Cooper Koch. Miles Crist/Netflix
Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menéndez in Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters, had some notes for Netflix’s The Menéndez Brothers documentary — namely about the details that didn’t make it into the final cut.
“I thought they did a great job, I thought they left out a couple of pieces of information that would have been great to have in there,” Koch, 28, said on the Monday, October 14, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “The two pieces of new evidence that have come out [include] the letter that Erik wrote to his cousin Andy. He wrote a letter to his cousin Andy, like, six to eight months before the murders. He was telling him the abuse was still happening.”
He continued: “Also a member of Menudo [Roy Rosselló] came out about also having been sexually molested by José Menéndez. So it’s huge.”
Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, are both currently serving out their sentences of life without parole in California’s Donovan Correctional Facility after being arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder. They became persons of interest after their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were found shot in their home. Due to a confession they gave their therapist — which they didn’t realize was being taped — Erik and Lyle ultimately admitted to killing their parents following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Netflix’s Monsters series is facing backlash for how it depicted Lyle Menéndez and Erik Menéndez — specifically inaccurate details about the events leading up to their murder case. The limited series, which was released on September 19, centered around Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch), who were convicted for the 1989 murder of […]
The Menéndez brothers were ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in 1996 after two high-profile trials. While their prior attempts to appeal the decision were denied, recent projects such as Monsters, The Menéndez Brothers and more have seemingly offered Erik and Lyle another chance at a resentencing.
Erik and Lyle Menendez VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images
“I think Monsters had unintended consequences. The caricature that was Monsters so inflamed the people who were supportive that the backlash is what was important,” Erik and Lyle’s attorney Mark Geragos told Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, October 10, referring to Murphy’s scripted show about the murder case, which received criticism from viewers and Erik himself. “I can’t think of two more exemplary people with very little hope who still continue to do massively good work.”
One month after the release of Monsters, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced on October 4 that a new hearing was set due to new evidence in Lyle and Erik’s murder case. Erik and Lyle’s legal team previously filed a petition with the court after Rosselló alleged he was drugged and raped by the brothers’ father, José, as a teenager.
The backlash against Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters just keeps coming — and now the cast has spoken out in defense of their scripted show about Lyle and Erik Menéndez‘s infamous murder case. Season 2 of the hit Netflix series debuted in September and chronicled Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik’s (Cooper Koch) 1989 arrest for the […]
Gascón said in the press conference that there could be potential for resentencing or possibly even a new trial. The court date is set for Tuesday, November 26.
Netflix’s The Menéndez Brothers offered Erik and Lyle the chance to share their side of the story three decades after their arrest.
“I do worry and I think it is important that the seriousness of my crime not be minimized or diminished,” Erik said in the documentary, which was released on October 7. “I went to the only person that had ever helped me and that had ever protected me. Then ultimately this happened because of me. Because I went to him. Then afterwards, he was arrested because of me. Because I couldn’t live with what I did, I couldn’t. I wanted to die. In a way, I did not protect Lyle. I got him into every aspect of this tragedy. Every aspect of this tragedy is my fault.”
Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters elicited a divided response about how Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez‘s murder trial was portrayed in the Netflix series — but it isn’t the only show that covers the controversial case. After their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were murdered in 1989, Erik and Lyle became the prime suspects. They were arrested […]
Lyle, meanwhile, admitted he still blamed himself for the events that took place.
“For me, I never could escape that night. That night just floods back into your mind a lot,” he noted in the doc. “I never found understanding. I sometimes feel like I rescued Erik. But did I? Look at his life now. It feels impossible that I couldn’t do better. I couldn’t rescue all of us.”
Monsters and The Menéndez Brothers are currently streaming on Netflix.
