“Psychological liars”
“Murderers”
“Psychopaths”
All of these names and more, are the nicknames given to Lyle and Erik Menendez, brothers who were convicted in the 1990s for first-degree murder.
There is a lot of speculation against these brothers, with many individuals strongly believing the fact that they are telling the truth, while others stand by their opinion of thinking that these brothers are rightfully charged with a lifetime in jail because of the crimes they committed.
Through these speculations, a documentary arose. “Monsters: A Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”, takes us through the lives of the Menendez brothers before and after the horrifying incident.
Although this documentary is impeccably filmed and had a chilling effect on the audience, there were many factual errors in the documentary. For example, the documentary suggests the brothers fabricated an alibi by claiming to have gone to the movies the night of the murders. While they did this in the show, in reality, they never left their home, though they did claim to have gone to see “Batman”.
In addition, a factor that the Menendez brothers themselves have commented on was the fact that the documentary had portrayed their relationship as incestuous, while the brothers claim that this just isn’t true.
Another great inaccuracy in the documentary when compared to the trials is the charges for the brothers, stating that they were convicted with charges of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder. In addition, throughout the documentary, they imply that the Menendez brothers’ struggles with abuse were fabricated and never truly happened. Erik Menendez himself criticizes the directors for insinuating that they were lying about the horrors they had to go through with their parents. In fact, even many of their relatives had little to no positive notes about their father, Jose Menendez.
All in all, while “Monsters” highlights the critical moments from the Menendez brothers’ lives and trials, the dramatization may not fully align with the facts, especially regarding their defense and personal relationships. For viewers familiar with the real-life case, the series offers an intriguing, if sometimes exaggerated, retelling of this tragic story.
