A Netflix series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, will air on Netflix from this Thursday on the infamous case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents
Robert Rand was uneasy as he knocked on the door on 722 North Elm Drive. Four weeks earlier, owners Jose and Kitty Menendez had been brutally murdered inside. Robert was there to speak to grieving sons Lyle, 21, and Erik, 18. The interview had been arranged by their aunt. He thought it strange the boys were still living there but things felt even more surreal when he stepped inside the Beverly Hills mansion.
READ MORE: Ireland weather: Amazing Indian summer forecast as Met Eireann pinpoints when temperatures will exceed 20 degreesRobert, now 70, has found new evidence that could potentially reopen their case a letter from Erik claiming they were the victims of abuse. The story has captured the attention of a new generation with millions of views for TikTok videos calling for the case to be re-examined.
Days after their arrest Robert visited the brothers in jail. He says: "They told me 'Don't make up your mind yet. Wait for the story to come out'." That story emerged in court. The defence claimed music mogul Jose was an overbearing tyrant who had abused the boys for years. Family members testified that they were aware of abuse and that Erik had told them it was happening.
The brothers always maintained they killed their mother because she failed to help them. Says Robert: "She told them she knew what was happening. Her marriage meant more to her than her sons." In the Netflix trailer, Kitty tells her sons she wishes she "never had them". Says Robert: "That's based on what she told a family member."
This includes a letter said to be from 17-year-old Erik to his cousin, Andy Cano, 15. Andy died from an accidental overdose in 2003. But in 2018, his mother invited Robert to look through his possessions and see if there was anything to help to the brothers. Both Jose's sister Marta and Kitty's sister Joan Vandermolen have always supported their nephews. Speaking in 2017 Joan, now in her 90s, said: "My sister could have protected her kids. That was her job." There's also been an explosion of videos by Gen Z TikTokers dubbed New Menendez Defenders. Robert says: "My son alerted me to the videos. I couldn't believe it! I went down a rabbit hole for a few hours.
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