EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a guest post by Hazel Thornton, a juror in the first trial who voted for manslaughter, not murder.
It’s been 30 years since I served as Juror #9 on Erik’s first jury.
In that time I’ve observed long periods of waning public interest in the Menendez case.
But when it rains it pours, and we’re currently experiencing a monstrous flash flood.
This time, media outlets worldwide are focused on the possibility of the brothers being freed and the long-awaited release of the new Netflix Monsters series.
Here’s what’s happening:
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Will the Menendez brothers be freed?
Many recent article headlines are asking this question. Why? Because the brothers’ attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus in May 2023 to have the case re-examined in light of new evidence. The ruling has been pushed out several times since then, most recently to November. There are legal and political issues preventing a quick decision. Each time the deadline approaches, and the court asks for more time, I think: Well, at least it wasn’t a NO.
Even if they get a YES, though, it won’t be a yes to automatically letting them out of prison. It will be a yes to proceed with the legal process. It will still take time to resolve all the issues. Fingers crossed that we’ll get good news! If Lyle and Erik had been convicted of manslaughter, instead of murder, the maximum sentence would have been 22 years each. Which, considering they were arrested in early 1990, means they would have been free 12 (or more) years ago. Free to live their lives, and free to be assets to society, as they have been to their prison communities all these years.
When you hear the phrase “new evidence”, well, it depends on how much attention you’ve been paying to the case whether or not anything is really new. The letter from Erik to his cousin Andy that you may have heard about was not discovered recently but it also was never presented at court. So, in all the articles that mention the habeas petition, it is referred to as “new”. And the fact that ex-Menudo member Roy Rossello has publicly and legally claimed that he, too, was abused by Jose Menendez as a boy is also “new”. His story was told in the May 2023 three-part Peacock documentary: Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. (A juror-approved production.)
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New TV Series
I’ve been dreading the release of the new Netflix series ever since they announced it in May 2023.
Why? Because it’s a dramatization. Fiction. Not a documentary. (Not that I approve of all documentaries.)
No one outside the production knew for sure how much creative license they were exercising. I mean, someone had to be the titular monsters, right? The trailers implied that actors Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny would portray Jose and Kitty as the monsters that I think they were. But that did not preclude Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch from also portraying Lyle and Erik as monsters. Even if they, in the end, were seen as sympathetic characters, it makes a difference whether they are shown planning the killings (murder) or killing in the heat of the moment (manslaughter).
Sadly, it turns out I was right to be worried. No one that I respect has had anything good to say about the series. In fact, the family asked that no one watch it, as a means of sending a message to Netflix. They even put out a statement denouncing it for a number of reasons I won’t go into here. Is producer Ryan Murphy the real monster? Did he really have to indulge his imagination when there are already plenty of true salacious details available to work with? Did he have to do this concurrently with their case being reviewed for possibly the last time?
At the same time, though, many who are new to the case find themselves sympathetic to the brothers and have expressed interested in finding out more. Go figure.
As for me, why would I spend 9 hours watching a piece of fiction that does not represent the truth as I know it? This is not the first Menendez dramatization that I have boycotted. For example, the first two television movies were produced during the first trial! How accurate could they have been?
If you want to see a juror-approved dramatization, and haven’t yet, watch Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. It’s available on a number of streaming services by now.
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New Documentary
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the new documentary by director Alejandro Hartmann called “The Menendez Brothers”. (Also on Netflix but completely unrelated to Monsters.)
I received a nice note from one of the producers:
“I am reaching out to say thank you so much for helping us to tell this story about the Menendez brothers case. The film will be released October 7th on Netflix (October 2nd in Canada). You will begin to see marketing material trickling out to the public starting September 23rd. We are incredibly grateful that you were willing to speak with us on this subject and look forward to finally bringing this out to audiences.”
I was interviewed in my home for several hours in late 2022 for this one — and I will definitely be watching! Both Lyle and Erik participated. While you are waiting, take a look at some of the other juror-approved documentaries and other resources on Hazel’s Top Menendez Media Picks. I hope this new one makes the list!
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New Articles
I have seen more thoughtful articles about this case in the past week than I have in the previous 30 years! If you don’t believe me, just Google “Menendez Brothers”, select Tools, and narrow your results to the past week (or month, or year, depending on when you read this post).
One Australian article that I was interviewed for — Exclusive: Menendez Brothers trial juror: “They should be freed” — was picked up by multiple foreign outlets. It’s weird to see articles about me in Italian, and for writers I’ve never heard of to claim I gave them an exclusive interview for publications I’ve also never heard of.
I can’t (and don’t care to) read every Menendez article in the world. If you don’t have Google Alerts set up (like I do) you would have no way of knowing just how many there are! Most of them are crap — poorly written, AI-generated, full of recycled errors and myths from 30 years ago. But once in a while there’s a good one.
Like this one which appeared pre-Monsters: Where the Real Lyle & Erik Menendez Are Today.
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Robert Rand’s Updated Book
Congrats to my journalist friend and “partner in (true) crime” on the publication of the second edition of his book, The Menendez Murders. He posts much more than I do about the case, so if you want more, please follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and the platform formerly known as Twitter. If you live in Los Angeles and want to meet him, he’ll likely be having a book release and signing party at some point. Again, follow him for details.
I am not planning to update my own book, Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror, at this time for a number of reasons, despite the fact that a lot has happened since the 2016 update! (The 2018 Graymalkin Media edition contains the same updated sections.) I keep track of events on my Menendez Juror website, and let you know about major developments in my monthly newsletter. -
TV News
KTLA 5 Los Angeles interviewed me via Zoom for a story, Part 2 of which aired on Thursday, September 19: Menéndez Brothers: Justice served or rigged? (I wasn’t in the first part which aired on September 10: Will the Menendez Brothers Be Freed?)
KTLA 5 got it right! (Plenty of newscasts and documentaries have disappointed me over the years. My being featured is NOT a benchmark for getting it right.)
The trial took place in Los Angeles, so a LOT of folks there were aware of it at the time and bought into the “greedy rich kids” narrative of the ‘90s media. Anything that a modern newscast, article, drama, podcast, book, or documentary can do to remind people that the brothers are still behind bars and shouldn’t be is juror-approved. Anything that doesn’t show or mention the brothers killing out of fear, and doesn’t include the travesty of the second trial, is not juror-approved.
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Podcasts
I’m not in any new podcasts. But, well, have you listened to all the previous ones?
My current favorite is The Crime Analyst with host Laura Richards. I was her guest for two episodes (146 & 147) in September 2023. She did six Menendez episodes at that time, including two with “living legend Professor Ann Burgess”. Laura, a “shero” in her own right, just recently added two more Burgess episodes (207 & 208) following the release of the excellent three-part Hulu documentary about her: Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer.
I emailed Ann Burgess to tell her how much influence she had on me as a juror 30 years ago. She testified as a defense expert witness in the first Menendez trial and there are several pages of my book devoted to her testimony. I have since had the pleasure of meeting with her via Zoom.
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Wishing them well
Meanwhile, my thoughts are with Erik and Lyle and their families. I’m wishing them continued patience when it comes to the legal system; fortitude to endure the deluge of media attention; and peace in their daily lives.
Hazel Thornton is the author of Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror.
Please visit her at MenendezJuror.com