The Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik, became infamous for the brutal shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989. Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, the question of Why Did The Menendez Brothers Do It has haunted the public and legal system for over three decades. While they admitted to the act, their defense hinged on a lifetime of alleged abuse, claiming they acted out of fear and in self-defense. Now, new evidence has emerged, potentially reshaping the narrative and reigniting the debate surrounding their culpability.
Lyle Menendez, speaking from RJ Donovan State Prison, expressed relief at the surfacing of new claims and evidence, stating, “I mean, for me, I just was happy … ’cause it’s a burden to be telling what happened to you and just have so much doubt in the public air.” The core of the enduring Menendez case isn’t the “what” – they confessed to the killings – but the profound and disturbing “why.” Their defense has consistently centered on a harrowing history of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents. Cliff Gardner, their current lawyer, believes this new evidence lends credence to their claims and could significantly diminish their criminal responsibility.
Cliff Gardner: If the judge finds this evidence credible, I think it is sufficient to give them a new trial.
The Grisly Scene at Cielo Drive
The chilling saga began on August 20, 1989, when Lyle Menendez’s frantic 911 call echoed from their Beverly Hills home.
911 OPERATOR: Beverly Hills Emergency?
LYLE MENENDEZ: Yes, please, uh —
911 OPERATOR: What’s the problem?
Lyle Menendez: (Crying) Someone killed my parents!
911 OPERATOR: Pardon me? —
LYLE MENENDEZ: (Sobbing) Someone killed my parents!
Police arriving at the mansion were met with a scene of extreme violence. Jose and Kitty Menendez had been shot multiple times at point-blank range with shotguns. Jackie Lacey, then a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles, recalled the graphic nature of the crime scene:
Jackie Lacey: I think one of the Beverly Hills detectives … described it as one of the most … brutal crime scene he had ever seen in his life.
POLICE NEWS CONFERENCE: I’ve been in this business for over 33 years, and I have heard of very few murders that were more savage than this one was.
The brutality suggested a deep-seated rage.
Jackie Lacey: It was an expression of hatred for these two people.
Milton Andersen, Kitty’s brother, vividly remembers the devastating phone call informing him of his sister’s death.
Milton Andersen: My brother called me, and he said that Kitty and Jose were – were dead … I loved her … Sister Kitty was a very ambitious gal … She was a very beautiful … woman.
Jose Menendez, a successful former RCA Records executive, and Kitty had built a life of affluence. Investigators initially explored the possibility of a connection to Jose’s business dealings, particularly given the era’s association of the home video industry with organized crime.
Milton Andersen: Everybody said it was a mob hit.
Jackie Lacey: Because it was so brutal. … It – it really was like a scene out of … “The Godfather” movies.
Initially, Lyle and Erik were not considered suspects. However, their lavish spending in the aftermath of the murders and peculiar behavior at memorial services soon drew attention.
Jackie Lacey: They were … Investing in businesses. … They acted like they had won the lottery.
Milton Andersen: At the podium … Lyle read a letter from Jose … that was filled with love and pride for his sons.
Natalie Morales: Did you see Lyle get emotional as he was reading that letter?
Milton Andersen: No. … Lyle also made a statement that his father always said, “you can never fill my shoes.” And he jokingly said, “guess what? I’m wearing my father’s shoes today.”
Natalie Morales: Struck you as odd that he would say something like that.
Milton Andersen: I—very odd.
The turning point came six months later when the girlfriend of the brothers’ psychologist revealed their confession, recorded on audiotape, to the police.
Jackie Lacey: But for that confession, who knows whether they would’ve ever been caught?
On March 8, 1990, Lyle was arrested, and Erik surrendered to authorities shortly after. The initial narrative painted a picture of greed and inheritance as the motive.
DAN RATHER | “CBS Evening News”: Not many Hollywood murder mysteries ever took a more dramatic turn than police are describing in a couple of savage Beverly Hills killings.
NEWS REPORT: Police say the motive was apparently money. A $14 million inheritance to be shared by the brothers.
However, the brothers’ subsequent trial would reveal a much darker and more complex explanation for why did the Menendez brothers do it.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY JILL LANSING (in court): On August 20th, 1989, did you and your brother kill your mother and father?
LYLE MENENDEZ: Yes.
JILL LANSING: Why did you kill your parents?
LYLE MENENDEZ: Because we were afraid. (emotional)
Murder or Self-Defense? The Trials Begin
In the summer of 1993, the Menendez brothers faced trial, potentially facing the death penalty. The defense argued imperfect self-defense, suggesting the brothers genuinely believed their lives were in danger, albeit perhaps unreasonably. This could reduce the charge to manslaughter.
Cliff Gardner: They had the defense of … imperfect self-defense.
Cliff Gardner: And if it’s honest but unreasonable … You are culpable of manslaughter, not of murder.
