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Monsters - The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story the Shocking True Story · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On a warm evening in Beverly Hills in August nineteen
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  eighty nine, two brothers entered their residence armed with shotguns
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  and fatally shot their parents, Jose and Mary Louise Kitty Menendez.
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  Kitty sustained ten gun shot wounds, while Jose was shot
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  six times. Following the tragic incident, the brothers did not
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  attempt to escape. Instead, they awaited the arrival of law enforcement,
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  with Lyle frantically calling nine one one and exclaiming, someone
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  killed my parents. Upon the police's arrival, Lyle and Eric
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  Menendez claimed they had been at the cinema watching Batman
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  and discovered their parents in this horrific condition. The narrative
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  surrounding this shocking case, along with the investigation that ultimately
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  led to the brother's apprehension, is now the focus of
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  the second installment of Netflix's acclaimed true crime series Monsters.
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  The inaugural chapter, released in twenty twenty two, centered on
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  the infamous American serial killer Jeffrey Damer and became Netflix's
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  third most popular English language series to date, generating significant
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  anticipation for the upcoming series featuring Javier Bardem and Chloe
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  seven Yi. Here's the true story behind Monsters. The Lyle
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  and Eric Menendez story. Jose Enrique Menendez, portrayed by Bardem,
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  was born in Cuba in nineteen forty four and relocated
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  to the United States following the Cuban Revolution. By nineteen
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  sixty three, he had met and wed Mary Louise Kitty Anderson,
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  played by Chloe seven Ye. Their journey took them across
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  various locations for Menendez's career, starting in New York, then
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  moving to New Jersey, and eventually settling in Beverly Hills.
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  To the outside world, they appeared to be an ideal family,
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  blessed with two sons, Lyle and Eric, who are depicted
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  in the series by Cooper Coke and Nicholas Chavez, respectively.
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  Menendez experienced professional success, and over the years the family
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  accumulated significant wealth, reaching an estimated fortune of approximately fourteen
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  million dollars by the time of Menendez's passing. However, the
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  reality within the family was starkly different. By nineteen seventy six,
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  eight year old Lyle confided in his cousin Diane vander
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  Mohlen about the sexual abuse he was enduring at the
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  hands of his father. Moln informed Kitty who chose to
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  support her husband instead. This pattern persisted throughout the lives
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  of the children. During the trial of the brothers, they
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  claimed that they had killed their parents in self defense
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  following years of emotional and physical abuse. As reported by CBS,
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  Lyle stated that his father had not harmed him since
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  he turned eight, whereas Eric alleged that he had been
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  subjected to molestation throughout his teenage years. The accounts of
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  violence and distress allegedly occurring within the Menendez household were
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  substantiated by several witnesses during the trial. Alan Anderson, a
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  cousin of Lyle and Eric, testified regarding Jose's behavior, stating
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  he had no qualms about striking the children with a belt.
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  As for Kitty, she never made an effort to comfort
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  the kids, not at all. Conversely, the family appeared to
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  be the envy of their peers, including colleagues, schoolmates, and acquaintances.
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  Lyle attended Princeton University, although he faced challenges with his
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  studies and was ultimately suspended for plagiarism. Meanwhile, Eric participated
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  in the nineteen eighty nine Boys Junior National Tennis Championship,
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  advancing to the second qualifying round. As time progressed, a
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  plan began to form in the minds of Lyle age
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  twenty one and Eric age nineteen, culminating in the tragic
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  events of August twentieth, nineteen eighty nine, when they took
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  the lives of their parents. It is possible that they
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  could have evaded capture. However, in the months following the
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  shocking incident, the brothers did not behave in a manner
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  typical of grieving sons. They traveled to destinations such as Israel, London,
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  and the Caribbean. Eric employed a full time tennis coach,
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  and they began to spend lavishly. Lyle purchased a restaurant
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  in Princeton along with a Porsche and a Rolex. This
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  behaviour undoubtedly aroused the suspicions of the police investigating the case,
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  as the brothers were clearly indicating a potential motive for
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  their actions against their parents. The case garnered national attention
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  during its trial in nineteen ninety three, which was aired
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  on Court TV, becoming a significant scandal. The brothers presented
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  a defense that framed their actions as acts of self defense,
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  citing years of abuse from their parents, particularly their father.
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  They accused him of being both a perfectionist and a pedophile.
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  In contrast, the prosecution contended that their true motivations were
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  financial in nature. Two family members supported the brothers. The
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  defense was ultimately unconvincing, leading to Lyle and Eric receiving
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  life sentences after being found guilty of first degree murder
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  and conspiracy to commit murder. Numerous complications arose prolonging the
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  resolution of the case, and the brothers sought a mistrial. However,
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  in July nineteen ninety six, they were definitively sentenced to
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  life imprisonment.