Credit: MILES CRIST/NETFLIX
The latest true crime event to capture the internet is the case of the Menendez brothers. While the brothers were convicted of killing their parents in 1996 and were mentioned in various shows throughout the decades, the spotlight is especially on the case after Ryan Murphy’s miniseries Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story hit Netflix. While Murphy’s miniseries on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer also sparked controversy, Erik and Lyle are still alive and they’re not happy with how the show depicts the real-life events that occurred.
In a recent interview with Variety, Murphy responded to the criticism from the Menendez family:
“The family’s response is predictable at best. I find it interesting because I would like specifics about what they think is shocking or not shocking. It’s not like we’re making any of this stuff up. It’s all been presented before. What we’re doing is we’re the first to present it in one contained ecosystem. What’s grotesque about it? … Tammi [and] the family, they have always done this and they did this recently — they say, ‘lies after lies’ — but then they don’t say what the lies are. They don’t back up anything.”
Lyle and Erik were convicted of killing their mother and father due to years of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. They are both currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. The miniseries depicts the trial and has been described as a “grotesque shockadrama”. People all across all platforms have started talking about the case and plenty of clips from the trial and even other depictions in the past have made their way across socials.
Murphy also believes that this is the best thing to happen to the Menendez brothers in thirty years:
“They are now being talked about by millions of people all over the world. There’s a documentary coming out into two weeks about them, also on Netflix. And I think the interesting thing about it is it’s asking people to answer the questions, ‘Should they get a new trial? Should they be let out of jail? What happens in our society? Should people be locked away for life? Is there no chance ever at rehabilitation?’ I’m interested in that, and a lot of people are talking about it. We’re asking really difficult questions, and it’s giving these brothers another trial in the court of public opinion. From what I can tell, it’s really opened up the possibility that this evidence that they claim that they have, maybe that there is going to be a way forward for them.”
While Murphy believes that if the brothers were to be tried in the present day, their sentences would be less than life without parole, and that they don’t deserve to be in prison for life, he also stated, “I have no interest in talking to them.” Mostly, because he doesn’t know what he would say to them. However, Cooper Koch, who plays Erik Menendez in the Netflix special, has actually met Erik in real life.
What do you think of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story? Do you agree with Murphy’s statements or do you dislike the depictions of the real life case?
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