31 Best True Crime Shows To Watch Right Now - The Today Show
The picks range from documentaries like "Sex, Lies and the College Cult" to fictional renderings based on true events, like "Love and Death."
convicted of brutally murdering their parents
The murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez in Beverly Hills, California, in 1989 shocked Southern California, and the trial where the couple's sons were eventually <anchor>convicted of brutally murdering their parents</anchor> captivated the nation. The Peacock series "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed" recaps the brothers' two trials, and features new allegations from a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, which could cast doubt to the brothers' murder convictions and give them evidence to appeal for a new trial.
Where Are The Menendez Brothers Now? New Peacock Series Explores Murder Convictions
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

SKIP TO CONTENT

Search

- Share this —

Search TodaySearch

Sections

Shows

More

Follow today

More Brands

# Where are the Menendez brothers now? New Peacock series adds to murder case saga

The brothers, who were convicted of murdering their parents in 1989, are back in the spotlight.

May 2, 2023, 6:34 PM UTC / Source: TODAY

The 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez at the hands of their 18- and 21-year-old sons are back in the true crime spotlight.

Jose and Kitty Menendez were shot and killed in their Los Angeles home on Aug. 20, 1989, leaving a scene so gruesome it was initially investigated as a mob hit, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Their two sons, Joseph "Lyle" Menendez, now 55, and Erik Galen Menendez, now 52, were convicted in 1996 of killing their parents with shotguns after two trials, the first of which ended in hung juries.

In the brothers' second trial, which was before a single jury and free of TV cameras, the judge ruled allegations of Jose Menendez abusing his children as inadmissible, though that was the defense's argument in the first trial.

Erik and Lyle Menendez are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole and have exhausted their appeals — though new allegations of sexual abuse from a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo against their father, included in the Peacock series "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed," could corroborate their claims — and potentially reopen their case.

Here's what to know about the Menendez brothers, and the Menendez family's connections to Menudo.

## What happened on Aug. 20, 1989?

Jose Menendez spent most of the early 1980s as chief operating officer at RCA Records, where he helped sign bands like Duran Duran, The Eurythmics and Menudo, according to the Los Angeles Times.

He moved his family to California after leaving RCA Records in 1986 to work for Carolco Pictures, according to the Times, and he purchased a 9,000-square-foot home in Beverly Hills in October 1988.

The Beverly Hills home would become the infamous crime scene where Jose Menendez and his wife Mary "Kitty" Menendez were shot several times in their living room on Aug. 20, 1989 with two 12-gauge shotguns.

"It was just absolutely savage," Russ Olson, a former Beverly Hills police captain and murder investigator said of the crime scene on an episode of "Snappe d, " an Oxygen true crime documentary series. "You're looking at two human beings who had been ripped apart."

Jose Menendez, 45, was shot at point-blank range in the back of the head, and was struck three more times in the arms and legs. Kitty Menendez, 47, was shot four times in the head and five other times across her body.

"The bodies were distorted," Olson said. "They had no resemblance of what you would expect a human being to look like."

Then 21-year-old Lyle Menendez called 911 saying he and his then 18-year-old brother Erik Menendez had just returned home to find their parents slain.

"Somebody killed my parents," Lyle Menendez told the dispatcher, according to a transcript of the call. "Erik, get away from them," he could be heard shouting at his brother on the call.

Menendez Brothers Trial 1990Lyle and Erik Menendez sit in Beverly Hills Municipal Court where their attorneys delayed making pleas on behalf of the brothers on March 12, 1990.Nick Ut / AP

When police arrived, neighbors could hear screams and officers found Erik Menendez curled in a ball, sobbing on the lawn, the Times reported.

Investigators described the murders as a "gangland-style killing," the Times reported citing police reports, and detectives suspected the slayings were perpetrated by mobsters or Jose Menendez's business rivals who may have had a grudge.

However, the Menendez brothers' financial behavior following the slayings began to attract the attention of investigators: Lyle Menendez bought a Porsche, a Rolex and thousands of dollars worth of clothing, while Erik Menendez purchased a custom Jeep Wrangler.

Shortly after police confiscated recordings of the brothers' therapy sessions which contained incriminating information, and about seven months after the murders, the couple's oldest son, Lyle Menendez, was arrested on March 8, 1990.

## Why were there multiple trials?

Menendez BrothersLyle and Erik Menendez leave the courtroom in Santa Monica, California, on Aug. 6, 1990.NICK UT / ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Menendez brothers were first tried jointly with separate juries in 1993. The case became a national sensation due to television coverage of the courtroom proceedings on Court TV.

