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Lyle and Erik Menendez have been serving life sentences for the brutal murders of their mother and father on August 20, 1989, when the brothers—then 21 and 18—shot and killed José and Kitty Menendez inside their Beverly Hills mansion.
Greater than three many years later, the Menendez brothers bought again within the highlight as the main target of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The ten-episode collection reexamines the central query on the coronary heart of their case: have been they cold-blooded killers motivated by greed, as prosecutors claimed, or victims of years of bodily, emotional, and sexual abuse, because the protection argued—and because the brothers nonetheless preserve?
On Could 13, 2025, Los Angeles County Superior Courtroom Decide Michael Jesic resentenced Lyle and Erik to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole after serving greater than 35 years. Their parole listening to is scheduled for June 13, 2025.
Lyle and Erik Menendez Had Promising Futures
On the time of their mother and father’ murders on Aug. 20, 1989, Lyle was a scholar at Princeton, and Erik was an incoming freshman at UCLA. The brothers had grown up in Beverly Hills, having fun with a privileged life because of their rich mother and father—Jose, a Hollywood government, and Mary Louise “Kitty,” a former magnificence queen.
Lyle and Erik Have been Arrested Seven Months After Their Dad and mom’ Murders
After Jose and Kitty have been discovered brutally shot to loss of life of their Beverly Hills mansion, Lyle and Erik spent cash recklessly, burning by means of an estimated $700,000 of their mother and father’ wealth on vehicles, jewellery, and even buying eating places and cafes. However their eventual downfall occurred when Erik confessed to his psychiatrist, Jerome Oziel, who then shared the knowledge together with his mistress, Judalon Smyth. Smyth knowledgeable the police, revealing that Erik had confessed to the murders in remedy and that there have been audiotaped recordings of the confession. The brothers have been subsequently arrested in March 1990, sparking a multi-year authorized battle over the admissibility of Oziel’s recordings.
“I by no means thought I believed in evil, however after I heard these boys communicate, I did,” Smyth advised investigative journalist Dominic Dunne in 1990.
Lyle and Erik Have been Convicted of First-Diploma Homicide
Lyle and Erik Each Married Whereas in Jail
Regardless of their brutal crime and life behind bars, there was no scarcity of ladies within the Menendez brothers. Lyle married Anna Eriksson on July 2, 1996, however they divorced on April 1, 2001, after she found he was “dishonest” on her with one other girl by means of a pen pal relationship (as conjugal visits usually are not allowed). In November 2003, Lyle married Rebecca Sneed, a former journal editor turned legal professional. That they had been involved for practically a decade earlier than marrying in a ceremony at Mule Creek State Jail. Regardless of their separation introduced in November 2024, Sneed continues to assist Lyle and advocates for his and Erik’s launch.
Erik additionally discovered love, marrying Tammi Ruth Saccoman on June 12, 1999, at Folsom State Jail.
Lyle and Erik Menendez Have Amassed a Enormous TikTok Following
Almost 35 years after murdering their mother and father, a big variety of teenagers are calling the brothers’ sentence unfair and unjust. The account menendezsupporterrr—which calls for “Justice for the Menendez brothers”—has over 12.9M likes and 258.1K followers. One other account, ..menendezbrothers, states in its bio, “They’re victims. don’t sexualize them,” and has 109.1K followers and 9.6M likes.
