Lyle and Erik Menendez spilled the truth to one person
If you’re as engrossed in the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story as we are, chances are you’ve got a few questions about how the real-life story unfolded. Specifically, did Lyle and Erik Menendez actually confess to murdering their parents?
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the second season of the American biographical crime anthology series Monster, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. It stars Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez, and Cooper Koch as his brother, Erik. Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny play their doomed parents, prominent entertainment industry executive José and homemaker Kitty. The nine-episode series premiered on Netflix on September 19, 2024.
Spoilers ahead for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Here’s what we know for certain. On August 20, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez were murdered by shotgun in their sprawling Beverly Hills mansion. Jose was shot six times, and his wife, 10. The sheer number of shots fired led police to believe that it was a mafia hit, especially because Lyle and Erik were very publicly distraught over their parents’ deaths.
The brothers maintained that they had attended a showing of Batman at the movie theater that evening, and they had ticket stubs to prove it. They claimed they returned home to find the carnage, then, panicked, called 911. At first, the police seemed convinced, but then they discovered that Erik and Lyle had seemingly begun to spend their massive inheritance before their parents’ bodies were even cold. They dished out around $700,000 on luxury watches, clothes, cars, and even a buffalo wing chain restaurant.
Their story unraveled from there. Suspicious, police attempted to extract a confession by wiring up one of Erik’s friends, but he didn’t take the bait. Then, a confession landed in their laps from an unlikely source.
Enter: A therapist with questionable ethics
Very early in the first episode, Erik schedules an emergency appointment with therapist Dr. Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts). Wracked with guilt and feeling suicidal, Erik tearfully confesses that he and Lyle did indeed murder their parents with a shotgun. When pressed for a motive, Erik told Dr. Oziel that his father deserved to die for being an awful person who cheated on his mother. As for Kitty, he claimed they wanted to “put her out of her misery” for putting up with their father.
The confession was recorded, and it could have ended there except for one thing. Dr. Oziel’s mistress at the time, Judalon Smyth, had “overheard” the confession. When they broke up some time later, Smyth went to the police and spilled everything. Oddly, Smyth later walked back her account and testified on the brothers’ behalf in the trial, stating that Oziel had brainwashed her into talking.
The trial and conviction
Ultimately, the high-profile case became a media frenzy. The brothers insisted they had been brutally abused and molested by Jose during their childhood, forcing them to commit murder in self-defense. They were eventually convicted of killing their parents in 1996. Lyle is now 56, and Erik is 53, and they remain in prison to this day.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently streaming on Netflix.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
