Menendez was affiliated with Menudo because he had signed the group to RCA Records, reported Global News. The crime scene on August 21, 1989. Credit: Fabiola Franco/Tribune Broadcasting/Getty Images. So he confessed to his therapist what he and his brother had done. by their father, leading them to commit the murders on August 20, 1989 at the family home in Beverly Hills. Jos spent the early 80s as the head of RCA Records and had a hand in the signing of bands such as Duran Duran and The Eurythmics. Lyle testified that he believed his brother because he, too, was allegedly sexually assaulted by Jos at a young age. Streaming Schedule, Season 5, Part 2 Debut Info, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, 'American Horror Story' Season 12 Casts Michaela Ja Rodriguez and Cara Delevingne, Patti LuPone Blasts Kim Kardashian for Newly Booked 'American Horror Story' Role: "What Are You Doing With Your Life? With California investigators on the East Coast, they began interviewing the Menendez familys New Jersey-based relatives. Lyle Menendez, then 21 years old, called 911 to report that he and his 18-year-old brother, Erik Menendez, had returned from the movie theater and the Taste of L.A. event in Santa Monica to find someone had murdered their mother and father. He worked his way up the ladder at a number of businesses. As with more than a few recent docuseries, its so eager to be first with its headline-grabbing imputations that it jumps the gun, leaving viewers to speculate about a sensational future that might come to pass should further substantiation eventually materialize. Over the course of those those six months, they reportedly spent $1 million on parties, travel, and shopping. The prosecution contended the brothers' motive was greed, pointing to their spending spree in the months following their parents' murders. When this younger generation is learning about the Menendez case, theyre able to draw on a very vivid, primary source, which was the recording of this trial, said Marcus. 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? I was devastated, said family friend John Burnett. With a flurry of shotgun rounds, the brothers violently killed their parents, Jos and Kitty, doing enough damage to their bodies to render them nearly unrecognizable. The defense also attacked Kitty as a husk of a woman, an alcoholic, drug addict, broken wife and useless mother who was devastated by Joss many affairs. They are still in prison, and have become a sort of internet sensation on social media with the growing interest in true crime. So who is Jose Menendez? Lyle also purchased his own chicken wing restaurant back in New Jersey. They were sent to separate prisons until 2018 when they were reunited and allowed to serve their sentences at the same facility. Outside the house, his 18-year-old brother, Erik, wailed into the night as the police arrived. Erik and Lyle Menendez testify about sex abuse in graphic detail: Part 8. On August 20, 1989, the brothers brutally shot their parents multiple times in the den of their $5 million dollar family home in Beverly Hills, where they staged the murders to look like a mob hit. Kill Jos, kill Kitty.. . In a preview for the docuseries that aired on NBCs TODAY, Rossell points to an image of Jose Menendez and says, Thats the man here that raped me.. "He had an incredible dedication to business. Erik was playing tennis in Israel at the time but came home voluntarily, and was arrested on March 11. 1,358, This story has been shared 1,126 times. The brothers were taken in for questioning but were outwardly distraught. Roy Rossell, 51, says in the upcoming docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed that Jos Menendez molested him while he was a teenage member of the group in the mid-1980s. Peacocks docuseries basically assumes that same viewpoint, sometimes to a fault, skimming past discussions of the prosecutions case against Lyle and Erik (other than to say that they were portrayed by the district attorney as greedy rich kids) in order to avoid addressing any complicating (i.e., less flattering) details, and to guarantee that they come across as railroaded innocents. From the events leading to that night to the media-fueled . After their arrest in 1990 and a second trial in 1996, the Menendez brothers became notorious media sensations. Approximately $14 million is expected to be the net worth of Jose and Kitty Menendez. Though he portrayed himself as a doting father and husband, behind closed doors Jose was reportedly strict and cruel. Erik married Tammi Saccoman, an attractive blonde with whom he'd been exchanging letters for six years. Meanwhile, Lyle returned to Princeton, but not to attend classes. Smyth and Oziel had a rocky relationship she claimed he was controlling and abusive and after he allegedly attacked her, Smyth contacted the Beverly Police to reveal that the Menendez brothers confessed to their parents murder. Finally, the Supreme Court of California ruled that two of the three tapes were eligible to be used in the trial, including one that contained Lyles admission of guilt. Years later, a cousin told ABC News that she believed his story because hed told her similar things when he was a child. It was an enormous, shocking break in the casebut then it stalled, for years. I want to be senator and be with the people of Cuba, said Erik. Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 30 years ago. They took exotic vacations, too, thinking they had even more money coming to them. She became interested in the case after seeing footage of TikTok. They were sentenced to life without parole. They went home to get Eriks false identification he had so they could go to a bar, retired Beverly Hills Detective Sgt. He yelled and screamed a lot, he was brutal to people. Those in the know said Jos was also concerned because his sons helped commit several burglaries in the Los Angeles area, taking about $100,000 in jewelry and cash the previous year. The Instagram account features a profile photo of the young brothers and has 238 followers. But it looks like the controversial true crime anthology is pushing forward with the Menendez case. The brothers during one of the court hearings The case especially gained attention as the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. LYLE Menendez and younger brother Erik are serving life sentences for the 1989 murder of their parents. The legal team for Lyle and Erik Menendez argued that they were sexually abused by their father. Instead, they acted like two guys who had just won the lottery. They then drove. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Previously, the Menendez brothers were jailed at separate prisons. LYLE Menendez and younger brother Erik are serving life sentences for the 1989 murder of their parents. They got what they deserved for a vicious crime where two people got murdered.. Per the LA Times, Jose was earning $500,000 a year. Blog Menendez Brothers Say They 'Don't Deserve' To Be In Prison The famous interviewer literally cried out in disgust and annoyance. Per the LA Times, Jose was earning $500,000 a year. The infamous 1989 double murder case is back in the spotlight thanks to a shocking new rape allegation revealed in Peacock's "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.". Los Angeles District Attorney The bloodied crime scene following Jose and Kitty Menendez's murder. The first trial lasted four and a half months and resulted in two hung juries one for each brother unable to agree on whether they were guilty of murder or acting in their own self-defense. The population was then around 5 million. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! It was shortly before midnight on Aug. 20, 1989, when patrol officers were called to a double shooting in the affluent and otherwise quiet neighborhood of Beverly Hills. The trial began in 1993 and was broadcast on a relatively new cable network called Court TV, which was devoted to turning the legal system into a hybrid of entertainment and sporting event. Finally, the California Supreme Court ruled that the tapes could be played. The Menendez brothers are each currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, on August 20, 1989. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. That defense earned them separate mistrials in 1993 but didnt succeed in their subsequent 1996 retrial, which concluded with convictions and life sentences without the possibility of parole. The investigation eventually turned to Lyle and Erik. Roy Rossell, a key member of the Puerto Rican boy band sensation Menudo, asserts that, throughout the course of his 1983-86 tenure in the group, he was habitually abused by its creator and manager, Edgardo Diaz. They went home to get Eriks false identification he had so they could go to a bar, retired Beverly Hills Detective Sgt. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: August 20. DAHMER Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters as the titular serial killer, detailed the cannibalistic murder spree Dahmer conducted undetected for over a decade. 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. Once they moved to California, Erik began to run with some teenage delinquents, getting himself in trouble for a string of burglaries. You could hear things breaking and you could hear the ringing noises from the booms, Lyle testified. "I Wish Life Had Turned Out Differently for Them": Childhood Friend of Menendez Brother Speaks Out. At the heart of the trial wasnt whether the brothers killed their parents but whether they should be charged with murder or manslaughter. It was so brutal that police thought the killings were a mob hit, and early investigations focused on business rivals and a porn executive who had a bone to pick with Jos. The Menendez murders were a gruesome, barbaric crime; Jos and Kitty were not so much killed as rendered nearly unidentifiable by 15 rounds from two 12-gauge shotguns. Even the brothers weepy descriptions of their fathers abuse earned them mockery. Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, the new Peacock docuseries premiering May 2, explores a provocative new allegation against the brothers late father. Courtesy Brian Anderson They believe this was an improper prosecution.. On August 20, 1989, the brothers brutally shot their parents multiple times in the den of their $5 million dollar family home in Beverly Hills, where they staged the murders to look like a mob hit. He lived with a cousin in Pennsylvania before winning an athletic scholarship to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Ive Been a True Crime Buff Since I Was Old Enough to Read. On August 24, 1989, the day before his parents funeral, Lyle dropped over $15,000 on three Rolex watches, as witnesses and he would later testify. The Abuse of Erik and Lyle Menendez was carried out by their parents, Jose and Kitty. LYLE Menendez and younger brother Erik are serving life sentences for the 1989 murder of their parents. Ryan Murphys record-breaking anthology series Monster is coming back to Netflix with yet another gruesome season. Despite Rand bringing this to the attention of Lyle, Erik, and their attorney Cliff Gardnerand he and Ynclan making excited and optimistic pronouncements about what itll mean for the Menendez boys fateits not clear that this is enough to move the legal needle. 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. When he awakened in his hotel room the next morning, he discovered physical evidence that hed been violated, but couldnt 100 percent ascertain who had been the culprit. He, signed famous groups like the Eurythmics, Duran Duran and Menudo, Jose left RCA in 1986. 