‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’: What’s True and What’s Fiction?

On August 20, 1989, brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez shot and killed both their parents at their Beverly Hills home. The crime alone was shocking enough, but Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan ‘s “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” dives deep into the brothers’ claims of child abuse, their rise to notoriety among the American public, and not one but two trials, culminating in life imprisonment without parole.

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Hollywood loves a little dramatic embellishment, especially with true crime. In the Menendez brothers’ case, there’s only so much actual fact checking that can occur , and pieces of their story that will remain unconfirmed forever. Other details (did Erik really advise O.J. Simpson?) are too wild to believe or too vague to pinpoint. It’s clear what drew Murphy, Brennan, and Netflix to a story like this one, now once again making headlines as viewers watch the series and revisit the case.

So, what’s true, false, and ambiguous in “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story?” Read on for a few key plot points and their real-life counterparts.

The Alibi

Though Erik (Cooper Koch) and Lyle (Nicholas Chavez) claimed they had been at the movies and “Taste of L.A.” while the murders occurred, they didn’t actually go as far as to buy tickets and be seen out in public for the sake of that alibi. They remained in the house in case the police heard gunshots and eventually produced this story of an evening out to cover up their crime.

The Spree

The Menendez brothers did take up at Hotel Bel Air after the murders, but only for a few days. They spent time at various luxury hotels in the area and eventually settled in adjoining condominiums in Marina Del Rey. It was all part of the massive spending spree they had embarked on which did indeed include limousines, bodyguards, cars, and watches, and the eventual total of roughly $700,000 (with inflation, that’s close to $1.5 million today).

The Multiple Trials

“Monsters” depicts the two trials for Erik and Lyle — the first of which actually had two separate trials for each brother, and resulted in not one but two hung juries. After that, the decision was made that they would be tried together for the second time. As depicted in the show, the second trial deliberately limited testimony about the abuse, and deemed the evidence insufficient.

The Roommate

Donovan Goodreau did take the stand at the first trial, but testified that when he told Lyle Menendez about his own childhood sexual abuse, Lyle didn’t respond with any shared experience. This is directly opposed to what Anthony Turpel’s Donovan tells the lawyer in “Monsters.” However, in a prior interview Donovan did indicate that he had heard about José abusing Lyle, and recordings of this interview made it into the courtroom and dashed the witness’s credibility.

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The Trial (or lackthereof) of Leslie Abramson

Erik Menendez’s attorney, played in the show by Ari Graynor, faced her fair share of public scrutiny throughout and following the trials. When it came to light that she had asked psychiatrist William Vicary to edit his interview notes with the brothers, it briefly looked like Abramson herself would face criminal charges. The Menendez brothers also filed for mistrial on the grounds that Abramson had not represented them effectively, thereby causing irreparable damage to the trial.

The Mysterious Norma

“Monsters” depicts a phone relationship between Lyle and a woman named Norma, with whom he plans to write a book about his life. It turns out that Norma has recorded their calls and released the recordings, which throws such a massive wrench into the legal proceedings that Lyle is barred from testifying at the second trial and his attorney Jill Lansing resigns. Norma Novelli did in fact record her calls with Lyle Menendez and sell them without his written or verbal consent, but it was Lyle who decided to abstain from testimony after that. There’s so much else at play in the brothers’ life and trials that Norma is barely a footnote in most accounts.

That “American Crime Story” Crossover

Okay, it wasn’t a TV crossover per se, but Episode 8 ends with the arrival of Erik’s prison-cell neighbor O.J. Simpson (Trae Irland, whose face is never shown). It feels like textbook TV sensationalism — except it’s true. Simpson was apprehended while the brothers were already in prison after the mistrials, and he did end up in the cell next to Erik’s, subsequently receiving legal advice on plea bargains (and a warning against Robert Shapiro) from the incarcerated brothers.

Together Again

As depicted in Episode 9, the brothers were sent to serve out their sentences in separate prisons. They’ve been moved to different California locations over the years, and in 2018 they reunited at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility and apparently burst into tears.

Recent Developments

In 2023, singer Roy Rosselló accused José Menendez of sexual assault in the docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.” Rosselló alleged that one of the former band managers of Menudo sexually assaulted him and took him to Menendez’s home, where Menendez drugged and raped him. A recent California law states that defendants who were found guilty while denied the opportunity to present physical or sexual abuse in their defense may be able to appeal. In 2018, a 1988 letter from Erik to his cousin was found in storage, in which Erik described his fear of his father and wrote “It’s still happening.” Both brothers are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, but filed documents requesting a new hearing immediately after hearing Rosselló’s allegations.