The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story

By Cole Snyder ‘27

The Murders and Investigations

On August 20th, 1989, shots rang out of a quiet home in Beverly Hills, California. Multiple hours later, Erika and Lyle Menendez would come home to find both their parents shot dead in their movie room. Jose Menendez, CEO of RCA Records company and owner of a multimillion-dollar estate, and his wife, Kitty Menendez, were murdered in their own home.

In the months following the murder, police investigations would stall. Due to the shady business dealings of Jose Menendez, as they chased down leads relating to a possible mob hit. As these leads fizzled out, police attention turned to the brothers, who were set to inherit millions of dollars. In the months after the murders, Erik and Lyle engaged in lavish spending with both of them buying new cars and Erik paying for a $50,000 a year tennis coach. Police honed in further when Craig Cignarelli, a friend of Erik, told the police that Erik had confessed to the murder just twelve days after the trial. He also presented to them a screenplay they wrote together, called “Friends”, about a rich kid who kills their parents for inheritance money. Police attempted to coerce a confession out of Erik by having Craig eat with him wearing a wire. Although this was unsuccessful, the police would catch a lucky break in March of 1990.

The ultimate downfall of the brothers would come from the mistress of the pair’s therapist. In the months after the murder, Erik confessed to his therapist, Dr. L. Jerome Oziel, that he and his brother had killed their parents. For months, the pair continued to meet to talk at Dr. Oziel’s. On a few occasions, these sessions were taped and even led to the recording of confessions by the brothers. During one of these sessions, Judalyn Smyth, who was having an extramarital affair with Dr. Oziel, overheard the brothers' confessions. When Ozyl and Smith broke up in March of 1990, Smyth immediately went to the police and told them what she had heard. On March 8th, 1990 Lyle was arrested, with Erik turning himself in four days later.

The First Trial

Erik and Lyle’s first trial would not start until 1993 due to an appeal process over the admissibility of the tapes recorded by Dr. Oziel. The judge in the case initially ruled that the prosecution could play the tapes; but, this was overturned in August of 1992 by the Supreme Court of California. They agreed that parts of the tapes could be played, but not the parts where Erik and Lyle discuss the killings. 

In the first trial, the brothers were tried separately with two different juries. Both ended in a mistrial. The prosecution alleged that the brothers killed their parents for financial gain, citing evidence of their lavish spending in the months after the murders. The defense team relied on a legal doctrine of “imperfect self-defense” alleging that the brothers had endured years of sexual assault and abuse by their father. Lyle went on to testify, saying that when he planned to expose his father, Jose threatened him and his brother. Neither jury could reach a unanimous verdict for either brother, disagreeing on whether to charge them with first-degree murder or manslaughter. The brothers would eventually be retried the following year.

The Second Trial

Unlike the first trial, the brothers put on a joint defense in 1994 with only one jury to reach a verdict on both of them. A top court in California ruled that the brothers would not be able to assert “imperfect self-defense” in their case in chief due to evidence about Lyle asking a friend and ex-girlfriend to lie on the stand. Lyle did not testify in the second trial. In the end, the brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Brothers Now

Today, both the Menendez brothers are still serving out their life sentences in San Diego. Recently, a Netflix special called “The Menendez Brothers” released earlier this year has re-sparked public interest in the case. Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that his office was reviewing the case and could be recommending a resentencing to the judge. Unfortunately for the Menendez brothers, Gascón lost his bid for reelection in November and has since been replaced by District Attorney Nathan Hochman. Their initial hearing for eligibility for resentencing was supposed to be held on December 11th, 2024 but was delayed to give the new DA time to review the case until late January. Recently, it was delayed once more due to the tragic Greater Los Angeles wildfires. As of right now, a ruling is expected to be held in March of this year.

Cole Snyder is a sophomore majoring in Physics.

Sources

Aizin, R. (2024, September 24). How Did the Menendez Brothers Get Caught? Why Erik's Private Therapy Confession Led to _______Their Arrest and Conviction. People.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024, from https://people.com/how-did-the-_______menendez-brothers-get-caught-8717554 

Lozano, A. V. (2024, October 26). Did Hollywood help the Menendez brothers' case? NBC News. Retrieved December 17, 2024, _______from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/hollywood-help-menendez-brothers-case-rcna177372 

McPhee, M. (2024, October 14). Juror Who Wanted Manslaughter, Not Murder Conviction, for Erik Menendez Speaks Out. Los _______Angeles Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2024, from https://lamag.com/news/juror-who-refused-to-convict-_______erik-menendez-brothers-in-first-trial-speaks-out 

Stelloh, T. (2024, November 25). Menendez brothers timeline: A look at the murders, the trials and the effort to free them. NBC _______News. Retrieved December 17, 2024, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/menendez-brothers-timeline-_______trials-murders-free-prison-effort-rcna179362