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Inside Monsters’ Erik, Lyle Menendez Inaccuracies: Incest Claims, More

Vaseline September 23, 2024

Netflix’s Monsters series is facing backlash for how it depicted Lyle Menéndez and Erik Menéndez — specifically inaccurate details about the events leading up to their murder case.

The limited series, which was released on September 19, centered around Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch), who were convicted for the 1989 murder of their parents. Season 2 of Monsters presented different perspectives about what led the siblings to kill their parents, José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny), including their claims that it was in self-defense following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Before Monsters debuted on Netflix, viewers started to question how the show might sensualize aspects of the high-profile case. Some fans specifically called out how the trailer and poster for the show hinted at an incestuous relationship between Lyle and Erik.

While Monsters didn’t directly claim that on screen — beyond two or three out-of-context moments — the show did get some things wrong about the events that led to Lyle and Erik being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Erik subsequently released a statement slamming Ryan Murphy‘s production one day after it was released.

“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant likes rampant in the show,” read a statement from Erik that was shared on Lyle’s Facebook page. “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.”

What Does Monsters Get Wrong About Erik and Lyle Menendezs Murder Case Incest Claims and More — Erik and Lyle Menendez VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images

Erik expressed frustration with how his and Lyle’s perspectives were portrayed, adding, “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. 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.”

He continued: “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?”

Keep scrolling for some of the inaccuracies noticed in Netflix’s Monsters:

Jose and Kitty’s Murder

What Does 'Monsters' Get Wrong About Erik and Lyle Menendez's Murder Case? — Netflix

In August 1989, the police arrived at the Menéndez family’s mansion in Beverly Hills, after Lyle reported coming home to find his parents dead. José was shot six times while Kitty was shot 10 times.

Netflix’s Monsters featured a recreation of Lyle and Erik opening fire on their parents after walking in on them watching TV. Fans quickly took to social media to point out that reports at the time of the murder investigation noted that José was shot point blank in the back of the head, which meant he wouldn’t have seen who killed him.

The series, meanwhile, made it a point to show José and Kitty immediately seeing that it was their own sons shooting them. Monsters did accurately capture Lyle going back outside to the car to get more bullets to kill their mother after she was significantly injured and still trying to escape.

The Truth About Erik and Lyle’s Relationship — And Those Incest Insinuations

In the first episode, Lyle and Erik spoke about the aftermath of their parents’ death. Lyle — who was on drugs — subsequently kissed Erik on the lips. The moment has since received extreme scrutiny on social media.

The show later featured a sequence where writer Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane) mentioned different reasons why Erik and Lyle decided to kill their parents. In addition to theories about acquiring the Menéndez fortune, Dunne suggested that the brothers were hiding a secret that was uncovered before José and Kitty’s deaths.

The episode cut to a scene of Kitty opening the bathroom door to discover her sons in a compromising position while taking a shower together. Neither Erik nor Lyle ever claimed to have been involved in a romantic or sexual relationship.

Dunne, who was an actual author who covered the high profile case, never expressed the theory in his coverage. He wrote an article for Vanity Fair in 1990 where he noted that sources told him the brothers had been sexually abused.

Monsters’ decision to float the theory of incest was criticized even more because both brothers accused José of abuse. Lyle claimed his father started to molest him when he was 6 years old and stopped two years later. As a result of the trauma, Lyle revealed that he had sexually assaulted Erik as well. Erik also allegedly started getting abused by José when he was 6— and it continued until weeks before the murder.

Erik’s Sexuality

The majority of Monsters’ third and fourth episodes are devoted to covering Lyle and Erik’s individual history with sexual abuse. During Erik’s episode — a one-shot sequence that spans over 30 minutes — the younger Menéndez brother explained how the abuse affected his understanding of relationships and sexuality. The fictional Erik confirmed he had a consensual romance with his male friend and he was seen showing interest in men at the prison.

While Erik in the show denied that he is gay, he did question his ability to label his attraction after being abused since he was a child. Monsters subsequently leaned into the implication that Erik has an attraction to men that he isn’t able to fully acknowledge.

The real Erik was previously asked about the rumors during a tell-all interview with Barbara Walters.

