trials on Court TV (now TruTV), I can attest to its soap opera-like quality, a psychodrama unfolding in real time.
Following the immense success of “Dahmer”, creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan have returned with a fresh installment of their “Monster” anthology series, delving into the tales and misdeeds of the notorious Menendez brothers.
As a movie enthusiast, mark your calendars for September 19th! That’s when “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” will be streaming on Netflix. I can’t wait to see Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch bring to life the chilling tale of Lyle and Erik, two brothers who were infamously convicted for the gruesome murders of their parents in 1989. The real-life characters – Jose Menendez, an entertainment executive, played by Javier Bardem, and his wife, Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez (Chloë Sevigny) – will be portrayed with gripping intensity in this true-crime drama. This thriller comes two years after the controversial series about Jeffrey Dahmer, which was both a massive hit and a subject of intense debate over its portrayal of the notorious serial killer (played by Evan Peters). Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this time!
In a conversation with Variety in 2022, Murphy stated, “Jeffrey Dahmer, the monster, never intrigued me. Instead, it was the question of what drove him that fascinated me. Some find the depiction of true-to-life characters in our show unsettling, and I respect that. I strive not to form an opinion on such matters.
Currently, “The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is being marketed as an exploration delving into who the actual villains were in the Menendez case. The series spans over 10 episodes, aiming to scrutinize whether the named siblings were calculating murderers intent on acquiring their family’s wealth, as the prosecution suggested, or victims of persistent physical, emotional, and sexual abuse from their parents, a narrative upheld by the defense and the brothers ever since.
Here’s the true story behind The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The murders
In the evening on August 20, 1989, Lyle (aged 21) and Erik (aged 18), brothers at the time, entered their Beverly Hills mansion with loaded 12-gauge shotguns and ended up fatally shooting their parents a total of 14 times. The ferocity of these murders led the police to initially suspect organized crime involvement.
Approximately six months following the crime, authorities received information from an unexpected informant: Judalon Smyth (portrayed by Leslie Grossman), the mistress of Erik’s psychologist, Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts). Smyth disclosed to the police that Erik had admitted to the murders during therapy and that there were audio recordings of these confessions. As a result, the brothers were apprehended in March 1990, initiating a protracted legal dispute regarding the admissibility of Oziel’s recordings in court.
Back in August 1992, the California Supreme Court decided that a majority of Oziel’s recordings could be admitted as evidence, except for one particular tape where Erik detailed the murders.
The trials
As their much-discussed trial commenced on July 2nd, 1993, it was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that Lyle and Erik were responsible for the murder of their mother and father. What remained uncertain was the motive behind their actions.
The team of Deputy District Attorneys Pamela Bozanich and Lester Kuriyama presented evidence suggesting that the murders were carefully planned with a greed-driven motive to seize their parents’ $14.5-million estate. They claimed that in the time between the killings and their capture, Lyle and Erik had spent extravagantly on high-end goods, business investments, and trips, depleting around $700,000 of their inheritance.
Lawyer Leslie Abramson, portrayed by Ari Gaynor, argued that the siblings defended themselves following years of alleged abuse by both parents, with a focus on Jose’s claimed molestation of his sons. This claim was substantiated by the testimonies of two cousins, Andy Cano and Diane Vander Molen, who stated that Lyle and Erik disclosed the sexual abuse to them when they were children.
During the trial, several scandalous facts came into play. For instance, there were allegations that Jose was unfaithful to Kitty, and suggestions about Erik’s sexual orientation. In his closing statement to the jury, Kuriyama argued that Erik was homosexual and suggested that if the defendant was having consensual relationships with other men, this could explain why he could describe certain details as he did…details relating to his intimate experiences with his father.
As I sat down to pen my thoughts on the captivating Menendez Brothers trial, I couldn’t help but marvel at how this six-month spectacle had gripped the nation. Beaming into living rooms across America was this drama, unfolding live on Court TV, a cable network that had only just emerged two years prior, promising to deliver courtroom action and insights from industry experts.
In the initial trial, both brothers stood trial concurrently, but each had a distinct jury. However, neither jury could come to a mutual agreement regarding whether Lyle and Erik were responsible for manslaughter or murder, leading to a hung jury. Consequently, it was declared that the brothers would be re-tried. The second trial commenced on October 11, 1995, with Judge Stanley Weisberg assigning a single jury to decide their fate. Additionally, he prevented the proceedings from being broadcasted, restricted testimony related to sexual abuse allegations, and instructed the jury to only consider murder charges instead of manslaughter.
On March 20, 1996, Lyle and Erik stood trial and were found guilty on charges of first-degree murder (two counts) and conspiring to commit murder. In July of the same year, they were each sentenced to spend multiple lifetimes in prison with no chance for parole.
The aftermath
For over a decade, appeals made by Lyle and Erik were turned down by California’s courts, leading them to accept that their entire adult lives would be spent behind bars. In January 2017, Lyle confessed to ABC News that he had accepted the consequences of his actions.
He declared, “I am the one who took the life of my own parents, and neither an endless flow of tears nor a mountain of regret has altered that fact.” Accepting this truth, he continued, “Your identity isn’t solely defined by fleeting moments, but rather the entirety of your existence…You can’t rewrite history. You merely have to live with the choices you’ve made.
Following some new disclosures, the attorney for the brothers, Cliff Gardner, submitted a petition for a fresh hearing which could potentially result in a retrial. The initial event in this case unfolded around early 2023, when Roy Rosselló – a former member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo – publicly alleged that he was sexually assaulted by Jose during his teenage years. This incident is said to have taken place after Jose had signed Menudo to a recording contract under his executive position at RCA Records in the mid-1980s.
A significant development occurred when Gardner discovered a letter from Erik dated December 1988, which was addressed to his cousin Andy Cano, who passed away in 2003. This letter, as Gardner suggests, allegedly contains descriptions of Jose’s sexual abuse against Erik. The content includes passages like, “I’ve been evading dad. It persists, Andy, but it’s more distressing for me now…Each night I spend awake, fearing he might intrude…I’m terrified…He’s unstable. He’s threatened me countless times about disclosing anything, particularly Lyle.
Gardner is using Rosselló’s affidavit and the supposed letter from Erik as fresh proof, supporting the idea that the Menendez’ convictions should be overturned. At this point, it’s still unclear what the next move will be in this case.
Read More
- JPY VND PREDICTION
- PSP PREDICTION. PSP cryptocurrency
- GBP MYR PREDICTION
- USD ISK PREDICTION
- UNIBOT PREDICTION. UNIBOT cryptocurrency
- NFAI PREDICTION. NFAI cryptocurrency
- GNO PREDICTION. GNO cryptocurrency
- CWAR PREDICTION. CWAR cryptocurrency
- GENE PREDICTION. GENE cryptocurrency
- EUR RUB PREDICTION
2024-09-19 16:06