the judge who said they couldn't talk about their sexual abuse can go to hell. at this point I'm starting to believe the judicial system supports sexual violence. ugh

So all the female jurors believed they were abused and the males didn't, and then the next trial they were forbidden from talking about their abuse? Pretty sure that's on purpose. Pretty disgusting honestly...

The fact that they get life without parole but someone like Casey Anthony gets to walk free absolutely sickens me

I really resent that they ask, Lyle I believe, if he tried to end the sex. It wasn't sex, it's RAPE. I was abused by my step father in a very similar manner to what the Menendez brothers endured, and my mother was complicit in it as well. When I finally told her that I was being raped daily by her husband she said that I was having sex with him. That's always stuck with me. It wasn't sex. It wasn't consensual, it was rape.

Honestly if no one liked the dad.. the parents barely had any friends... that tells you a lot about their household.

what makes me sick to my stomach is they considered that “sex” it wasn’t sex, it was rape.

This case breaks my heart. It’s so disgusting how the media mocked them. I feel if this case took place today they would have been treated very differently.

The way the bodies of the parents are described makes me feel like it was a rage killing, for sure. If it were just about money, I don't feel like it would have been so horrific. I think there was some SERIOUS rage and trauma coming through in the way they killed both of their parents, and I think that speaks to the abuse they both claim to have suffered.

They didn’t kill randoms, they killed their abusive parents 🤷🏾‍♀️

Loosing hair at 14 and wetting the bed at that age seems like a large sign of stress, for sure something was going on

Its cases like this and Gipsy Rose that hurt my brain like yeah you’re guilty but like at the same time I 10000% understand WHY they did it

My opinion: I find it hard to believe they weren't abused, no one can act out the hurt looks in their eyes as they talked about what their dad did to them. It's unfair how male victims are shunned, and told they are lying. The sentence was way too harsh, I've seen worst criminals get less years, and the fact that they weren't given parole?? Or placed in the same prison?? It's ridiculous.

An 8 year-old little child wouldn’t lie about being sexually assaulted by his father. I feel awful for these two boys.

bed wetting at an age like that with the added fact the he started to lose his hair at 14 just proves to me that they were victims. honestly breaks my heart that snl skit

They are guilty but did their time. They are not a danger to society in my opinion. They were horribly abused and violently killed their parents. 15 years locked up would have been enough time.

I watched the first trial, and according to one of Kitty’s few close friends, Faith Goldsmith, Kitty literally wanted Lyle, who was just an infant, to stay with his grandmother full time and she would just visit with him twice a week. Friday en route to skiing and Sunday on the way back. ( Kitty and Jose had decided to take up skiing and would go regularly on over night weekend trips shortly after Lyle’s birth). So the grandmother would care for Lyle even when Kitty wasn't working. Kitty would often tell her sons she wished they were never born and they ruined her marriage. She even told Jose’s sister that she wished she didn’t have her sons or that she would have preferred to have girls. Kitty told her niece Diane that “ children drive a wedge between a husband and wife.” According to Lyle’s testimony, Kitty told him that she wanted to pursue a career and make her own money instead, but that Jose had given her an ultimatum “ stay home and raise my son” or leave. This along with the many testimonies of negligent behavior during the trial and I truly believe Kitty did not want to be a mother or care for her sons from the very beginning.

after they killed their own parents there family still stood by them. i think that can confirm abuse did happen

Ok but what a terrible therapist? Like he’s a cheater and abused his mistress? No wonder the therapy wasn’t working

they were SO failed by the criminal justice system it’s heartbreaking.

Mom was terrible too. Imagine your entire childhood having no one but abusers as family 😢

“Killers or Victims?” Me: “A little bit of both”

If there’s someone a victim hates more than the parent who abused them, it’s the parent who stood by and watched it happen.

A member of Menudo said their dad raped him when he was a teen (I guess he was involved in their group management). Whether or not he did, they’ve served enough time. We at the very least know he brutally abused them physically so it’s time to let them out of prison.

As a victim of years of sexual child abuse, I know what went through their heads growing up. Not only are you being sexual and mentally abused by your protector, the person you look up too and someone you love, but the fate of the family is in your hands. Telling that secrete will destroy ones life and an entire family. Not to mention your own life and image. The Mendez Bro had an image they were made to have and living a hollywood life, in their mind what would that do them if they reported their father? It would be headline news. NO it does NOT justify murder. As for their mother, yes she can allow the abuse and still support her sons at events. I had a similar situation, at 13 I was called a whore in the courtroom by my own grandmother for something that started when I was 5 and yes at 5 the first time it happened, I told! I was ignored. So it went on for 8 more years. So YES, their reaction, the years of sexual, mental and physical abuse led to what they thought was the only way out. The fact that their family stood by them, says A LOT! It was not just one family member, it was a lot of their family members. That says a lot about their parents. Most don't get that kind of support after killing someone esp their own family members, unless they knew that one day it would lead to this for the years of abuse those boys endured. Again does NOT justify murder! All throughout the years and still today, people turn a blind eye to the stigma of male sexual abuse.

