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Warning! This post contains major spoilers for Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story.
The following discusses murder and sexual abuse surrounding the real-life crime of Lyle & Erik Menendez.
After unfolding through multiple perspectives and walking through every important event that happened before Kitty and Jose’s murders,Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Storyends by inviting viewers to form their own judgments. Serving as the follow-up to Netflix’sDahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Storyis the second installment in the overarching anthology series that portrays the true stories of murderers through a lens of psychological complexity and societal impact.
Instead of merely portraying how Erik and Lyle plotted their parents' murder and showing the aftermath of their actions, theNetflix true-crime showexplores the broader implications of the central crime. In its nine-episode runtime,Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Storygoes back and forth between timelines and even presents alternate theories to give audiences a well-rounded view of the murders. Once that is out of the way, it finally reveals the verdict of the Erik and Lyle murder case before closing with one crucial scene that encapsulates the relationships in the Menendez family.
Monsters Season 2’s Final Scene: What The Ending With Erik & Lyle On The Boat Means
The Yatch Scene Gives A Nuanced Perspective Of The Brothers' Motives & The Events Leading To The Murder
BeforeMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’s end credits start rolling, it features a scene where Jose and Kitty have an intimate conversation while looking forward to fishing for sharks from their yacht. Jose apologizes for cheating on her and assures her she is important to him. He even encourages her to return to journalism since it could help him when he stands for senator. However, while they take the first step towards fixing their relationship, Lyle and Erik remain on the back side of the boat, believing their parents are plotting their murders.
Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story Cast & Real-Life Character Guide
Ryan Murphy is back with another installment in his Monster(s) Netflix series, with season 2 focusing on the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.
Although Kitty questions why their boys are not joining them, Jose asks her to leave them alone. This scene seemingly presents a “what-if” scenario where things could have ended differently for the family. If Jose had asked his sons to join them and established they had no intentions of harming them,Erik and Lyle might have buried their suspicions and changed their minds. However, after enduring years of abuse from their parents, the two could not help but believe their parents were deadset on killing them, prompting them to execute their vicious murder plan.
The scene invites audiences to think about the brothers' perspective by highlighting how they misunderstood their parents' intentions but also reminds them that their paranoia was likely a consequence of the abuse they endured over the years.
It might look like this scene tries to paint an objective picture of the family’s dynamics and the events that led to the murders. However, it subjectively highlights how both parties in the family tainted their relationships to an extent where it became impossible to view their interactions as purely innocent or malicious. The scene invites audiences to think about the brothers' perspective by highlighting how they misunderstood their parents' intentions but also reminds them that their paranoia was likely a consequence of the abuse they endured over the years.
The Verdict Of the Erik & Lyle Menendez Case In Monsters' Ending Explained
Eril & Lyle Menendez Do Not Get A Death Penalty
As the show’s finale establishes, the jury finds Lyle and Erik Menendez guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder. It comes down to the members of the jury to decide whether they deserve the death penalty for their crimes or a life sentence without parole. One juror strictly believes they should show no mercy towards the siblings but suddenly falls to the ground after getting a heart attack. Her replacement then helps other jurors realize that they should consider the possibility that the siblings were abused by their parents.
Therefore, the jurors show some mercy towards them, andthe brothers are sentenced to life without parole. Erik’s defense attorney, Leslie Abramson, tries to make provisions to ensure the brothers end up in the same facility. However, despite her best efforts, the two are transferred to different prisons. With this, Erik and Lyle accept their fates as two different vans take them to separate correctional facilities.
What Happened To Eric & Lyle Menendez & Where They Are Today
The Two Eventually Ended Up In The Same Facility
In its final moments,Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Storyaccurately portrays how the Menendez brothers were sent to different facilities after the trial. After being separated, both were treated as maximum-security inmates and kept away from other prisoners. In April 2018, however,Lyle ended up in the same facility as Erik. According to reports (viaNYDailyNews), the two brothers hugged and burst into tears when they met since they were reuniting after 22 years.
Monster was initially meant to be a limited series. However, the show’s first installment’s overwhelming success prompted Netflix to renew it as an anthology that will focus on new convicted killers in each new season.
Lyle Menendez married Anna Eriksson on August 20, 2025, but the two got a divorce when Eriksson learned he was cheating on her. A little over two years after the divorce, Lyle Menendez married Rebecca Sneed in Mule Creek State Prison’s visiting area. Erik Menendez also got married on June 17, 2025, to Tammi Ruth Saccoman. In 2023, the brothers demanded a hearing after new evidence revealed that their father, Jose Menendez, had sexually assaulted boy band member Roy Rosselló. Since the new evidence reveals Jose Menendez was a violent man,the brothers' attorneys believe it could overturn their life sentence(viaCNN).
