Who was Kitty Menendez? Everything you need to know about Menendez Brothers mother

The sordid story of the Menendez Brothers has been covered in Netflix's crime series known as Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, as well as their upcoming documentary titled The Menendez Brothers. In August 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, to death in the family room of their Beverly Hills mansion.

When the brothers were tried for this crime, the prosecution argued that they'd committed the murders to seize control of their parents' estate. In contrast, the defense argued that they'd committed the murders to protect themselves from a lifetime of physical, psychological, and s*xual abuse inflicted by Jose and Kitty Menendez.

Kitty's full name was Mary Louise "Kitty" Andersen, and she met Jose Menendez while they both studied at Southern Illinois University.

Lyle and Erik's cousin, Diane Vander Molen, testified at their trial. She told ABC News in January 2017 that Kitty was complicit in the abuse the Menendez brothers suffered at their father's hands.

---

The Menendez Brothers: Kitty was alleged to be an abusive mother

Kitty Menendez married Jose Menendez in 1963, with the two moving to New York City while Jose pursued accounting at Queen's College. Prior to the birth of their first child, Lyle Menendez, on January 10, 1968, Kitty Menendez was a teacher. She quit her job to focus full-time on being a mother.

Two years later, on November 27, 1970, Erik Menendez was born. By that time, the family lived in New Jersey. Growing up, Lyle and Erik Menendez attended the Princeton Day School while the family resided in the Hopewell Township.

According to ABC News, Diane Vander Mohlen claimed that she visited the Menendez household in the summer of 1976, and stayed over with the family. It was at this time that Lyle Menendez told her of the abuse he and Erik suffered at the hands of their father.

When she spoke to Kitty about this, she rebuffed her children's accusations, claiming her husband was innocent and that Lyle had been lying. Kitty's older sister, Joan Vander Molen, also corroborated the abuse allegations of the Menendez brothers in a 2017 interview with People Magazine, saying:

"Our family tragedy should be a lesson to all on the destructive effects of child abuse and molestation, whether they are wealthy or not."

As the 1980s approached, Jose Menendez climbed the ranks as a record producer, becoming an executive at Hertz Global Recordings before moving on to RCA Recordings. Erik Menendez went to attend Beverly Hills High School, where he developed a talent for tennis, while his grades were middling.

Lyle Menendez, on the other hand, attended Princeton University. He received poor grades and was reportedly involved in a plagiarism scandal that saw him placed on academic probation.

---

Kitty was reportedly shot five times

Kitty Menendez, along with her husband Jose, was murdered on August 20, 1989. On the eve of her murder, she was watching television with her husband in their Beverly Hills mansion, when the Menendez brothers ambushed them, armed with shotguns.

Variety reported that Jose Menendez was shot eight times, and Kitty Menendez was shot five times. According to The Sun, the brothers fabricated an alibi of going to the movies and attending the "Taste of LA" festival when they were questioned by the police but were eventually arrested on suspicion of the murder.

While the narrative framed by the prosecutors painted the Menendez brothers as greedy children who murdered their parents for their inheritance, Lyle and Erik's testimony told a different story. The two recounted stories of the intense abuse they'd suffered at the hands of their parents, such as Kitty allegedly bathing with Lyle and then going up to bed with him until he turned thirteen.

These explosive allegations of abuse, coupled with the gruesome nature of the killings, have kept the murders alive in the public consciousness for years since.

---

The Menendez Brothers is a documentary set to release on Netflix on October 7, 2024. Meanwhile, the biographical crime drama titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently streaming on the same OTT platform. It features Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik respectively.