How Were The Menendez Brothers Caught In Real Life? The True Story Explained

20 September 2024, 19:06

How were the Menendez brothers get caught? Who told the police about the murders? Picture: Netflix

By Katie Louise Smith

Netflix's Monsters is a dramatisation of Lyle and Erik Menendez's arrest and trial. Here's how they ended up getting caught in real life.

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Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has already got viewers hooked on the brutal and complicated true crime case involving Lyle and Erik Menendez, who killed their parents José and Kitty Menendez in 1989.

The events leading up to the murders, and the events following, have been dramatised in the new series (starring Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch) and now people are wondering how it actually all unfolded IRL.

Initially, the brothers were not suspects. As seen in the Netflix series, Lyle made a distraught phone call to the police reporting the gruesome slayings shortly after their murders and the brothers continued their lives as police investigated a series of other suspects, including the mafia. They were never swabbed for gunshot residue, and were not detained by police.

Eventually, there was one specific detail that raised alarm bells with police before their whole alibi came crashing down thanks to their therapist, Dr. Oziel and a woman named Judalon Smyth.

Read more: How Old Were Lyle And Erik Menendez When They Killed Their Parents?
Read more: Netflix's Monsters Slammed For "Implying" Incest Between Erik And Lyle Menendez

Did Lyle and Erik Menendez really go on a spending spree after the murder of their parents? Picture: Netflix

How did the Menendez brothers get caught?

Lyle and Erik Menendez managed to avoid the police and any serious investigations for two months before their crime caught up to them.

Immediately after their parents murder, the Netflix series depicts the brothers on an inheritance money spending spree, splurging on luxury goods including Rolex watches, designer clothes, cars and even personal trainers.

In real life, it was the spending spree that prompted the police to start considering them as suspects. Prosecution used the spending sprees as evidence to support the growing theory that Lyle and Erik killed their parents for money, per CNN.

(The brothers testified that it was actually the years of abuse they suffered at the hands of their father that prompted them to commit the murders.)

Read more: Did Lyle Menendez Wear A Wig? The True Story Behind His Hair Loss Explained

The Menendez brothers were jailed after their confession was discovered by police. Picture: Netflix

Who told the police about the Menendez brothers murders?

Two months after the murders, it was Erik who eventually confessed to the brothers' therapist, Dr. Oziel, after he began feeling immense guilt and trauma.

After learning of the murders, Dr. Oziel breached patient confidentiality and told his then-mistress Judalon Smyth that Erik had confessed. He asked her to come to his office as a witness just in case anything happened to him.

Eventually, after Oziel broke off their relationship, Smyth took the evidence to the police, which then led to the arrests of Lyle and Erik.

Read more: Where Is Dr. Oziel Now? Menendez Brother's Therapist And What Happened In Real Life

The Menendez brother's therapist broke patient confidentially and told his mistress who then told the police. Picture: Netflix

Lyle Menendez was arrested first on March 8th 1990 outside the family home, while Erik Menendez ended up handing himself in three days later on March 11th shortly after returning from a Tennis trip to Israel. He found out about Lyle's arrest while he was abroad.

The series depicts Lyle's arrest as a dramatic confrontation outside the gates of the home, while Erik is seen being detained as soon as he steps into the airport in Los Angeles. The two were then immediately taken to jail.

They were eventually found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Both Lyle and Erik still remain in prison to this day.