Did Lyle Menendez get recorded by Norma? The controversial tapes that shaped his trial

One of the lesser-explored aspects of Netflix's crime drama anthology series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the controversial relationship between Lyle Menendez and a woman named Norma.

The two had formed a relationship when Lyle and his brother Erik were being tried for the murder of their parents. Lyle Menendez wished to write a book about his experiences and life and thought Norma would be the best choice for the same after meeting her a couple of times and then staying in touch over calls.

Norma found it challenging to keep up with the conversations and take notes effectively. As a result, she asked Lyle for permission to record their discussions, to which he reportedly agreed.

After completing the recording, Norma recognized that the information she had about Lyle could be quite valuable and realized she did not have to share the profits with him. Consequently, she proceeded to sell the audio recordings to Dove Books for $12,500. A book titled The Private Diary of Lyle Menendez: In His Own Words! was released on January 1, 1995.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers. Please read at your discretion.

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What role did Lyle Menendez's testimonies to Norma play in his trial?

While Lyle Menendez and his brother Erik Menendez were being held back in prison for their trials of killing their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, Lyle struck up a friendship with a woman named Norma. The two soon became close and shared a unique relationship where they used to talk with each other over call.

Lyle Menendez came up with the idea of writing about his life and asked Norma to help. She agreed but was unable to keep up with the pace of the conversations. When Lyle allegedly gave Norma verbal permission to record their calls, she started doing it for all their conversations.

As previously stated, when she later realized that Lyle Menendez's accounts of his life were worth a lot of money she sold it at an exorbitant price.

Reportedly, Lyle's statements in the videotapes recorded by Norma were entirely inconsistent with what he had previously said during another trial, which eventually served as an important source of information in Lyle and Erik's sentencing. For the same reason, Lyle Menendez had allegedly bailed out of giving his testimony during their second trial.

This event is portrayed in Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, in which Erik and Lyle are shown engaging in an argument after Erik discovers the tapes that could considerably jeopardize their case.

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About Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix

Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan is the second installment of the Monsters series, the first one being The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

The series stars Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez. Javier Bardem starts as José Menendez and Chloë Sevigny as Mary Louise Menendez. Others featured in the 9-episode release include Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson and Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne. The official logline for the show from Netflix's Tudum reads:

"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story follows Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who fatally shot their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. During their trials, the brothers cited years of abuse as the reason for murdering their parents. However, prosecutors argued that their motive was to get their hands on the family fortune."

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Several projects based on Lyle and Erik Mendez's lives have been made in the past including Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers, The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All, Law & Order True Crime, Menendez Brothers: Victims or Villains, and Menendez: Monsters or Misjudged?