Viewers tuning in for the new Netflix documentary on the Menendez brothers are being left ‘heartbroken’ at an admission made by the brothers.
The new documentary has been released in the aftermath of Netflix’s release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, and is called simply The Menendez Brothers.
The siblings killed their parents with shotguns in 1989, and have remained in prison ever since.
Whilst the prosecution claimed they had done so for their father’s inheritance, the brothers have claimed since the trial that it was due to sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of their father Jose Menendez.
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They are currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole despite calls for a retrial or appeal.
In the documentary, the pair speak and give their perspective on events.
In one particularly emotional scene which ends the documentary, Erik and Lyle Menendez reflect on their crimes.
The scene opens with Erik stating that he hoped ‘the seriousness of [his] crime not [be] minimized or diminished’.
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Lyle goes on to say: “For me, I never really could escape that night. That night just floats back into your mind a lot.”
Erik then added: “I went to the only person that has ever helped me, that has ever protected me, and then ultimately, this happened because of me, because I went to him.
“Afterwards, let's just be honest, he was arrested because of me, because I told Dr Oziel, because I couldn't live with what I did. I couldn't live with it. I wanted to die.
“In a way I did not protect Lyle. I got him into every aspect of this tragedy, every aspect of this tragedy is my fault.”
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Lyle finished by saying: “I never found understanding. I think, like I understand a lot of it and what happened to us and why I couldn't find another way out of that weekend.
“I feel sometimes like I rescued Erik. But like, did I? I mean, look at his life. And this comes a point where you just realise, OK, this is impossible.
“Feels impossible that I couldn't do better. I couldn't rescue all of us.”
Fans who posted the scene were emotional at hearing the brothers' admissions.
One posted it to Reddit saying: “This broke my heart.
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“Watching the end of Lyle and Erik’s documentary did make me tear up because of the fact that they feel like they didn’t protect each other enough.
“Both brothers are brave and both did everything they could to protect each other.”
Another commented: “This broke my heart in two, along with them talking about being separated and united.
“It’s sad that they both think they ruined the other’s life and really speaks to how much they still feel protective over each other.
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“They massively regret what they did and it’s clear, but when push comes to shove, I think they’d always choose each other.
“I hope they’ve found some more healing since they did the interviews for this documentary.”
The Menendez Brothers is streaming on Netflix now.
Topics: Menendez Brothers, Netflix, True Crime, Mental Health, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin