Monsters: The Erik & Lyle Menendez Story closely presents several facts from the real true-crime story it adapts but also ends up portraying other aspects of the real case with inaccuracies and fact-checking errors. Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the Netflix true-crime show serves as a follow-up to Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which premiered on Netflix in 2022. Soon after its release, the show was a hit on Netflix and rose in the ranks to become one of the most viewed shows on the streamer.

Like its predecessor, Monsters: The Erik & Lyle Menendez Story has also received mixed reception from viewers and critics but has garnered immense attention for its portrayal of real crime. Apart from being praised for its performances and ability to stay true to many aspects of the real story, the Netflix show has also received some backlash for its narrative inconsistencies and over-dramatization of the true story. While some of its factual errors and creative liberties can be ignored, others seem too obvious to be overlooked.

7Lyle & Erik Menendez Did Not Have An Incestuous Relationship

The Show Has Been Widely Critisized For Implying Otherwise

Many viewers have complained that Monsters: The Erik & Lyle Menendez Story portrays Lyle and Erik Menendez’s relationship in an incestuous light in many sequences. The show’s portrayal of this seems to be a reflection of many rumors that were floating around during the real-life trial. However, as per reports, Erik and Lyle had testified they never had a sexual relationship with one another. While some creative liberties make sense in the Netflix series, it is wrong to sensationalize or misrepresent the brothers’ relationship when there is no proof to such claims.

6José Menendez Likely Did Not See His Sons When They Shot Him

The Father Watches His Sons Shoot Him In The Show

Erik and Lyle Menendez bust open their home’s living room door and shoot their father while facing him in the show. However, as details of the real crime suggest, Jose Menendez was shot at point-blank range in the back of his head. Owing to this, he likely did not see who was shooting him.

When it comes to the show’s portrayal of Kitty Menendez’s murder, however, it accurately shows how she survived the few shots before her sons finally killed her. The Netflix true-crime show’s portrayal of how Lyle visited his car to reload his gun before shooting his mother in the face is also accurate.

5Lyle & Erik Did Not Leave Their Home After Murdering Their Parents

The Alibi-Seeking Sequence Is Fictional

In Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the brothers first visit a movie theater after murdering their parents, hoping that it will help them acquire an alibi. However, when that does not work out, they head to a local restaurant and make their presence known to ensure other people in the restaurant can later become witnesses to their alibi. Even in the real crime, the brothers claimed they were at the movies when their parents were murdered. However, unlike Erik and Lyle in the show, they never left their home.

Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story Cast
Role

Nicholas Alexander Chavez
Lyle Menéndez

Cooper Koch
Erik Menéndez

Javier Bardem
José Menéndez

Chloë Sevigny
Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez

Nathan Lane
Dominick Dunne

Ari Graynor
Leslie Abramson

Dallas Roberts
Dr. Jerome Oziel

Leslie Grossman
Judalon Smyth

Erik Menendez even opened up about this in an interview (via ABC News), claiming that they were waiting at the house but no one showed up even though they fired 12 shots in the middle of the night in Beverly Hills. He also added that he could not believe the police did not arrive as they waited in their home. As the interview suggests, he even confirmed they did not have an alibi — he and his brother only claimed to be at the movies.

4The Police Made Craig Cignarelli Get Erik’s Confession Before Erik Confessed To His Therapist

The Show’s Timeline Has A Major Inconsistency

 

Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story accurately shows that the police wired Erik’s best friend, Craig Cignarelli, and asked him to get a confession out of him. As shown in the series, Erik did not fall for this and denied killing his parents when his friend asked him about their murders. However, in the show, this ploy set up by the police comes much after Erik confesses to his therapist. In real life, this happened before the confession triggered a chain reaction of events that eventually led to Erik and Lyle Menendez’s arrest.

3Lyle & Erik Were Not Imprisoned In The Same Facility After Their First Arrest

They End Up In Adjacent Jail Cells In The Show

 

After Erik’s therapist’s recordings provide solid proof that the brothers killed their parents in the show, Lyle and Erik get arrested and end up in adjacent cells in the same prison. As the real-world facts reveal, Lyle and Erik were held in different facilities after their initial arrest. Unlike the show, where their trials are seemingly held together, the brothers were also tried separately and had a different set of jury members.

Here’s what ScreenRant has said about Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story:

“Ryan Murphy is back in the true crime sphere with Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, and yet, he hasn’t learned any lessons from the missteps of the past. The show is the second installment in Murphy and Ian Brennan’s new anthology franchise following 2022’s Dahmer. However, unlike the former’s American Crime Story, which has seen anywhere from generally positive reviews to critical acclaim, Monster started off on rocky ground with a polarized response to Dahmer, and The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is even more problematic.” via Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story Review – Ryan Murphy’s True Crime Saga Is An Exploitative Slog by Grant Hermanns

In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the siblings find comfort in knowing that they are under the same roof even after their arrest. The show also features a comical sequence, where Erik Menendez devises a hilarious escape that involves them leaving prison and adopting new identities. Considering the Netflix true-crime show’s limited runtime, it makes sense that it took this creative liberty.

2Leslie Abramson Encouraged Erik To Fundraise Her Fees For The Trial

She Gets Mad At The Brothers In The Show For Fundraising

 

Erik’s attorney, Leslie Abramson, gets mad at the brothers in the show for even thinking about starting a fundraiser to pay her fees because it puts up a bad image for her and them. However, in real life, she fully supported the idea, saying, “If I were rich I would gladly represent Erik again for free.” Given how this change only introduces a minor conflict in the Netflix TV show’s narrative, it seems odd that the show’s creators even bothered to include it. Here is the real Leslie Abramson’s statement (via LA Times) on supporting the fundraiser and actively seeking donations:

“If I were rich I would gladly represent Erik again for free. But the harsh reality is that I support a family and am already seriously in debt because of the inadequacy of the fee I received to represent Erik in the first trial.”

1Lyle & Erik Also Accused Kitty Of Abusing Them

The Show Only Portrays Kitty As An Enabler

 

In Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the titular siblings’ mother, Kitty, is merely portrayed as an enabler who understands that Jose is sexually abusing her children but chooses to ignore it. However, the show does not reveal that, in real life, Lyle and Erik Menendez had also accused their mother of abusing them. The Netflix show seemingly makes this omission to take a more neutral approach toward portraying all the players involved in the crime. Unfortunately, this change, of all the others, seems to significantly affect its credibility.

6José Menendez Likely Did Not See His Sons When They Shot Him

The Father Watches His Sons Shoot Him In The Show