The Menendez brothers case is getting attention again, almost 30 years after Lyle and Erik were found guilty of killing their parents, Jose and Kitty, on August 20, 1989. Jose was a businessman who cared too much about his family name.
Menendez's life seemed perfect from the outside, but in reality, it was a web of wealth, s*xual assault, and conspiracy. Menendez's world showed how money and fame cannot bury dark secrets. The boys were charged with 1st-degree murder, but there is so much to the story.
If you want to know more, keep reading this article and watch Monsters 2: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which is streaming on Netflix.
What did Jose Menendez do to Lyle and Erik Menendez?
At first, it seemed Jose and Kitty were murdered for their wealth and that Jose worked with an entertainment channel so it could include the Menendez family being mobbed. But later, both the brothers became the prime suspect after they were seen splurging their father’s wealth with no remorse or guilt. They started investing in businesses and bought luxury items.
During the trial, the brothers claimed they had suffered years of physical, emotional, and s*xual abuse, primarily at the hands of their father, Jose. Lyle testified that his father began s*xually abusing him when he was just 6 years old, though he said it stopped when he was 8. For Erik, however, the abuse never ended.
The brothers also spoke of emotional manipulation, constant criticism, and physical punishments that went far beyond regular discipline. They described living in constant fear, never knowing when the next instance of abuse might occur.
Lyle and Erik's alleged abuse had a substantial impact on their psychological development. Mental health experts testified during the trial about the long-term effects of such abuse, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and difficulty forming healthy relationships.
Erik and Lyle were charged with 1st-degree murder, and their legal battle was highly publicized. The Menendez brothers went through two trials. The first one ended on January 13, 1994, without a clear decision. The jury couldn't agree on whether to charge the brothers with manslaughter because of the abuse they said they suffered or with first-degree murder.
In the second trial, things turned out differently. The jury found Lyle and Erik Menendez guilty of first-degree murder. The judge gave them two life sentences, each one after the other, without parole. After the trial, Lyle and Erik were sent to different prisons.
The last time they met was back in 1996 when they could spot each other across the prison yard but couldn't talk. They were later sent to different prisons in California. For many years, Lyle kept asking to be moved to a prison closer to his brother. Finally, on February 22, 2018, he was transferred from Mule Creek State Prison in Northern California to San Diego's Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Erik had been in this prison since 2013.
What did Jose Menendez do for a living?
As a teenager, Jose fled from the Cuban Revolution and came to the United States, where he learned English and eventually earned an accounting degree from Queens College.
By 35, Jose had become the executive vice president at Hertz, a subsidiary of RCA. This was just the beginning of his rise in the business world. In 1980, Jose took charge of RCA's record division. He made his mark here by signing famous groups like the Eurythmics, Duran Duran, and Menudo. He was mainly focused on building up the label's Latin music line.
After leaving RCA in 1986, Jose joined Carolco Pictures, an independent film company known for producing the Rambo franchise. Jose's business acumen shone brightest when he turned the struggling International Video Entertainment Inc. (IVE) into a profitable venture. This company later became Live Entertainment and is now known as Artisan Entertainment.
What was Jose Menendez's net worth when he died?
With Jose's success came immense wealth. The family moved to California, eventually settling in a Beverly Hills mansion that was previously owned by Elton John and Prince. Jose earned around $500,000 a year at RCA, and his wealth grew from there.
Jose Menendez's net worth was estimated to be between $14 million and $15 million at the time of his death. The family's assets included the Beverly Hills mansion, valued at $4 million, a property in Calabasas that was being renovated, Jose's shares in LIVE Entertainment, and various personal property and vehicles.
If you want to watch Monsters, it's streaming on Netflix.
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