TRUE CRIME
Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny to star in ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’
It will premiere later in 2024 on Netflix
True crime has captivated audiences around the world, and Netflix’s crime anthology Monster is revving up for its second season with two new exciting additions to the cast. Deadline revealed Wednesday that Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny will star opposite Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Barem and Sevigny will play Jose and Kitty Menendez, the Beverly Hills couple murdered by their sons Lyle and Erik in 1989. Chavez will play the oldest brother Lyle, who was 21 at the time of the crime, while Koch will play Erik, who was 18.
From creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the new season will follow Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which starred Evan Peters as the conspicuous serial killer. Upon its debut in September 2022, it rapidly emerged as one of the most popular English-language series on Netflix.
The Menendez brothers case
The show comes at an interesting time following the release of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. While millions of people have stood in her corner, the Menendez brother’s case has become a topic of discussion because of the parallels in their case.
When Jose and Kiitty were found dead from shotgun wounds, the brothers were not initially suspects. Suspicions arose with their extravagant spending habits after the murders, with overseas trips, and approximately $700,000 in spending before their arrest.
Erik confessed to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel, who told his mistress, Judalon Smyth. When he broke up with her, she told the police about the brothers’ involvement. Lyle was arrested on March 8, 1990, and Erik turned himself in three days later.
Their trial became a national sensation when Court TV broadcasted it in 1993. Prosecution argued they were seeking to inherit their father’s multimillion-dollar estate while the defense argued they killed their parents out of fear for their lives, after a lifetime of abuse at the hands of their parents, especially their father, who threatened to kill them if they ever told.
After two deadlocked juries, a second trial presumed that did not allow cameras in the courtroom. They were convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.
But that doesn’t mean the case is over. In 2023, the brothers filed documents seeking a new hearing based on newly discovered evidence that their father also abused boyband Menudo’s member Roy Rosselló.
Today, Lyle is 56, while Erik is 53.
