You thought you hated your parents. But their brutal murder was just the beginning. Jose and Kitty Menendez: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. They were brought up in the lavish Beverley Hills by their affluent parents. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. . "Kitty Menendez was a former beauty queen, and her husband, 45-year-old Jose Menendez, a Cuban-immigrant who worked his way up to a top executive position. Crime scene . When I do, I do it with a great sadness and a primal fear. The victims . 1934) and Brian (1940- 2017). For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Jose was 45-years-old when he was shot in the back of his head by his own sons Erik and Lyle Menendez while he was sitting on a couch in the den of their house in Beverly Hills. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 when they fatally shot Jose and Kitty Menendez on August 20, 1989, in the family's Beverly Hills home. In an article headlined "Family, friends decry victims' court portrayal" which was published in the Los Angeles Daily News on March 21, 1996 (the day after the Menendez brothers were . The episode focuses on the brothers and their new wave of supporters on social media. Lyle and Erik spent much of their sentences held in different prisons in California. In a particularly gruesome detail, the brothersactually had to leave the den where the shooting took place and retrieve more bullets from their car to reload. During Joses career at Hertz and eventually RCA Records, the family moved to New Jersey and lived in Pennington and briefly in Mountain Avenue. In her final year at SIU, Kitty met Jose Menendez, a young Cuban immigrant three years her junior while he was a freshman. Both of their families were opposed to the marriage, his because her parents were divorced, hers because of Jose's Cuban heritage. Youre just living like a ghost among people that are alive., #truecrimetuesday The Menendez murder house, courtesy of my #DearlyDepartedTour with @DeathHag <3 pic.twitter.com/kgIdpZPYka, The Horror Honeys? But in 1959, this seemingly idyllic life was uprooted. The Menendez's home sold in 1991 for $3.6 million, a loss of nearly $1.2 million, all of which went to paying off the mortgage, closing costs, and the Internal Revenue Service. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. At some point, Kittys Mercedes-Benz was stolen from their driveway. Kitty Menendezs sister later confirmed some of the brothers claims, saying that there had been weird sexual events in her sisters home. After learning about the murder of Kitty Menendez at the hands of her own children, read about Devonte Harts murder at the hands of his adoptive mother. Jose Antonio Menendez (born March 11, 1969) is a member of the Texas Senate for District 26. Kitty's concern about her sons. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Dr. Oziel testified that the brothers stated that they killed their parents because their father was an overbearing presence in their life, and their mothers death was a mercy killing because she was so miserable and wouldnt be able to live without Jose. In one of the most famous Hollywood murders of all time, Erik and Lyle Menendez entered their home and murdered their parents, Jose and Mary Louis "Kitty" Menendez with a shotgun. After killing their parents, the two men picked up the spent shell casings, and calmly went to see the movie in order to establish their alibi. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Kitty Menendez I found on Findagrave.com. I killed the two people I loved the most.. This is rare footage of the actual crime scene and of the bodies being carried. Jos Menndez Menndez naci en la parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmn de Miranda ( Avils, Asturias, Espaa) el 2 de noviembre de 1846. The murders remained unsolved for six months until Lyle and Erik were arrested following Eriks confession to his therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel, who eventually told his girlfriend Judalon Smyth who subsequently went to the police. In the years following her death, Kitty Menendez has been portrayed as either a loving wife and mother or as a hopeless, suicidal, alcohol and drug abuser, who cared more about her social status than about the welfare of her children. But Kittys brother, Brian, said: The idea that Erik and Lyle were abused by my sister Kitty is absolute insanity. And Deputy District Attorney Pamela Bozanich agreed. ' Jose eventually uprooted his family to Calabasas, California, in 1987, where he worked as the CEO of LIVE Entertainment. Lyle and Erik Menendez, charged with first-degree murder, admit that they killed their parents Aug. 20, 1989, but testified that they acted in fear and self-defense after years of abuse. During the trial, the Menndez brothers stated that they committed the murders in fear that their father would kill them after they threatened to expose him for years of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, while the prosecution argued that they did it to inherit their father's multimillion-dollar estate. Kitty was born as Mary Louise Andersen on October 14, 1941 in Oak Law, Illinois as the youngest child and younger daughter of Charles Milton Andersen (1906- 1990) and Mae Helen (ne Maloney; 1911- 1984). [9] Lyle attended Princeton University from which he later was suspended for plagiarism. While Kitty was still a child her father abandoned the family to move in with a mistress. Trivia. The doctors mistress overheard those recorded sessions and notified police who arrested Lyle on March 8, 1990, and Erik on March 11. She was proud that she drank cognac, Cox said, because she thought it was a high-class drink. He added that she believed one of Lyle Menendezs girlfriends would not have been a trophy wife and worried that the young woman was taking him places sexually that he was not prepared to go.. Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving their You can catch up on the story with The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All also on Hulu. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Erik, Mary Louise 'Kitty', Jose, and Lyle Menendez, Jose Menendez was a businessman in California from Cuba, Erik and Lyle claimed to have killed Jose and Kitty after being subjected to years of abuse by their father, The Menendez brothers are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole over the fatal shootings of their parents, Jose and Kitty were murdered by Lyle and Erik, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at the time of the fatal shootings, The Menendez brothers are serving life sentences. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. They married in 1964. She was the youngest of four children and her father owned a heating and air-conditioning company. Jose Menendez was a Cuban emigre who was raised by "well-to-do business people and star athletes", according to the LA Times. Powered by. This account has been disabled. Failed to report flower. Dec 2021. The Menendez brothers' (Erik and Lyle) were sons of Jose and Kitty Menendez. There is a problem with your email/password. Im going to take this dog company and make it No. Jose was a successful businessman who was also an executive for RCA. When Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed in Beverly Hills on a summer night in 1989, their violent deaths shocked Los Angeles. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. "[29][30], Erik testified that a couple weeks before the night of the killings, that he told his brother about the sexual abuse he was experiencing, which then led to several confrontations within the family. TONIGHT ON @ABC: Inside the Menendez brothers' story, 27 years after they killed their parents in Beverly Hills. Upon hearing this, Kitty Menendez allegedly dragged Lyle to bed and berated her sister, claiming the children could drive a wedge between a husband and wife. Testimonies during trial alleged that Jose took group showers with his sons after tennis, and that Kitty would turn up the volume on the TV when he dragged them into their room and shut the door. Joseph Lyle Menndez (10 de enero de 1968) y Erik Galen Menndez (27 de noviembre de 1970) son dos hermanos estadounidenses, conocidos por su condena en un juicio muy publicitado por los asesinatos con arma de fuego de sus padres en 1989. Add to your scrapbook. Jose Menendez suffered multiple wounds, including several . Intelligent, attractive, charming in public, she appeared to be the ideal wife and mother. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. They then decided to appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. I love my mother, and I still cry over my mother, and I dont forgive her, said Lyle Menendez. She was concerned that Erik may be gay, so she gave him a deadline to find a girlfriend when he started school at Calabasas High School a deadline which Erik barely met. Kitty had also grown depressed and even overdosed on Xanex. Jose & Kitty Menendez's Death Was Gruesome. The murder of Menendez became a national talk and the case ran for almost six years before the . By the time her second son, Erik, was born on Nov. 27, 1970, the two parents had created a lavish life in a Beverly Hills mansion once owned by Elton John. Kitty Menendez was born to a middle-class family in suburban Chicago, where her father owned an air-conditioning business. According to Lyle, she also forced him to touch her"everywhere" on her body. We improvised. The brothers left the family room, and Lyle reloaded his weapon, re-entered the family room and shot Kitty in the face, killing her. Kitty Menendez. Try again later. Lyle Menendez screamed across the phone line to a 911 operator in the late night of August 20th, 1989. There had to be a series of decisions she made of not to tell what was happening. Joseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez are American brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, Jos and Mary Louise Menndez. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at the time of the fatal shootings and have been imprisoned since 1996. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Kitty, their mother, then awoke and rose off the couch. 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