- 5 months ago
Welcome to WatchMojo.WORLD where we dive deep into the untold story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez – a criminal tale that’s as heartbreaking as it is disturbing. In this breakdown, we’ll explore:
The Murders of José & Kitty Menéndez
The Arrests, Trials & Convictions
Where Lyle and Erik Menéndez Are Now
This case sparked nationwide debates about justice, family trauma, and punishment.
Do you think the punishment matched the crime? Should the Menéndez brothers ever be released? Share your thoughts in the comments – let’s discuss.
The Murders of José & Kitty Menéndez
The Arrests, Trials & Convictions
Where Lyle and Erik Menéndez Are Now
This case sparked nationwide debates about justice, family trauma, and punishment.
Do you think the punishment matched the crime? Should the Menéndez brothers ever be released? Share your thoughts in the comments – let’s discuss.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00What was in front of you?
00:02My parents.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:05and today we're looking over the harrowing true story
00:07of brothers Lyle and Eric Menendez.
00:10You reloaded?
00:14The American dream turned nightmare.
00:17Following the Cuban Revolution,
00:19teenager Jose Enrique Menendez
00:21immigrated from his home country to the United States.
00:24Jose had come to the U.S. from Cuba.
00:26Attending Queens College on a swimming scholarship,
00:29Menendez worked as a dishwasher
00:30while earning his accounting degree.
00:32In 1972, Menendez became the Hertz Rental Company's
00:36executive vice president of U.S. operations.
00:39He most notably oversaw Hertz's endorsement deal
00:41with O.J. Simpson.
00:46During the 80s, Menendez became the COO
00:49of Hertz's then-parent company, RCA.
00:51A year before RCA went defunct,
00:54Menendez accepted a new job
00:55as the head of international video entertainment,
00:57later renamed Artisan Entertainment.
01:00On the road to becoming a self-made millionaire,
01:02Menendez married former beauty queen
01:04and his college sweetheart,
01:05Mary Louise Kitty Anderson,
01:07with whom he had two sons.
01:09Lyle and Eric were their only children.
01:12Joseph Lyle Menendez was born in 1968,
01:15with Eric following two years later.
01:17On the surface, the Menendezes seemed like
01:19an idyllic family living the American dream.
01:22Something darker was brewing beneath the surface, however.
01:24If the judge finds this evidence credible,
01:27I think it is sufficient to give them a new trial.
01:29Although they wouldn't publicly discuss it until adulthood,
01:32Lyle and Eric claim their father abused them mentally,
01:35physically, and sexually from a young age.
01:37Why did you kill your parents?
01:41Because we were afraid.
01:42In 1976, Lyle confided in cousin Diane Vandermolen,
01:46who informed their mother.
01:48Kitty denied the accusations.
01:50She didn't believe me.
01:51Although the brothers say their mother was aware
01:54and ignored the abuse and later took part in it.
01:57Supposedly, Lyle and his mother inappropriately shared a bed
02:00shortly before he became a teenager.
02:02There were other signs that not all was well
02:04at the Menendez household.
02:06Upon graduating from high school,
02:08Lyle was accepted into Princeton
02:09after his father donated $50,000.
02:12Following his first semester,
02:14Lyle was suspended for plagiarism
02:15and ultimately dropped out.
02:17Jose Menendez rushed in to meet with the dean
02:19and to try to save his son,
02:21to try to stop the suspension.
02:23But his pleas didn't work.
02:26Despite their family's immense wealth,
02:28the brothers started committing, quote,
02:30hot prowls and burglaries,
02:32stealing $100,000 in cash,
02:35jewelry, and other items.
02:36The initial victims were the parents
02:38of some of their friends.
02:39Lyle and Eric were caught,
02:41in a stolen vehicle no less,
02:42but Jose made the issue go away
02:44by writing checks to their pilfered neighbors.
02:47Selling their house in Calabasas for $950,000,
02:51the Menendezes bought a new mansion in Beverly Hills
02:53for an estimated $4 to $5 million.
02:56The brothers were aware that their parents
02:58were considering taking away their inheritance
03:00around this time,
03:01but they claim this isn't what motivated what came next.
03:04There are people, a great number of people,
03:08who think that you two are spoiled brats.
03:10What do you say to them?
03:11I don't know that there's anything I can say to them.
03:14The murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez.
03:17After years of alleged abuse,
03:19Kyle and Eric believed their father might kill them.
03:22I think the Menendez brothers were close
03:23because they were fighting the common enemy,
03:26which was their father.
03:27On August 20th, 1989,
03:29the brothers confronted their parents in their den,
03:32armed with shotguns.
03:33Jose and Kitty were fatally shot multiple times.
03:37I think one of the Beverly Hills detectives
03:39described it as one of the most brutal crime scene
03:42he had ever seen in his life.
03:43At one point,
03:44their sons retrieved more ammunition from their car
03:47before finishing off Kitty,
03:49who attempted to crawl away.
03:51Waiting to call 911,
03:52the brothers disposed of their guns and bloody clothes,
03:55purchased movie tickets,
03:56and tried tracking down a friend in Santa Monica
03:59to provide an alibi.
