August 20, 1989. It was a humid Sunday night in Beverly Hills. Inside a $5 million Mediterranean-style mansion on Elm Drive, the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder and blood. Neighbors heard noises, but they didn't call the police. They thought it was firecrackers. Maybe just the usual noise of a wealthy neighborhood celebrating the end of summer. They were wrong. Jose and Kitty Menendez were dead, blasted away while watching TV and eating blueberries and ice cream in their den.
When people ask how did menendez brothers kill parents, they’re usually looking for the mechanics of the crime, the "CSI" details of the shots fired and the weapons used. But the "how" is inseparable from the "why" and the bizarre, chaotic aftermath that captivated a nation. This wasn't a clean professional hit. It was messy. It was brutal.
Lyle and Erik Menendez, then 21 and 18, didn't just walk in and pull a trigger once. They emptied their weapons. They reloaded. It was an execution that looked, at first glance, like a specialized mob hit, which is exactly what the brothers hoped the Beverly Hills Police Department would believe.
The Mechanics of the Crime on Elm Drive
The brothers had planned this, at least to some degree, though the defense later argued it was a panicked response to years of abuse. They bought two 12-gauge Mossberg shotguns from a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in San Diego a few days prior. Why San Diego? Because they wanted to avoid the paper trail in Los Angeles. They used a fake ID—specifically, a stolen one belonging to a friend named Donovan Goodreau.
They entered the den around 10:00 PM. Jose Menendez, a high-powered Hollywood executive who had worked at RCA and LIVE Entertainment, was shot in the back of the head first. He likely never saw it coming. The force of a 12-gauge slug at close range is catastrophic.
Kitty Menendez didn't die as quickly.
She tried to run. Imagine the terror of seeing your husband’s head explode and turning to see your own sons holding shotguns. She slipped on her own blood, according to the forensic testimony. The brothers kept firing. They hit her in the leg, the arm, the chest. Erik later admitted in testimony that he went out to the car to get more ammunition because they ran out before the "job" was done. He came back in and delivered the final shot to her cheek.
By the time they were done, 15 shots had been fired. The room was a wreck.
What the Police Missed at First
The scene was so gruesome that investigators actually bought into the brothers' initial story. Lyle called 911, sobbing hysterically. "They killed my parents!" he screamed. The police arrived to find two grieving sons and a scene that looked like a professional assassination. Because Jose was a hard-nosed executive with potential ties to organized crime through the video distribution business, the cops spent months looking for "The Mob."
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They didn't even test the brothers' hands for gunshot residue. They didn't check the trunk of the car. If they had, they might have found the shotgun shells or the bloody clothing that the brothers eventually dumped in a canyon.
It was a massive failure in procedure.
The Smoking Gun: Dr. Oziel and the Recordings
For months, the brothers lived like kings. They spent roughly $700,000 in the six months following the murders. Lyle bought a Rolex, a Porsche, and a restaurant in Princeton. Erik hired a full-time tennis coach. This spending spree is what really turned the tide of public opinion and police suspicion.
But the real break in the case didn't come from a detective’s hunch. It came from a mistress.
Erik, consumed by guilt and recurring nightmares, started seeing a therapist named Dr. Jerome Oziel. During their sessions, he confessed. Lyle found out and reportedly threatened Oziel, which led the therapist to record the sessions as a "safety precaution."
Judalon Smyth, Oziel’s mistress, was the one who eventually went to the police. She’d overheard the brothers talking and knew about the tapes. This triggered a massive legal battle over therapist-patient privilege. Eventually, the California Supreme Court ruled that the tapes were admissible because the brothers had threatened the doctor, nullifying the privilege.
The Two Trials: A Nation Divided
When the first trial started in 1993, it was a circus. Court TV was in its infancy, and the Menendez case was its first mega-hit. This is where the narrative of how did menendez brothers kill parents shifted from a cold-blooded inheritance grab to a tragic tale of survival.
The defense, led by the formidable Leslie Abramson, didn't deny the killings. Instead, they argued "imperfect self-defense." They painted Jose Menendez as a monstrous pedophile who had sexually and physically abused both boys for years. Kitty was portrayed as a drug-addicted, complicit bystander who failed to protect her children.
