Menendez brothers reporter slams ‘Monsters’: ‘Fictionalized’ inaccuracies

Veteran journalist Robert Rand is calling out Netflix’s latest series on the Menendez brothers, exposing key inaccuracies and separating fact from fiction in the show’s portrayal of the infamous case.

Ryan Murphy created Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the next chapter in Netflix’s Monster anthology series, which premiered on September 19. The series has sparked backlash over its portrayal of both Lyle and Erik.

“I think the general public doesn’t really know the difference between a fictionalized scripted series and a documentary, and that’s problematic because people see different scenes play out with the real-life characters and believe it actually happened,” Rand told Newsweek.

Lyle, who was then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted they shot-gunned their father and mother, but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s alleged long-term sexual molestation of Erik.

The brothers shot their father, José Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, a total of 14 times, reloading the gun during the attack in their Beverly Hills home.

Nearly 35 years later, new evidence has emerged through a habeas corpus petition that could potentially lead to a new sentence for the Menendez brothers.

Rand told Newsweek he uncovered this groundbreaking evidence. He discovered a letter written nine months before the killings. Then 17-year-old Erik confided in his 15-year-old cousin about the ongoing sexual abuse by his father.

The letter never appeared at either trial or in any evidence hearing during the 1990s, but now could change the course of the sentencing.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón told Newsweek his office is reviewing the evidence. While Gascón has not yet decided on the next steps, a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 29.

“There are people in my office who believe they should never get any relief, and others who believe they should,” Gascón said. “I have now decided we will go through a thorough process of investigating both the new evidence for habeas and whether they have been rehabilitated for resentencing.”

Gascón also said he does not plan to watch Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

“I’m purposely not going to do that because I don’t want to be influenced by entertainment,” Gascón said. “I understand that the quality of the production is high, but I’d rather isolate myself from that and make a decision based on the briefings I will receive from our prosecutors.”

Initially, the brothers blamed the mob for their parents’ murders due to their father’s connections as a high profile entertainment executive.

In the first Menendez brothers’ trial, which began in 1993, Lyle and Erik Menendez were charged with the 1989 murders of their parents. The trial ended with two deadlocked juries, unable to agree on whether the brothers were guilty of murder or acted out of fear. This led to a mistrial and set the stage for a second trial in 1995.

Prosecutors argued there was no evidence of molestation and the judge excluded abuse evidence from the second trial in 1995. They claimed the sons were motivated by a desire to inherit their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate, which was not the case.

‘Billionaire Boys Club’ Miniseries

In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Erik is portrayed as drawing inspiration to kill their parents from watching NBC’s Billionaire Boys Club miniseries.

However, Rand said on the night NBC aired the Billionaire Boys Club miniseries over two nights in late July 1989, about three weeks before the killing of Jose and Kitty, the brothers were at a tennis camp in Florida.

“I spoke with the director of the camp, who told me that everyone had to be in their rooms with lights out by 9 p.m. The movie ran from 9 to 11 p.m. on the NBC network nationally,” Rand said. “In other words, there was no way Lyle and Erik could have seen that movie because they were at their tennis camp.”

Billionaire Boys Club was a two-part television film that NBC aired in 1987. The film tells the story of the Billionaire Boys Club and its founder, Joe Hunt, who was convicted in 1987 of murdering con man Ron Levin.

‘The Problem Is With The Script’

Rand met Lyle and Erik Menendez in October 1989, two months after their parents’ deaths and five months before their arrest.

“They were soft-spoken and somewhat conservative. I thought they were nothing like the characters the two actors play in the series,” Rand said. “I think both Cooper Koch and [Nicholas Alexander] Chavos are incredible actors, so the problem isn’t with them; the problem is with the script.”

The series features an impressive cast, with Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny starring as parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, while newcomers Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch take on the roles of Lyle and Erik Menendez.

Newsweek reached out to Koch and Chavos’ team, however, they have not yet responded.

Rand told Newsweek the brothers were not party-goers like the show depicts, with wild scenes of drug use and dancing.

“Erik was weeping all day and distraught,” Rand said. “That’s why the party scenes in episode one are so obnoxious to me—they’re not true. Erik was a mess.”

Rand revealed Erik was experiencing suicidal thoughts and his cousin, with whom he was staying, urged him to seek therapy. This therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel, ultimately became instrumental in unraveling the murder case.

