CRIME SCENE PHOTOS: Revisit The Menendez Brothers' Home Where Their Parents Were Brutally Murdered
Dec. 2 2022, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
On August 20, 1989, Los Angeles PD were called to the Menendez family home in the upscale neighborhood of Beverly Hills by Lyle Menendez. Upon their arrival, police stumbled upon the disturbing and grotesque scene of the slain bodies of José and Kitty Menendez. RadarOnline.com has revisited that crime scene through rare footage captured the night of the double murders.
Brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in 1996 of the brutal double murders of their parents after two explosive trials.
On a calm Sunday evening in 1989, all hell broke loose at the former $5 million Beverly Hills home of musician Elton John.
The home's current owners, José, a rising entertainment industry executive, and his wife, Kitty, were in their living room as they winded down over a bowl of strawberries and ice cream as they watched TV — until an intruder entered their residence and fatally shot them at close range.
José was shot five times with a shotgun and Kitty received six fatal shots across her body.
Neighbors reported terrifying noises coming from the home.
A neighbor described hearing the "shrieks" of a young boy curled up on the home's front lawn. The sounds were later identified as coming from the couple's 18-year-old son, Erik.
At 11:47 PM the same night, LAPD reported a call from the Menendez brothers at the home. The brothers said they had been out that evening and returned home to the horrifying scene.
The perplexing case threw investigators for a loop, as there were no signs of forced entry or an attempted burglary.
While footage showed the brothers distraught, as their parent's bodies were taken by the LA county coroner, authorities suspected the sons had involvement in the brutal slayings.
Police theorized that financial gain was the motive for the double murder, even though the father was known to shower his sons with gifts and luxuries.
Lavish purchases from the brothers just days after their parent's murders further led investigators to question the brother's actions, as media speculated on the possibility of a mafia hit.
Investigators squashed the angle of organized crime involved in José and Kitty's deaths — and six months after the murders Lyle was arrested. Erik turned himself in days later.
Erik and Lyle pleaded not guilty and claimed during the 1996 trial that they had been sexually assaulted by their father. The brothers alleged that rage over trauma from sexual abuse led them to take their parents' lives. The first trial ended in a hung jury, however, a second trial resulted in a first degree murder conviction.
The Menendez brothers were convicted of their parent's murders on July 2, 1996. The brothers were sentenced to life without parole, which was issued to be served in consecutive sentences for the killings and conspiracy to commit murder.
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