In the days following the brothers’ arrest, members of the Menendez family gathered in the eight-bedroom Beverly Hills house, where the blood-stained Oriental rug in the library had long since been replaced. When they found the lines too long, they went to Batman instead. The bodies were found by the couple’s sons, Lyle, 22, and Erik, 19, who told police they had returned from a night on the town to find the front door of the family’s Italianate mansion open and their parents’ lifeless bodies within. Sometimes this concept can be taken too literally by those surrounded by wealth. “I said, ‘Boss, why are you doing that?’ and he said, ‘We gotta take care of the people. “We thought murder was bad enough,” says Terry Baralt. Now this. The brothers then went to the movie as planned and called police after “discovering” their parents had been murdered. Although California law protects the confidentiality of most patient-therapist relationships, it makes an exception when there is a threat of violence. Carlos hopes to sell the Beverly Hills house or a second Menendez home in nearby Calabasas to raise money for estate taxes due in June. Unlike other murderous men on this list, Lyle and Erik Menendez have expressed seemingly sincere regret for their crimes. Before a computer expert could be summoned to locate the file containing the will, it was erased. Since they were considered to be maximum-security inmates, they were segregated from other prisoners. Marta Cano, Jose’s sister, says Lyle did it by mistake. On July 2, 1996, Weisberg sentenced the brothers to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and also sentenced them to consecutive sentences for the murders and the charges of conspiracy to commit murder. The brothers were arrested half a year later after their parents' gruesome murder. Credit: [43] The Law & Order Season 1 episode "The Serpent's Tooth" is loosely based on the Menendez Brothers case. During the trial, the brothers alleged that they committed the murders in response to years of sexual and emotional abuse they suffered at the hands of their parents, particularly their father. I’m standing by my own research.” The arrest, says Bros, put the investment operation on hold. Take the Quiz: Erik and Lyle Menendez: Brothers in Crime. We can’t have them waiting in line too long.’ That’s what I call an aggressive businessman.”. Lyle returned to Princeton for the 1989 spring semester then dropped out of the university again after the murders, apparently with a dream of entrepreneurial success. Erik, who had spent part of his inheritance on a personal tennis coach, surrendered to Los Angeles police upon his return from a tournament in Israel. Kitty quit her teaching job after Lyle was born, and the family moved to New Jersey, where Erik was born on November 27, 1970, in Gloucester Township. Chavis will be eligible for parole in 2028. Mercer County; both brothers attended Princeton Day School. The media hype surrounding the first trial was parodied in the 1996 dark comedy film The Cable Guy. “He wanted us to be exactly like him.”. Lyle bought about $600 worth of clothes, including five $90 silk shirts. [20] After that decision, a Los Angeles County grand jury issued indictments in December 1992, charging the brothers with the murders of their parents. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. He lost in the first round in both of the tournaments he played. Their motive, say the police, was greed. “They looked like wax. [4] Both brothers filed habeas corpus petitions with the Supreme Court of California, which were denied in 1999. In November 2003, Lyle married Rebecca Sneed at a ceremony in a supermax prison visiting area of Mule Creek State Prison; they knew each other for around ten years before their engagement. Simpson did in 2016, NBC's Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Brothers will provide a step-by-step account of the criminal investigation … We improvised. The 61-page screenplay, briefly excerpted in the Los Angeles Times, is about an 18-year-old who murders his parents for their money. In the months after the murders, the brothers began to spend money lavishly, adding to suspicions that they were somehow involved in the murders of their parents. The brothers’ desire to acquire by early inheritance their par-ents’ considerable wealth. They are currently imprisoned in the same California prison. Bill serves as director and CEO of the Miller Center, a nonpartisan... Read … How Much are the Menendez Brothers Worth Today? In the end, Lyle went anyway, with the girlfriend paying his way. I feel he’s in me, pushing me.”. Before saving Cuba, though, Erik decided to try his luck as a professional tennis player. In March 1990, Lyle Menendez was arrested. And it's just something very special that I never thought that I would ever have. [19] In August 1990, Judge James Albrecht stated that tapes of the conversations between Erik and Oziel were admissible evidence, since Lyle had violated doctor–patient privilege by threatening Oziel. A new true crime TV drama about the Mendendez brothers has cast its first big name: Courtney Love. As for Erik Menendez, a 1989 graduate of Beverly Hills High School, his goals were even more expansive than Lyle’s. Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Brothers, a miniseries airing tonight about the Menendez brothers, may reveal new shocking information and facts about the case we didn't already know. Both family and friends were stunned by the arrests. Last Aug. 20, when the blood-spattered corpses of Jose Menendez and his wife, Mary Louise (“Kitty”), were found in the den of their $5 million Beverly Hills mansion, the evidence pointed to a mob hit. Lyle Menendez was arrested by police who stopped him and two friends shortly after they left the family’s Beverly Hills home. After Hertz in turn was bought out by RCA, Menendez switched to the parent company’s record division and was soon involved in signing pop groups, including Duran Duran and the Eurythmies. Passed over for an executive vice presidency in 1986, Menendez jumped to International Video Entertainment, a California video distributor that eventually became Live Entertainment. 7 benefits of working from home; Jan. 26, 2021. [16] It is believed that they spent somewhere around $700,000 during the period between the murders and their arrests. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? “I want to be senator and be with the people of Cuba. [21], The case became a national sensation when Court TV broadcast the trial in 1993. Their mother, they claimed, was a mentally unstable alcoholic. [34], On July 2, 1996, Lyle married Anna Eriksson at a ceremony attended by Abramson and his aunt Marta Menéndez, which was presided over by Judge Nancy Brown; they divorced on April 1, 2001[4] after Eriksson discovered that Lyle was allegedly cheating on her with another woman. Last year, in another deal that attracted the attention of police after the murders, Live bought BeckZack Corp., owner of some 80 Strawberries audio-video stores. Upscale clothier Stuart Lindner recalls Lyle visiting his shop, Tom Tailor, dressed in an expensive black cashmere jacket and wearing a Rolex watch Lindner priced at $15,000. During the year he was out of school, Lyle asked his father for money for a trip to Europe with a girlfriend, but Jose turned him down and told him that if he was not in school he should find a job. Worse, the charges seemed an incomprehensible insult to the memory of Jose and Kitty Menendez and the dream they had worked so hard to fulfill. Gus Tangalos, the restaurant’s manager, says Lyle was a hard worker who often spent long hours at the café. Kitty, 44, had been shot five times. On March 4, 2003, a magistrate judge recommended the denial of the petitions,[citation needed] and the district court adopted the recommendation. "[12] When officers from the Beverly Hills police department arrived, the brothers told them that, during the murders, “And he paid cash, of course.”, In January, Lyle bought Chuck’s Spring Street Cafe, a popular student hangout featuring deep-fried Buffalo chicken wings, for a reported $550,000. Both brothers were eventually convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, and of conspiracy to commit murder; in the penalty phase of the trial, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. Although the brothers were not considered suspects at first, suspicions about their involvement arose when they began to spend money lavishly after the murders. Afterward, they said, they went to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to attend the annual “Taste of L.A.” festival featuring foods from the city’s top restaurants. “That’s no big deal with the money some of the kids have around here,” notes Princeton junior Paul Krepelka, who knew him. Alex was released from prison in 2008 and Derek in 2009. Certainly, equaling Jose’s successes would have proved a challenge for the most driven of sons. At trial, prosecutors argued that the brothers had committed the double-murder out of greed, in order to get their hands on the successful Cuban-American family's fortune. Almost everyone who grew up in the '90s has heard about the famed Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik, who in 1989, opened fire on their parents and murdered them both in their Beverly Hills mansion. The two brothers, incarcerated for life for killing their parents on August 20, 1989, appear to understand that what they did was wrong.. Now 52 years old, Lyle Menendez was 21 years old when he and his 18-year-old brother opened fire on their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. The Menendez Brothers, Erik, and Lyle were charged and convicted of the murder of their parents back in 1989. Get The Magazine. Lyle began traveling frequently—he flew to California early this month in an unsuccessful attempt to be named promoter