The journalist told Newsweek Erik confessed to Oziel, revealing the dark truth behind the murders of Kitty and Jose, and Lyle was called to the therapist’s office to corroborate on October 31, 1989.

After about an hour, Lyle told Erik they were leaving, adding he would no longer speak with Oziel. Just before stepping into the elevator, Lyle shook hands with the doctor and wished him, “Good luck,” a gesture Oziel later interpreted as a threat.

Oziel confided in his mistress, Judalon Smyth, about the confession. Several months later, Smyth went to the police with the chilling details of the murders.

Lyle and Erik’s Relationship

The Netflix series features allegations of incest between the brothers, depicting a scene where a drug-fueled Lyle kisses Erik after they inherit their parents’ fortune. In another scene, the boys are together when their mom walks in on them lathering each other with soap.

Murphy told Vanity Fair he incorporated this theory into the series based on articles written by journalist Dominick Dunne.

“What the show is doing is presenting the points of view and theories from so many people who were involved in the case. Dominick Dunne wrote several articles talking about that theory,” Murphy said. “We are presenting his point of view, just as we present Leslie Abramson’s point of view. We had an obligation to show all of that, and we did.”

Dunne was a journalist known for his coverage of high-profile criminal cases and his work in the entertainment industry. He gained fame for his articles in Vanity Fair, where he wrote about celebrity scandals and criminal trials.

While Rand noted Dunne’s articles were often based on hearsay, he does not recall any stories he wrote emphasizing an incestuous relationship between Lyle and Erik.

“I know the articles were full of rumors, he was such a careful writer,” Rand said. “I believe he had a very diligent editor who did the heavy lifting. Everything included disclaimers like, ‘Well, I overheard’ or ‘I talked to somebody on a plane flight.’ Dominick Dunne never met a rumor he didn’t embrace immediately and run to publish in Vanity Fair.”

Dunne died on August 26, 2009.

Rand said Harvey Levin, founder of TMZ, interviewed him multiple times while he was working for a CBS affiliate in Los Angeles during the trials. He told Newsweek Levin was close friends with Dunne and had also never heard any rumors about incest.

“Harvey was very close to Dominick. If neither Harvey nor I heard it, that’s two independent sources who were privy to most things,” Rand said. “The fact that neither of us heard that back in the ’90s leads me to believe it’s not true. I don’t think it ever happened.”

Levin, who recently interviewed Rand on TMZ Live, said, “I covered the case, and I never heard that. But if that’s a theory someone is floating, that’s rough.”

Jose and Kitty Menendez’s Memorial Service

In the opening scene of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Lyle and Erik are alone together in a limousine on their way to their parents memorial service.

The brothers become emotional as they discuss the brown tassel loafers Lyle is wearing, symbolizing their father’s presence and the weight of the responsibility they now bear in his absence.

In reality, Rand told Newsweek their father had an assistant named Marlene (Marzi) Eisenberg, who testified she was in the limousine with the brothers after the service and heard their conversation noting it was bizarre.

Marzi said they initially talked about Lyle’s shoes, then the conversation turned to Jose and what he would have wanted for the boys.

However, Rand claimed Eisenberg’s testimony in the Menendez brothers’ first trial was completely false.

“There’s only one problem with that,” Rand said. “I managed to find a videotape of the brothers walking into the memorial service that day, and Lyle was wearing a pair of green cowboy boots with his suit.”

The brothers also did not organize the memorial as depicted in Netflix’s series.

Their father’s company, Live Entertainment, hired Rogers & Cowan, a major public relations firm in Los Angeles, to put the event together. Lyle told the firm his father was a big Milli Vanilli fan, which is why some of their songs were included in the memorial.

However, the scene where Lyle cues the DJ to play “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” and dedicates it to his mother never actually happened.

Newsweek reached out to Rogers & Cowan, however, they have not yet responded.

The Menendez Brothers Documentary

Netflix is set to unveil a new documentary on the Menendez Brothers this month, featuring real-life accounts from Lyle and Erik Menendez themselves.

For the first time in nearly 30 years, Lyle and Erik, in their own words, revisit the trial stunning the nation. They share their story together from the Donovan Correctional Facility in California.

Rand said he thinks the new documentary will give people a very different perspective on the story compared to ‘Monsters.’

“It’s really going to give people whiplash to hear one version of the story and then hear the facts,” Rand said.

The Menendez Brothers premieres on Netflix on October 7.

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