“No (I am not gay). The prosecutor brought that up because I was sexually molested and he felt in his own thinking that if I was sodomized by my father that I must have enjoyed it and therefore I must be gay,” he said in footage from 1996. “And people that are gay out there must be sexually molested or they wouldn’t be. It was upsetting to hear, but I am not gay. But a lot of gay people write and feel connected to me.”

Off screen, Erik has been married to Tammi Ruth Saccoman since 1999. Lyle, meanwhile, exchanged vows with Anna Eriksson in 1996 but they divorced five years later. He later found love with Rebecca Sneed and they got married in 2003.

Key Moments From the Trial

Lyle and Erik were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder each. Three years later, the first trial began where the brothers were tried separately. The prosecution — led by district attorneys Pamela Bozanich and Lester Kuriyama — questioned Lyle and Erik individually, which was shown on Monsters.

The show had Bozanich catch Erik in a lie about how he and Lyle attempted to purchase two handguns days before they killed their parents. This was a mistake since Kuriyama was the one asking Erik questions that led to the biggest lie of the trial.

The real-life case ultimately ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. A retrial began in 1995 but the prosecution successfully objected to most of the evidence surrounding the abuse which meant Erik and Lyle — who were now being tried together — needed to present a new defense.

Lyle refused to take the stand during the second trial to prevent cross examination following the release of The Private Diary of Lyle Menendez: In His Own Words! The Menéndez brothers were ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in 1996. They continue to appeal the decision but have been denied.

The Way Lyle Was Portrayed

After watching Monsters, it seems obvious that Erik is meant to be presented as the most sympathetic of the Menéndez brothers. Lyle, meanwhile, is depicted in a more unflattering light as he dabbled in drugs, was often focused on the money they would receive from José’s will and didn’t treat Erik or others very well.

Viewers took to social media to question why Lyle came off so negatively compared to Erik. They specifically pointed to character testimonies from the Menéndez brothers’ family and friends that described them very differently than the show made it seem. This isn’t exactly an inaccuracy, but the pointed narrative decision still stood out to some as not being very impartial.

Their Issues With Their Attorney

Erik and Lyle were arrested after their therapist Dr. L. Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts) recorded their conversations where they discussed the murders. At the time, Oziel was having an affair with Judalon Smyth (Leslie Grossman) and told her about his sessions with the Menéndez brothers. Smyth was the only to report what she knew to the police after Oziel ended their relationship. (Oziel subsequently lost his license to practice in 1997 for violating patient confidentiality.)

Erik’s attorney Leslie Abramson (Ari Graynor) appointed Dr. William Vicary (Gil Ozeri) to evaluate and treat her client. Vicary later testified that he believed Erik’s claims of abuse. However, it was also revealed during the trial that Abramson allegedly had Vicary delete and rewrite passages of his notes to prevent potentially incriminating information from being mentioned.

Abramson invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during the trial but an investigation was launched. The case was closed three years later due to insufficient evidence. Vicary, meanwhile, was placed on probation twice before losing his license to practice medicine in California in 2019.

Monsters didn’t include any of those details in the series, which could have been due to time constraints. But the Menéndez brothers later petitioned for mistrials based on the actions of Abramson and Vicary so the missing information offered more context.

Certain Specifics About the Evidence

Monsters largely attempted not to pick sides when it came to the case. While Erik and Lyle appeared extremely sympathetic in certain scenes, other moments were introduced to question whether they were truly motivated to murder their parents out of fear for their own lives.

José was another example of someone who was accused of sexually abusing his children. But separate fictional moments from the show introduced the idea that José was allegedly molested by his own mother when he was a child. He claimed his mother experienced sexual assault when she was young by her uncle — and it was a continuous pattern within the family.

As for Kitty, Monsters included scenes that were meant to make viewers think she knew what was allegedly happening to her kids at the hands of her husband. The actual Lyle and Erik accused Kitty of abusing them as well, which wasn’t mentioned on the show.

A specific example of the onscreen omission would be during the trial scenes. Erik and Lyle were shown photos their father took of them in various states of undress from when they were children. During the real trial, it was pointed out that the envelope containing the photos was labeled with Kitty’s handwriting.

Monsters chose not to lean heavily into the accusations that Kitty was directly enabling José’s abuse and potentially partaking in it

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

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