Thirty years ago this week, a shocking crime unfolded in a Beverly Hills mansion. During one of those visits, Roy says he saw Erik and Lyle, after which he was drugged and assaultedand he implies that this crime took place as an implicit means of sealing Menudos RCA deal. Why Does the Tragedy of the Titanic Still Grip Us? He signed famous groups like the Eurythmics, Duran Duran and Menudo, Vanity Fair reported. The streaming platform also shared that they have exclusive access to Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are still serving life sentences in prison, for a forthcoming documentary. 1,717, This story has been shared 1,679 times. Alongside Roys own sincere commentary, their testimony (including Rauls admission that he once saw Roy and Diaz in bed together, naked) is shocking and persuasive. Spectators were taken aback when, during opening arguments, Lyles defense attorney, Jill Lansing, told jurors, Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents.. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. For the most part, the lack of a conviction was considered a travesty. In 1996, when twentysomething brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez were on trial for the murder of their Beverly Hills parents, Jse and Kitty, their legal team argued that they had committed the . The Menendez brothers' documentary and paper headlines dwelled on the concept of greedy rich kids who killed their parents for money. The case returned to the spotlight in 2017, when Erik participated in a tell-all for a documentary while serving his sentence, appealing to a new generation navigated by social media and living against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement, according to New York Times journalist Ezra Marcus. He believed that whatever had to be done should be done with no heart, if necessary, a colleague told Vanity Fair. You couldnt escape it.. Stream It Or Skip It: Kiss, Kiss! on Netflix, a Polish Rom-Com With an Oogy Womanizer Protagonist. This comes as explosive news to journalist and author Robert Rand and his colleague Nery Ynclan, who have spent years working to exonerate the Menendez brothers because theyre convinced that the siblings were wrongly convicted of first-degree murder rather than manslaughter, which would have saddled them with a lighter prison sentence. According to their statements, the brothers left to get their guns, returning a short time later. In a particularly dark October 1993 sketch, Saturday Night Live imitated their smoothly flat voices and the way their faces would crumple into crocodile tears. On August 20, 1989, a seemingly hysterical Lyle Menendez, then 21, called 911. Lyle dipped a toe into the last by trying, unsuccessfully, to be named the promoter of a rock concert. But it became one of Netflixs biggest series ever, snagging a Critics Choice Award for Niecy Nash and a Golden Globe for Peters. Born into lives of wealth and privilege as the sons and only children of Hollywood executive Jos Menendez, 45, and his wife, Kitty, 47, the brothers claimed they had returned home from the. Thats when they discovered their parents decimated bodies and dialed 911, they said in their interviews. Menendez was affiliated with Menudo because he had signed the group to RCA Records, reported Global News. Leads ran dry, until months later, in March 1990, when a woman named Judalon Smyth went to detectives. They also attended therapy sessions with Dr. Jerome Oziel. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. There was also a $5 million life insurance policy on their father, though technicalities stopped them from collecting. After shooting their parents to death, Lyle and Erik Menendez partied, gambled, and indulged in pricey shopping sprees. He was focused, specific about what he wanted from business, very much in control. Jose set high goals for himself and his sons. For the next three years, a legal battle was fought over the admissibility of Dr. Oziels tapes. The sensationalized trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez during the 1990s continues to be a source of fascination and debate, especially in light of social media and the #MeToo movement. By the age of four, both had grown up in the opulent Beverley Hills. Their sons Lyle and Erik, who were 21 and 18 respectively at the time of the killings, also seemed like the platonic ideal of the Reagan era United States. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He would work his children to the bone in athletics, especially tennis, and everything else. I want to be senator and be with the people of Cuba, said Erik. Outside the house, his 18-year-old brother, Erik, wailed into the night as the police arrived. On August 20, 1989, Jos and Mary Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their Beverly Hills home. Goodreau, who was on the East Coast when the transaction occurred, said his ID card had been stolen or lost while in Lyles Princeton dorm room. