The Menendez brothers are making headlines again with the recent release of the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story . The two were convicted of murdering their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, in 1989 when Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at their Beverly Hills home. Shortly after committing the crime , the brothers spent about $700,000, according to Time Magazine , before their arrest in 1990.
During their court trials, they claimed to have been abused by their parents throughout their childhood, accusing their late father of sexual abuse and their mother of drug addiction and alcoholism. The brothers are currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in California.
What Were the Menendez Brothers Sentenced To? Lyle and Erik were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996. Although they were originally separated for most of their imprisonment, which led to limited communication, they were reunited in April 2018 at the same facility in California. In May 2023, the brothers’ attorneys filed a petition to overturn their convictions.
According to court documents obtained by The Los Angeles Times , the filing stated, “The new evidence not only shows that Jose Menendez was very much a violent and brutal man who would sexually abuse children, but it strongly suggests that — in fact — he was still abusing Erik Menendez as late as 1988.” The document continued to state, “Instead, the .
