Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the new 9-episode miniseries that Netflix premiered in September, as part of its true crime anthology, whose first installment was a success with Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The history
On this occasion, the platform delves into the crime of the Menéndez brothers, which shook the United States in 1989. The series tells the story of the brutal murder of José Menéndez, a Cuban executive of RCA Records, and his wife Mary Louise "Kitty" Menéndez, who were gunned down by their own sons, Erik and Lyle.
Despite initially denying their involvement, the brothers ultimately confessed to the crime, claiming that they did it not for money, but in self-defense after years of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by their father, while their mother did not intervene.
The prosecution, for its part, argued that the motive was greed, since the Menéndez wanted to access their parents' inheritance of 13 million dollars.
The first trial, televised in 1993, ended without a verdict. In the second trial, in 1996, the brothers were convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lyle and Erik, 21 and 19 years old at the time of the crime, are currently serving their sentences in the same prison in California.
Despite being incarcerated, both brothers have managed to form stable marriages. Lyle, who has been married twice, married Rebecca Sneed in 2003, while Erik married Tammi Saccoman in 1997, in a ceremony that took place over the phone.
According to CNN, in May 2023, the lawyers for the Menéndez brothers presented new evidence aimed at overturning their convictions and life sentences.
The key evidence is a letter that Erik sent to his cousin eight months before the homicides, where he detailed the abuses by his father. The letter was discovered by Marta Cano, the younger sister of José Menéndez. Records show that this document was not presented in either of the two trials. The court has ordered the State to respond to the request before the end of November, but there are still no updates on the case.
The Menéndez
Kitty Menéndez, born Mary Louise Andersen, had a childhood marked by domestic violence. Despite her difficulties, she excelled in college and married José Menéndez, who was born in Cuba, emigrated to the United States, and built a successful career in the music industry.
José, described as authoritarian and controlling, became an executive at the RCA record label, associated with the youth group Menudo. Later, in the documentary "Menéndez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed," one of its members, Roy Stephan Rosselló, would recount how the executive sexually abused him on the day they met, after giving him a substance that left him unconscious.
José and Kitty managed to form a wealthy family, with a luxurious lifestyle and a millionaire fortune. At the time of the crime, they lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills, California.
The series on Netflix
The role of the Cuban José Menéndez is played by the renowned Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who has previously portrayed Cuban characters, such as in his acclaimed performance as the writer Reinaldo Arenas in the film Before Night Falls, or his role as television star Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos.
In this new series, the roles of the Menéndez brothers are played by Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menéndez and Cooper Koch as Erik Menéndez, while the acclaimed actress Chloë Stevens Sevigny portrays Kitty. Additionally, the creators Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story) and Ian Brennan (Glee) return.
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