Menendez Brothers Update: When it Rains it Pours
It’s been 30 years since I served as Juror #9 on Erik’s first jury.
In that time I’ve observed lengthy periods of drought when it comes to public interest in the Menendez brothers murder case.
But when it rains it pours, and we’re currently experiencing a flash flood.
This time, the interest of all possible media outlets has been piqued by the combination of the possibility of the brothers being freed after all these years and today’s long-awaited release of the new Netflix Monsters Season 2 series.
I’m writing this post partly for my own convenience, because I still get asked questions. This is easier for me than posting separately about each thing and relying on the whims of the social media algorithms to spread the word. Also, if you know me in person, it lets you know what I’ve been up to in this regard.
Here’s what’s happening:
Will the Menendez brothers be freed?
Many article headlines are starting to ask this question. Why? Because the brothers’ attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus in May 2023. The ruling has been pushed out several times since then. There are legal and political issues preventing a quick decision. Each time the deadline approaches and the court asks for more time I think: Well, at least it wasn’t a NO.
Even if they get a YES, though, it won’t be a yes to automatically letting them out of prison. It will be a yes to proceed with the legal, um, proceedings. It could still take quite some time to resolve all the issues. Fingers crossed! If Lyle and Erik had been convicted of manslaughter, instead of murder, the maximum sentence would have been 22 years each. Which, considering they were arrested in early 1990, means they would have been free twelve (or more) years ago. Free to live their lives and free to be assets to society, as they have been to their prison communities all these years.
When you hear the phrase “new evidence”, well, it depends on how much attention you’ve been paying to the case whether or not anything is new. The letter from Erik to his cousin Andy that you may have heard about was not discovered recently but it also was never presented at court. So, in all the articles that mention the habeas petition, it is referred to as “new”. And the fact that ex-Menudo member Roy Rossello has publicly and legally claimed that he was abused by Jose Menendez as a boy is also “new”. His story was told in the May 2023 three-part Peacock documentary: Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. (A juror-approved production.)
New TV Series
I’ve been dreading today’s release of the new Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ever since they announced in May 2023 that it was coming. Why? Because it’s a dramatization. Fiction, not a documentary. (Not that I approve of all documentaries.) No one outside the production has known for sure how much creative license they were exercising. I mean, someone has to be the titular monsters, right? The trailers imply that actors Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny will portray Jose and Kitty as the monsters that I think they were. But that does not preclude Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch from also portraying Lyle and Erik as monsters. Even if they are, in the end, sympathetic characters they could still be shown planning the killings (justifying murder convictions) instead of killing in the heat of the moment (manslaughter).
I could just watch it right now, before I publish this post, and let you know what I think, but I don’t want to. If you watch it let me know what you think in the comments, OK? I’m always up for being pleasantly surprised.
This is not the first dramatization that I have skipped. The first two television movies were produced during the first trial! How accurate could they have been?
If you want to see a juror-approved dramatization, and haven’t yet, watch Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. (It’s available on a number of streaming services by now.)
New Documentary
I just received a nice note from one of the producers of a new documentary by director Alejandro Hartmann. I mention him by name to distinguish this one from the others because the actual title (unless they change it before its release) is nondescript: “The Menendez Brothers”.
“I am reaching out to say thank you so much for helping us to tell this story about the Menendez brothers case. The film will be released October 9th on Netflix (October 2nd in Canada). You will begin to see marketing material trickling out to the public starting September 23rd. We are incredibly grateful that you were willing to speak with us on this subject and look forward to finally bringing this out to audiences.”
I was interviewed in my home for several hours in late 2022 for this one — and I will definitely be watching! (Both Lyle and Erik also participated.)
Another New Documentary?
I know nothing about this one… unless, of course, I know everything about it. It’s called Menendez Brothers: Murder by Media and it starts Saturday, September 21st on Crime + Investigation UK.
