After the breakout success of “Dahmer,” Ryan Murphy returns to Netflix Sept. 19 with “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” the second installment in his true crime anthology series.
After murdering both their parents in 1989, the Menendez Brothers became household names in the early ’90s when their criminal trial was broadcast nationwide. Erik Menendez’s legal council, led by attorney Leslie Abramson, cited self-defense against the brothers’ abusive father, José Menendez, and their complacent mother, Kitty Menendez, as justification for the killings. Pam Bozanich, one of the prosecutors, argued the motive was financial gain, supported by the Menendez Brothers’ exuberant spending of their family’s fortune following the murders.
The first trial ended in a hung jury. The Menendez Brothers’ case was retired until 1995 when they were called in for retrial. The second trial was less publicized because cameras were banned from the courtroom. After the proceedings, Lyle and Erik Menendez were found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on July 2, 1996.
See below to find out who will be playing Lyle Menendez, Erik Menendez, Kitty Menendez, José Menendez and the rest of the players surrounding the infamous court case.
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José Menendez
Image Credit: Getty/ABC YouTube Javier Bardem will play José Menendez, an exuberantly wealthy businessman and the abusive father of Lyle and Erik Menendez. José Menendez and his wife, Kitty Menendez, were murdered by their sons on Aug. 20, 1989.
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Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez
Image Credit: Getty/ABC YouTube Chloë Sevigny will play Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, the mother of Lyle and Erik Menendez. The Menendez Brothers’ defense argued that Kitty Menendez was an alcoholic drug addict who was complacent to her husband’s physical abuse. Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered her on Aug. 20, 1989.
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Lyle Menendez
Image Credit: Getty Nicholas Chavez (“General Hospital”) will play Lyle Menendez, the older brother of Erik Menendez. The pair became household names after thousands of Americans watched their murder trial during the early ’90s. On July 2, 1996, he and his brother were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of their parents.
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Erik Menendez
Image Credit: Getty Cooper Koch (“Swallowed, “They/Them”) will play Erik Menendez, the younger brother of Lyle Menendez. Before his crimes, Erik Menendez was a tennis prodigy, at one point ranking 44th in the United States. On July 2, 1996, Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of their parents.
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Dominick Dunne
Image Credit: Getty Nathan Lane will play Dominick Dunne, a Vanity Fair journalist who extensively covered the Menendez Brothers’ murder trial.
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Leslie Abramson
Image Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix | Lucy Nicholson-Pool/Getty Images Ari Graynor (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”) will play Leslie Abramson, a Los Angeles defense attorney and the lead counsel for Erik Menendez. She argued that the Menendez Brothers’ crimes were justified due to the abuse of their parents.
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Dr. Jerome Oziel
Image Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix | Court TV Dallas Roberts (“Glass Onion”) will play Dr. Jerome Oziel, the therapist and personal confidant of Erik Menendez.
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Judalon Smyth
Image Credit: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images | Court TV Leslie Grossman (“American Horror Story”) will play Judalon Smyth, a former lover and patient of Erik Menendez’s therapist Dr. Jerome Oziel. After Oziel confided in Smyth that Menendez confessed to the murder of his parents, she reported it to the police, leading to Menendez’s arrest.
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Les Zoeller
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic | Court TV Jason Butler Harner (“Ozark”) will play Les Zoeller, the Beverly Hills detective in charge of the Menendez Brothers’ murder investigation.
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Carlos Baralt
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images | Court TV Enrique Murciano (“The Night Agent”) will play Carlos Baralt, Lyle and Erik Menendez’s uncle and the brother-in-law to José Menendez.