04:00Unable to find him,
04:01Eric and Lyle returned home
04:03where the latter contacted the police at 11.47 p.m.
04:07Our feeling was not,
04:09we'll just explain what happened
04:11and it'll be okay.
04:12We were very stunned
04:14and we felt that we would go to jail, obviously.
04:18The two told the authorities
04:19they had been at a Batman screening,
04:21unable to get into license to kill.
04:24Initially,
04:24the cops didn't view Lyle and Eric
04:26as serious suspects.
04:27They let him go back and get evidence
04:29without even thinking,
04:31hey,
04:32could it have been the kid?
04:33The gruesome crime scene
04:34looked more like a mob hit
04:35with Kitty's face practically gone.
04:37It really was like a scene
04:39out of the Godfather movie.
04:41They grew more suspicious
04:42as the brothers went on
04:43an extravagant spending spree.
04:45They acted like they had won the lottery.
04:48The two stood to inherit
04:49at least $14 million
04:50and $500,000 from life insurance.
04:53In the subsequent months,
04:55Lyle purchased a Rolex,
04:57a Porsche,
04:57and multiple restaurants.
04:59Eric flew to Israel
05:00for tennis tournaments,
05:01bankrolling a full-time coach.
05:04Between overseas trips,
05:05courtside Knicks tickets,
05:06and other lavish expenses,
05:08the brothers spent around $700,000.
05:11The authorities
05:11and some family members
05:13theorized that the brothers
05:14staged their parents' murders
05:15to look like an organized crime job,
05:18motivated by financial gain.
05:20Craig Signorelli
05:20was a friend of Eric's,
05:22together writing a screenplay
05:23in high school
05:24in which the protagonist
05:25murders his parents.
05:26A glove hand is seen
05:28gripping the doorknob
05:29and turning it gently.
05:30Good evening, mother.
05:31Good evening, father.
05:32His voice is of attempted compassion,
05:34but the hatred overwhelms it.
05:35Persuaded by the police,
05:37Signorelli tried to get Eric
05:38to confess while wearing a wire.
05:40While Eric denied
05:40any wrongdoing to Signorelli,
05:42the truth came out
05:43during a therapy session.
05:44But then,
05:45about six months later,
05:46police got a tip
05:48from an unlikely source.
05:50The girlfriend
05:51of a psychologist
05:52who Lyle and Eric Menendez
05:54had been talking to.
05:56After Eric pleaded guilty
05:57to the burglaries,
05:58the court ordered him
05:59to see Dr. Jerome Ozeal
06:01in exchange for no jail time.
06:03Eric got back in touch
06:04with his psychiatrist
06:05following the murders,
06:06eventually telling him everything.
06:08Supposedly believing
06:09his family might be at risk,
06:11Ozeal avoided telling the police,
06:13but he shared the brother's secret
06:15with his mistress,
06:16Judalon Smith.
06:17Once Smith went to the cops,
06:19they moved in
06:19on the Menendez brothers.
06:20On March 8th, 1990,
06:22after police got their hands
06:24on that tape,
06:25Lyle Menendez
06:26was taken into custody.
06:28Eric Menendez,
06:29who was out of the country
06:30at the time,
06:31surrendered to police
06:32days later.
06:33Arrests, trials,
06:35and convictions.
06:36While Lyle was arrested
06:37on March 8th, 1990,
06:39Eric played tennis in Israel.
06:41Robert Shapiro,
06:42who later represented
06:43O.J. Simpson
06:44during his murder trial,
06:45arranged Eric's surrender
06:46in L.A.
06:47after three days.
06:48On March 26th of this year,
06:51Eric and Lyle Menendez
06:52were each arraigned
06:53on two counts of murder.
06:56Shapiro also attended
06:57Eric's arraignment,
06:58but the brothers' defense
06:59was subsequently handed
07:00to Leslie Abramson,
07:02who had won similar cases.
07:03The judges made a whole series
07:05of rulings in the case.
07:06I sit down with him
07:07and I say,
07:08this isn't going to be admissible,
07:09this isn't going to be admissible,
07:11this isn't going to be admissible.
07:12Although Lyle and Eric
07:13pleaded innocent,
07:14the prosecution
07:15had a taped confession
07:16from a session
07:17with Dr. Ozeal,
07:18with little doubt
07:19surrounding what
07:20the brothers had done.
07:21The defense leaned
07:22into the alleged abuse
07:23Jose and Kitty inflicted.
07:24Why they were killed
07:25is what the focus
07:26of all of our evidence
07:28will be on.
07:29In addition to hearing
07:30testimony from Lyle and Eric,
07:32cousins Diane Vandermolen
07:33and Andy Cano
07:34supported the brothers' claims.
07:36Not every family member
07:37was convinced,
07:38most notably Milton Anderson,
07:40Kitty's brother.
07:41I never saw anything
07:42in the home,
07:43never.
07:44The self-defense argument
07:46was hard to back up,
07:47especially considering
07:48how their parents died.
