Erik and Lyle Menendez speak out for the first time in decades in the official trailer for “The Menendez Brothers,” a new documentary streaming on Netflix in October. The brothers were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, in a trial that gripped the nation and is currently the subject of Netflix’s narrative series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”

“Everybody wonders why we killed our parents,” Lyle says in an audio interview from prison. “Maybe now people can understand the truth.”

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“What happened that night is very well known, but so much has not been told,” Erik adds. “We were not the ones telling the story of our lives. Two children do not commit this crime for money.”

The official synopsis for Netflix’s documentary “The Menendez Brothers” reads: “In 1996, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents in what became one of the most famous criminal trials of the late 20th century. For the first time in 30 years, and in their own words, the brothers look back on the trial that shocked the nation. Through extensive audio interviews with Lyle and Erik, attorneys who attended the trial, journalists who covered it, jurors, family members and other informed observers, acclaimed Argentinian director Alejandro Hartmann offers fresh insight and perspective on a case people only think they know.”

Erik Menendez recently made headlines for criticizing Netflix’s “Monsters,” which debuted on the streaming platform on September 19. The show is helmed by Ryan Murphy and is the second installment in the “Monster” anthology series, which launched in 2022 with a season focusing on Jeffery Dahmer (played by Evan Peters). “Monsters” stars Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik Menendez, with Javier Bardem as their father, Jose, and Chloe Sevigny as their mother, Kitty.

In an online statement posted via his wife Tammi Menendez’s X account, Erik said the drama series perpetuated “ruining character portrayals” of him and his brother. The statement also accused Murphy of having bad intentions due to the nature of the story the showrunner was creating.

“I believed we had moved past the lies and the ruinous characterizations of Lyle, and had created a caricature of Lyle that was rooted in the horrible and blatant lies that were rampant on the show. I can only believe they did this on purpose,” Erik wrote. “It is with a heavy heart that I say that I believe Ryan Murphy could not be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives to do this without malicious intent.”

“The Menendez Brothers” streams on Netflix October 7. Watch the official trailer below.

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