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The testimony was harrowing.
- Erik described being forced to perform sex acts on his father.
- Lyle spoke about the "reign of terror" inside the mansion.
- Family members testified that Jose was a domineering, cruel man.
The first trial ended in a hung jury. People couldn't decide: were they victims or cold-blooded killers?
The second trial in 1995 was different. The judge, Stanley Weisberg, was much more restrictive. He blocked a lot of the abuse testimony and didn't allow the jury to consider a manslaughter charge. This time, there were no cameras in the courtroom. No cameras meant no public sympathy. The jury found them guilty of first-degree murder.
Why We Are Still Talking About It
You've probably noticed the recent resurgence in this case. Between Netflix documentaries and Ryan Murphy’s Monsters series, the Menendez brothers are back in the cultural zeitgeist.
The reason? New evidence.
In 2023, lawyers for the brothers filed a habeas corpus petition citing two major pieces of "new" information. First, there’s a letter Erik allegedly wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, months before the murders, detailing the abuse. Second, Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, came forward alleging that Jose Menendez had also drugged and raped him when he was a teenager.
This bolsters the defense’s original claim. If Jose was a predator outside the home, it makes the brothers' claims of abuse inside the home much more credible to a modern audience that understands trauma better than a 1990s jury did.
The Reality of the Execution
Looking back at the forensic evidence, the brutality of the act is what remains most shocking. It wasn't just "killing parents." It was an obliteration.
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- Jose Menendez: Hit by six shots. The fatal one was a contact wound to the back of the head.
- Kitty Menendez: Hit by ten shots. She was shot in the face, the chest, and the extremities.
The brothers claimed they were in a "state of dissociative fear," believing their parents were about to kill them to keep the abuse a secret. Prosecutors argued they were just bored rich kids who wanted the $14 million estate.
Honestly, the truth probably lies somewhere in the messy middle. It’s possible to be both a victim of horrific abuse and a perpetrator of a horrific crime. The legal system, however, doesn't usually like the middle ground.
Key Evidence That Defined the Case
If you're digging into the specifics of how the crime was proven, it usually comes down to these three things:
- The Shotgun Purchase: The Big 5 Sporting Goods receipt and the use of the stolen ID proved premeditation. You don't drive to San Diego to buy shotguns with a fake ID just because you're "scared." You do it because you have a plan.
- The Spent Shells: Erik’s admission that he had to go back to the car to reload showed a level of persistence that suggested an intent to finish the execution, rather than a "heat of the moment" reaction.
- The Spending Spree: While not physical evidence of the murder itself, the $15,000 Rolexes and the $60,000 Porsche 911 Carrera Lyle bought within days of the funeral destroyed their credibility as "traumatized children."
Practical Insights and Perspective
The Menendez case changed how we view domestic abuse and male victims. In the 90s, the idea that two athletic, wealthy young men could be victims of sexual abuse was often laughed at. Late-night talk show hosts made jokes about it constantly.
Today, the conversation is different. We understand that wealth doesn't insulate children from trauma.
If you're following the case now, the next major step is the Los Angeles District Attorney's review of the new evidence. There is a genuine possibility that their sentences could be vacated or reduced, given the shift in how California law treats "Battered Child Syndrome" and abuse testimony.
Actionable Next Steps for True Crime Enthusiasts
- Research the Habeas Petition: If you want the most up-to-date info, look into the 2023 filings regarding Roy Rosselló. It’s the most significant development in thirty years.
- Read the Trial Transcripts: Avoid the dramatizations on TV. The actual transcripts of Leslie Abramson’s cross-examinations provide a much clearer picture of the defense strategy.
- Understand the Law: Look up California Penal Code regarding "imperfect self-defense." It’s the legal nuance that almost got them a manslaughter conviction instead of life without parole.
The Menendez story isn't just a murder case. It’s a snapshot of 1980s excess, 1990s media sensationalism, and a modern re-evaluation of justice. Whether they were killers or victims, the way they took their parents' lives remains one of the most chilling chapters in American criminal history.
The complexity of the case proves that sometimes, the "how" is the simplest part of the story. It's the "why" that keeps us looking back three decades later.