A Nightmare on Elm Drive

by David Pietras

The tan, dark haired young man sat and watched the made-for-TV miniseries. The miniseries, based on real life events, told the story of a group of young men from Beverly Hills who planned and carried out two murders, including the killing of the father of one of the members of the group. As the young man watched the movie, he called to his older brother who joined him and together they watched the "Billionaire Boys Club." Later, they began to discuss killing their father. Each brother complained to the other about how domineering and controlling their father was, how impossible it was for either brother to please him, how he planned to disinherit both brothers from his will and how poorly he treated their mother. The brothers rationalized that if they killed their father, they would have to kill their mother because she could not survive emotionally without their father. She could also be a living witness to the crime they were about to commit. The older brother wanted to plan the murders so that they would be as "perfect as could be," but the younger brother could not wait and insisted that the murders take place as soon as possible. The miniseries was shown over two nights, July 30 and 31, 1989, and the murders occurred on the night of August 20, 1989.

Genres: True Crime

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 13, 2014

Reviews

[Karen Salt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really don't think the second trial was fair at all. I hope Erik and Lyle win their appeal.