Lyle and Erik Menendez
Joseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez are siblings who were convicted for the murder of their parents José and Mary Menendez.
The famous scandal of the Menendez brothers shooting their parents to death went viral not only in the west but all over the world. So let’s take a look back at the unthinkable Beverly Hills murder that has attention for over three decades.
Background of Erik and Lyle Menendez
The story of the Menendez brothers is one of the most notorious true crime sagas in American history, and it seems that people can’t get enough of this story.
So, the story begins on the 18th of August 1989, where Erik and Lyle purchased a shotgun from a store in San Diego, which is over 100 miles away from Beverly Hills. On the 19th of August, their parents booked a yacht for some shark fishing along with Erik and Lyle. The very next day the couple was shot while they were watching TV. In the room of court, it was confirmed that Erik fired first but the best last shots were by Lyle.
The brothers then very smoothly cleaned the blood, tossed the guns out, and went to watch a Batman. movie. After the movie, the brothers came back home and pretended to discover the whole crime scene, the boys also detailed 911 immediately, while shouting “someone killed my parents”.
When the cops arrived the brothers told that the crime occurred while they were at the movies. The cops at that time did not suspect the brothers and therefore did not let them undergo gunshot fingerprint tests. But the police did suspect them 6 months after the murder, because of the lavish spending there were involved in. Lyle brought a Rolex watch, a Porsche camera, a few restaurants, and a $132,000 house, whereas Erik hired a full-time tennis coach and participated in tennis events in Israel. They left their parent’s mansion unoccupied and drove around LA and went on expensive and lavish trips to the Caribbean and London. As the suspect on the brothers grew, a few family members of theirs informed the police that their spending was the same even before their parent’s death.
While the doubt regarding their lavish spending was off, the cops still kept an eye on them. Further in the investigation Erik’s best friend was confronted. He was wired to have lunch with Erik and get as much information as possible. When Erik’s best friend asked if he shot his parents, Erik’s answer was an immediate no. While Erik did not tell his best friend, he did confront his therapist who told his mistress. The mistress broke up with him and broke the news to the cops.
On March 8, 1990, Lyle was arrested and 3 days later, Erik turned himself in.
Why Erik and Lyle Menendez Kill Their Parents?
The case became a national sensation in the US when the court released its trial in 1993. In the trials, the brother stated that they were forced and driven to kill their parents because of the constant torture and sexual abuse by their father and their mother being selfish, encouraging her husband to do so. Lyle and Erik also stated that a few weeks before the murder, the sexual abuse grew to an extent they couldn’t take it anymore. It was also reported that the parents kept a rifle in their bedroom which forced the boys to buy a shotgun. Their father also threatened them to keep it a secret, which drove the boys to finish the matter for once and all. The last confrontation happened inside the house den on August 20, 1989, a few minutes before Kitty and José were killed. The brothers then stated that their father closed the den’s door at that time, which is unusual. Paranoid and afraid that they would be killed by their own parents, Lyle and Erik went outside of the house to load their shotguns. Erik stated, “as I went into the room, I just started firing.
After their trials were released by the court, the case took a jump in the media because of the rich background of the family. It was a wealthy family in Beverly Hills, along with the brother being 21 and 18 at the time of the murder. So the typical rich people scandal got around the US media. It the case was so famous that the scenes have been enacted on stage along with an eight-hour NBC mini-series and a two-hour documentary on ABC and a lifetime movie.
Where are the Menendez brothers currently? Are they still rich?
Both brothers were eventually convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and of conspiracy to commit murder, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Both Lyle and Erik were housed in different prisons they now reside in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County, which is a unit reserved for felons who agree to participate in education and rehabilitation programs without creating disruptions.
“They just hugged each other for a few minutes without saying any words to each other,” one of the journalists reported ABC news in 2018, referring to the brothers’ reunion. “Then the prison officials let them spend an hour together in a room.”
Are Menendez brothers still rich?
And as for their wealth, they certainly might not have the lavish life that they lived before but they sure are better human beings who understand and value human relationships.