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Lyle and Erik Menendez claimed that they killed their parents in 1989 because they feared for their safety following a lifetime of sexual abuse perpetrated by their father, Jos, an RCA Records executive, and condoned by their mother, Kitty. More of Joss business ventures sent detectives looking into a transaction between Jos and a New Jersey-based businessman whod sold Jos a pornographic film company. Jose left RCA in 1986. "He had an incredible dedication to business. They were shot multiple times at close range with a shotgun and rendered unrecognizable. They got what they deserved for a vicious crime where two people got murdered.. Theres only so many gun stores in San Diego.. Abramson, whom the Washington Post called "a 4-foot-11, fire-eating, mud-slinging, nuclear-strength pain in the legal butt," helped the boys depict a lifetime of gruesome and relentless sexual assaults starting from childhood and continuing into their teens. They took exotic vacations, too, thinking they had even more money coming to them. 1,679, This story has been shared 1,559 times. The key, in my book, was Judalon Smyth told us that the shotguns were brought in San Diego, according to Det. Although the Menendez brothers were not immediately suspected, Erik couldnt take the guilt and confessed his involvement to his psychotherapist, Dr. L. Jerome Oziel. Ex-Menudo Singer Makes Shock Claim About Menendez Brothers Dad. These men didnt just know about Diazs pedophilic conduct, but in some cases, theyd spoken out about it previously, only to be ignored and/or persecuted by the powers that be on behalf of Diaz, a highly influential and respected Puerto Rican celebrity. Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave the courtroom in Santa Monica, Calif., after a judge ruled that conversations between the two brothers and their psychologist were admissible as evidence; The gravesite of Jose and Kitty Menendez, still serving their life sentences miles apart to this day, eight-hour NBC mini-series starring Emmy winner Edie Falco, Both have gotten married while behind bars. The Menendez brothers were the only children of entertainment businessman Jose Menendez and his wife Mary Louise, otherwise known as Kitty. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Lyle testified that he believed his brother because he, too, was allegedly sexually assaulted by Jos at a young age. In 1988, after getting caught in a string of burglaries, Erik was required by the court to meet with a therapist named Dr. Jerome Oziel. The Menendez brothers murder their parents Lyle and Erik Menendez shoot their parents, Jose and Kitty, to death in the den of the family's Beverly Hills, California, home. Jos reportedly made a deal with the district attorney to get Erik who was still a minor a slap on the wrist in exchange for pleading guilty, while both brothers were required to enter counseling. Nonbinary 'Yellowjackets' Star Liv Hewson Is Sitting out of Emmy Season Over Gendered Categories, 'Yellowjackets' Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: Digging the Antler Queen, Drew Barrymore Admits She's "Not Sure" She's "Drawn to the Manscaper" on 'The Drew Barrymore Show': "I Love Funk", Drew Barrymore Opens up About Up Close and Personal Interview Style: "I Feel This Magnetic Pull", Why Isn't 'The Drew Barrymore Show' on Today? 5,915, This story has been shared 3,830 times. LYLE Menendez and younger brother Erik are serving life sentences for the 1989 murder of their parents. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Their late mother's brother, Brian Andersen, dismissed the idea that their mother did anything wrong, telling ABC News, "The idea that Erik and Lyle were abused by my sister Kitty is absolute. The case especially gained attention as the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. The brothers underwent highly publicized trials. Erik was playing tennis in Israel at the time but came home voluntarily, and was arrested on March 11. Kitty was 44. It was those sessions that would lead to their eventual arrest. They were charged with the first-degree murders of their parents. During the trials, they claimed their father routinely administered physical and. Once they moved to California, Erik began to run with some teenage delinquents, getting himself in trouble for a string of burglaries. When Walters called them spoiled, Erik protested, Im just a normal kid.. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. He added that he became disgusted with the way the media at the time and in subsequent years downplayed the brothers abuse.. . During the pandemic, the trial was streamed on Court TV, and with the new sets of eyes belonging to a generation more compassionate toward sex abuse victims, many voiced their opinion that Lyle and Erik should have been charged with manslaughter. The brothers, featured on ABC's 20/20 in April of 2021, have a new generation of defenders - on Instagram and TikTok. Erik! Thomas Edmonds told, The case returned to the spotlight in 2017, when Erik participated in a tell-all for a documentary while serving his sentence, appealing to a new generation navigated by social media and living against the backdrop of the, During the pandemic, the trial was streamed on Court TV, and with the new sets of eyes belonging to a generation more compassionate toward, Commentators also pointed out gender bias something the brothers had been publicly arguing since their trial and that there might have been a different outcome, had the defendants been female. