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Want Greater Insight into Menendez Brothers’ Case? Check Out This Peacock Docuseries
Peacock's Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed examines the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez and how the case is tied to the boy band Menudo.
Since being tried and convicted of their parents’ 1989 murders, Erik and Lyle Menendez’s case has never been far from the public spotlight or imagination.
The most recent example is Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, a dramatized account of their infamous story by veteran showrunner Ryan Murphy – a retelling that has itself drawn significant controversy.
Relatives of the brothers, who remain incarcerated in California, have taken serious issue with the series and have lined up in support of Erik and Lyle, while blasting the show.
"We are virtually the entire extended family of Erik and Lyle Menéndez,” the family statement, posted by Erik Menendez’s wife Tammi reads. "We are 24 strong and today we want the world to know we support Erik and Lyle. We individually and collectively pray for their release after being imprisoned for 35 years. We know them, love them, and want them home with us."
In the statement, they describe the Netflix series as a “phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations.”
“The character assassination of Erik and Lyle, who are our nephews and cousins, under the guise of a ‘storytelling narrative” is repulsive,” the statement continues. “We know these men. We grew up with them since they were boys. We love them and to this very day we are close to them. We also know what went on in their home and the unimaginably turbulent lives they have endured. Several of us were eyewitnesses to many atrocities one should never have to bear witness to.”
Since their trial, there have been allegations the brothers had been sexually abused by their father, Jose Menendez, for years. Those accusations gathered new support with the release of Peacock’s docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, which details Jose Menendez’s alleged sexual abuse of not only his two sons, but also a member of the boy band Menudo, who fell into Jose’s orbit in his capacity as a recording executive.
Here’s what you need to know about the Peacock docuseries.
What is Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed about?
The Peacock documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed explores the accusations of sexual abuse brought against the late Jose Menendez.
It is explained in the Peacock documentary that Jose Menendez used to be the head of the company Radio Corporation of America's record division, RCA-Ariola. Through his work, he came into contact with former Menudo singer Roy Rossello, who would later accuse Jose Menendez of raping him at the Menendez family's home in New Jersey, as detailed in Menendez + Menudo.
Erik Menendez also speaks to journalist Robert Rand about the accusations in the documentary, saying, "I always hoped and believed that one day the truth about my dad and what he did — rape and molestation — would come out and that I'd be believed. For so long, people just refused to believe it. But I never wished for it to come out like this, as the result of trauma that another child has suffered. It makes me very sad."
Where can I watch Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed?
All three episodes of the docuseries are available to stream on Peacock. Each episode is about an hour long and features interviews with Roy Rossello and others.
RELATED: 'Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed': Everything To Know About The Latin Pop Group
More Shows About the Menendez Brothers
The murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez have also been the subject of other Oxygen and NBC shows.
In Season 10, Episode 32 of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, Keith Morrison looked back at the shocking trial that saw Erik and Lyle Menendez take the stand in their defense. The episode also features an interview with Lyle Menendez who spoke with Morrison from behind bars.
Oxygen and MSNBC took a deeper look into the prosecutors' assertion that Erik and Lyle Menendez murdered their parents for profit in Season 1, Episode 6 of the series Blood & Money. Retired Beverly Hills Detective Sgt. Thomas Edmonds and former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Pamela Bozanich are among those who spoke about their experience with the case in the series. The episode is available for purchase on iTunes and is streaming on Oxygen.com.
In addition, the case was dramatized in the NBC series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, starring Edie Falco as the Menendez brothers' defense attorney Leslie Abramson. The eight-episode series is available for purchase on iTunes.
