ENTERTAINMENT
Where are Lyle and Erik Menéndez now?
The new Netflix crime series, Monsters, tells the story of Menéndez brothers, who remain in prison serving life sentences for the brutal murder of their parents in the 1980s.
With the release of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s nine-part crime drama, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Netflix, revisit the shocking murder of José and Kitty Menéndez by their two children and the much publicized court case which was one of the first high-profile trials to be broadcast live on cable television.
The new series stars Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as José and Kitty Menéndez with Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch cast as their sons Lyle and Erik, who gunned down their the multimillionaire parents as they were watching TV at their luxury Beverly Hills mansion in on the night of August 20, 1989.
In the subsequent trial, the prosecution claimed that the brothers committed the crime for financial gain - to steal their parents’ fortune but the defense team argued that both boys had suffered years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse by their domineering father.
In July 1996, Lyle and Erik were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. The two brothers had enjoyed a close relationship, which made it even harder for them when they were separated. They were sent to California state maximum security prisons - Lyle was sent to Mule Creek State Prison while Erik entered Pleasant Valley State Prison.
Lyle and Erik kept apart until 2018
While segregated, they remained in contact by writing letters to each other, Lyle and Erik wouldn’t set eyes on each other for another 22 years. Erik was moved to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego in 2013.
Lyle made several requests to be transferred closer to his brother and his wish finally came to fruition in February 2018 when he was moved to the same unit as Erik. The two brothers are serving out their life sentences at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility but their lawyer, Cliff Gardner has unconvered new evidence which he hopes will lead to a retrial.
The new evidence that has come to light includes a handwritten letter sent to Erik by his cousin Andy, which mentions his father’s abuse plus a statement by Roy Rosselló - a member of a Puerto Rican boy band called Menudo, who last year claimed in a sworn affidavit that José Menéndez spiked his drink and sexually abused him as a teenager.