of a Soul II Soul rock concert—and hired 20-year-old David Bros, a Princeton sophomore, as an adviser. The murders are the subjects of multiple docu-dramas, including the Lifetime movie Menendez: Blood Brothers (2017), and the television films Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills on CBS and Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders on Fox, both in 1994. The more money you have, the more power you hold. The brothers claimed that their father was a harsh perfectionist who physically and sexually abused them. ... so they won't lose their inheritance. Police at first began looking for clues in Jose Menendez’s complicated business affairs. Their faces are of questioning horror as Hamilton closes the door gently…. The wife, daughter to an abusive father who married rich and became a stay-at-home mum. Settled comfortably in a Princeton, N.J., country estate overlooking a lake, Jose insisted on excellence. Now, almost at the same age, we don’t have a father.”. Though Princeton officials will say only that he withdrew, the student newspaper reported that Lyle was suspended for copying another student’s psychology lab report. When I do, I do it with a great sadness and a primal fear. When it started to get serious, some of them just threw up their hands." Many of them are run by people born years after the case closed who, in learning its details, have become some of the brothers’ most vocal defenders. In an interview last October, he spoke of fulfilling his father’s ambition to become the first Cuban-born U.S. senator and to make Cuba a U.S. territory. Get push notifications with news, features and more. AP Photo/Nick Ut. The best in culture from a cultural icon. Unthinkable: The Menendez Murders 2021-02-16 01:03:00 PST - 2021-02-16 02:01:00 PST. Prosecutors argued that Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents out of greed. ... , Todd Lasance. Jose I. Escobar Menendez was killed but police have not released a cause of death Find the perfect Jose Menendez Death & Wife stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. The Menendez brothers were also featured in a 2017 documentary titled Truth and Lies: The Menéndez Brothers – American Sons, American Murderers on ABC, ... so they won't lose their inheritance. However, unlike the juries in the previous trials, the jury in the penalty phase rejected the defense's theory that the brothers had killed their parents out of fear, as it is believed that they committed the murders in order to inherit their father's wealth. The husband, a Cuban whose family lost everything and made it big in America. On July 2, 1996, Weisberg sentenced the brothers to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, and also sentenced them to consecutive sentences for the murders and the charges of conspiracy to commit murder. BeckZack’s principal owner was Morris Levy, who was convicted in May 1988 of conspiring to extort payments from a record wholesaler. Some eBay sellers have continued to sell the card and have also altered the images accompanying the listing so that the men purported to be the Menendez brothers are neither mentioned in the listing nor seen in photos of the card accompanying the listing. See more ideas about menendez brothers, mendez brothers, lyle. The second trial was somewhat less publicized, in part because Judge Stanley Weisberg did not allow cameras in the courtroom. Although the firm flourished during Jose’s years there, he was forced out when the company was taken over. Both José and Kitty were also shot in the kneecaps in an attempt to make the murders appear connected to organized crime. [3] In 1986, José's career as a corporate executive took the family to Beverly Hills, California. Eventually a court referee found in Bloom’s favor, and Carolco settled. Having exhausted their appeal remedies in state court, they filed separate habeas corpus petitions in the United States District Court. Subscribe now for more from the authority on music, entertainment, politics and pop culture. The brothers were tried three separate times for the crimes, and were ultimately convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder. "[37] Despite his life sentence, Erik stated: "Tammi is what gets me through. The Menendez brothers, who were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison, have become the subjects of hundreds of fan accounts across social media, most visibly on TikTok and Instagram. [13], During the early stages of the investigation, the police tried to narrow their search to people who would have had motives to kill José and Kitty. “We’ve had bigger sales, but not in four minutes,” says Lindner. MIKE NELSON/AFP/Getty. https://yen.com.gh/180712-what-happened-menendez-brothers-money.html They married in 1963 and moved to New York City, where José earned an accounting degree from Queens College. But Lyle, who shared in a $400,000 insurance payout with Erik after his parents’ deaths, didn’t confine his spending to cars. They also investigated potential mob leads, but nothing came of them. Jose, 45, chief executive of Live Entertainment, a prominent music-and-video distribution company, had been struck by eight shotgun blasts. In fact, the grisly and calculated nature of the crime made it hard to imagine that Jose and Kitty had been the victims of an explosion of family rage, and Erik and Lyle didn’t cave in under questioning. He found nothing to suggest that Lyle was involved in the murders. “If I had stayed at Hertz, he would have become president of the company.”, Jose was as demanding with his sons as with himself. 