He was afraid his peers would find out he was Hispanic? His name is Jose Menendez, everyone already knows.

Lyle was losing hair and Erik was wetting the bed those are both sighns of abuse and extreme stress

I feel sorry for the boys. They are victims. I think the sexual abuse accusations were definitely true, and they killed them in anger from all the trauma. Their parents must been really evil people.

This case eats me up because on one hand being abused as severely as they were it "immediate danger" takes on a new meaning. Abusers are like shadows, following your every waking moment even when they're not around. It can be near impossible to break free from their grasps- just think of all the battered spouses who have had to uproot their lives and change their identities to escape. And that's WITHOUT the added factors of being wealthy parents with many resources. It's not hard to imagine why they would view their parents deaths as the only escape. On the other hand they premeditated a murder and that shouldn't go unpunished. These two shouldn't have been given such a severe sentence and this is a good example of how our justice system is far removed from being reformatorym

Kendall: talking about a horrible murder Dog: 🥰😴

I bet the mother knew how toxic her household was, and that her sons would seek revenge. She locked her door at night. She knew something. She slept in fear.

As someone who grew up in a household that was extremely similar, not class wise, but nonetheless the same idea of total and utter success under any means necessary and parents taking advantage of their kids in any way possible, their motive was completely understandable. It’s hard to think you can escape shitty parents ESPECIALLY when one has extremely influential. They absolutely developed skills that would not work in the normal world, and it is really sad to see that the kids never were believed about their abuse.

One thing really bothers me. If Kitty went to the counselor and was so terrified of the boys wouldn't she have said something about her husband being abusive too if that was the situation???

They should serve jail time but definitely not life. They were clearly both extremely abused from a very young age

Just the fact that he was losing hair at 14 says a lot!!! I believe that they went through horrific abuse. Their mother knew and this explains why she was shot in the face and numerous time.

Personally, I don't think these killings were done in self defence but out of anger and hate for their parents for what had happened to them. I think that money was possibly apart of the motive, but I think it was a way to escape their father's control.

Free the Mendez brothers. I can't believe the judge didn't allow them to share their abuse and denied the brothers from seeing eachother. Shame on that judge.

José from his grave: "I'm not mad you killed me. I'm just mad that you got caught"

It amazes me that someone like Casey Anthony is walking freely but yet these men get life in prison with NO chance of parole....

As someone who's grown up in a household where life and death go hand in hand (family used to work with rescues and I've had to deal with a lot of death over the years, even if we don't as much), and someone who has been molested when I was 11, I don't think them killing was out of line. When you're raped, you die every time you remember or think about it. You lose such an integral part of your life, you feel tainted, unloved, you're afraid to be touched, you're afraid of anyone getting close to you in that way, and with all the other abuse they'd been through, close in ANY way. The parents had it coming. They put those boys through Hell for 12 YEARS. 12. You, Menendez parents, killed those boys over, and over, and over, in so many ways, and then expected them to live like normal. You shamed them for something they couldn't control. You made them want to DIE just by being in the room.

The fact that another one of José's victims came forward recently... The Menendez brothers definitely deserve another trial.

*Fun Fact:* Lyle and Erik can be seen sitting courtside in the background of Mark Jackson's 1990 NBA Hoops trading card (Card # 205). The photo used on the card was taken in the period between the murders and their arrest; in other words, during the brothers' notorious 'spending spree'. As a result of their presence in the photo, that card is now the single most valuable in the entire 1990-91 NBA Hoops set, which, incidentally, happens to include one of the earliest non-limited Michael Jordan cards ever produced, as well as the rookie cards of Shawn Kemp, Drazen Petrovic, and Tim Hardaway. The Mark Jackson card is valued at approximately $150 in PSA 10 mint condition, which translates to a roughly 10,000 percent increase in value since the presence of the Menéndez Brothers was discovered in 2018.

There's a reason why the women in the jury wanted to acquit and all the men wanted to convict. Women already know what's it like being harassed on a daily basis, and will have experienced assault much more than the men. The women believed the brothers.

The doggo sleeping in the background is literally so cute I am going to cry

During the trial, the prosecution pointed out countless instances where statements made by the brothers involving graphic descriptions of sexual abuse they allegedly endured were taken directly from a book by Paul Mones’s When a Child Kills: Abused Children Who Kill Their Parents, a study of true cases and how they were defended in court.

