Netflix Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Eng follows many events surrounding the crimes of the Menendez brothers but ends up missing a few crucial details. Serving as a follow-up to Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Adopts a narrative style where it tries to draw no judgments about the killers’ actions it follows. Replace them as the title “monsters,“It seems more interested in drawing a clearer picture of what led to Lyle and Erik Menendez committing the murder of their parents.
Unfortunately, even though the show tries to adopt a neutral perspective, Erik Menendez has slammed Monsters Season 2 for his take on his story. A day after Netflix Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storys release, he called the series “Dishonest“And even used the words”Naive and inaccurate“To describe Ryan Murphy. Whether Erik Menendez is absolutely right about the Netflix series is debatable. However, there are some details about the true story of ​​the two brothers the show seems to be missing.
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Erik Menendez was a talented tennis player
He ranks 44th in the US
In the early days, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Highlights how the central siblings played tennis and how their father put great pressure on them to perform well in the sport. What it fails to reveal is that Erik Menendez was an incredibly talented tennis player. He was not among the top 50 players in the US. it. As a junior however Also enrolled in the 1989 Boys’ Junior National Tennis Championship just two weeks before he killed his parents. He even reached the second round of the championship before losing a match and getting eliminated.
9
The police avoided one crucial piece of evidence about the murder
They did not check for gunshot residue
The Netflix true-crime show accurately highlights how the police initially Didn’t even consider the idea that the brothers might have killed their parents. Instead, they believed the brothers’ claims and investigated the possibility of the crowd’s involvement in the crime. However, the show does not highlight a single piece of real-life evidence that would have proven the Menendez brothers killed their parents.
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After Eric and Lil Menendez called the police to the crime scene, they still had some residue from their shotguns’ gunk on their bodies and clothes. This would be enough to prove that they are responsible for the crime. However, since the police initially did not see them as possible suspects, they did not have to investigate for the remainder of the shooting.
8
Some family members have disputed the claims about the spending habits of the Menendez brothers
They argued their habits never changed
Even in the actual murder case, the sudden change in the Mendez brothers’ spending habits after their parents’ death garners a lot of attention. As the show accurately highlights, it also became a crucial piece of circumstantial evidence that highlighted how they killed their parents for money. According to reports, They spent close to $700,000 before they were arrested. However, the Netflix series does not show that some of their relatives later supported them by claiming that their spending habits had always been the same and had not changed significantly after their parents died.
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The Netflix series introduces one major change in the timeline of actual events
Erik’s confession to his psychologist came much later
Netflix Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Describes that Eric’s confession to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel, triggered a chain reaction of events that eventually led to the brothers’ arrest. In the timeline of events, the police later wiretap his friend, Craig Cignarelli, hoping he will make Eric confess to committing the crime. In real life, however, things are a little different.
In this serious murder case, it is also highly debated whether the recording between Erik and his psychologist could be used as evidence of the crime in court.
Erik’s interaction with his psychologist happened after the police asked Craig Cignarelli to get a confession from him. In this serious murder case, it is also highly debated whether the recordings between Erik and his psychologist could be used as evidence of the crime in court. However, the court eventually accepted the recordings as evidence.
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Erik & Lyle were held in different prisons when they were first arrested
They end up in adjacent cells in the show
Perhaps, to make his crime drama more entertaining, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Shows Erik and Lyle in two adjacent cells after they are arrested the first time for the main crime. In reality, however, the brothers were initially held in different prisons after their arrest. This creative decision of the show’s end apparently Allowing it to explore the brothers’ relationship and shared prison struggles more intimately. By depicting them in adjacent cells in the same prison, the Netflix series tries to emphasize how much they rely on each other to survive prison.
5
Lyle’s prosecutor, Pam Bozanich, made a controversial argument
He said “men can’t be ripped off”
During the trial, prosecutor Pam Bozanich argued (via CourtTV) “Men could not be raped, because they lack the necessary tools to be raped.“ Her statement painted a clear picture of how sexual violence against men was often trivialized and overlooked at the time. In his criticism, Erik Menendez also expressed his disappointment at the show for not covering this detail by saying that it follows “Back in time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that men were not sexually abused, and that men experienced rape trauma differently than women.“
4
The brothers did not see each other for over two decades after the verdict
They stayed apart for 22 years
Netflix Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Ends on a terrible note, where the two titular brothers are transferred to a new prison, after the final verdict ends that they will be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Although they initially believe that they will end up in the same prison, the closed scene shows how they were eventually held in separate corrections. This aspect is accurately depicted in the series, but it does not reveal what happened to the brothers after they were separated.
|
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Figure |
Role |
|---|---|
|
Nicholas Alexander Chavez |
Lyle Menendez |
|
Copper stirs |
Eric Menendez |
|
Javier Bardem |
Jose Menendez |
|
Chloe Sevigny |
Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez |
|
Nathan Lane |
Dominic Dunn |
|
Ari Greiner |
Leslie Abramson |
|
Dallas Roberts |
Dr. Jerome Oziel |
|
Leslie Grossman |
John Smith |
In April 2018, almost 22 years after the verdict, Lyle Menendez ended up in the same housing unit as his brother. According to reports (by New York Daily News), when the two brothers finally met after over two decades of separation, They burst into tears and hugged each other. They are still in the same housing unit where inmates agree to become part of education and rehabilitation programs.
3
New evidence encouraged the brothers to demand a new hearing in 2023
Their lawyers hope to overturn their life sentences
On April 18, 2023, a former member of the boy band Menundo, Roy Rosselló, stated that he was drugged and sexually assaulted by José Menéndez when he was 14 years old (via NY Times). Since this served as alleged evidence for José Menéndez’s pattern of abusive and violent behavior toward minors, Erik and Lyle Menendez are demanding a new hearing. Although some experts have claimed that the new information surrounding the case came to light too late, the brothers’ lawyers are hopeful that it could overturn their life sentences (via CNN),
2
Lyle Menendez married twice in prison
His first marriage lasted 5 years
In a small wedding ceremony attended by Abramson and his aunt Marta Menendez, Lyle Menendez married Anna Erickson in July 1996. However, almost five years later, Erickson filed for divorce when she learned that Lyle was cheating on her with someone else. A little over two years after the divorce, Lil Mendez married Rebecca Sneed. Their wedding ceremony was held in the visiting area of ​​Mule Creek State Prison.
1
Erik Menendez’s wife wrote a book about her relationship with him
The book is titled They Said We’d Never Make It – My Life With Erik Menéndez
Erik Menendez married Tammy Ruth Sackoman in Folsom State Prison’s waiting room. Although Sakoman’s family is not okay with her relationship with Wrik Menendez, she described it (via ABC News) as Something she had dreamed of for a long time. Discussing the struggles of her relationship with Erik Menendez, she even self-published a book, They Said We’d Never Make It – My Life With Erik MenéndezIn 2005. Considering Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storys limited runtime, it makes sense that it glosses over some details surrounding the true story of the Menendez brothers.