2005. [22] Their defense lawyer, Leslie Abramson, became known for her theory that the brothers were driven to murder by a lifetime of abuse at the hands of their parents, especially sexual abuse at the hands of their father, who was described as a cruel perfectionist and pedophile. “You grieve and life goes on. Both were held without bail, and separated from each other. "[40], In a 2005 interview with People, she stated: "Not having sex in my life is difficult, but it's not a problem for me. “We are prototypes of my father,” Erik said after Jose’s death. 이 저작물은 cc by-nc-sa 2.0 kr에 따라 이용할 수 있습니다. [3] The couple's first son, Joseph Lyle Menéndez, who goes by his middle name, was born on January 10, 1968. [8] José was shot in the back of the head with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. “He went to the U.S. at 16 without a father. So much so that they believe they are untouchable. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo mẽˈnẽndeθ ðe aβiˈles]; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral and explorer from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain.He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceanic convoys, which became known as the Spanish treasure fleet, and for founding St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. [30][31][32], On February 27, 1998, the California Court of Appeal upheld their murder convictions, and on May 28, 1998, the Supreme Court of California declined to review the case, thus allowing the decision of the appellate court to stand. Here's why, and how much Anderson Cooper is … 7:12. The door opens, exposing the luxurious suite and Mr. and Mrs. Cromwell lying in bed. The Menendez brothers, who were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison, have become the subjects of hundreds of fan accounts across social media, most visibly on TikTok and Instagram. The prosecution's theory of the case was that the killings were motivated by greed and the brothers' desire to… Engage students in your virtual … Both brothers eventually pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and arson. The brothers also split a $600,000 insurance policy, with Lyle Menendez using some of his share to make a down payment on a chicken-wing restaurant that has since been sold. Shortly after the purchase, Lyle changed the name of the restaurant to Mr. Buffalo’s and was planning to redecorate in a Western motif then open other locations in New Jersey and California. One of Jose’s relatives found a reference to a will on Jose’s home computer but did not know how to gain access to the document. they went to a movie theater to see Batman, and then attended the annual "Taste of L.A." festival at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Last fall he took an apartment nearby and showed up, students report, driving a gray Porsche Carrera. They were first tried separately, with one jury for each brother. Maybe Even a Motive for Murder", "A look back at the story – and coverage – of the Menendez murders", "Lyle Menendez Finally Speaks From Prison, 27 Years After Killing His Parents", "True Crime Revisited: The Menendez Brothers Case", "Remembering the Insanity of the Menendez Brothers Murder Case", "Why the Menendez Brothers Say They Killed Their Parents: Part 1", "Chuck's Spring Street Cafe in Princeton, NJ", "Here's How Much The Menendez Brothers Spent On Their Spree", "This Menendez Brothers Murder Map Puts the Crazy Story in Perspective", "Menendez Therapist's Ex-Lover Testifies : Trial: She says Oziel wanted the brothers to confess on tape so he could 'control' them. TV Programme listings for Channel 5 as well as a pictorial archive of past shows. Terhune, in His Capacity As Head of the California Department of Corrections, Respondent-appellee.erik Galen Menendez, Petitioner-appellant, v. Glen A. Mueller; Attorney General of the State of California, Respondents-appellees, 422 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. But the family’s greatest concern now is for the fate of Lyle and Erik, whom all of them believe to be innocent. He probably would’ve done it, and he probably would’ve been assassinated somewhere down the line.” According to Erik, he and Lyle planned to move to Florida, where they would establish a political base. Later, in a highly unusual