Monsters Season 2 True Story: How Accurate Is The Ending To Lyle & Erik’s Real-Life?
Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Storysurprisingly captures some of the tiniest details from the real events. For instance, its opening arc shows Lyle Menendez wearing his father’s shoes to the courtroom. This is a direct reference to the time when, at his parents' funeral service, Lyle recalled how his father always told him he could never fill his shoes (viaCBS News). While wearing his shoes, he jokingly remarked, “Guess what? I’m wearing my father’s shoes today.”
As seen in the show, the Menendez siblings were not even considered suspects in the beginning because the police were convinced that the murders were the mafia’s doing.
Even when it comes to portraying the heinous nature of the central crime, the Netflix show seems to accurately depictnearly everything from the weaponry used by the brothers to their actions and suspicious spending habits after the murder. As seen in the show, the Menendez siblings were not even considered suspects in the beginning because the police were convinced that the murders were the mafia’s doing. One thing the show seemingly changes is that the brothers were initially kept in separate prisons during their trials.
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The Netflix true-crime show also avoids portraying howthere was a lot of back and forth in the court surrounding the use of Dr. Ozeil’s tapes as evidencefor the crime. Even in the real trial, the defendants were trying to sell the idea that the Menendez brothers only killed their parents out of self-defense, fearing that their parents were also plotting to murder them. Instead of giving audiences a one-dimensional view of the night of the murder and the brothers' motives, the show also seems to accurately shed light on many perspectives that came into play in the real crime’s trial.
Did OJ Simpson Really Befriend The Menendez Brothers In Jail?
The Show’s Portrayal Of The Unlikely Jailhouse Friends Is Accurate
One of the most surprising segments in Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story is when OJ Simpson ends up in a cell beside Erik Menendez in prison and the two discuss their court cases. As Lyle Menendez confirmed (viaPeople), this actually happened, andthey shared many conversations with the late football player. He also revealed that they “shared the same attorney [meeting] room” and were also “housed in the same area.” Although OJ Simpson does not physically appear in the Netflix series, he is voiced by Trae Ireland.
Who The Real Monsters Are In The Netflix True-Crime Series
The Show Avoids Drawing Any Objective Conclusions
Ryan Murphy revealed at a Netflix event (viaIndieWire) that when he created the Netflix series,he was more interested in knowing and exploring “how monsters are made, as opposed to born.“This is exactly what the show achieves by presenting several conflicting narratives surrounding the central murders. While some story beats confirm that Lyle and Erik were sexually abused by their father, others point to the discrepancies in their story. The show also highlights that both the defendants and the prosecutors had their own biases that prevented them from seeing the truth.
Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez StoryCast
Leslie Grossman
Judalon Smyth
Even in its closing scene,Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyportrays how the Menendez brothers are convinced their parents want to kill them because of how they have been treated in the past. The parents, on the other hand, seem oblivious to what is going on in their sons' heads. By shifting the viewer’s perspective with each new episode, the Netflix show intentionally refuses to conclude who the real monster is since only the Menendez brothers can know the truth. As a viewer, one can only draw judgments based on the evidence provided in the series.
Will There Be A Monster Season 3?
Monster Season 3 Has Already Been Confirmed
Monsterseason 3 has already been confirmed. As reports confirm, it will focus on Ed Gein, who was remanded to a mental health facility after he confessed to killing two women. Like the killers featured in the Netflix series' previous seasons, Ed Gein, too, had a significant impact on pop culture. Many horror movie characters, like Leatherface, Norman Bates, and Buffalo Bill, are loosely based on him.
Given how many details surrounding the scale of Ed Gein’s crimes are based on forensic extrapolation,Monsterseason 3 will have to take the same storytelling route asMonsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Storyand not draw any objective conclusions.Charlie Hunnam, best known for playing Jax Teller inSons of Anarchy, has been cast to play GeininMonsterseason 3. Although the role is a far cry from what Hunnam usually plays on the big and small screens, the actor has the talent and range to portray the American murderer in the Netflix show’s third installment.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
This true crime drama delves into the infamous case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who were convicted of murdering their parents. The series examines the complex family dynamics and legal battles that captivated the nation, highlighting the motivations and repercussions of their actions.