The producers of Saturday night live should hang their heads in shame, so disgusting mocking victims of abuse

The fact that their cousin testified that one of them confessed to her that he was being abused back when they were still kids makes me believe it. Do I think it was self defense? No. I think it was revenge.

I think the only “controversial” thing about this case is the verdict. That’s it. They were abused, and they became murderers. The only thing that would change is their verdict aka parole. That’s it.

Back when this happened, I have no memory of abuse allegations. Now I was very busy with my babies at that time. But the media used its considerable influence to frame the boys as psychopaths. I always seem to end up on the fence about things I don’t directly experience. But the last few years of outings of p e don behavior in Hollywood, and government I can’t dismiss anything.

I guess José would be like I'm not angry you killed me I'm disappointed you got caught

The SNL “sketch” was *incredibly* inappropriate and insensitive, absolutely disgusting.

4.5.22 - Having been raped by my father, prostituted by my father for years as well as other forms of abuse; I believe that their ultimate motive was greed. Two wrongs never make a right. Stay safe & sane. Thank you.

I just wanna say - when you showed the picture of Jose Menendez at the beginning, you can just see the devil in his eyes. Same type of eyes you can see in other evil people. It gave me chills.. it’s so strange.

I believe they were abused by their father and ignored by their mother and that’s why they were so close/codependent on each other. And the fact that Jose was so hated by his colleagues is a red flag.

the fact that the family even believes the brothers makes me believe they had reason to believe they were abused and this makes me so mad.

The fact that both were involved makes it seem more likely that they were experiencing a troubled family life, to what extent would be the real question. It seem less likely that two brothers would agree to do something so horrendous for money, which they had for the most part and that they would both have psychopathic tendencies. I also feel like them remaining so close over the years tells of the hell they may have gone through, that they were bonded together by the traumatic childhood they lived. I would think if it was just over money whichever brother may have pushed to do it, the other brother might eventually have resentment towards because he would feel it was his brothers fault that he is in the situation he's in now and spending life in prison. But who knows??

Yes it was a murder. Many people after getting raped just once experience so much rage that drives them to murder. They have much trauma that lives with them their whole life, being haunted everyday of what happened to them. Now imagine getting raped not just once but your whole life by the person that was suppose to care for you and protect you. NOT be the the ones you need protection from. That being said they have served thirty two years in prison and have done their time and deserve to be let free.

I’ve watched interviews before where they have said that they feel safer in prison than they ever did in their own home and that speaks volumes.

“He tried to hide the fact that he was Hispanic” *jose menedez*

Thank you for thorough research, and covering the story with details, I came to you whenever I want to know the story properly and you never let me down

As a victim of SA, I can relate to a lot of things they felt and said. That said I strongly believe them and the people that don’t believe them don’t understand SA. Yes they were rich and privileged but that doesn’t mean this couldn’t happen behind closed doors. The dad worked with Spanish music groups including children who have come out about being SA. Coincidence ?

I mean obvs they killed their parents, and no one deserves to die, but I think they really went through shit. Reminds me of the Gypsy Rose case a bit

It’s just sick how they were mocked on an actual tv show.

I can understand getting some years in prison because ultimately they committed murder but WITHOUT PAROLE?? FOR LIFE?? They’re literally victims what were they supposed to do?

I think what stands out to me the most is the loyalty and camaraderie they still feel for one another. Usually cold blooded murderers would rat each other out, throw each other under the bus and feel nothing about it. These two definitely seem super close because they lived through a shared trauma. I’m not sure that absolves them from consequences for what they did but it sure makes me feel for them a little bit.

the hair loss (most likely a result of traumatic alopecia) and bed wetting were clear signs that they were absolutely being abused. the fact that they weren't allowed to talk about the abuse at the second trial is sickening - it's such a big part of the case, why was it just being looked over? murder might not have been the right thing to do, but life is prison was extremely too harsh.

Y’all they called it sex because Erik would start freaking out when they used the word rape. It was for his sake

I've heard some of the things they said their dad did, and I would never in a million years even come up with some of those things if I was trying to write a rapist or an abuser. I have no doubt in my minds that at least some of their story definitely happened to them because what they would have made up if so is just so out there

They probably have more peace and freedom in prison than they ever did growing up.

The SNL skit wasn’t even funny that’s so uncalled for and disgusting

i’ve been sexually assaulted once, i can’t imagine enduring it constantly. something like that would drive a person to lash out.

I'm glad they were reunited eventually, so sad they were ever separated.

My mom and boyfriend were talking about this case yesterday. I’ve never heard of it. Happy I stumbled across this.

Guilty of murder: yes, that’s obvious Victims of abuse: I think also yes. You can see it in their body language. With that being said, I think the life sentence was way too harsh.

