We all know the story: it’s August 1989, on a late summer evening. Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menedez were in the living room of their Beverly Hills home watching late night TV when their two sons, Joseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez entered the home through the front door and opened fire via shotgun, killing both of their parents.
In my opinion, Lyle and Erik are innocent. The brothers should be released to live a life that they never got to experience. They are guilty of what they did and yes they have faced the consequences of their actions but they didn’t murder their parents out of enjoyment or for the money. They were young boys and what else would you do if you had so much money to spend? How would you escape from such a harsh reality? For them spending the money was an escape, a way to cope with the events. I think they have served enough time and both brothers have reflected about the actions they committed that night. Jose Menendez stripped his sons away from enjoying childhood and instead, filling it up with permanent trauma. Lyle and Erik couldn’t escape or run away because eventually they would be brought back to their parents or ignored about their claims; they also depended so much on Jose. Whatever occurs during your childhood will forever impact your future and the way you are as a grown, mindful person.
A father shouldn’t treat his child so harshly in ways that are unspoken of. A father should love his children and have appropriate ways to educate them. Both brothers were never troublemakers even in jail, Erik commented, “I have gotten into fights..many fights. But I never fight first. You have to learn to be smart.” Erik and Lyle Menedez deserve better, they deserve to be free and to live a life full of love that they lacked in their childhood.
Born May 6, 1944 in Havana, Cuba, Jose Menendez was sent to the United States by his mother during the Cuban Revolution due to the harsh conditions of the war. Jose started working part-time in high school & attended Southern Illinois University where he met Mary Louise Kitty Anderson. Jose later began a successful career at the age of 35 despite the challenges he endured; he started in an entry level position, and climbed to executive vice president of U.S. operations for car rental company, Hertz. Kitty grew up in the suburbs of Illinois as a child of divorce, which kickstarted her depression early on in her childhood. Kitty had big dreams, like the desire to be an actress. In 1962, she won the Miss Oak Lawn beauty pageant and by this time had already caught the attention of Jose, being a senior while he was a freshman in college. The two later married each other in 1963, Jose 19 and Kitty 21. Lyle, their first born son was born on January 10th, 1968 in New York.
Around this time, Kitty gave up her teaching career to become a full-time house wife at Jose’s request. Soon after, their second son, Erik was born on November 27,1970. Both brothers attended Princeton Day School in New Jersey, before the family relocated to Calabasas, California. Despite the upscale neighborhood, the brothers committed a series of burglaries across their neighborhood; this led them to move to Beverly Hills, California. Lyle attended Princeton University where he was later put on probation for his grades and ultimately expelled due to plagiarism.
Lyle and Erik may have grown up with everything; a good home, good clothing, and a good wealthy lifestyle in general, but what happened within the walls of their home was inhumane and no parent should ever do that to their child. In my opinion, what Jose did to his own sons in his home is not justifiable because a father should love. At the age of 6 both brothers were abused sexually by their father Jose; Lyle experienced abuse until he was 8, but Erik suffered just until weeks before the murders. I’m pretty sure a child should live freely, make memories, be around loveable parents, and live a colorful life; not a black and white childhood that is full of traumas that will result in resentment towards your parents.
A couple weeks prior to the crime, Erik confessed to his brother Lyle about how Jose was abusing him. Not only did this strengthen their resentment towards Jose, but greater conflicts grew between brothers and the parents. When the boys questioned their mother, they expected her to be clueless about the abuse, but in reality she knew everything. Kitty didn’t speak up and defend her sons because she wanted to keep the family “together”. In my opinion, a mother should stand up for her children especially when she knows something is wrong. She bears them with love and does not stay silent just so the world can see “the perfect family”.
The final confrontation moments before the killings, Kitty and Jose went into the den to have a chat and closed the doors behind them, which the brothers claimed was “unusual” behavior. During the trials the brothers didn’t want to speak out about the abuse and were hesitant. Lyle said, “I would much rather lose the murder trial than talk about our past and what had happened.” I see Jose and Kittys actions as two individuals who just wanted to look like the “perfect wealthy parents who give everything to their children” yet both gave them absolutely nothing. These brothers not only went through such horrible abuse but lacked the simple necessity of true parental love.