move, investigators obtained cassette tapes of therapy sessions conducted with Erik and Lyle by a Beverly Hills psychologist, L. Jerome Oziel. Many of them are run by people born years after the case closed who, in learning its details, have become some of the brothers’ most vocal defenders. For months, the case went unsolved — until police closed in on the brothers, who had been living lavishly on their parents’ fortune. [27] During the penalty phase of the trial, Abramson apparently told a defense witness named William Vicary to edit his own notes, but the district attorney's office decided not to conduct a criminal investigation of Abramson. Erik and Lyle both attended the private Princeton Day School, and in 1987 Lyle entered Princeton University, where he earned a spot on the varsity tennis team. Although the brothers’ inheritance was uncertain — their father had threatened to remove them from the will — they did receive an insurance payout of … I break into a cold sweat. Five strategies to maximize your sales kickoff; Jan. 26, 2021. They told police they had left home on the evening of Aug. 20 to see the new James Bond movie, Licence to Kill. When his father wrote to object, telling him he was too young to be married, Jose replied firmly, “If I was old enough to be on my own at 16, I’m old enough to be married at 19.”, After earning a degree in accounting at Queens College in Flushing, N.Y., he took a job with the Manhattan firm of Coopers & Lybrand. That was a very lonely night. They then decided to appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Money has the power to sway one’s morals. According to Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Elliott Alhadeff, the brothers had threatened Oziel. The unit where they are housed is reserved for inmates who agree to participate in education and rehabilitation programs without creating disruptions. Meanwhile, their mother was described as a selfish, mentally unstable alcoholic and drug addict, who encouraged her husband's abuses and was also sometimes violent towards them. On hand were Jose’s mother, Maria, 72, and his sisters, Marta Cano, 49, a divorcée from West Palm Beach, and Terry Baralt, 51, of West Windsor, N.J., whose husband, Carlos, is executor of the estate. At 23, he was hired away by one of his clients, a Chicago-based shipping company, as its comptroller. At the time he was killed, Jose’s wealth was estimated to be about $14 million and it is what their sons stood to inherit, as the sole heirs. Early this month the police moved. Yet the script’s existence, intriguing though it was, seemed for a time merely coincidence. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. But everything changed on August 20, 1989, with the gruesome shotgun slayings of their parents, José and Kitty. The jury said that the abuse defense was not a factor in its deliberations, deciding not to impose the death penalty because both brothers lacked any criminal record or history of violence prior to the murders of their parents. Shopping spree. The Menendez brothers, who were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison, have become the subjects of hundreds of fan accounts across social media, most visibly on TikTok and Instagram. I’ve never seen my dad helpless, and it’s sad to think he would ever be.” Then Erik noted an irony. Below is the 1990 PEOPLE cover story about the shocking case. Millionaire Murderers: The Menendez Brothers. This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. His friends in the music business included Rick Springfield, Barry Manilow and Kenny Rogers. But the story line was not without interest, particularly to investigators looking into the brutal murder of a Cuban-born Hollywood millionaire and his wife. A preliminary autopsy shows the cause of death of Pvt. Investigators became suspicious of the brothers’ involvement when they began to spend their inheritance recklessly, spending an estimated $1 million within 6 months. 30 Years After the Menendez Brothers Murders, Read PEOPLE's 1990 Cover Story. Zoom camera to [typing] paper; it reads ‘Five deaths to perfection—Chapter One: Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Cromwell.’ “. But he wanted to do much more than serve chicken wings; he planned to make his fortune in, among other things, show business and real estate. “He hated Fidel with a passion,” said Erik. Blog. Jose Menendez’s immigrant odyssey had begun in 1960, when at the age of 16 he was sent to the U.S. by his father, Jose, a onetime soccer star who stayed behind in Cuba until his last investment property was seized by Fidel Castro. Introducing ... PEOPLE's Products Worth the Hype. With Leslie Abramson, Teresite Baralt, Pam Bozanich, Andy Cand. Just as FX's American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Amateurish and banal, it was unlikely ever to have been made into a movie. Investigators became suspicious of the brothers’ involvement when they began