Lyle Menendez testified about years of sexual abuse beginning at age 6, perpetrated by his father and, surprisingly, his mother’s complicity.
LYLE MENENDEZ (in court): He would, uh, fondle me and he would ask me to do the same with him.
LYLE MENENDEZ (in court): He’d rape me (crying).
Erik Menendez corroborated Lyle’s testimony, stating the abuse continued for him until just days before the murders, when he finally confided in Lyle at age 18.
ERIK MENENDEZ (in court): I didn’t know what to do at the time. So, I figured I’d tell Lyle and maybe he could help me.
LYLE MENENDEZ (in court): He started telling me that … one of the reasons he had never told me before was because my dad had always threatened his life.
The brothers claimed a confrontation with their parents on the night of the murders escalated their fear, leading them to believe they were in imminent danger and prompting them to act in what they perceived as self-preservation. They grabbed shotguns, purchased days prior, and attacked their parents in the family room, even reloading during the brutal assault.
JILL LANSING (in court): And what did you do after you reloaded?
LYLE MENENDEZ (crying): I ran around, shot my mom.
Family members testified, describing instances of physical and emotional abuse they witnessed within the Menendez household. Alan Andersen, a cousin, recalled Jose’s physical punishments and Kitty’s emotional detachment. He also mentioned unsettling behavior involving Jose and the boys behind closed doors.
Alan Andersen: Jose would tell the boys, “In the bedroom” … and then he would close the door and then he’d take showers with ’em.
Another cousin, Diane Vandermolen, recounted an incident where an 8-year-old Lyle disclosed inappropriate touching by his father, which Kitty dismissed. Andy Cano, yet another cousin, testified about Erik confiding in him about unwanted “massages.”
Despite the defense’s efforts, prosecutors argued that abuse, even if true, didn’t justify murder. They highlighted the brothers’ initial confession to the psychologist, which lacked any mention of abuse or self-defense.
Jackie Lacey: The timing of disclosure was convenient.
Prosecutors emphasized the brothers’ calculated actions, purchasing shotguns, disposing of evidence, and misleading investigators, suggesting premeditation and a financial motive. While Lyle denied financial motivations, prosecutors pointed to a potential disinheritance and attempts to tamper with the family computer.
The first trial resulted in mistrials for both brothers as juries deadlocked on murder versus manslaughter.
JUDGE (in court): Therefore, I find that the jury is hopelessly deadlocked.
Lyle Menendez: It was just a devastating result. I needed it to be over one way or the other.
Retrial and Conviction: The Abuse Excuse
The retrial in 1995 took a different direction. A single jury heard the case, and the prosecution successfully limited the defense’s evidence of abuse, arguing it was irrelevant or repetitive. Lyle Menendez chose not to testify in the retrial.
Natalie Morales: Erik did testify. Why did you decide not to speak?
Lyle Menendez: Uh, for two reasons. I was just done after the first trial. … And I didn’t have … the attorney that … I trusted so much to ask me these deep personal questions.
Prosecutors attacked the credibility of defense witnesses and focused on the brutality of the crime, portraying Jose as a loving father and dismissing the abuse claims as a fabricated “abuse excuse.” The jury found both brothers guilty of first-degree murder, and they were sentenced to life without parole.
Milton Andersen: Oh, what they did to my sister … they should have gotten the death penalty.
Social Media Resurgence and New Evidence
Decades later, the Menendez case experienced a resurgence in public interest, fueled by a documentary and growing societal awareness of childhood trauma. Neuropsychologist Dr. Judy Ho, a “48 Hours” consultant, highlighted the increased understanding of trauma’s impact.
Dr. Judy Ho: I definitely think that our society has just become more knowledgeable about trauma and the impact of sexual trauma.
Dr. Ho explained that delayed disclosure and the extreme violence could be consistent with trauma responses.
Dr. Judy Ho: It makes sense that in that moment, it’s almost like a breakdown. … And that’s not to make an excuse for anything that they’ve done, but it’s just to describe the state of mind of this is years and years of abuse, where they … couldn’t act to protect themselves … And once they pulled the trigger, it was like, there was no turning back.
Natalie Morales: They’re 18 and 21. … Why couldn’t they leave?
Dr. Judy Ho: Right. Well, certainly there was a path that they could have taken is to try to get away from the family … But it sounds like even at that age, they were very much under the control of their father still. … I think that oftentimes what people are not aware of is that trauma completely rewires the brain … They probably did think at one point it was either them or their parents. That it was a fight or flight conditioning that had come up.
Attorney Cliff Gardner argued that societal understanding of abuse has evolved, potentially changing how the case would be viewed today.
Cliff Gardner: The idea back then was, A, dads don’t molest their children. … And if by chance it happened, these are 18 and 21-year-old kids. They’re strapping young men. They just leave. … And both those, I think, are undercut in — in what we know today.
