Case 007 - The Menendez Murders

The Menendez Murders

Laura starts a new series unravelling the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez who were shot dead on August 20 1989 at their home in Beverly Hills.

Jose Menendez was a successful entertainment executive making $2m a year and Kitty was a former beauty Queen. They had two sons who seemed to be excelling, 21-year-old Lyle was enrolled at Princeton where he was a star on the tennis team and 18-year-old Erik had just graduated from Beverly Hills High and was about to start college at UCLA.

They appeared to be the perfect family until this brutal double murder. Lyle and Erik were later arrested for their parents’ murders and the dominant narrative in the media was that they were greedy, rich kids who killed their parents in cold blood for money.

Both brothers went on trial at the same time for murdering their parents, albeit each brother had their own jury. Each jury deliberated separately, and each jury resulted in a deadlock in the first 1993 trial.

The second trial began in October 1995 and the same Judge, Judge Stanley Weisberg presided over it. This time around, however, the Judge changed the rules and decided there would be no cameras in court, he limited the witnesses the defense could call to testify about the abuse the boys experienced at the hands of their father and via a last-minute ruling he refused to allow the imperfect self-defense theory.

In closing prosecutor David Conn told the jury that the ‘abuse is a total fabrication,’ that they had heard no evidence of the abuse and it was the ‘silliest story ever told in a courtroom.’ He said it was the perfect example of the ‘abuse excuse' and that Jose Menendez was not violent or the type of person who would abuse children.

The jury found Lyle and Erik guilty of murder and they were sentenced to life without parole. Lyle and Erik have been in prison for 33 years.

Recently new evidence has been discovered that shows Jose Menendez was a violent and brutal man who would sexually abuse children and that he was still abusing Erik as late as December 1988. A habeas petition was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2023 and the Menendez brother's attorneys are asking the court to either vacate the conviction and sentence against the two brothers, or permit discovery and an evidentiary hearing when they can provide proof.

Join Laura each week as she goes behind the scenes and unravels the painful truth about the Menendez Murders.