The Netflix docudrama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story by Ryan Murphy left out a major detail regarding the brothers, as well as stirring up Murphy’s regular controversy. After 24 members of the Menendez family wrote a group letter condemning the series, the multi-award-winning director responded indirectly, claiming his drama is “the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years,” (Sky News). The series title alone suggests otherwise but, additionally, a moment in 2018 was likely their highlight.

2018 was a major year for the Menendez brothers because, up until that point, the brothers had been separated for their life sentences. More than their sentences with no chance of parole, their separation must have been the worst punishment for the brothers, considering their close relationship. Being able to interact in person now must also have softened the blow of the documentary, which particularly paints Lyle in a sinister light, as well as getting details about Erik and Lyle Menendez wrong.

Lyle & Erik Menendez Were Separated For Nearly 22 Years Before Being Reunited In 2018

The Brothers Were Sent To Prisons 30 Miles Apart

As Murphy’s drama portrays, once the Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in 1996, they were sent to separate prisons in California. Erik was taken to Folsom State Prison, while Lyle was sent to Mule Creek State, a 45-minute drive away. Originally, when the pair were arrested in 1990, they had been in the same prison and could interact. This changed when they were separated for their sentence. They were not allowed to communicate by phone, but letters were allowed, and they even played chess by post (Capital FM). The detail the series misses is the brothers’ reunion in 2018.

Erik was moved to Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, San Diego, in 2013. In 2018, Lyle was moved to that same prison. The reason they were able to reunite after almost 22 years was because Lyle’s security classification was lowered (Daily Mail), and the brothers, who the Monsters stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez stand by, are incarcerated together to this day. They are allowed to see each other for meals and recreational time. Their reunion was an “overwhelming, emotional, happy moment” for the brothers and their family (ABC News), with the brothers tearfully holding each other with no words adequate for the remarkable reunion.

Why Lyle & Erik Menendez Were Sent To Different Prisons

The Separation Was Perhaps The Most Difficult Part Of Their Sentences

The jury sided with the prosecution, who argued that the Menendez brothers murdered their parents for their money. This nullified all the familial abuse evidence they exhibited, and maximum punishment for the pre-meditated murders prevailed. The brothers had expressed a desire to be housed together and said a separation would be difficult, so arguably it was simply part of their punishment. However, the official reason was “prison officials preferred to separate people who’d committed crimes together. In addition, a detective on their case warned that the brothers might plan an escape.” (Biography).

As well as being reunited, the brothers also have more freedom to contact the rest of their family.

As well as being reunited, the brothers also have more freedom to contact the rest of their family, who sent a group letter denouncing Murphy’s “shockudrama” (The Independent). They are both classified as Group A inmates, who have the highest visitation and phone call privileges. California began distributing tablets to inmates in 2021, though Donovan State Prison didn’t receive them until 2023. While tablets offer access to news and magazines, internet browsing and social media are restricted. Inmates can communicate with approved contacts through email, free calls, limited video calls, and text messages.

The recent release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has sparked renewed interest in the Menendez brothers’ ongoing legal battle to overturn their life sentences, consistently citing familial abuse, a shocking Menendez brothers detail. The latest in the Menendez case is that evidence of molestation, which was largely withheld from their second trial, is to be re-investigated (LA Times).