Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s true crime drama series, ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ presents the twisted case of two brothers killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The show focuses on the trial of the brothers, where they have to explain why they killed their parents in cold blood. All the evidence is stacked against them, so the defense tries to make a sound case for the why behind the crime. It takes months for the details of the case to come out, one testimony at a time. In the meantime, the Menendez brothers are kept in prison, where Erik, quite unexpectedly, meets O.J. Simpson. Interestingly, this was not the first time they were in each other’s orbit.
The Menendez Brothers Met OJ Simpson Years Before the Murders
When the Menendez brothers first met OJ Simpson, the three of them were years away from getting involved in the crimes that would make them infamous. In conversation with People, Lyle Menendez revealed that he and Erik were still young when Simpson came over to their house for the first time. He remembered playing football with the Buffalo Bills player who also signed footballs for the brother. In his Vanity Fair article, Dominick Dunne mentions the circumstances surrounding this meeting, which took place shortly after Simpson signed with Hertz to star in their commercials.
In the late 90s, Jose Menendez worked at Hertz car rental and was in a top position within the company when he invited Simpson to dinner with his family. According to Lyle, he met Simpson again a few years later. This was a few months before he and Erik murdered their parents. Lyle and his tennis teammates at Princeton were at a restaurant in LA, where Simpson was dining with his party. Lyle didn’t reveal whether Simpson remembered him then or if they talked about something. But this was the last time Lyle saw him outside of prison because the next time they met, both of them were behind bars at the Los Angeles County Jail.
Simpson and the Menendez Brothers Crossed Paths Again in Prison
In his book, ‘The Menendez Murders,’ Robert Rand writes about how Erik Menendez was told to scrub the floors and walls of the prison unit because a special guest was coming. It struck as odd to Erik, but he knew something big was about to happen, and sure enough, OJ Simpson was brought in shortly after. To Erik’s surprise, Simpson was placed in the cell next to him. Erik mentioned to him how they’d met before, and for the next five days, he and Simpson had brief conversations through the walls of their cells. He also noted that Simpson received much better treatment than other prisoners, especially in terms of facilities, probably because of his well-established fame.
The only time Erik actually saw Simpson was when the latter was on his way to the shower. Their time together didn’t last long as a few days later, Erik was moved to a different cell. While Lyle was in the same facility, he was nowhere near Simpson’s cell. Instead, he met Juice while waiting in the attorney’s room. Lyle said that they shared the same meeting room and would talk while waiting for their lawyers to show up. He said that they had several conversations during this time, and he found Simpson “overwhelmed” by his situation at the time. Lyle claimed that he advised Simpson to present his own side of the story (though he believed Simpson’s lawyer, Robert Shapiro, wouldn’t allow it) and consider taking a plea bargain.
Tables turned for Simpson soon enough, and he was let go while the Menendez brothers stayed in prison for their second trial that would decide what would happen to them. Erik Menendez believed that Simpson’s win got the prosecution on edge and they were desperate for a win. The next big case had to work out in their favor, and this didn’t bode well for Erik and Lyle. Erik believes that Simpson’s verdict had a “negative impact” on their case, which the prosecution saw as a way to right a wrong that happened when Simpson was allowed to walk free by a jury.
Read More: Were Erik and Lyle Menendez Incestuous Lovers? Was Erik Molested by Lyle?