As someone who’s been sexually abused, the way the brothers talk about the abuse, the way they cry is so real and raw. I feel so bad for them :/ they deserve justice.

As the youngest child the pressure is actually on me. Every family is different due to so many different factors. I'm now seen as "the last hope" bc I'm further in life than my siblings at this age 🥴

I they were abused and I also think that turned them into psychopaths who did kill their parents for money. It wasn't in self defence. They could have just moved away at their age. Red flag - they only decided they needed to "defend themselves" once they were being cut out of the will. Psychopaths are very good liars and can cry on cue if needed. They both have very dead eyes too, creepy

I feel like these guys weren't lying about the sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. His demeanor when giving the testimony was believable.

I personally think Eric and Lyle’s reactions after the crime was just pure shock about what they did

Although I believe they were abused, and went through very traumatic experiences… that does not justify a murder, a planned murder. I do not believe they deserve life in prison by any means. At this point they did the time they deserved for the murder and should be able to live a free life.

This has got to be one of my favorite cases you’ve covered

this case sickened me, my heart dropped when i heard Lesley said "Eric told me, i felt like i made a huge mistake and i asked him. what mistake eric? and he said to me, i should've killed myself not my parents." when i tell you i sobbed.

They look content in their mugshots, I'm pretty sure that even in prison they have a better life than when they were growing up at home, which says so much.

I’ve always watched your videos on Facebook but oh my god. That little baby sleeping in the back how have I never noticed 😫😍 he is SO adorable

I can't believe the people mocked them.Can they not hear and see the trauma in their voice?Why would anyone make this up and "act" so well? They're clearly in trauma!It breaks my heart of how bad society is.The people mocking them and they're parents abusing them for all those years,just horrible.

I don’t understand why they didn’t interview the maid

If they were lying about the abuse then they each deserve an Emmy. Of course they were abused. It was a crime of passion. I don’t believe they would be a danger to society if free. They probably deserve prison time for committing murder but they don’t deserve life in prison. I’ve personally seen parents that beat their child to death get 10-15 years. The abuse should have been taken into consideration for sentencing. Unfortunately, I believe the abuse wasn’t enough to get a lesser sentence because they were rich and considered privileged.

I totally believe they were honest about the abuse, including se*ual. It's not possible he was horrible to work for, but was good at home? It doesn't work like this.

I usually don't have an issue deciding either way on cases but with this one, I'm legitimately 50/50. This is a seriously tough one.

i think the fact that their entire family still supports them to this day, including their fathers own mother, is very telling. i pray for these boys, it made me so happy when i found out they are now at least able to be together now. no one deserves what they went through

I believe them. The way they moved when they were talking about it, it was so telling. I work in mental health and that didn't look remotely faked. I'm not saying killing anyone was excusable, but I don't believe they were lying.

One thing I really hate is when a parent or parents have way to high of expectations and want them to be perfect and have no imperfections and putting a lot of pressure on there own kids…. Bcuz for one if someone has that much pressure pushed upon them it can cause mistakes and ruin there mental health… and another thing is, mistakes and messing up in certain things in life is key, you can’t really learn if you don’t make mistakes, making mistakes really helps alot in the learning process 100%! But that’s just my opinion 💯💯

Thank you for this. I really enjoyed it. You’re easy to listen to and give clear information.

I also think the way they killed them says a lot, if they really had planned it out and just wanted to kill them for money surely they would have only shot them each once maybe twice to be sure but the fact they shot them so many times to me, shows the frustration and anger they were getting out on them. You don't shoot someone THAT MANY times unless you really hate them and are genuinely traumatised from abuse.

When a woman says that she has been sexually abused, you should never discredit her. Should this standard not also apply to men?

Any of us raised by abusive people can understand this, at least to some degree. Personally, my spirit was way too broken far too badly to be able to tell anyone or lash back

I'm not sure why but UKposts shorts started showing a bunch of trail clips of these two today. So figured I'd rewatch your video 😜.

I don't agree that spending isn't a way to grieve. Shopping and over spending can be a symptom of depression or other mental illness.

My mother is abusive and this trial really spooked her out. She started going around town telling everyone she was afraid that I would kill her... but nobody ever questioned why she thought that. It really was a different time where parental abuse was a "family problem" that others didn't involve themselves in.

I love looking listening learning from you your the most amazing speaker ever I'm so relaxed on my day off just listening to your voice sheesh ❤️ next vid...

I’ve gone down a rabbit hole again. This time on Lyle and Erik. Just finished watching both of their testimony again. I branched off and came upon off u!! 😮😊 I hope you’re narrating audible books by now!❤ your voice!! Please tell me you have?? I enjoyed your take on this family but especially Lyle and Erik.