Menendez Family Members Reveal ‘Gut-Wrenching’ New Information

Relatives of Lyle and Erik Menendez have spoken out, once again, about their belief that the brothers were abused long before they killed their parents in 1989. This week, they renewed their calls for justice and discussed their long-held fears in an interview on NewsNation with Chris Cuomo.

For 35 years, Lyle and Erik Menendez have been behind bars, convicted of murdering their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. The brothers, then 21 and 18, claimed they acted in self-defense after years of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of their father. Their mother, they said, had known about the abuse but remained silent.

The prosecution at the time dismissed these claims as fabrications, arguing that the Menendez brothers were motivated by greed, eager to inherit the family’s multi-million-dollar fortune. The jury sided with the prosecution, and the brothers were sentenced to life without parole. But now, new evidence of abuse has surfaced, leading the Los Angeles District Attorney to review the case.

Family members insist the abuse is real. Karen VanderMolen-Copley, a cousin of the Menendez brothers, told Cuomo that over time, family conversations validated what they had feared for years. “We didn’t want to believe it, but the more we talked, the more obvious it became,” she said.

This isn’t the first time relatives have spoken out about their suspicions. But as the years have passed, those suspicions have only deepened. They now argue that the violent act was a tragic response to the unbearable pain the brothers endured for years. “It’s learned behavior,” said cousin Tamara Goodell. “It’s something that came out of their misery.”

Kitty’s sister, Joan VanderMolen, shared her shock at discovering her sister had known about the abuse but stayed silent. She speculated that José’s wealth and influence might have played a role in Kitty’s silence. “The Kitty I knew would never have allowed that in her home,” she added.

This case gripped the nation in the early 1990s, with many viewing it as a shocking example of the entitlement of the rich. But in the decades since, a growing number of people have reconsidered their stance, especially as the idea of hidden family abuse has become a more frequent topic in the public eye.

The Menendez brothers’ lawyer has filed a writ of habeas corpus, hoping to present the new evidence of abuse in court and argue for their release. A hearing has been set for Nov. 29 to consider this evidence. Meanwhile, Netflix’s new series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, has reignited public interest in the case, though the brothers have condemned their portrayal in the show.

As the hearing approaches, the question looms: Should justice focus solely on the crime, or should it consider the abuse that may have driven two young men to such desperate measures?

Watch the interview below:

Lyle and Erik were convicted of the 1989 fatal shooting of their parents José and Kitty Menendez at the family’s Beverly Hills mansion when the brothers were 21 and 18. They have spent the past 35 years behind bars, but have said all along they were motivated by their father’s physical, emotional, and sexual abuse—which allegedly began when they were children—and by their mother’s silence and complicity.

The prosecution in the case, however, argued the abuse was a “total fabrication.” The brothers just wanted to inherit the family’s multi-million-dollar estate, the prosecution said, as evidenced by the fact they went shopping in the days after the killing instead of turning themselves in.

The jury apparently agreed, returning a murder verdict with a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. But now the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office is currently reviewing new evidence the brothers were in fact abused—a circumstance the family believes explains the brothers’ behavior both during and after the killing, they told Cuomo.

“If you look at how much pain they endured, how much torture they endured, how much abuse that they survived through, that came out in the way that they committed the act,” cousin Tamara Goodell said. 

Describing the violent killing and its aftermath as “learned behavior,” she continued: “When I think about it now, it’s an act out of pain, it’s an act out of misery, and it’s something that they were just so desperately wanting to get out of.”

Kitty’s sister Joan VanderMolen said she couldn’t explain why Kitty would stay silent while her sons were being abused, except that perhaps her sister had been influenced by her husband and his wealth.

“When we finally realized the depth of the awful treatment [Erik] was getting from his father, and then [Kitty] admitting she knew all along … it’s beyond anything we can even describe right now because it’s so painful,” VanderMolen told Cuomo, adding: “The Kitty I grew up with would never have allowed that to happen in her home.”

The brothers’ lawyer filed a writ of habeas corpus more than a year ago presenting the new evidence of abuse and arguing the brothers had acted in self-defense, along with a request for re-sentencing arguing the brothers have been rehabilitated and should be released.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon has set a hearing for Nov. 29 to consider the new evidence.

In the meantime, Ryan Murphy’s hit Netflix show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has generated frenzied interest in the case, though the brothers have slammed their depiction in the series.