On the night of August 20, 1989, the Menendez home became the scene of a brutal crime that would captivate the public for years to come.
Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez were killed in their home by their two sons, Joseph Lyle and Erik Galen Menendez. The brothers were eventually convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in July 1996, marking one of the first high-profile cases to be broadcast on nationwide television.
The September release of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Netflix anthology series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” and Alejandro Hartmann’s Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers” has sparked a renewed interest in the infamous murder case. The intense media coverage amplified by social media platforms has reignited conversations surrounding the brothers’ claims of physical, sexual and psychological abuse by their parents, prompting a reassessment of their actions and their story.
“The legal reason why there is now a reevaluation of the case is because there’s a piece of new evidence, right? But that evidence seems very much tied to a high-profile media situation,” said Aya Gruber, a professor of criminal law, referring to the many documentaries made about the brothers.
The success of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” topping Netflix charts at 13.1 million views, was followed by “The Menendez Brothers,” which gained 22.7 million views in just over a week. Upon the immense wave of interest in the case, social media users took to Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to express their curiosity and share insight. Many users have shared personal stories, legal analyses, critical viewpoints or simply discussed the topic in the comments of these posts. This digital engagement allowed a larger audience to participate in this discussion as new evidence was presented, further complicating the case.
Cliff Gardner, one of the Menendez brothers’ lawyers, told CBS that the new evidence includes a letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano about the abuse eight months before the murders. According to Gardner, this letter was not presented during the original trials. In addition to the letter, a former band member from the boy band Menudo, Roy Rossello, came forward claiming that Jose Menendez sexually assaulted him as a minor.
Gruber said the new evidence may not have come to light without the renewed fame.
“We can’t say that piece of evidence wouldn’t have led to some revaluation of the case without the documentary being public. It could be that that member of Menudo wouldn’t have spoken up if it weren’t in the context of that documentary,” Gruber said.
Gruber said that if the new evidence had been introduced during the initial trials, it might have influenced the jury’s perspective toward the defense, particularly in understanding the brothers’ actions.
“You have children that are subjected to years of horrific sexual abuse, and who, when they were older, under this state of emotional stress or under the fear of the abuse continuing, killed their parents in a passionate moment,” Gruber said.
She believes that it is more likely that their actions were driven by desperation and trauma rather than the common assumption that the brothers acted out of greed, which would have been likely carried out in a more secretive, planned way.
However, journalism professor Alan Abrahamson, the Los Angeles Times’s lead reporter on the case who is featured in the Hartmann documentary, disagreed.
“Everyone is allowed to be emotional, everyone’s allowed to have an opinion, but in the end, what matters are facts, what matters are law,” Abrahamson said. “Under California law, if you act in self-defense, you have an imminent fear for your life. The brothers were not in imminent fear for their lives.”
Social media has also allowed the family members of the brothers to engage directly with fans and share their perspectives on the documentary. Erik’s wife, Tammi Menendez, shared in a statement by the family on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “it is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Ryan Murphy said he believes his series benefited the brothers’ case.
“They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world. There’s sort of an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case.” Murphy said.
Actress Rosie O’Donnell used her platform to share about her friendship with the brothers and to advocate for their release through TikTok, “believe it or not, they made such a life for themselves. They really did in prison,” O’Donnell said, “I hope the get out and write books, I hope they get out and just take some time to themselves. Remember what it’s like. Be in the world. I love them both.”
As the two documentaries gained popularity and clips of the Menendez brothers’ case spread online, many began to empathize with the brothers. This reaction differs from a statement made by Erik’s defense attorney, Leslie Abramson, in the Menendez Brothers documentary: “No amount of media, nor teenage petitions, will alter the fate of these clients. Only the courts can do that and they have ruled.”
“The followers who are younger that are in that TikTok generation, they really have tremendous hope,” Lyle said in the Hartmann documentary. “Young people have taken time to figure out what happened, and they understand it in ways that older people don’t. I feel more hope when society seems to understand sex abuse even better.”
On October 3, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón gave an update on the Menendez case, stating that there is a possibility that the brothers could receive a reduction in their sentence given the new evidence and the brothers’ potential for rehabilitation.
“There are multiple things that could happen. They could walk out based on what the court decides, or they can have the sentence given a different shape and perhaps they still will stay on, but for a lesser period of time,” Gascón said. “Or, they can have a new trial. Those are all options.”
The court hearing for Lyle and Eric Menendez is set for November 29.
As the spotlight on the Menendez brothers grows, the power that media narratives have in shaping public perception may play a pivotal role in the future of their case.