A new docuseries about one of Los Angeles’s most notorious murders is coming to Netflix and resurfacing the case. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is retelling the story of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who murdered their parents in their Beverly Hills home. 

The case has captivated the nation since its commission in 1989. The anticipated release of the new series has set off a firestorm on X, formerly Twitter, with people voicing their opinions.

The Menendez brothers hope new evidence will overturn their convictions

New evidence brought forth by the Menendez Brothers’ attorney, former Menudo star Ray Rosselló, might help the convictions be overturned. 

The Menendez brothers never denied killing their parents, but they claimed that their father, Jose Menendez, was sexually assaulting them. Additionally, they claimed that their mother, Kitty Menendez, was also abusing them, according to LA Times original reporting in 1996.

During the 1996 trial, the judge blocked any testimony of sexual abuse, citing irrelevance to the case. The Menendez Brothers have maintained that the murders were done in self-defense to stop the sexual abuse they claim.

Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Brothers, released in 2017 by NBC, breathed new interest into the case. The show detailed the Menendez Murders and highlighted what the brothers claimed led to the murder in 1989.

Six years later, Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed brought forward new evidence from a former member of the famed pop group. In the docuseries, Roy Rosselló speaks out about the sexual abuse he faced from Jose Menendez and Edgardo Díaz. Menendez was the head of RCA Records then, and Díaz formed and managed Menudo.

A letter from 1988 sheds new light on the Menendez Brothers’ claims

According to CBS News, part of Erik’s new bid for freedom hinges on a letter he wrote to his cousin Andy. In the document, Erik references being fearful of his father entering his bedroom at night.

“I’ve been trying to avoid Dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it. He’s so overweight I can’t stand to see him. I never know when it is going to happen and it’s driving me crazy,” Erik wrote in the letter to his cousin. “Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. I need to put it out of my mind. I know what he said before but I’m afraid. You just don’t know dad like I do. He’s crazy! He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle.”

Social media users are defending the brothers ahead of the new show

People who have been following the case are speaking out on social media against the framing of the new show. For some on X, the Menendez Brothers are victims and should be treated as such.

Others are hoping that the brothers will be freed and given a chance at life.

Through social media, the modern-day town square, people are using their full chests to tell the world what they think about the Menendez Brothers. People are seeing Erik and Lyle as victims, given the evidence of Erik’s letter and Rosselló’s docuseries claiming abuse.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available on Netflix on September 19, 2024.

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