Crucially, new evidence emerged, bolstering the brothers’ claims. A letter written by Erik to his cousin Andy Cano in December 1988 surfaced, predating the murders and detailing Erik’s fear and ongoing abuse.
Cliff Gardner: He says … “I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. … Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. … I’m afraid … He’s crazy. He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle.”
Cliff Gardner: No one knew about it at trial. … It was never presented.
Furthermore, Roy Rossello, a former member of the boy band Menudo, came forward with allegations of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez in the early 1980s. Jose Menendez had professional ties to Menudo through RCA Records. Rossello’s sworn affidavit corroborated the brothers’ claims and painted a disturbing picture of Jose’s predatory behavior.
Cliff Gardner: Jose Menendez … was working at RCA at the time and RCA signed Menudo to a recording contract.
Cliff Gardner: Roy … was a member of the boy band Menudo, which was big in the late ’70s, mid-’80s.
Cliff Gardner: I met Roy and he talked to me about it. … it was a difficult conversation for him. And it was difficult for me to hear … but I thought Roy was credible … It can take years for people to recognize what happened to have the courage to come forward.
Lyle Menendez: When I first heard about it … I — I cried. … For me, it was very meaningful to just have things come out that caused people to really realize, OK … at least this part of what it’s about is true.
Gardner argues this new evidence significantly weakens the prosecution’s case from the retrial, which hinged on denying any abuse. He has filed a habeas petition seeking to vacate the brothers’ convictions, arguing the case should have been manslaughter, not murder, given the context of lifelong abuse.
Cliff Gardner: The importance of the new evidence, you have to look back and understand what the state’s position was at the second trial. The state’s position was that the sexual abuse never happened. …And the state’s position as to Jose Menendez was he wasn’t the type of person who would molest a young boy.This new evidence takes both those arguments and undercuts them entirely …
Cliff Gardner: The boys were abused as children. They were abused their whole life. … and this is a manslaughter case, not a murder case. It’s just that simple.
Jackie Lacey: It is … very, very possible that … Jose Menendez was a child molester. … But you don’t get to murder him and his wife in cold blood.
Will There Be Another Trial?
The judge is now considering the habeas petition. Jackie Lacey acknowledges the letter’s potential timing ambiguity and questions why Andy Cano didn’t mention it during the trials.
Jackie Lacey: You would think … when Andy was on the stand twice, he’d have brought that up. And, oh yeah. He told me about it recently. And here’s the letter.
Natalie Morales: The timing of that letter, though, you are able to sort of pin down because you know, it was the holidays, because he writes about his Christmas plans.
Jackie Lacey: But Natalie, look at it another way. … You could include those details and get that letter together … after they were caught. … This letter for all we know could have been written by Erik Menendez … shortly after the murder, given to Cano and Cano may have gotten cold feet about it and not submitted it.
However, Gardner maintains the letter’s authenticity and importance, arguing it corroborates Cano’s earlier testimony. Regarding Rossello’s claims, Lacey acknowledges their potential credibility but questions whether this new evidence would have altered the guilty verdict.
Jackie Lacey: No … I think what the judge has to weigh and consider is: is this newly discovered evidence that would’ve changed the verdict?
Jackie Lacey: They’re still stuck with the planning … the cover-up, the money that they spent afterwards. … I think that you could argue … the sexual abuse occurred … On the other hand, at the moment these men are driving down to San Diego, paying for … the murder weapons, coming back and waiting for an opportune time to go in and kill their parents, the molestation is not occurring right then. … I do not believe that at the time they murdered them, that they were in danger at that particular minute of being murdered by those people. I think they hated them. They might have had a good reason to hate them. … But we can’t condone vigilantism. … When you calmly and logically looked at the facts surrounding the killing, it’s a murder.
Gardner believes evidence of abuse is crucial for understanding the brothers’ state of mind and differentiating between murder and manslaughter.
Cliff Gardner: Sexual abuse, physical abuse is relevant to your state of mind. And state of mind is the key in determining whether something is murder or whether something is manslaughter.
Cliff Gardner: What this evidence does, is … it puts you back in the situation that they were in with the first trial, that there was corroboration for the abuse.
If the judge vacates the convictions, the District Attorney’s Office will decide whether to pursue a retrial. Alan Andersen hopes for his cousins’ release, while Milton Andersen remains convinced of their guilt and desires them to remain imprisoned.
Milton Andersen: I think they should die of old age in prison … I loved my sister, and I protected her in life, and I will love my sister and protect her in her death.
Lyle Menendez: Part of my remorse is for the pain I caused to people like him.
Currently together in the same prison, Lyle and Erik Menendez focus on rehabilitation and education. The question of why did the Menendez brothers do it remains complex, intertwined with trauma, fear, and the enduring debate about justice and culpability. The emergence of new evidence adds another layer to this already intricate case, leaving the world to wait and see if it will ultimately lead to a new chapter in the Menendez brothers’ fight for freedom.
