Erik Menendez wrote a letter from prison, rejecting the series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez. He accused director Ryan Murphy of relying on “horrible and blatant lies.”
After several decades, the names of Lyle and Erik Menéndez resonate around the world once again. Netflix has released a new series that remember the real case of Menendez Brothers who cold-bloodedly murdered both of their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, in 1989.
It is about Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez a story that remains at the top of the most watched series in streaming during these weeks.
At the time of the murder, the brothers were 21 and 18 years old. Both assured police that they had found their parents dead when they arrived home, but the secret that they had actually been shot was uncovered during a controversial investigation.
But the story takes an important turn: At trial, the Menendez brothers claimed they killed their parents in self-defense. since they were allegedly victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
However, The prosecutor in charge of the case was convinced that they did it so they could inherit his money, because his parents were millionaires. And in the end, this version won out: Lyle and Erik were convicted of parricide and are still serving their sentences today.
Erik Menendez’s Tenacious Criticism of Netflix’s Monsters Series
Erik Menendez’s wife, Tammi Menendez, He shared on his X account a letter in which the murderer, from prison, harshly criticizes the Netflix series, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.
In Erik’s words: “I thought the lies and ruinous portrayals of Lyle, which create a caricature of Lyle based on the horrible and blatant lies that abound in the show, were behind us.”
“I can only believe they did it on purpose. “It is with a heavy heart that I say that I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives that he does so without malicious intent.”
Continuous: “It’s sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime is pushing painful truths back several steps in time.” at a time when the prosecution constructed a narrative around a belief system that men were not victims of sexual abuse and that men experienced the trauma of rape differently than women.
“Isn’t the truth enough?” he wondered. “Let the truth remain the truth.” How demoralizing it is to know that one man in power can undermine decades of progress in addressing childhood trauma. Violence is never an answer, it is never a solution, and it is always tragic.”
“That is why, I hope it will never be forgotten that violence against a child creates hundreds of horrific and silent crime scenes, darkly overshadowed by glitz and glamour, and rarely exposed until the tragedy sinks in for everyone involved.
What the creator of the Monsters series responded to the Menendez brothers
This second part of the series Monsterswhich aims to tell stories of murder, is just as controversial as the first, which focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Ryan Murphy, who was also director and producer of Glee, American Horror Story And Quarrelamong other successes— The aim was to show different points of view on the case of the Menendez brothers in an attempt to “understand” why they decided to murder their parents.
After reading Erik Menendez’s letter, Murphy said: “It’s interesting that he issued a statement without having seen the show.”
In conversation with Entertainment Tonight The director acknowledged that “It’s really hard, if that’s your life, to see it on screen.”
Of course, regarding the accusations of ignorance of the brothers’ child abuse, Murphy responded that “he did not mention it in his statement.” If I looked at the show, I would say 60 or 65 percent of our series focuses on the abuse and what they claim happened to them. We do it very carefully and we give them space to tell their side of the story, and they talk about it openly.
However, given the results of the case, They also wanted to include the parents’ point of view in the construction of the story.
“There were four people involved, two people died. What about the parents? As storytellers, we had an obligation to try to include their perspective in our research, and that’s what we did.
Where are the Menendez brothers today?
In 1996, Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The sentence was two consecutive life terms, without the possibility of parole, it was reported. Associated Press .
Since then, The Menendez brothers remain in prison.
Lyle Menendez is now 56 and Erik is 53. They both got married in prison.
Since their conviction, they have been held in separate prisons. . However, in 2018 they were transferred to the same prison in San Diego, California. This is the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility where they were reportedly admitted thanks to their good behavior over the past few decades.
According to Robert Rand, a journalist who remains in contact with the Menendez brothers, The moment of meeting between the two was exciting, since they had not seen each other since September 10, 1996.
According to his story, given in ABC News Lyle was led down a hallway to meet Erik. Once the guard opened the door, they “immediately burst into tears.” They hugged for a few minutes, without saying a word.
“Then prison officials let them spend an hour together in a room.”
According to a note from Forbes , Lawyers for the Menendez brothers have filed a motion for habeas corpus —a right that protects defendants from arbitrary arrest and can grant immediate release—, after discovering new evidence that could absolve Lyle and Erik.
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
