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Blood Brothers: The Inside Story of the Menendez Murders
Discusses the murders of a rich L.A. businessman and his wife by their two sons, who used a defense of child abuse to obtain a mistrial
392 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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295 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 15, 2016
This wasn't half bad -- it did a good job of covering the basics of this case -- but I found myself longing for more. Apparently the author didn't have access to anyone really connected to the case -- like the accused killers -- and so couldn't give us much more than we saw in the papers.
April 3, 2019
This book was pretty good but it ends abruptly before finding out what happens after the book is published. I had to look on Wikipedia to find out.
January 23, 2018
This book is badly in need of an update. It comes to an abrupt end at the culmination of the brothers' first trial, meaning I had to go on Wikipedia to find out how it all turned out. It's also littered with spelling mistakes. The authors refer to themselves in third person, which scans oddly. I was really expecting something more focused on the case and trial, but the vast majority of the book is centred on the family saga element, taking readers all the way back to the childhoods of Kitty and Jose Menendez, and following through to the night they were murdered by their sons. It felt like there was a lot of background noise, but a lack of clarity on the important details. Not one of the more compelling true crime books I've read.
November 26, 2018
We may never know what really went on inside the Menendez home, but one incontrovertible fact remains...Jose and Kitty were terrible parents.
February 19, 2021
Very interesting read
Having followed this whole trial during lockdown and read every book that I can find on the brothers. This book was full of details that were excluded in others. I found this book to be interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I recommend it to anybody who is interested in this case.
Having followed this whole trial during lockdown and read every book that I can find on the brothers. This book was full of details that were excluded in others. I found this book to be interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I recommend it to anybody who is interested in this case.
February 17, 2018
***Some spoilers herein*** Of the two books published about this case (each concluding at the end of the first trial, which ended in deadlocked juries) this is the more detailed one. As with "Bad Blood" by Don Davis, this book could use an update as well.
What I will say is that the authors, while they have their opinions regarding the murders of Jose and Kitty Menenedez, try and for the most part to show both sides of the story, or at least what is known. The Menendez family had its secrets, perhaps more so than others. It is impossible to know just how much of the allegations that the two sons, Lyle and Erik Menendez, brought against their parents in the (two) murder trials are true. Jose Menendez was a powerful Hollywood executive who was despised and feared by many people, but at the same time, many gravitated to him and were fascinated by his drive and success. Kitty Menendez grew up in a home with domestic violence and then later a distinct amount of neglect, but she became a beauty queen and had the talent to become an actress, but once she met Jose and married him she put her dreams aside to assist him in making his own way in the world and raising their two sons. Both parents were enabling toward their sons but at the same time did not give them the love, support and nurturing they needed. They realized too late that they had made too many mistakes in the upbringing of Lyle and Erik, who had become accustomed, not only to luxury, but to being dominated and controlled. This result was in an explosion that ultimately cost the couple their lives and ruined that of their sons' as well. The bond between the brothers was strong; Joseph Lyle, the eldest (known as Lyle) was his father's namesake and ultimately carried the burden of being the first-born, which meant that he was expected to succeed at everything; Erik, the younger of the two, was viewed as weak by his father and was often unfavorably compared to Lyle, but he too, had to measure up to his father's impossible standards. This crushing burden and inner world that the two young men shared made them draw close to one another early on; this close relationship was crucial in many ways to the tragedy that followed.
After being arrested for the murders of their parents, the brothers claimed that they had endured years of physical, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse from the hands of the very people who were supposed to love and protect them. While family members testified that the Menendez household was extremely dysfunctional and that verbal and physical abuse did occur, there wasn't much corroboration in terms of sexual molestation, although cousins did state that Jose would shower with his sons after tennis lessons and that the brothers as children had mentioned that their father had been touching them inappropriately. Sexual abuse is hard to prove, and this instance was no different. Because the family was wealthy, it was assumed that money must have been the motive. We may never know. What can be said is that the brothers did not have a normal life by any means and Jose and Kitty were not cut out to be parents.
