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History Daily

The Menendez Murders

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

August 20, 1989. Lyle and Erik Menendez shoot and kill their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion, sparking a decades-long nationwide debate about what justice looks like.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:04.1

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0:06.0

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0:10.5

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com.

0:16.6

A listener note, this episode contains references to child abuse and murder

0:20.3

and may not be suitable for all audiences.

0:31.6

It's just before 10 p.m. on August 20, 1989, in a mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. In a darkened ground floor hallway,

0:41.0

brothers Lyle and Eric Menendez stand beside the closed doors to the family room. Each of them carries

0:46.6

a loaded shotgun loosely by their side. As 21-year-old Lyle paces back and forth on the tile floor,

0:53.8

19-year-old Eric has his eyes on the

0:56.1

crack beneath the door, watching the flickering glow from the television. The brother's parents,

1:01.5

Jose and Kitty, are watching a movie inside. Or maybe they're just pretending to, Eric thinks. Maybe

1:07.4

they're really plotting, getting ready to kill their own sons. Eric feels his

1:12.5

heartbeat faster. You can't take the waiting anymore. So he reaches out and puts a hand on

1:18.1

Lyle's shoulder. The brothers lock eyes and nod. Eric grips his shotgun tight in one hand,

1:24.1

and with the other, he throws open the double doors to the family room. It's dark inside and the light from the TV is the only thing illuminating their parents

1:31.3

sitting on the plush couch. Eric and Lyle storm into the room without saying a word.

1:37.3

They simply raise their weapons and start firing.

1:49.6

In the coming days, the brutal murder of Jose and Kitty Menendez will make headlines around the country.

1:51.4

Gossip about the crime will ripple through Los Angeles as people struggle to make sense

1:55.3

of the wealthy couple's deaths.

1:57.5

But these initial shockways will be nothing compared to what happens when Lyle and Eric Menendez

...

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