Although I don't like giving attention to convicted murderers, I find many of these true crime cases fascinating. One of these cases is the murder of Jose and Kitty Menendez.
The Menendez's were a very successful family in Los Angeles. Jose Menendez was a successful music producer who later became involved in the film industry. In 1989, he was making roughly $500,000 annually.
Jose and Kitty had two children, Lyle and Erik. The boys were very spoiled, and used to getting anything they wanted. They drove expensive cars, attended the best private schools, and were given lessons on their tennis game. This wasn't enough.
In 1988, the boys were caught stealing $100,000 worth of money and jewelry from their neighbors Calabasas home. Jose paid off the neighbors and made younger brother Erik take the fall so Lyle wouldn't ruin his reputation for possible enrollment at Princeton. Because of this incident, the family moved to Beverly Hills to avoid embarrassment.
"By that same winter, Lyle had been kicked out of Princeton for cheating on a psychology 101 exam. He returned home with his tail tucked between his legs. His father was furious. He started to believe that his sons would never amount to anything. The brothers worried that they might be kicked out of their Beverly Hills home and forced to work for a living. They also feared they would be dropped from their father’s will. Jose Menendez was worth $14,000,000."
On August 17, 1989, Lyle drove to San Diego and purchased two sawed-off shotguns. Three days later Jose and Kitty were murdered. "Just days after the murders, the Menendez brothers went on a shopping spree purchasing new Rolex watches, a new Jeep for Erik, a Porsche for Lyle and tennis lessons for both of them. They stayed at $2,000-a-night hotels and claimed to be hiding from the Mafia. Lyle even bought a chicken wing restaurant in Princeton.
Lyle seemed nonplussed about the murders and kept quiet. Erik, on the other hand, could not keep his mouth shut. He blabbed to a friend that he had killed his parents. He also told his psychologist of the deed."
Because of this, the psychologist told his girlfriend, and the girlfriend went to the police. Their first trial was a mistrial. The second they were convicted.
I took a tour of Hollywood that took us to the home of Jose and Kitty Menendez. It is very eerie to picture the horrible things that took place there. In an interview with the brothers, Lyle says that no one came or called the police after they murdered their parents. They couldn't believe that in Beverly Hills no one would report gun shots. Because of this, they made up the story that their parents had been murdered. Scary...oh, as a side note, both men got married while in prison.
(All information provided by ID: Hollywood Crimes)
Posts
