The Menendez Brothers: Privileged Until the End Lyle and Erik Menendez were two young men who lived a very privileged life and wanted for very little, mostly because their father, Jose who worked so hard to give these boys and wife Mary Louise, known as Kitty, everything they could possibly need. However, this lifestyle did not seem to be a great as everyone thought. On the night of August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik murdered both of their parents with an unclear motive. Although the motive for these violent acts are still said to be unclear, it is known that their father was extremely tough on them. Always placing such high expectations on the boys, and when they failed to meet them, enforced repercussions. After being known to put these high expectations on the boys, there …show more content…
Oziel and her taped recordings of Erik’s confession, the boys were brought to justice. The boys trial was highly publicized. The defense team stood by the aspect of battered children syndrome in order to try to justify what the boys did. The defense team for the Menendez Brothers stated, “the boys were punched, belt whipped, and sexually assaulted” (per TIME). When all of these things began to pile together, it took three juries to even convict the brothers (Harris). The abuse led juries on the first trial to believe that the boys acted in self-defense, but over the six-month trial, those views began to change as the boys seemed to show no remorse whatsoever. Lyle mentioned that he would miss his dog more than his parents, and Erik mentioned the love he felt for his mother when he placed that shotgun to her head on the night of August 20th. Then, during the second trial, the jury found them guilty based on the fact that they had murdered their parents in order to receive the fortune. The jury, during the second trial, sentenced them to life in prison without parole