Erik and Lyle Menendez Were Surprised They Weren’t Immediate Suspects in Parents’ Murders

More than three decades after the brutal murder of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, Erik and Lyle open up about the aftermath, saying they were shocked to not immediately be considered suspects.

“The gunpowder residue was all over our hands … There were gun shells in my car,” Erik, 53, said in the Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers, according to an excerpt shared by TIME on Thursday, October 3, “If they would have just pressed me, I wouldn’t have been able to withstand any questioning. I was in a completely broken and shattered state of mind. I was shell-shocked.”

Lyle, 56, said keeping the secret following the murders was “a huge weight.”

The music executive and his wife were found dead in their Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989. Lyle, who was 21 years old at the time, called 911 after discovering his parents’ bloodied bodies. 

“It was just absolutely savage. You’re looking at two human beings who had been ripped apart,” investigator Russ Olson later said of the crime scene.  

Following the deaths of their parents, Erik and Lyle began to spend their father’s money on lavish items like a Rolex watch, a Porsche Carrera, an expensive private tennis coach and a restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey, with an estimated total spending of $700,000 in the months that followed.

While the brothers were not originally looked at as suspects, their over-the-top spending began to lead investigators to believe they had a financial motive to kill their parents. The guilt began eating away at Erik, who later confessed his crimes to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel. Dr. Oziel recorded his sessions with Erik, including his confession on October 31, 1989.

Oziel’s mistress, Judalon Smyth, reportedly overheard a heated conversation between the brothers and their doctor in which Lyle yelled at Erik saying, “I can’t believe you told him! I don’t even have a brother now! I could get rid of you for this!”

“Now I hope you know what we are going to do. I hope you realize what we are going to have to do. We’ve got to kill him and anyone associated to him,” Lyle continued. 

The recorded sessions were used as evidence due to the threatening nature of the conversation, which negated doctor patient confidentiality. 

After two hung juries and mistrials, Erik and Lyle were eventually found guilty of first-degree murder. While their attorney, Leslie Abramson was able to avoid the death penalty for the brothers, they were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

In October 2024, days ahead of the premiere of Netflix’s newest documentary, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced in a press conference that after new evidence was presented, Erik and Lyle’s case was under “review.” A court hearing is scheduled for November 29, 2024.

“I don’t think there is any question in this case, that the boys or young men – one was 19, one was 21 at the time – that they murdered their parents,” Gascón said on October 3. “I think that’s factual, it’s been established.”

The brothers are currently serving their sentences at San Diego’s Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.