to spend their inheritance recklessly, spending an estimated $1 million within 6 months. ", "Parent killer Menéndez marries in Calif. prison", "Convicted murderer Erik Menéndez marries in prison", "Menéndez brothers convicted in parents' murder 16 years ago", "Menendez Brothers – Blood Brothers: Ellen Goosenberg Kent", "How It Really Happened with Hill Harper | The Menendez Brothers: Murder in Beverly Hills", "Menendez brothers appear in background of Mark Jackson basketball card", "Double Take: Infamous Menendez Brothers and the 1990–91 Hoops Mark Jackson", Wife of Erik Menéndez talks about relationship, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lyle_and_Erik_Menendez&oldid=1006679369, Pages using infobox criminal with motive parameter, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Menéndez, Lyle; Novelli, Norma; Walker, Mike; and Spreckels, Judith (1995), Soble, Ronald L. and Johnson, John (1994), Thornton, Hazel; Wrightsman, Lawrence S.; Posey, Amy J. and Scheflin, Alan W. (1995), This page was last edited on 14 February 2021, at 05:08. Murder trial. Determined to find out more about his new employer, Bros began investigating him. On the evening of August 20, 1989, José and Kitty were sitting on a couch in the den of their house in Beverly Hills when Lyle and Erik entered the den carrying shotguns. In October 1993, Saturday Night Live aired a comedy sketch featuring guest host John Malkovich where the Menendez brothers blame the murder of their parents on their identical twin brothers. (Ironically, its largest source of income last year was the millions it realized on a key-man insurance policy the company had taken out on its chairman.) Three days later his brother was arrested at the Los Angeles airport, after flying home from Israel, where he had been playing in a tennis tournament, to surrender himself voluntarily. During their trial, which was highly sensationalized in the media, the brothers admitted to carrying out the murders but alleged they were in retaliation for years of physical, mental, and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents. Before he murdered his parents with his brother Lyle Menendez, Erik Menendez wrote a screenplay called "Friends" about a rich, young man who killed his parents for the inheritance money. All the while, Jose was making important connections in the entertainment world. I can't think about the sentence. This is even worse than the murders.”, —Joseph Poindexter, Robert Rand in Beverly Hills, J.D. The police did not order the brothers to undergo gunshot residue tests to find out whether they had recently used a firearm,[13] since, at that time, a lack of evidence prevented them from looking into the brothers more thoroughly. In the Season 3 episode of 30 Rock titled "Gavin Volure", Tracy Jordan makes multiple references to the Menendez Brothers as he fears that his own children will similarly attempt to kill him for his wealth, an act he termed as "Menendez-ing". When they chose tennis, he signed them up with coaches for private lessons three times a week. The Menendez brothers were also featured in a 2017 documentary titled Truth and Lies: The Menéndez Brothers – American Sons, American Murderers on ABC, as well as on an episode of Snapped in 2016. [24] During the second trial, Weisberg also did not allow much defense testimony about the sexual abuse claims[25] and did not allow the jury to vote on manslaughter charges instead of murder charges.[26]. At age 16, he moved to the United States, shortly after the end of the Cuban Revolution. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: 30 Years After the Menendez Brothers Murders, Read PEOPLE's 1990 Cover Story. This collection comprises over 200,000 black and white photographs, almost entirely from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper's photo morgue, primarily 8x10 prints with some negatives and smaller and larger prints as well. Lyle Menendez, Petitioner-appellant, v. C.a. In the den, next to a coffee table holding half-eaten bowls of fresh berries and cream, lay the bodies of their parents. Though the deal was started before Menendez arrived at the company, it was left to Jose to cope with Bloom’s complaint that he was owed $500,000. She was shot in the leg while running toward the hallway, causing her to slip on her own blood and fall, and was then shot several times in the arm, chest, and face, leaving her unrecognizable. “My brother wants to become President of the U.S.,” said Erik. For the second trial, they were tried together by the same jury, which found them guilty; as a result, they were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (LWOP). But the two handsome sons were never totally beyond suspicion; they were the sole beneficiaries of their parents’ estimated $14 million estate, and there was the matter of that curious screenplay. The Menendez brothers, they explained, had killed their parents to inherit a $14 million estate.