August 20th, 1989: a silent night on North Elm Drive until 16 shots violently rang from the Menendez household. Police soon found Jose and Kitty Menendez, parents of Lyle and Erik Menendez, brutally murdered in their living room. Eight months later, the Menendez brothers were arrested for the murder of their parents. However, new evidence has resurfaced since then, causing them to have a resentencing hearing.
Over the years, the Menendez brothers’ case slowly faded out of popularity, that is until Netflix released its new show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on September 19th, 2024. Since the show, more people have begun sharing their opinions on social media about the case and calling for the release of the brothers due to shared sympathy for the two.
Freshman Olivia Manfrey said, “I feel like there’s a lot of young people getting involved now, and I feel like they’re the ones who want to make changes the most.”
Although time has altered the case, it’s still controversial. Some people think the killing is justified since the boys’ parents allegedly sexually abused them, yet others disagree with this justification. Visual Arts Department Chair and US Arts & Humanities Teacher Charla Gaglio said, “If they were abused by their parents, that is horrific. But does that entitle someone to kill someone else?”
People also noticed that the different opinions may be related to gender. When the original trial occurred, a majority of the female jurors sympathized with the brothers while a majority of the men opposed those ideas.
US English Department Chair and US English Teacher Jake Seymour said, “It wouldn’t surprise me that women would come to the defense of children who were being exploited, and that would suggest to me that the women believe in the boys’ stories, whereas most male adults were going along with the parents.” While many of the female jurors had more sympathy, there was no overall change in the vote since all jurors had to come to a unanimous decision based on what brother they were empaneled for–the being guilty.
While there is no definitive answer, supporters of the brothers often question: What if the Menendez Brothers were girls? Could it possibly change the outcome of the verdict?
Because of this speculation, Manfrey related the case to Gypsy Rose Blanchard. A case in which Blanchard had her boyfriend of three years–Nick Godejohn–murder her abusive mother for her. The reasoning behind this is that while both children allegedly lived in abusive households, Blanchard was released from prison on parole 8 years later on December 28th, 2023, while the Menendez brothers were both sentenced to life in prison without parole. “[It’s] kind of like the Gypsy Rose case. I feel like if she got released, they should be released, too,” Manfrey said.
The Menendez brothers’ fate will be decided on January 30th, 2025, 30 years later, when the two will receive a resentencing hearing by a California judge. The brothers’ future remains in the eyes of viewers as the world is captivated by a case refusing to be forgotten.