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The Menendez brothers are once again making headlines with the release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix, which debuted on September 19, 2024. It's the second season of Ryan Murphy's true crime series, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which began in 2022.
The show focuses on the Menendez brothers' murder of their parents on August 20, 1989. Nicholas Alexander Chavez plays the role of Lyle while Cooper Koch portrays Erik.
In the third episode, Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? a dramatic escape plan is revealed. Lyle Menendez writes a letter to his brother Erik outlining a possible escape while incarcerated. This idea, though, was more of a fantasy than a reality. The brothers stayed behind bars against the escape plan, which made viewers wonder about their reasons.
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Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers for the show.
Menendez Brothers did not run away: What was the reason behind it?
Since they felt trapped, the Menendez brothers did not run away before or after they did the crime. Erik Menendez mentioned during his retrial and talked about how his father abused him and his mother didn't care about him. Since Erik grew up in an abusive household, he thought there was no way out of the pain. He had been through so much emotional pain that he even called himself "Hurt Man" as a child.
Erik stated that he and Lyle never thought they could confide in anyone or get out of their circumstances, even after he was found guilty. The abuse was so accepted that leaving home or getting treatment never seemed like a choice. Their first response wasn't to flee; this hopelessness stayed even after they were arrested.
The escape plan in prison
As the Netflix series shows, the Menendez brothers thought about escape while serving imprisonment. Lyle penned a letter to Erik detailing a strategy including name changes, cosmetic enhancements, and European relocation. Found in Lyle's cell, the letter included thorough sketches of the prison's architecture and instructions for securing money for the escape.
Still, the idea was never carried out exactly. Finding the notes, authorities relocated the brothers to different sections of the jail to avoid further communication. Though the escape plan was genuine, it was not an apparent threat. The brothers stayed in custody and investigators could not link the notes to any immediate action.
Read more: Fact check: Was Erik Menendez gay? Explained
Impact of the abuse on their actions
The Menendez brothers lived in a constant state of fear since their childhood. Erik, in particular, expressed how isolated he felt as a child. The abuse he faced from his father and the emotional neglect from his mother made him believe that no one would understand or believe his story.
During the trial, the brothers' defense lawyers said that the abuse they had to go through explained what they did. They said that Erik and Lyle killed their parents because they were scared and desperate, not because they wanted to get rich. However, the jury had a hard time believing them because it's hard for most people to believe boys have been sexually abused.
Menendez brothers' tragic story reveals the lasting effects of abuse and how it can paralyze victims, preventing them from making rational choices.
Viewers can stream Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix.
