THE Menendez brothers have revealed the true reason they went on a spending spree after murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989 in brand new interviews.
Erik and Lyle Menendez opened up about their highly publicized murder trials for shooting their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, to death 30 years after the case that shocked the nation.
The actors portraying the Menendez brothers in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix drama Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story[/caption]
After Ryan Murphy’s drama, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, sparked controversy, a new documentary film simply called The Menendez Brothers is on Netflix now.
The new film features previously unheard audio interviews with the brothers, who are both serving life sentences in California’s Donovan Correctional Facility for the murders, as they speak about the case “in their own words,” according to Netflix.
The interviews revealed new insight into the infamous killings, which prosecutors said during the trials were motivated by greed because the brothers spent about $700,000 of their family’s fortune in the months after the crime.
However, Lyle and Erik, who were respectively 21 and 18 at the time of the murders, have always pushed back on the financial motive and claimed that the murders were in self-defense following years of abuse by both parents.
“The idea that I was having a good time is absurd,” Erik, now 53, said in a recorded phone call from prison in the new documentary.
“Everything was to cover up this horrible pain of not wanting to be alive.”
In the days after Lyle and Erik killed their parents with shotguns, the brothers spent about $15,000 on three Rolex watches, a jewelry salesperson testified at their trial.
The duo each bought new cars, and Lyle shelled out $50,000 for a personal tennis coach.
Lyle, now 56, said in the doc that the lavish spending covered up the mental anguish that he and his brother suffered.
“I was not enjoying myself as a playboy, that I was actually sobbing a lot at night, sleeping poorly, very distraught at times, and kind of adrift throughout this, all those months,” Lyle said.
The new Netflix documentary, made by director Alejandro Hartmann, is the first time Lyle’s spoken publicly since the pair’s televised interview with Barbara Walters in June 1996 following their second trial.
Erik, who has spoken out more often through his wife Tammi Saccoman, also talked in the film about the despair he felt after the murders – and revealed he still felt lingering pressure from Jose even after his death.
“One of the things that kept me from killing myself is that I was, I felt like I would be a complete failure to my dad at that point,” Erik said.
Erik’s confession about his mental health comes after he previously slammed Murphy’s dramatized take on their case.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez are serving life sentences in prison after being found guilty of shooting their parents to death over 30 years ago.
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are shot to death
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested for the murders
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself in
July 20, 1993 – Highly publicized trial begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial
October 11, 1995 – Second trial begins
March 20, 1996 – Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder
July 2, 1996 – Menendez brothers are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison where Erik is held
April 4, 2018 – Erik and Lyle are reunited
May 2023 – Attorney representing the Menendez brothers files a habeas petition
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story comes out on Netflix
October 3, 2024: Los Angeles authorities reviewing new evidence in connection with the brothers’ convictions
October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix
Saccoman shared Erik’s statement about the new series on X on September 19.
“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,” Erik said.
“I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Murphy pushed back against the criticism and said the drama series was the “best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years,” according to Variety.
The director also told The Hollywood Reporter, “The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers.
“They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world.”
The brothers could now face a new trial as new evidence is being considered in the pair’s allegations against their father – and even Kim Kardashian is fighting for their freedom.
The Menendez Brothers is available for streaming now on Netflix.
Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle in front of the Beverly Hills mansion where their parents died[/caption]
