I am sure you have heard the phrase “Free the Menendez Brothers” all over the media in the past few weeks. Who are they, and why are their names being spread all over the internet? The Menendez brothers were involved in a crime in the late 1980s that has put them away in jail for the past 34 years and caused a massive media outbreak that has resurfaced once again. So… what did they do?
On August 20th, 1989, a double homicide took place on a married couple in their Beverly Hills mansion. Kitty and Jose Menendez were murdered with shotguns in the den of their home while watching television on a calm Sunday evening. According to Newsweek, Jose was shot a total of 6 times, and Kitty was shot 10 times. Their two adult sons, Eric and Lyle Menendez, reported the crime and were hysterical upon police arrival, claiming they believed it was the Mafia that murdered their parents. Considering Jose was a very prominent businessman with many ties with sketchy businesses and the brutal way in which the couple was killed, the police believed a mob hit would not be unlikely. For six months, police and detectives carefully scrutinized the crime scene to find any leads and considered any possible options for who would have done such a thing. On March 5th, 1990, a woman named Judalon Smyth went to the police station, claiming she had important information about the now-famous Menendez case.
Judalon Smyth was Dr. Jerome Oziel’s mistress, the therapist Lyle and Erik had been seeing for years. Allegedly, she got into some sort of dispute with Oziel, which prompted her to go to the police, considering she knew he was withholding crucial evidence. Based on the tip she provided to the police, they had a search warrant for Dr. Oziel’s home, where they found tape recordings of both brothers confessing to killing their parents. Erik could not handle the immense guilt he felt after the crime and felt the need to tell someone, so he said Dr. Oziel. The tape recordings were enough evidence to send out a warrant for the arrest of both brothers. Lyle Menendez was arrested on March 8th, 1990, and Erik was arrested 3 days later after he returned to Los Angeles from a tennis tournament in Isreal, according to CNN. It took the police six months to finally make an arrest. The brothers were housed in two separate jails, and neither were not given bail.
It wasn’t until the first trial that both brothers went into depth about the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse they endured from their parents, claiming that this is what prompted them to kill them. Jose had been sexually abusing both of his sons from the age of 6, up until a few months before the murders. Leslie Abramson was a successful attorney during the 80s and 90s and represented the Menendez brothers. Throughout the trial, she made it very clear to the court that the Menendez brothers acted out of self-defense for the abuse they endured for the majority of their childhood. It also came out that Erik and Lyle were convinced that their parents were going to kill them. Throughout the 6-year time span for which the trial took place, more than 50 relatives, friends, coaches, and teachers got up on the stand and testified that they witnessed some of the abuse their father enacted on them. Each had described the young men as respectful, kind, disciplined, and well-mannered and would have never imagined them doing something like this.
On the contrary, Jose was described as angry, cruel, and demeaning. Kitty, their mother, knew about this abuse all along and never said anything. Some may argue this makes her equally responsible.
The Menendez brothers both pleaded guilty to the murder of their parents yet claimed it was something that “needed to be done” in terms of self-defense. When asked why they killed their mother in addition to their abusive father, the brothers claimed that she was completely dependent on Jose and would not be able to survive without him. Many people argued that there were other things Erik and Lyle could have done to escape this toxic household, especially considering they were both adults at the time of the crime. However, a psych analysis was done on them around the time they were arrested that determined Erik, 18 at the time, had the mental capacity of an eight-year-old, and Lyle, 21 at the time, had the mental capacity of a 10-year-old. This further highlights how the abuse they went through stunted them emotionally. Despite the claims of abuse, the witness testimonies, and the psych results, both brothers received life sentences without the possibility of parole. Many people believed they should have faced the death penalty, which was still legal in California during this time.
So why is this relevant now if this case occurred over 30 years ago? Recently, a Netflix show called Monsters came out, recapping the Menendez case. Though very popular, Ryan Murphy, the director, has received a lot of criticism. Many people who knew the Menendez brothers personally and even the brothers themselves have claimed that this portrayal of their characters is wildly inaccurate. Specifically, they make Lyle out to be highly rage-filled and disrespectful, which is said to be nothing like him. Not only that, but the show includes details that are not true, such as Erik being gay. He, as well as Lyle, are both married to women as they are in jail.
To add to the resurfacing of this case, new evidence has been uncovered that will reopen the case and may even get the brothers out of jail. Approximately six months before the murder, Erik Menendez wrote a letter to his cousin Andy, in which he mentions how his dad had been sexually abusing him. According to CNN, the LA district attorney is reviewing this new evidence and will eventually determine whether or not there will be a resentencing. Additionally, Roy Rossello, a member of the former band Menudo, has recently come forward and claimed that Jose Menendez also sexually abused him at the age of 14. Considering these new pieces of evidence, there is a chance the Menendez brothers could face parole. The Menendez brothers are exploding all over the internet, and tons of people are supporting the “Free the Menendez Brothers” movement. Thousands of people are signing petitions and sharing their opinions on the case online.
Though the brothers have been in jail for nearly 4 decades, they have said they feel more free and secure than they ever felt in their Beverly Hills home. So what do you think? Do you think they deserve to serve life sentences? Do you think this new evidence will get them out of jail?
