Did Lyle Menendez really abuse Erik? Fact-checking the alleged claims in The Menendez Brothers story

The Menendez Brothers documentary, released on Netflix on Monday, October 7, 2024, addresses and corrects several claims that were incorrectly portrayed in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The documentary provides an accurate account of the brothers’ story, particularly focusing on the trial in which they were convicted of their parents’ murder.

While the documentary clears up many of the false claims made about the brothers, a new narrative has emerged on social media, with people questioning whether Lyle Menendez abused his brother Erik. This narrative originated in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which depicted the brothers as having an incestuous relationship.

Although Lyle Menendez abused Erik at a young age, many experts suggest the situation is more complex, with some arguing that his actions were a reaction to the trauma they both endured.

During his original court trial, Lyle Menendez admitted to abusing his brother, Erik Menendez, when the former was 8 years old. In the deposition, it was revealed that Lyle took Erik out into the woods, where the elder penetrated his younger brother with a toothbrush. However, this was revealed to be a response to the trauma they suffered from their parents.

It was revealed that the Menendez brothers’ father subjected them to the same abuse, and years of sexual abuse by him eventually drove the brothers to kill both parents. This theory was also proposed by author Robert Rand, who covered their lives extensively and wrote The Menendez Murders: The Shocking Untold Story of the Menendez Family and the Killings that Stunned the Nation.

The author also suggested that Lyle’s abuse of Erik likely occurred as a reaction to the sexual trauma they both experienced within their family.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rand said, “There were rumors at the trial that maybe there was some kind of strange relationship between Erik and Lyle themselves. But I think the only physical contact they could have had is what he testified to Lyle, who When Lyle was 8 years old, he took Erik out into the woods and played with him with a toothbrush, which is what he had done to him, and so I wouldn’t call it a sexual relationship to the trauma “.