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. Lyle and Erik Menendez are brothers charged in the murder case of the parents, Jose and Mary Menendez, in 1996. Menudo Star Says Jos Menendez Assaulted Him. "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. Erik Menendez holds a get well card he received from a fan. Prosecutors argued that the brothers were driven by greed, pointing out that Erik and Lyle spent an estimated $700,000 of their inheritance in the months following their parents' deaths. By the age of four, both had grown up in the opulent Beverley Hills. In December 1993, jurors began weeks of deliberations but couldnt agree to the charges, resulting in a hung jury. Lyle Menendez breaks down in tears on September 10, 1993 as he recalls incidents of sexual abuse by his father during court testimony. "I think it was the emotional pull of the defense that caused a mistrial," Deputy District Attorney Pamela Bozanich, who prosecuted Lyle, told The Times. Or is there something so evil at the core of this family that the brothers actions might have been justified? On August 20, they burst into the den of their home and discharged 15 shots into their parents while the couple was watching television on the couch. Hed met Kitty at Southern Illinois University before they had Lyle and Erik, raising the pair in New Jersey. Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed (May 2) boasts a bombshell in store for viewers who may have (naturally) assumed that the Menendez saga was over. 5,915, This story has been shared 3,830 times. Thats where he met his future wife, Mary Louise, who was known as Kitty. From 1996 to 2018, the eldest brother Lyle was imprisoned at Mule Creek State Prison. I know what he did to me in his house, he says. It was the first business under the umbrella of a company Lyle called Menendez Investment Enterprises. were convicted of brutally killing their parents. While completing his degree in accounting at Queens College, Jose washed dishes at the Manhattan restaurant 21. Spectators were taken aback when, during opening arguments, Lyles defense attorney, Jill Lansing, told jurors, Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents.. Relatives claimed Jos had a business deal go south with Live Entertainment President Noel Bloom, who was allegedly connected to the mob. According to their statements, the brothers left to get their guns, returning a short time later. Lyle and Erik confessed to buying the shotguns on Aug. 18, 1989 just two days before the murders in case they needed them for protection. In 1996, Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of the murder of their parents, Jos and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menndez. Then the brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time, drove to a movie theater and bought tickets for Batman. Even now, 30 years since the murders first took place, the brothers crime continues to fascinate and perplex. Some said Jos planned to take Lyle and Erik out of the will for fears theyd blow their inheritance on their new girlfriends. His first wife was a former model; his current wife, Rebecca Sneed, is a magazine editor-turned-attorney. It was those sessions that would lead to their eventual arrest. We know these details exist because the brothers confessed them all, eventually. I feel hes in me, pushing me.. All Rights Reserved. Thats when they discovered the murder.. Jose left RCA in 1986. . Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. At the time, crime was this black-and-white thing, said Marcus. 1,559, This story has been shared 1,516 times. Still, such notions are undermined by the sense that Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed is deliberately avoiding a comprehensive reexamination of the case. But ultimately, Bloom had an alibi, and detectives were back to ground zero. You can see more of her writing at kaitlinmenza.com. 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. Leads ran dry, until months later, in March 1990, when a woman named Judalon Smyth went to detectives. alleges that Jos Menendez, who was an executive at RCA Records at the time. He lived with a cousin in Pennsylvania before winning an athletic scholarship to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. She added: My mom is a person that says like, You know, they killed their parents, and thats wrong.'. Edmonds. On the stand, Erik admitted that, just days before their parents murders, he told his older brother that their father had molested him. In 1980, he became head of the companys record division, RCA-Ariola. On August 20, 1989, Jos and Mary Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their Beverly Hills home. A look back at the unthinkable Beverly Hills murder that's gripped the nation for three decades. Despite their requests to be placed in the same prison, the Menendez brothers were separated and are still serving their life sentences miles apart to this day. Lyle Menendez was arrested on March 8, 1990 in Beverly Hills. 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The brothers were then tried together and were found guilty in 1996. Who was missing woman Kim Mason and how did she die? Erik said theyd done it to put their mother out of her misery, while Lyle made it clear that they were both in on the crime. The prosecution contended the brothers' motive was greed, pointing to their spending spree in the months following their parents' murders. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Joss mother, the boys grandmother, also supported Lyle and Erik throughout the trial, according to Delahunt. 