The second trial was not nearly as publicized as the first, in large part is because Judge Stanley Weisberg (who presided over both trials) decided that television coverage would not be allowed, and that the defense could not use witnesses and experts to corroborate the brothers' claims of abuse as had been done the first time around. He also refused to allow a letter into evidence that was written by a then 15-year-old Erik Menendez (who was 18 years old when the murders occurred) to a cousin in which he stated that his fear of his father was great, that it was getting worse and he was afraid of his father coming into his room at night. Without being able to use this as evidence, only the testimony of Erik and the video-taped testimony of Lyle (who didn't take the stand again) was heard. The jury, who never heard anything else to support the claims of abuse, came back with a verdict of first-degree murder and the brothers were sentenced to life without parole, which they are serving in separate prisons.
In the years that followed, both brothers filed for appeals but all were rejected. Still, curious things have been revealed since, including the possibility that Jose Menendez molested young boys while he was a record executive at RCA in the early to mid 1980s. The aforementioned letter came to light when a law was passed in California (which over the past few years, has had many battles to change the statute of limitations regarding sexual abuse) which ruled that any defendants who were not given the proper defense in cases which included sexual abuse could apply for a re-trial. The Menendez brothers have until 2020 to file an appeal under this new law and their attorneys, family members and supporters are optimistic. Time will tell.
What I will say is that the authors, while they have their opinions regarding the murders of Jose and Kitty Menenedez, try and for the most part to show both sides of the story, or at least what is known. The Menendez family had its secrets, perhaps more so than others. It is impossible to know just how much of the allegations that the two sons, Lyle and Erik Menendez, brought against their parents in the (two) murder trials are true. Jose Menendez was a powerful Hollywood executive who was despised and feared by many people, but at the same time, many gravitated to him and were fascinated by his drive and success. Kitty Menendez grew up in a home with domestic violence and then later a distinct amount of neglect, but she became a beauty queen and had the talent to become an actress, but once she met Jose and married him she put her dreams aside to assist him in making his own way in the world and raising their two sons. Both parents were enabling toward their sons but at the same time did not give them the love, support and nurturing they needed. They realized too late that they had made too many mistakes in the upbringing of Lyle and Erik, who had become accustomed, not only to luxury, but to being dominated and controlled. This result was in an explosion that ultimately cost the couple their lives and ruined that of their sons' as well. The bond between the brothers was strong; Joseph Lyle, the eldest (known as Lyle) was his father's namesake and ultimately carried the burden of being the first-born, which meant that he was expected to succeed at everything; Erik, the younger of the two, was viewed as weak by his father and was often unfavorably compared to Lyle, but he too, had to measure up to his father's impossible standards. This crushing burden and inner world that the two young men shared made them draw close to one another early on; this close relationship was crucial in many ways to the tragedy that followed.
After being arrested for the murders of their parents, the brothers claimed that they had endured years of physical, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse from the hands of the very people who were supposed to love and protect them. While family members testified that the Menendez household was extremely dysfunctional and that verbal and physical abuse did occur, there wasn't much corroboration in terms of sexual molestation, although cousins did state that Jose would shower with his sons after tennis lessons and that the brothers as children had mentioned that their father had been touching them inappropriately. Sexual abuse is hard to prove, and this instance was no different. Because the family was wealthy, it was assumed that money must have been the motive. We may never know. What can be said is that the brothers did not have a normal life by any means and Jose and Kitty were not cut out to be parents.
The second trial was not nearly as publicized as the first, in large part is because Judge Stanley Weisberg (who presided over both trials) decided that television coverage would not be allowed, and that the defense could not use witnesses and experts to corroborate the brothers' claims of abuse as had been done the first time around. He also refused to allow a letter into evidence that was written by a then 15-year-old Erik Menendez (who was 18 years old when the murders occurred) to a cousin in which he stated that his fear of his father was great, that it was getting worse and he was afraid of his father coming into his room at night. Without being able to use this as evidence, only the testimony of Erik and the video-taped testimony of Lyle (who didn't take the stand again) was heard. The jury, who never heard anything else to support the claims of abuse, came back with a verdict of first-degree murder and the brothers were sentenced to life without parole, which they are serving in separate prisons.
In the years that followed, both brothers filed for appeals but all were rejected. Still, curious things have been revealed since, including the possibility that Jose Menendez molested young boys while he was a record executive at RCA in the early to mid 1980s. The aforementioned letter came to light when a law was passed in California (which over the past few years, has had many battles to change the statute of limitations regarding sexual abuse) which ruled that any defendants who were not given the proper defense in cases which included sexual abuse could apply for a re-trial. The Menendez brothers have until 2020 to file an appeal under this new law and their attorneys, family members and supporters are optimistic. Time will tell.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews