Erik and Lyle talk from prison

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “The Menendez Brother.”S“, now streaming on Netflix.

Weeks after the debut of the hit Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the streamer has released a new feature-length documentary about the brothers, the crime and the trial that shocked the world.

“The Menendez Brothers,” directed by Alejandro Hartmann, tells the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez through the story of their sons Lyle and Erik. The brothers spoke to the filmmakers from prison, and numerous other family members and people who appeared at the trial also participated in the documentary.

The biggest moments and revelations from the documentary are detailed below.

*Hear the actual emergency call — The real-life source material from the investigation and trial—including the first 911 call, crime scene photos, interrogation tapes, and video and courtroom footage—is crucial to people now obsessed with the case, and demonstrates the impressive amount of research that went into ” Monsters” was incorporated.

*In their own words — While the performances in “Monsters” are powerful, nothing beats hearing Lyle and Erik talk about the murders in their voices. Hartmann has a lot of video footage with both brothers in which he describes the crime and its consequences.

*Beverly Hills PD — It is interesting to consider the bias with which the Beverly Hills police who responded to the 911 call initially acted. Pamela Bozanich, the prosecutor in the first trial, said: “They found the two brothers in front of the house. They were hysterical, they acted exaggeratedly. But the police were very nice to them. They weren't initially treated as suspects by investigators,” he added. “Beverly Hills is a different kind of police department. They provide much better customer service to their citizens.” Ultimately, police were skeptical that the brothers had anything to do with the murders in the neighborhood, but Bozanich said clearly: “Statistically, in a domestic homicide, you would be a stupid cop if you don't take other family members into account.”

*Erik agreed — “There should have been a police response. We would have been arrested. We had no alibi. There was gunpowder residue all over our hands. Under normal circumstances they will conduct a test for gunpowder residue. We would have been arrested immediately.”

*Erik says his shopping spree after his parents' murder was to combat suicidal thoughts — “The idea that I had a good time is absurd. “Everything was to cover up this terrible pain of not wanting to be alive,” he said.

*Kathy Griffin's disgusting jokes — When the brothers were arrested, the media frenzy surrounding the case began. In one embarrassing clip, comedian Kathy Griffin was seen holding a talking head on a show and saying: “Oh come on, they're so adorable.” They're doing too well to go to prison! Court! I know they don't exactly have a solid case, OK – Lyle went on a bit of a spending spree the week after the murders. He got a few Rolex watches and a $70,000 Porsche. But you know what? Sometimes you just have to treat yourself.”

*The jury may have known too much before the trial began – Betty Oldfield, a juror in the first trial, said: “I was already aware of the details because I had read everything in newspapers and magazines, although they preferred you not to.”

*Media coverage of defense attorney Leslie Abramson was sexist — She was described in news segments captured in the documentary as a “tiny, sassy, ​​smart woman with the brash style” and a “4'11″ Little Orphan Annie lookalike (who weighs 104 pounds in dynamite.”

*OJ Simpson connections — At one point, Lyle mentions that Jose was the head of Hertz Rental Cars and hired Simpson to do their commercials. Lyle later reconnected with Simpson in the county jail after he was arrested for murder, and some consider Simpson's acquittal to have sparked the cultural firestorm that led to the brothers losing their second trial.

*This chilling quote from Lyle – Regarding discussing his child abuse in court: “I would much rather lose the murder trial than talk about our past and what happened.”

*Other family members knew about Jose's abuse — The patriarch's violent behavior toward his boys was not limited to private moments. Diane Vander Molen, Lyle and Erik's cousin, said, “One time Jose put Lyle on a kitchen counter and told Lyle to jump down and he wanted to catch him. While Lyle was doing this, Jose backed away, dropped him to the ground, and told him that no one can be trusted.”

*Jose's reputation as a bad man preceded him – “Other than his secretary, I couldn’t find anyone who could say anything nice about Jose Menendez,” Bozanich said. “And everyone else just had these horrible stories about him and what a monster he was. For me, the loss of Jose Menendez was a real gain for humanity.”

*Erik's drawings about abuse and murder – In one of the most harrowing sections of the documentary, defense expert Dr. Ann Burgess illustrations that she had Erik make to help him deal with his father's abuse and the murders. “I spent most of my time interviewing Erik,” she said. “Loved his parents. He said: “Ten seconds later I regretted what we did.” One of the techniques I use, particularly with children, but also with people who have committed a crime, is to ask them to commit it draw. It is a non-leading method of obtaining information. That's what I did with Erik, I said, “Let's start with the week before.” He did about 12 or 14 frames. It was a mini Rorschach to have him draw that, and I think it was helpful for him to be able to put it on paper because he hadn't really talked about it yet.” Then the drawings are shown, which contain sentences like ” Come back, you bastard” and “I won't let you touch my little brother ever again.”

*Media violence during the trial — The documentary features a montage of talk show appearances and late-night spots mocking the brothers, including frequent taunts from Jay Leno's “Tonight Show.” The Menendez family was disturbed by the segments, with Kitty's sister Joan Vander Molen saying, “I once called Jay Leno's show to protest that they were making fun of her. And that's all they did – they just made fun of her. I was told that we were now public property and they could do whatever they wanted.”

*The first jury turned into a battle of the sexes – Hazel Thornton, a juror in the first trial, said she felt they might not be able to reach a verdict early, saying: “My worst fear came true when we made the mistake of voting on a show of hands show. All the men raised their hands in support of first-degree murder, and none of the women raised their hands. So I knew we were in for a battle, a battle of the sexes.” She added: “I think the men had a really hard time accepting the fact that a young man could be abused by his father, and the women were more empathetic when it came to understanding the issues of abuse.”

*Hear from other survivors of childhood sexual abuse — Lyle has spent much of his time in prison receiving letters from other victims of abuse and sexual assault. “I received many letters from other victims and began to identify with their own experiences because they were similar to mine. There were a lot of people there, professional people. I mean, I got letters from police officers, citizens, educated people, international people who had been through this. They just kind of encouraged me because they basically said that they had never, many of them, never talked about it, never had a voice to talk about it, and that they always felt like shame and secrecy. The prisoners came to me with their own stories because they saw me as a safe place where they could somehow vomit out all this pain. In that way I was a father confessor, so to speak, and it's kind of ironic that I was the one who ended up dedicating my life in prison to the issue of sexual abuse survivors. I never would have predicted that.”

*The brothers are grateful for the many TikTokers who believe their story… – “The younger followers of this TikTok generation are really hopeful,” Lyle said. “Young people have taken the time to find out what happened and they understand it in a way that older people don't. I feel more hopeful when society seems to understand sexual abuse even better.”

*…but not everyone is a fan – Towards the end of the documentary, Bozanich doesn’t mince his words and delivers the following meta message: “The only reason we’re doing this special is because of the TikTok movement to liberate the Menendi. Now if we're going to review cases this way, why don't we just do a survey? You present the facts, everyone gets to vote on TikTok, and then we decide who gets to go home. Your beliefs are not facts. They are just beliefs. And by the way, you TikTok people, I'm armed. We have guns all over the house. So don’t mess with me.”

Watch the trailer for the documentary “The Menendez Brothers” below.