Based on the show description and the similar artwork, I think it must be a UK airing of the excellent documentary that was released in the US on March 25, 2024 — FOX Nation, Menendez Brothers: Victims or Villains, four 30-minute episodes. (There was also a possibly-bootleg copy on YouTube last time I checked.) This one is different. Yes, I’m in it, and I like it especially because instead of rehashing the details of the crime it explores how the media shaped the public narrative of the case in the 90s and how unfair the second trial was.
. . 
I’ve been interviewed for two articles that are supposedly coming out soon. Both are for foreign publications (UK and Australia). But there’s no point in going into detail because things change! One freelance article already fell through. Sometimes they tell me when and where articles appear online. Others I don’t find out about until much later.
I can’t (and don’t care to) read every Menendez article in the world. If you don’t have Google Alerts set up (like I do) you would have no way of knowing just how many there are! Most of them are crap — poorly written, AI-generated, full of recycled errors and myths from 30 years ago. But once in a while there’s a good one. Like this: Where the Real Lyle & Erik Menendez Are Today
Robert Rand’s Updated Book
Congrats to my journalist friend and “partner in (true) crime” on the publication of the second edition of his book, The Menendez Murders. He posts much more than I do about the case, so if you want more, please follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and the platform formerly known as Twitter. If you live in Los Angeles and want to meet him, he’ll likely be having a book release and signing party at some point. Again, follow him for details.
I am not planning to update my own book, Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror, at this time for a number of reasons, despite the fact that a lot has happened since the last update! I keep track of events on my Menendez Juror website, and let you know about major developments in my monthly newsletter. If you have never read Hung Jury, I recommend the 2018 Graymalkin Media edition, which is the one currently available on Amazon, over the 1995 original edition.
TV News
KTLA 5 Los Angeles interviewed me via Zoom for a story that was supposed to air a couple of weeks ago. It morphed into a two-parter and lord knows if I’ll be in the second part today or not — Will the Menendez Brothers Be Freed? Thursday September 19, 10 p.m. MDT. (I wasn’t in the first part which aired on September 10.)
The reason I mention it is that the trial took place in Los Angeles, so a LOT of folks there were aware of it at the time and bought into the “greedy rich kids” narrative of the ‘90s media. Anything that a modern newscast, article, drama, podcast, book, or documentary can do to remind people that the brothers are still behind bars and shouldn’t be is juror-approved. Anything that doesn’t show or mention the brothers killing out of fear, and doesn’t include the travesty of the second trial, is not juror-approved.
PodcastsI’m not in any new podcasts. But, well, have you listened to all the previous ones?
My current favorite is The Crime Analyst with host Laura Richards. I was her guest for two episodes (146 & 147) in September 2023. She did six Menendez episodes at that time, including two with “living legend Professor Ann Burgess”. Laura, a “shero” in her own right, just recently added two more Burgess episodes (207 & 208) following the release of the excellent three-part Hulu documentary about her: Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer. I have not yet heard the new podcast episodes but I loved the documentary so much that I emailed Ann Burgess to tell her how much influence she had on me as a juror 30 years ago. She testified as a defense expert witness in the first Menendez trial and there are several pages of my book devoted to her testimony. I have since had the pleasure of meeting with her via Zoom.
Meanwhile, my thoughts are with Erik and Lyle and their families. I’m wishing them continued patience when it comes to the legal system; fortitude to endure the deluge of media attention; and peace in their daily lives.
Which, of the flood of media coverage, interests you the most?
What have you already watched/heard/read?
What questions do you have for me?
Please share with us in the comments below!
(I’m assuming you’re a Menendez supporter or you wouldn’t have read this far.)
______________________________________________________Hazel Thornton is an author, genealogist, and retired home and office organizer.Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror What’s a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy Go With the Flow! The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook Feel free to link directly to this post! Click here to ask about other uses.Copyright 2024 by Hazel Thornton, Organized for Life and Beyond
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