In sunny Beverly Hills, California, in 1989, chaos seemed almost nonexistent. It was a time and place for families to grow, new and upcoming celebrities to step into the spotlight, and for teenagers to explore society. What no one expected, however, was for two upper-class tennis-playing brothers to kill their parents.
Lyle and Erik Menendez shot and killed their parents in the den of their home, which served as a physical representation of the American dream, on Aug. 20, 1989. Jose Menendez, a Cuban immigrant who made a name for himself and built a family in California, and his wife, Kitty Menendez, a supposed loving and nurturing mother, seemingly just wanted the best for their kids. The Menendez brothers, who were 18 and 21 at the time of the murder, were scholars, tennis players and unfortunately, in the public’s opinion, spoiled rich.
But what some did not know was that the brothers killed their parents in their own home, because they claim it was filled with nothing but abuse from both parents. The brothers claim, in the 2024 Netflix documentary, “The Menendez Brothers,” that Jose Menendez, who ran multimillion dollar companies, would take either Erik or Lyle into one of their rooms and torture and abuse the boys for his own sexual desires.
In a recent Netflix drama based on the murders, Kitty, who let herself drown in her own self pity and many bottles of wine, made sure that her sons knew that, in her eyes, they ruined her life. Multiple times a day, she would belittle, scream and throw tantrums. Kitty let her mental illnesses get the best of her and is the best example of how women let men control their lives, cheat on them, use them and treat them like a placeholders. She was the epitome of insecurity, anxiety, paranoia and marital abuse.
I know the opinions of society: Why couldn’t the Menendez brothers just leave? Both of the boys were old enough to go off and explore their own lives, and Lyle was even taking classes at Princeton University. However, what the public did not know was that at the time, Lyle was suspended from Princeton for plagiarism and went back to staying with his parents for a while. Erik graduated from high school that year and had plans to attend UCLA the following fall. After talks with his father, who was still allegedly sexually abusing him at 18, Jose said that Erik would not be allowed to stay in the dorms and that all of his school work and social life would be monitored by his parents.
The one shot Erik thought he had at leaving was now completely gone, and time was running out. Erik and Lyle were reaching their adult years, and this life of abuse and torture was continuing. Jose and Kitty controlled everything that happened in their home, including every aspect of the boys’ lives.
According to CBS News, Lyle and Erik genuinely believed that their time on this earth was running out, and that the clock would be stopped by their own parents.
After years of physical and sexual abuse, the boys began to plan out what they thought they had to do. After almost two decades of being told they weren’t worthy of the Menendez name, that they were failures, that they ruined Jose and Kitty’s marriage and that they were never good enough for the family, Erik and Lyle believed they had to do something.
That something was walking into the den of their home, shotguns loaded at the ready and firing multiple rounds into both of their parents. They then waited for the sirens. They lived in a quiet, rich neighborhood in Beverly Hills where gunshots were not normal, so the boys were positive someone would call authorities.
After no authorities arrived, the Menendez brothers started to panic about what they had just done and grieve for their parents at the same time, eventually calling 911 themselves. Eventually, rumors spread and stuck, that the brothers were just spoiled, rich and killed their parents for the money.
To me, and I hope to others, it is such a ludicrous idea to kill your parents for money. How could somebody even think to do that? Why would someone do such a thing? These questions cannot be answered simply, because no one knew what happened behind closed doors in the Menendez house. The Menendez brothers were good at keeping secrets, and they sure as hell would not let their sick and twisted secrets of family incest get out.
Because killing your parents is such an unbelievable thing to do, it’s likely that something else was been going on. There had to be something that pushed the boys to their limits. I believe that everyone is capable of something dark deep down, but it takes dark situations to let those inner, evil feelings out. Parents are supposed to protect their kids from the world, but Jose and Kitty let Erik and Lyle Menendez see the true world of evil from the minute they came into the world. The boys were never given any form of love, support, comfort or empathy. Instead, they got the whole book of law thrown directly at their heads.
For almost 30 years, we have let the Menendez brothers continue to relive their past in California state penitentiaries. For 20 of those years, the brothers were separated from each other, never knowing when they would see each other again until 2021, when they were reunited in the same prison. For almost 30 years, these men have been denied a chance at freedom. They never experienced it, never tasted it, but they have tried to strive for it.
According to People Magazine, while in prison, Lyle earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Erik found his love of art, and realized he’s actually pretty good at it. According to the 2024 Netflix documentary, “The Menendez Brothers,” Lyle and Erik have become advocates for child abuse survivors while serving their sentences of life without parole. In prison, these two men turned their lives around for the better. According to People Magazine, the brothers have both married, and Erik is even a step-father to his wife’s daughter. They are active in their communities, volunteer when they can, help other inmates in group therapy sessions and hope for their release.
The brothers have paid their time, and according to California District Attorney George Gascón, assessments of their behavior indicate that they are rehabilitated. They have tried to make a better life for themselves and to help heal others that have gone through similar things to them. To me, these are model people; people who are caring toward others, active in their communities and continue to strive for personal growth.
Erik and Lyle Menendez should be released from prison, or at least given the chance of parole. We have let other parent-murderers out, like Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, who was 23 years old when she arranged the killing of her mother, and whose case has been the center of controversy on social media.
If any convicts deserve a first chance at freedom, it is Erik and Lyle Menendez. As a society, we have wronged them for letting them continue to waste their great lives in prison. If the brothers were released I believe that we could see them make a change in this world. I would love to see the brothers still continue to be an advocate of abuse survivors and hope that they would start some type of organization.
I believe these brothers still love their parents and always will, even after all of the unthinkable abuse that they claim to have experienced. I think that if they were released, they would still try to live up to their father’s expectations, or do something that would give Jose Menendez’s name a better reputation.
Evil people don’t love. Jose and Kitty never loved their boys, but Lyle and Erik still continue to idolize them. Evil people don’t love.