By Maria Ravani,
One of Netflix’s frequently demonstrated superpower is bringing back topics that society assumed to be long forgotten. It does that with movies from previous decades, but mainly it does it by producing its own series or movies regarding old events. Whether it is crimes, scientific experiments or the life of celebrities long gone, Netflix always tries to stay on top by reminding its viewers one thing: everything can be turned into “the talk of the town”, if the algorithm decides it should be.
Is it another breakthrough of online streaming platforms? Not really, to be honest. Mainstream media knows very well how to recycle and put again on the spotlight the same stories and the same faces, using different angles. They have been doing that long before the Internet and they will keep doing it, until people no longer exist. The most recent example of such power is the “Menendez brother’s case” frenzy, where it was once again revived for the sake of views.
The facts…
On August 20 of 1989, José and Kitty Menendez were shot. Their fatal wounding was reported to police by their sons. Both victims sustained multiple gun wounds and they were found only few hours after their murder on their Beverly Hills mansion. Lyle was the one that called 911, screaming that someone had murdered their parents. Both brothers were questioned at first, but the authorities thought that maybe the murders had to do with some business troubles that José was facing at that time. Following the murders, Lyle and Erik were reported spending a significant amount of their family “legacy” on expensive watches, vacations and real estate.
Few months later, a quite unlikely source provides a tip to the police. A former girlfriend of the psychiatrist Jerome Oziel, the person that had treated the brothers after the murders, stated that Erik had confessed on killing their parents and the confessions were recorded. Police confiscated the recordings and thus, Lyle and Erik were arrested. They were first put on trial for first-degree murder, but the result of that first “match” in court between all prosecutors was a mistrial. The second trial that took place a few years later resulted in the brothers facing a life-sentence with no parole for the killings and the charges of conspiracy to commit murder. Lyle and Erik both appealed this decision, but as of now they remain incarcerated.
The latest update on the case, is the announcement from the Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón that the court is reviewing again the claims of the two brothers. New evidence surfaced regarding the domestic abuse plus another alleged victim of Jose Menendez came forth, accusing the father of the family for sexual abuse in the workplace.
The speculations…
There are a lot of conspiracy theories around the story of the Menendez brothers and Netflix’s episodes try to shed light to some of them. One quite famous side-story, is the erotic affiliation between the two brothers. In the show, it becomes pretty clear that Erik, the younger among the two, not only suffered in the hands of his father, but of his brother’s as well. The sexual orientation of Erik is put into question on the series, but it’s an issue that the show tries not to dive too deep into. The mother of the family also is portrayed as a sexual deviant that provided shelter for their father’s actions and sometimes took part in the sexual and emotional abuse of her children.
Another accusation that was circulating during the trial is that the brothers tried to coerce people around them to back up the story of their abuse by their father. They tried to implicate former girlfriends or classmates to testify as witnesses on their abuse claim, but all of that was brought to the attention of the court and all efforts stopped. Last but not least, and probably the biggest speculation that was echoed too many times in court was that the abuse allegations were all lies. In this argument, both brothers are presented as spoiled, rich white kids with a criminal past, which liked to defy the rules in order to get what they want. At one point or another, their parents posed a threat to their care-free lifestyle, so they decided to plan and execute their murder. The amount of thought that went into scheming and following through with their plans (plus the bloody crime-scene), showed to many people that this was not a situation “kill or be killed” –as the defense tried to portray it many times–, but a crystal-clear murder case with economic motives.
The Media now and then…
The Menendez brother’s case was one of the most broadcasted trials worldwide. The details of the crime did not only interest the American public, but people from all over the world. The appearances of the brothers were scrutinized ( thus the surge of love letters that they allegedly received from “fans”) and prosecutors realized early on that two abused young men can win over the sympathy of the crowd, if only they were presented us such. Otherwise, people would be talking about rich, white, stuck-ups that wanted to take advantage of the family’s fortune and wanted no one to stand in their way.
Even now, years after their conviction, the media still are playing a major role in the judicial developments. Best example is the implication of the name “Kardashian” in such case, which really speaks for itself. Public sentiment seems to have already shifted (especially following the Netflix series and the many –oh so many– articles regarding the show), and it looks like it is only a matter of time for justice to be once again brought under examination…
References
- Monsters: The story of Lyle and Erik Menendez by Netflix.com
- ‘I feel hope’: chance of release dawns for Menéndez brothers in 35-year-old case. The Guardian. Available here
- Why the Menendez Brothers Killed Their Parents. Biography.com. Available here
- Inside the story of the notorious Menendez brothers case,. CBSnews. Available here
