The Menendez Brothers case: Timeline of events explored

The Menendez Brothers, Lyle and Erik Menéndez, are currently serving life sentences at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County for the murder of their parents José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menéndez. The shocking incident took place at the family's Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989, when the elder brother, Lyle, fired multiple times at his parents with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.

After José and Kitty died, their sons didn't flee the scene, but instead waited for the police to arrive. When the cops showed up, the brothers explained that they had gone to watch a movie when their parents were murdered.

The brothers were later apprehended for their crimes. It was then that Lyle and Erik revealed that the reason they killed their parents was because they were being s*xually abused for years.

This terrifying case will be explained in detail on Peacock's upcoming docuseries titled Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, to be released on May 2, 2023. PEOPLE also recently reported that the second season of Ryan Murphy's Monster series on Netflix will focus on the two brothers.

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The Menendez Brothers case: When did it all begin?

Lyle and Erik's father Jose was born on May 6, 1944, in Havana, Cuba. At 16, he moved to the US, where he attended Southern Illinois University. He then met Mary Louise "Kitty" Andersen and married her in 1963. That same year, the couple moved to New York City.

Joseph Lyle Menéndez was born on January 10, 1968, in New York. Two years later, the family welcomed another son named Erik. They soon moved to New Jersey, where the family lived in Hopewell Township. Both brothers were sent to Princeton Day School.

In 1976, when the brother's cousin Diane Vander Molen visited the family, Lyle revealed to her that his father constantly s*xually abused him.

On August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik shot their parents. Jose was shot 6 times, whereas his wife took 10 shots. Following their death, the brothers spent recklessly on a life of luxury, alerting the police to the fact that the brothers may have had a financial motive in the killing of their parents. They tried to trick them into a confession, but it didn't work, until Erik finally admitted to committing the crime to his psychotherapist.

On March 8, 1990, Lyle was arrested. Erik was arrested three days later. They were indicted by the L.A. County Grand Jury on December 8 of the same year. Their first trial took place from July 20, 1993 to January 27, 1994, and the second one spanned from August 23, 1995, to March 20, 1996.

On July 2, 1996, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They were sent to different prisons before they were finally reunited in 2018. They are currently being held at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

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Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed synopsis and other details

The official synopsis of the upcoming Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed reads:

"Lyle and Erik Menendez infamously killed their parents in 1989. Menudo was the first mega-boy band to take the world by storm. In this explosive limited series, viewers will learn of the connection that links the two stories and could corroborate the brothers’ decades-old accusations against their father, Jose Menendez."

It further states:

"One former Menudo member could be the key to changing how the public views the brothers’ case while simultaneously crusading for his own justice."

The series will be based on reporting by journalists Robert Rand and Nery Ynclan.

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Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed will premiere on May 2, 2023, on Peacock.