1,717, This story has been shared 1,679 times. , the notorious case that glued a nation to its TV sets is back in the spotlight. The comment has accumulated 33 likes in three days. In one horrific anecdote, Roy recalls getting caught trying to see a girl and being locked in a bathroom, nude, for the entire night, only to be viciously raped and beaten upon his release from captivity. The firearms matched the weapons used to kill Jos and Kitty, prompting the district attorney to file charges. Stream It Or Skip It: 'Tom Jones' On PBS, A Romance-Focused Adaptation Of Henry Fielding's Novel, Stream It or Skip It: 'Spring Breakthrough' on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Proves We Need More Keesha Sharp, Stream It or Skip It: 'Hearts in the Game' on Hallmark Just Might Be the Network's Movie of the Year. Jose was 45 years old and chief executive of Live Entertainment when he was killed. The effort fell short; both Lyle and Erik were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996. Part of the reason for that sidelining, it appears, is that Roy doesnt fully remember what took place. Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed thus plays like the tip of a potential iceberg that has yet to be fully assessed. Lyle was arrested soon after. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Police began their investigation by looking into Jos, a Cuban immigrant whod become a self-made millionaire in the video business. The mere appearance of host John Malkovich wearing the royal blue sweater on the stand was enough shorthand for a studio audience to begin laughing. Unlike other endlessly popular true-crime storiesJonBenet Ramsey, O.J. He wooed and married Kitty, a beauty pageant queen, and then rose from washing dishes to becoming a successful young entertainment executive. 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. One by one, family members testified to the abuse, with a cousin confirming that the boys told them about the sexual abuse years earlier. Sign up now. It's their theatricality that has made the Menendez men so infamous, their flare for courtroom drama and off-putting outfits, and the. What Happened to Bonnie Hood at Camp Nelson? Family friend Karen Lamm described Jose as being mean to Kitty. Immediately, it was announced that they would be retried. Of course, there are people from America, but I also met people from Hungary, and from France, she told the newspaper. She even had an audiotape of the confessions. Where are the Menendez brothers today? Jos allegedly threatened to kill their sons to keep the truth from getting out, according to the brothers testimonies. After the juries deadlocked in their first trials, Lyle and Erik Menendez were found guilty of first-degree murder in 1996 for the gruesome shooting deaths of Jos and . Unable to profess their innocence, Lyle and Erik instead claimed that their fathers reign of terror went far beyond emotional abuse and the pressure of high expectations. Jose set high goals for himself and his sons. 1,516, This story has been shared 1,358 times. Born in Cuba to well-to-do business people and star athletes, Jose was 16 when his parents sent him to the U.S. in the late 1950s, the Los Angeles Times reported. Erik, who was in Israel at the time, flew to Miami and then L.A., where he turned himself into police. Why did Lyle and Erik Menendez kill their parents? What you did was, you killed your parents and then began to spend their money. The house in which Jos and Kitty were killed was located on one of the most exclusive blocks in Beverly Hills and was at different times occupied by Michael Jackson and Elton John. Fabienne Bersching, who is 20 and lives in Germany, also launched an Instagram page about the brothers, according to The Times. Who Is Suspected Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira? 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. Lyle and Erik Menendez cited emotional and physical abuse, among other reasons, for the gruesome 1989 killing of their mother and father. He would work his children to the bone in athletics, especially tennis, and everything else, reported Biography. Lyle purchased a Rolex, a Porsche, lots of clothing and a restaurant back in Princeton, where he had been living before the murders, while Erik was more practical, opting for a Jeep Wrangler, a $50,000 personal tennis coach and a $40,000 investment in a rock concert that never happened. Figuring out whether the tapes with the confessions fell under doctor-patient privilege or were admissible as evidence in court took two full years, with lawsuits and appeals flying back and forth between the prosecution and the Menendezs lawyers. .css-1fgik18{color:#323232;display:block;font-family:NewParis,NewParis-fallback,Georgia,Times,serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;-webkit-font-smoothing:auto;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1fgik18:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.3125rem;line-height:1.2;}}The Science Behind Lying, Schmooze or Lose: Getting Ahead Means Going Out. They testified that they feared for their livesafter being subjected to years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Its their theatricality that has made the Menendez men so infamous, their flare for courtroom drama and off-putting outfits, and the brazen nature of their behavior between the murder and their arrests. This trial will take you behind the facade of the rich houses, the fancy cars, the wealthy friends, and impressive social engagements, Lansing told jurors. He landed at the independent film company Carolco Pictures, which produced the Rambo big-screen franchise. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Jose turned the struggling International Video Entertainment Inc. (IVE), a video distributor into profitability,according to People. 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