After 35 years since the tragic events, Erik and Lyle Menendez, the notorious siblings who infamously murdered their parents in their Beverly Hills home, are once again capturing the public’s attention.

During their highly publicized trial in 1993, prosecutors accused Lyle, then 21, and Erik, 18, of killing their parents to inherit their $14 million estate. However, the brothers maintain that they acted out of fear for their lives after enduring severe physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from their father. Lyle states that the abuse ended when he was 8, while Erik claims it continued until the murders, starting when he was just 6. They argue that one of their motives for the killings was to stop the abuse, which they believe their mother, Kitty, was aware of but did nothing to prevent.

Netflix’s scripted drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” produced by Ryan Murphy, has elevated the siblings (and Lyle’s wig) to the forefront of public interest, landing on Netflix’s Top 10 list. Erik has criticized the nine-episode series for what he perceives as an “atrocious narrative” that misrepresents both him and Lyle, calling it “disheartening slander.” Murphy countered by suggesting to The Hollywood Reporter that “The Menendez brothers should send me flowers for the attention they have received after 30 years of obscurity.”

Murphy’s assertion of renewed interest appears accurate. Recently, reality TV star and aspiring lawyer Kim Kardashian advocated for the brothers’ life sentences to be reconsidered in an essay for NBC News. Coincidentally, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced in a news conference that his office is reviewing fresh evidence in their case.

According to Gascón, the brothers’ legal team has requested a review of new evidence and is seeking a reconsideration of their sentences based on their rehabilitation and conduct while incarcerated. A hearing is scheduled for November 29.

The documentary “The Menendez Brothers,” streaming on Netflix, allows Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, to voice their experiences through recorded phone calls from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Additional interviews conducted by director Alejandro Hartmann will be part of a three-part series premiering on October 9 in Netflix’s “You Can’t Make This Up” podcast.

Hartmann emphasizes he is focused on the brothers’ first trial, which ended with two juries deadlocked, as it felt “unresolved” and spurred a renewed conversation about the case on TikTok among a younger audience. “We believed that examining the trial would connect us with a new understanding of the case,” he shares.

In the documentary, Hartmann talks to family members and Pamela Bozanich, the prosecutor from the initial trial. Hazel Thornton, a juror, reveals that during deliberations, “all the men raised their hands in support of first-degree murder, while none of the women did.”

“Men seemed to struggle to accept that a young man could be abused by his father,” she adds, “while the women appeared more understanding regarding abuse issues.”

“After 34 years in prison,” Lyle shares in the documentary, “I now feel like we are part of a conversation where people are starting to understand and believe our story.”

Here are some insights from “The Menendez Brothers”:

Erik Confounded by Police Lack of Suspicion: ‘Gunpowder Residue Covered Our Hands’

In the documentary, Erik is surprised that authorities did not initially suspect them. He recalls telling detectives he witnessed smoke in the room where his parents had been shot, insisting, “that would have been impossible if I hadn’t done it.”

He continues, “The gunpowder residue was all over our hands. There were shells in my car. If they had simply pressed me, I wouldn’t have handled the questioning. I was in a fractured and shattered state.”

Shopping Spree ‘Masked the Profound Pain’

Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters” highlights the brothers’ extravagant spending following their parents’ deaths, with Lyle (portrayed by Nicholas Alexander Chavez) declaring to Erik (Cooper Koch) that “we are living our best lives.”

In reality, the siblings did indulge in shopping sprees, acquiring luxury items like a Porsche, Rolexes, and even a restaurant. But Erik argues that “the notion that I was enjoying myself is ludicrous.”

He explains that their spending was an attempt to “mask the terrible pain of not wanting to live.” He adds, “One of the reasons I refrained from ending my life was that I didn’t want to fail my father.”

Lyle admits he was “often crying at night, struggling to sleep, deeply troubled and feeling lost during those months.”

Prosecutor Claims José’s Death Benefited Society

“There wasn’t anyone who could say anything positive about José Menendez, aside from his secretary,” states Bozanich. “Most people shared terrible stories about him, labeling him a monster. To me, his passing was genuinely a benefit for humanity.”

Erik recounted an incident where he resisted his father’s sexual advances, but José responded by threatening him with a large knife. He added that his father placed the knife to his neck and said, “I should kill you, and I will next time.” During his testimony, Erik claimed that José threatened him with death if he revealed the abuse to anyone.

In the documentary, Lyle expressed his belief that “the disastrous events of that weekend stemmed from my naïve hope that I could somehow save Erik without any repercussions. I thought I could confront my father and that my mother would finally act like a real mother. Those expectations were incredibly unrealistic.”

Allegations of José Menendez’s abuse extend beyond his sons. Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo from the 1980s, claimed in Peacock’s docuseries, “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” that José Menendez drugged and assaulted him when he was a teenager.

Erik and Lyle Menendez Await Decision from District Attorney

The brothers were reunited at Donovan in 2018 after spending over 20 years in separate prisons. However, Erik still feels guilt over informing Lyle about their father’s alleged abuse and discussing their crimes with his therapist, Jerome Oziel.

“I brought him into every aspect of this tragedy,” Erik admits. “I feel that every single part of this disaster is my fault.”

Lyle grapples with the question of whether he actually saved Erik, considering Erik ended up incarcerated. “At some point, you understand, ‘Okay, it’s impossible… I couldn’t rescue us all.’”

Despite receiving life sentences without the possibility of parole, Erik and Lyle filed a habeas corpus petition in May 2023, seeking to overturn their convictions based on new evidence.

The new evidence that Gascón and his office will evaluate includes a letter that one of the brothers reportedly sent to another family member where he claimed to have been a molestation victim.

Prosecutors also received claims from one of the brothers’ attorneys suggesting he was molested by their father, according to Gascón, who mentioned that none of the defense’s assertions have been substantiated.