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. 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So who is Jose Menendez? I was told during the trial by the bailiffs that the brothers would high five each other, particularly after a good day in court when they were testifying, Bozanich said. Is 'Are You There God? "I Wish Life Had Turned Out Differently for Them": Childhood Friend of Menendez Brother Speaks Out. The brothers have admitted to killing their parents. They testified that they feared for their lives, after being subjected to years of sexual and physical abuse. The brothers, featured on ABC's 20/20 in April of 2021, have a new generation of defenders - on Instagram and TikTok. The Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion nearly three decades ago, have been reunited in a . Of course, there are people from America, but I also met people from Hungary, and from France, she told the newspaper. Subsequently, it is said that the boys obtained an estimated $700,000 payout from their deceased parents' life insurance policy. They testified that they feared for their livesafter being subjected to years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father. Joseph Lyle Menndez (born January 10, 1968) and Erik Galen Menndez (born November 27, 1970) are American brothers who were convicted in 1996 of the murders of their parents, Jos and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menndez.. During the trial, the brothers stated that they committed the murders out of fear that their father would kill them after they threatened to expose him for years of sexual . I was devastated, said family friend John Burnett. Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed thus plays like the tip of a potential iceberg that has yet to be fully assessed. The boys' father, Jose Menendez immigrated from Cuba when he was 16, and worked his way up in corporate America to become an extremely wealthy business man, and eventually the CEO of LIVE Entertainment. Thats something that happened, Lyle said, "but I dont think characterizing it that way is putting it in the right context.. Finally, the California Supreme Court ruled that the tapes could be played. Kaitlin Menza is a freelance features writer. A judge ruled portions of the tapes of the brothers therapy sessions admissible as evidence, which their attorneys appealed. We know these details exist because the brothers confessed them all, eventually. Bozanich appeared in a 2015 episode of Murder Made Me Famous on the Reelz Channel and maintained that 20 years later, she was still completely convinced that the brothers had made up the sexual abuse. In the ensuing 30 years, theyve maintained their victimization story, and now, a new Peacock docuseries purports to have evidence that might corroborate their allegations against Josand it comes from the unlikeliest of sources. Oddly enough, Judalon Smyth testified for the defense this time, insisting Dr. Oziel had manipulated the brothers into confessing. Their lawyer, Leslie Abramson, who became a star during the trial, argued that the two were acting in self-defense after growing up in such a violent and traumatizing home. He hired two friends at Princeton to help oversee and advise on his investments, as they later testified, and foresaw a portfolio of restaurants, real estate, and (like their father) the entertainment industry. While completing his degree in accounting at Queens College, Jose washed dishes at the Manhattan restaurant 21. The investigation eventually turned to Lyle and Erik. Thats where he met his future wife, Mary Louise, who was known as Kitty. She lives in New York. Today, a new generation thinks they didn't get a fair trial. The men said the boys were lying; the women believed totally different we were hopelessly deadlocked.. The brothers were found guilty in spite of their defense . Close your eyes and conjure the Menendez brothers, and theyre wearing matching sweaters the vivid, unnatural colors of jelly beans. "But its the background story thats so much more important to me., 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, The brothers were convicted of killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, Erik (left) and Lyle are serving life in prison, Defense lawyer Leslie Abramson looks over a model depicting entrance wounds in the case, Lyle (left) and Erik sit in a Beverly Hills courtroom. You can see more of her writing at kaitlinmenza.com.
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