In 1989, on a late Sunday evening, the tension within the Menendez home was reaching a breaking point. The brothers went to a Big 5 Sporting Goods in San Diego and bought shotguns, claiming that they were going to use them for protection and self-defense. They later arrived at their Beverly Hills home, and without hesitation both brothers got the shotguns out of the car’s trunk and entered the home through the front door and into the living room, Jose was shot 6 times, the last shot to the back of his head. Kitty was shot ten times; she crawled on the living room floor as Lyle went back to the car. Erik handed him more ammunition, and reloaded before firing the last shot to Kitty’s cheek.
In my opinion, yes, it was inhuman that they killed their parents brutally but in the moment due to all the rage that was slowly building up over the years, they saw it as an escape from all the torment. After the murders, the brothers picked up the shell casings, went and buried their bloody clothes, alongside the shotguns. In order to get away with the murders, both went to the movies to purchase tickets but knew that it wasn’t going to be a great alibi due to the timestamp on the tickets. Instead they headed to “Taste of L.A.” and later arrived back home. They thought that in all of this the police would have arrived due to someone reporting the noise of gunshots, police presence was nowhere to be found. Lyle called 911, reporting that his parents had been killed and later police suspected that it could’ve been a mob/mafia related killing. When the police arrived they never suspected the brothers nor searched their vehicles or for gun residue.
After the murders both Lyle and Erik spent money endlessly; they spent money on lavish things like sports cars, luxury items, and travels. In my opinion, spending the money was a way to distract themselves from reality and enjoy life a little before their arrest. This led up to the police starting to suspect the brothers, especially because they had no leads since the killings had happened. The police attempted to get a confession so they asked one of Erik’s friends to go out to eat with Erik while he wore a tape wire, which was unsuccessful. Soon later, Erik confessed to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel, who had been assigned to the brothers by their father. Oziel kept everything a secret but later, after breaking up with his mistress, Judalone Smyth, she confessed to police about everything she heard between Oziel and the Brothers. Lyle was arrested on March 8th, 1990 and Erik turned himself in after arriving back from a trip to Israel.
Trials began 3 years after their arrest, 1993. The Menendez case became a great sensation especially since it was broadcasted on Court TV. Leslie Abramson, the brothers defense lawyer, claimed that the brothers killed the parents out of fear and the amount of abuse they went through creating such hatred for their parents. Defense brought out more than 50 witnesses, one including Erik and Lyles’ witnesses, Diane Vander Molen. She stated that when she stayed with the family Lyle told her about the abuse which she later asked Kitty about but Kitty sided with her husband and accused Lyle of being a liar. I think Kitty always sided with Jose because she wanted to keep everything “perfect and without a problem”.
The Brothers testified about the abuse and how horrible it was living with their father, yet the prosecution argued that the brothers just wanted financial gain. In my opinion, during this time society didn’t believe that men could possibly be raped or sexually assaulted so they just used the excuse to blame it on the finacial gain and ignore the “false” claims that the brothers made about their father. As the trial came to its end it ended up in a deadlock jury. The second trial session was announced yet less out in the public because the judge wouldn’t allow cameras in the courtroom.
The second trial came to an end and the brothers were charged with two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Both brothers were separated, Erik went to Folsom State Prison and Lyle was moved to Mule Creek State Prison. I think that it was not necessary to separate the both of them because up to this point they only had each other, both brothers needed each other mentally and physically, especially during this rough patch.
Both brothers were reunited in 2018 and were incarcerated together. One of the Menudo boys, Roy Rosello stated that he was drugged and raped by Jose when visiting the family. On October 24, 2024, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said and recommended for Erik and Lyle to be resentenced due to the new evidence that has been discovered, a letter that was written by Erik, talking about the abuse.
Now, Erik and Lyle have done great things while in jail. Cooper Koch who starred as Erik In the Netflix series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, interviewed Erik and he commented, “They’ve done so much amazing work in prison. Erik teaches meditation. He teaches speech classes. They’re both incredible people.” Koch added, “In fact, the warden told me himself that he feels like he’d be happy to have them as his neighbors and that he would be comfortable letting them watch his children.” Lyle and Erik have also spent their time together/adult life trying to counsel other victims of sexual abuse and have started programs at the prison. Overall I think the two brothers are not evil or horrible individuals, they went through horrific things, all they wanted and needed was love and care from the two individuals that were supposed to support them the most.
If you support and agree that Lyle and Erik Menendez should be free, please feel free to sign the petition!
https://www.justiceforerikandlyle.org/