In the first trial, the brothers argued they killed their parents because they feared for their safety after a lifetime of sexual abuse perpetrated by their father, and condoned by their mother. A family member testified about hearing of knowing the abuse as a child, ABC News reported.

Prosecutors argued the brothers had killed their parents for financial gain, and the trial ended with two deadlocked juries in January 1994, according to the New York Times.

Then Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti said he would retry the case and that he would not accept a plea bargain, according to the Times.

The brothers' were tried before a single jury for their second trial, which began in August 1995. Judge Stanley Weisberg, the judge in the second trial, ruled evidence and testimony about the brothers’ allegations of sexual abuse would be inadmissible in the new trial, citing irrelevance, the Los Angeles Times reported

Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in March 1996.

## What is Menudo and what are its ties to the Menendez family?

Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band formed in 1977 by music producer Edgardo Diaz. The original lineup featured five boys in their early teens, and became an international sensation by the early 1980s — Ricky Martin even debuted in the group in 1984.

Once boys reached age 15 or 16, they would be replaced by younger members, former members recalled in "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed."

Roy Roselló joined Menudo at age 13 in August 1983, and alleged in the documentary he was sexually abused by Diaz, the group's founder, for the three years he was in the band.

Diaz did not respond to a request for comment for the Peacock documentary or from NBC News, but he has repeatedly denied the allegations of sexual abuse against him from former members of the band.

Roselló also alleged in the series he was molested by Jose Menendez when Menendez was the head of RCA Records. Roselló said Diaz took him to Menendez's home, where Menendez drugged him and raped him.

"That's the man here," Roselló says in the series, pointing to a photo of Jose Menendez posing with Menudo after they signed to RCA in 1983. "This guy — that's the pedophile."

Erik Menendez said in "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed" he remembered seeing Roselló with his father in their home as a child.

"My dad was one of the guys that was choosing and selecting the new members of the group," he said. "I remember specifically taking one of the kids and going off and saying he wanted to talk to him alone and they went off into the house upstairs."

Robert Rand, a journalist and executive producer on "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed" who has been covering the brothers’ case for decades, told Erik Hernandez the news of Roselló’s allegations against his father over the phone in the docuseries.

“Frankly, to be honest, I feel horrible. It’s sad to know there was another victim of my father,” Erik Menendez said. “I always hoped and believed that one day the truth about my dad would come out, but I never wished for it to come out like this — the result of trauma another child has suffered. It makes me very sad.”

Lyle Hernandez said in the series the allegations were "overwhelming" to hear.

"We've heard rumors that something might have happened with Menudo through the years," he said. "It's a remarkable thing to happen so many decades later."

"Of course you would know that would have made a difference at trial," he told Rand. "Certainly that would have made an enormous difference because the entire trial centered on the belief about these events."

## Will the Menendez brothers ever be released?

Erik and Lyle Menendez are currently incarcerated at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where they are not eligible for parole.

The brothers have exhausted their appeals, but legal experts said their legal team could file a petition with new evidence, including Roselló's allegations against their father.

Alan Jackson, a criminal defense attorney, outlined on TODAY what what would need to happen for the Menendez brothers to "breathe free air one of these days."

"First, they have to file the petition. The petition has to be reviewed by a superior court judge. The judge has to grant a new trial, and the defense has to win at trial," Jackson said. "So those procedural and factual hurdles — that's a big mountain to climb."

"Is this a glimmer of hope? It's a glimmer," Jackson continued.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com seeking the status of the investigation into Roselló's police report, as well as the status of the Menendez's convictions.

## Where are the Menendez brothers now?

An Oct. 31, 2016 photo of Erik Menendez and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo of Lyle Menendez, both provided by the California Department of Corrections.An Oct. 31, 2016 photo of Erik Menendez and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo of Lyle Menendez, both provided by the California Department of Corrections.California Department of Corrections via AP

Erik and Lyle Menendez began serving life sentences without the possibility of parole after they were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996.

The brothers were held at separate prisons until 2018, when they were moved to RJ Donovan Correctional Facility. Rand told ABC News in 2018 that before their reunion, the brothers hadn’t seen each other since Sept. 10, 1996.

Lyle Menendez was led down a hallway to meet his brother in a room in the prison, and once the guard opened the door, both brothers "burst into tears immediately," Rand said.

"They just hugged each other for a few minutes without saying any words to each other," Rand said. "Then the prison officials let them spend an hour together in a room."

Lyle Menendez is now 55 and his younger brother Erik Menendez is now 52, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

"Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed" premieres on May 2 on Peacock.



Anna Kaplan is a news and trending reporter for TODAY.com.

© 2024 NBC UNIVERSAL