Whitewashing The Menéndez Brothers (2)

Was their father abusive? Not in a sexual sense, and probably not in a physical sense either. Here is the background to the murders. José  Menéndez was a Cuban immigrant; although his parents were wealthy,  he had literally lived the American dream. After fleeing the Island he attended an American university, marrying Kitty Anderson in 1963. She was some three years his senior but was still a trophy wife.  By 1986, José  was a corporate executive. He, Kitty and their two sons lived in a luxurious Beverly Hills mansion, and he was a multimillionaire. 

Conservatives are fond of claiming the American dream is open to anyone who is prepared to work hard. Curiously, it is largely the successful who say this. Is America truly a meritocracy? Yes and no. Many talented people get nowhere in life while charlatans – like psychics can rake in the big bucks. The acclaimed psychic Sylvia Browne became notorious for her failed predictions, including the date of her own death. America still has many poor people – including whites – who live in trailer parks. Having said that, there are many genuinely talented people who do live the American dream. George Floyd had a real chance of doing that; he went to college on a scholarship, excelling at football and basketball, then he discovered drugs and ended up dying in controversial circumstances aged just 46.

People who succeed in business can be ruthless, and José almost certainly was, in particular he wanted his American-born sons to succeed in life and perhaps excel him. There were signs that either or both might do this, although not in business. Both were superb tennis players. In May 1988, Erik was the top singles player for Calabasas and “swept three sets as Calabasas beat Edison by one game” according to The Orange County Register of May 20, 1988, while three years earlier, Lyle won the Middle States 18-and-under  tennis championship with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jim Donovan at Upper Main Line YMCA.

Both boys were also handsome as well as intelligent. What could go wrong?

Lyle wasn’t a good student but his father compelled him to try for an Ivy League college. Initially, he was rejected for Princeton so enrolled in a local community college and reapplied the following year. He was accepted. Erik wasn’t so successful, and it is likely the brothers were a bad influence on each other. 

The year before the murders, they took to burglarising homes, and clearly this couldn’t be blamed on poverty. Lyle wasn’t a juvenile, and due to both the nature of the crimes and the amounts stolen, they were lucky to escape with no prison time, or rather they were lucky to have a wealthy father who was able and willing to pay for the best legal representation.

None of this gels with the suggestion that they were being sexually abused well into their teens; on top of that, they were both extremely physically fit and strong.

What are we to make of the rape allegation by a certain boy band member? Maybe he was too traumatised to “come forward” as the saying goes, until three decades and more later. Or maybe this male rape never happened. As for the letter Erik is alleged to have written contemporaneously, even if he had, a man who is ruthless enough to murder his own parents then play the grieving orphan is certainly depraved enough to falsely accuse his father of sexual abuse.

As pointed out above, none of this is anything new. Appellate courts are reluctant to admit fresh evidence of this nature because given enough time and resources, evidence can be adduced to “prove” a guilty man innocent or an innocent man guilty. Indeed, we have seen both of these in the ongoing saga of murderer and serial rapist Rodney Reed, whose case has been discussed here.

Reed’s supporters have not only claimed he did not murder Stacey Stites but that the innocent Jimmy Fennell did. Among other things, they have faked confessions by Fennell, and there are plenty of people out there who are willing to believe such lies, though not, fortunately, anyone who matters.

The Menéndez brothers are as odious as any killers may come; they deserve to die in prison and in the words of Margaret Thatcher, should forthwith be denied the oxygen of publicity.

Back To Part 1.