True story behind Menendez brothers murders after Netflix series slammed for ‘inaccuracies’

Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.

Following the release of Netflix drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, viewers are seeking out the true story of the Menendez brothers amid Erik slamming the 'inaccuracies' of the plot.

The series, produced by The Jeffrey Dahmer Story's Ryan Murphy, is centred on the crimes of Lyle and Erik Menendez who were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for the murder of their parents, José and Mary Louise 'Kitty' Menendez.

José and Kitty were shot at their home 16 times with a gauge shot gun in 1989.

At the time of the killings, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18.

The brothers eventually admitted they had committed the murders, alleging they faced a lifetime of sexual, emotional and physical abuse by their father, who threatened to kill them if they told anyone - and their mother knew.

However, prosecutors argued that it was a cash-grab killing, as their parents were very wealthy individuals.

Starring Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle, Cooper Koch as Erik, Javier Bardem as José and Chloë Sevigny as Kitty, the series has a very impressive cast.

Following the murders, the brothers called the police to report that somebody had killed their parents, going on to tell police they thought it could be a Mafia related killing as a result of their father's business dealings.

For a while, they got away with the murders, being given a cut of their parents $14 million estate.

Their lavish spending spree in the wake of the deaths baffled police, but ultimately it was a therapy session which led to their arrests.

An ex-partner of Erik's psychologist told police that he had confessed to killing his parents during a session.

Monsters was produced by Ryan Murphy (Netflix)

The brothers were then found guilty in a second trial - after the first resulted in the jury being unable to reach a verdict - and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

As per the Washington Post: "According to Erik’s testimony, his father had started abusing him when he was a child and continued until his father died. In court, Lyle said he was also abused by his father as a child but didn’t know Erik was still being abused until days before the murder.

"Lyle said he had also molested Erik at one point as a response to his trauma."

Following the release of the Netflix show, which features a bizarre incest storyline between the brothers which has no factual basis, Erik has slammed the show and its 'blatant lies' from prison.

Erik Menendez has slammed the series (Netflix)

In a statement released by his wife, Tammi, he said: "I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show," he penned in a statement.

"I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.

"It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward – back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women."

He added: "Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out.

Erik asked, 'Is the truth not enough?' (Netflix)

"So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.

"Is the truth not enough? Let the truth stand as truth.

"How demoralising to know one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma. Violence is never an answer, never a solution, and is always tragic.

"As such, I hope it is never forgotten that violence against a child creates a hundred horrendous and silent crime scenes darkly shadowed behind glitter and glamour and rarely exposed until tragedy penetrates everyone involved.

"To all those who have reached out and supported me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

LADbible Group previously reached out to Netflix for comment.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.