Lyle and Erik Menendez's Story Actors Guide

Following the resounding success of “Dahmer,” Ryan Murphy returns to Netflix on September 19 with “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” the second installment of his true-life anthology series.

After murdering both of their parents in 1989, the Menendez brothers became famous in the early 1990s when their criminal trial was televised nationwide. Erik Menendez’s defense attorney, led by attorney Leslie Abramson, cited self-defense against the brothers’ abusive father, Jose Menendez, and complacent mother, Kitty Menendez, to justify the murders. Pam Bozanich, one of the prosecutors, argued that the motive was financial gain, fueled by the Menendez brothers’ lavish spending of the family fortune after the murders.

The first trial ended in a hung jury. The Menendez brothers’ case was dismissed until 1995, when they were summoned for a new trial. The second trial was less publicized because cameras were banned from the courtroom. At the end of the trial, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on July 2, 1996.

Find out below who will play Lyle Menendez, Erik Menendez, Kitty Menendez, Jose Menendez and the rest of the actors involved in this infamous court case.

Jose Menendez

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Javier Bardem will play José Menendez, a wealthy and exuberant businessman and abusive father of Lyle and Erik Menendez. José Menendez and his wife, Kitty Menendez, were murdered by their sons on August 20, 1989.
Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez

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Chloë Sevigny will play Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, the mother of Lyle and Erik Menendez. The Menendez brothers’ defense team argued that Kitty Menendez was an alcoholic drug addict who was complacent in the face of her husband’s physical abuse. Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered her on August 20, 1989.
Lyle Menendez

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Nicholas Chavez (“General Hospital”) will play Lyle Menendez, Erik Menendez’s older brother. The couple became famous after thousands of Americans watched their murder trial in the early 1990s. On July 2, 1996, he and his brother were sentenced to life in prison for the murders of their parents.
Erik Menendez

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Cooper Koch (“Swallowed,” “They/Them”) will play Erik Menendez, the younger brother of Lyle Menendez. Prior to his crimes, Erik Menendez was a tennis prodigy, ranked No. 44 in the U.S. tennis world. On July 2, 1996, Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced to life in prison for the murders of their parents.
Dominick Dunne

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Nathan Lane will play Dominick Dunne, a Vanity Fair reporter who extensively covered the Menendez brothers’ murder trial.
Leslie Abramson

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Ari Graynor (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”) will play Leslie Abramson, a Los Angeles defense attorney and lead lawyer for Erik Menendez. She argued that the Menendez brothers’ crimes were justified by the abuse their parents suffered.
Dr. Jerome Oziel

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Dallas Roberts (“Glass Onion”) will play Dr. Jerome Oziel, Erik Menendez’s therapist and personal confidant.
Judalon Smyth

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Leslie Grossman (“American Horror Story”) will play Judalon Smyth, a former lover and patient of Erik Menendez’s therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel. After Oziel confided in Smyth that Menendez had confessed to murdering her parents, she reported him to the police, leading to Menendez’s arrest.
The Zoellers

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Jason Butler Harner (“Ozark”) will play Les Zoeller, the Beverly Hills detective in charge of the investigation into the Menendez brothers’ murders.
Carlos Baralt

Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images | Short TV

Enrique Murciano (“The Night Agent”) will play Carlos Baralt, Lyle and Erik Menendez’s uncle and José Menendez’s brother-in-law.

Jose Menendez

Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez

Lyle Menendez

Erik Menendez

Dominick Dunne

Leslie Abramson

Dr. Jerome Oziel

Judalon Smyth

The Zoellers

Carlos Baralt