07:49Meanwhile,
07:50the prosecution
07:51remained adamant
07:52that money motivated
07:53the Menendezes.
07:54They said Jose Menendez
07:55told his sons
07:56he had removed them
07:57from his will.
07:59And based on their investigation,
08:01they suggested
08:02that after the crime,
08:04Lyle Menendez
08:04attempted to destroy
08:06a will
08:06on the family computer.
08:08Although Eric and Lyle
08:09were tried separately,
08:11both juries failed
08:12to reach a verdict.
08:12This mistrial reflected
08:14the divided public reaction.
08:16I know they did what they did
08:17because they were
08:17in fear of their life.
08:18Even those who believed
08:20the brothers had been abused
08:21were torn on whether
08:22they should be punished.
08:23In many respects,
08:24the media circus
08:25surrounding the Menendez brothers
08:26was a predecessor
08:27to the O.J. Simpson trial.
08:29Coincidentally,
08:30Eric's cell was adjacent
08:31to Simpson's
08:32after his 1994 arrest.
08:34Lyle,
08:34who also crossed paths
08:36with Simpson behind bars,
08:37felt the former football star
08:38should accept a plea bargain.
08:40Instead,
08:40Simpson was found
08:41not guilty
08:42on October 3rd, 1995.
08:45We, the jury,
08:45and the above entitled action
08:47find the defendant
08:47Orenthal James Simpson
08:50not guilty
08:50of the crime of murder.
08:51Not long after Simpson
08:53was freed,
08:54Eric and Lyle's
08:54second trial commenced,
08:55this time being tried together.
08:57At the retrial,
08:58which began in October 1995,
09:01one jury,
09:02instead of two,
09:03would hear the case.
09:04Given the controversial reaction
09:06to the Simpson verdict,
09:07Eric sensed
09:08that the district attorney
09:09would be even more determined
09:10to make an example of them.
09:11Whether or not
09:12this factored in,
09:13Eric and Lyle
09:13were convicted
09:14on March 20th, 1996.
09:17I hugged my brother,
09:18we cried,
09:18and I said,
09:19look,
09:19we're gonna be okay.
09:20Four months later,
09:21they were sentenced
09:22to life imprisonment
09:23without parole.
09:24September 1996
09:25was the last time
09:26the brothers saw each other
09:27for 22 years,
09:29as they were sent
09:29to different prisons
09:30500 miles apart.
09:32On the day of his sentencing,
09:34Lyle married pen pal
09:35Anna Erickson.
09:36Although this relationship
09:37didn't last,
09:38Lyle remarried
09:39longtime acquaintance
09:40Rebecca Sneed,
09:41while Erick tied the knot
09:42with author
09:42Tammy Ruth Sackerman.
09:44A kiss when you come in,
09:45a kiss when you leave,
09:46you can hold hands,
09:48and that part of it
09:51is very difficult
09:52and people don't understand.
09:53Before we continue,
09:54be sure to subscribe
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10:08The Menendez Brothers Now
10:10In 2018,
10:12the brothers shared
10:13a tearful reunion
10:14when Lyle was moved
10:15into Erick's housing unit.
10:16The two will now be able
10:17to see each other
10:18at meals
10:19and during recreation
10:21periods at the prison.
10:22Although they had
10:23maintained contact
10:24via letters,
10:25this was their first
10:26face-to-face interaction
10:27in decades.
10:28Over the years,
10:29the brothers have appealed
10:30multiple times.
10:31Recently,
10:32they've pushed
10:33for their case
10:33to be re-evaluated,
10:34having uncovered
10:35a letter Erick wrote
10:36to Andy Cano
10:37highlighting the abuse
10:38before the murder.
10:39Just kind of out
10:40of the blue,
10:41one of my father's sister
10:42found a letter in storage.
10:45In 2023,
10:46Puerto Rican singer
10:47Roy Rossello came forward,
10:49alleging that Jose
10:50had sexually abused him
10:51as well.
10:52Although many continue
10:53to doubt their innocence,
10:54Lyle and Erick
10:55have gained numerous supporters,
10:57even going viral
10:58on TikTok.
10:59Despite already being
11:00the subject of numerous
11:01shows and movies,
11:02the brothers remain
11:03in the zeitgeist,
11:04inspiring season two
11:05of the Netflix anthology
11:06Monster,
11:07or Monsters.
11:08I need to know
11:09what's going on
11:09with you on the voice.
11:12What do you mean?
11:14While all signs indicate
11:15that Lyle and Erick
11:16killed their parents,
11:17their case is one
11:18with no easy answers,
11:20which is why we're still
11:21talking about it
11:2235 years later.
11:24Do you think
11:24the punishment
11:25matched the crime?
11:26Do you think
11:26the Menendez brothers
11:27should be released?
11:28Let's have a civil conversation
11:30in the comments.
11:31I'm just a normal kid.
11:32Oh, Erick,
11:33you're a normal kid
11:34who killed your parents.
11:36Yeah, I know.
11:37Did you enjoy this video?
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11:40from WatchMojo,
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