Heartbreaking true story behind Netflix's latest murder series after controversial Dahmer thriller

Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.

Netflix has dropped the trailer for the second instalment of Ryan Murphy's Monsters crime-drama franchise, which tells the tales of some of the world's most stomach-wrenching murders.

While the debut instalment - which landed back in 2022 and starred American Horror Story frontman Evan Peters - followed the vicious serial murders of Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and dismembered seventeen men in the 1980s, the second series tells another story altogether.

Titled The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the incoming series - which lands on the streaming service on 19 September - recalls the murders committed by two Beverley Hills brothers in the late 80s.

The crime took place back in 1989, the victims being the brothers' own parents, Jose and Mary Louise 'Kitty' Menéndez, with the duo later claiming that they'd subjected them to ceaseless physical and sexual abuse since their childhood years.

Jose and Kitty were shot at their home a total of 16 times with a gauge shot gun, though when police arrived on the scene after reports on the sound of gun-fire were filed, Lyle and Erik claimed to have returned home to find their parents in this state, having been at the movie theatre when the attack happened.

With no suspect to apprehend, the brothers believed they were clear of the crime, and began spending their inheritance extravagantly on plush and luxurious items, including trips overseas and investments into successful business.

The duo claimed to have murdered their parents after they were threatened themselves. (VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images)

Collectively, they spent approximately $700,000 before investigating officers began to form suspicions surrounding their behaviour.

And after Erik's psychologist - the only individual he's revealed his crimes to - told his own girlfriend, who in turn told police, the duo were arrested.

The events that followed became one of the most highly-publicised crimes of the 20th century.

Their harrowing case became a national sensation when Court TV opted to broadcast their entire trial.

Erik - understood to be the central victim in the stomach-wrenching abuse case, described his father, Jose, as a cruel perfectionist and a paedophile.

The brothers also described their mother 'Kitty' as a mentally-unstable alcoholic and drug addict who enabled her husband's abuse, despite Erik and Lyle having reported his perversions to her on several occasions.

Netflix's incoming series will tell the tale of the Menendez brothers' crimes. (Ted Soqui/Getty Images)

The duo claimed they'd killed their mother and father out of fear after Jose allegedly threatened to murder them for breaking their silence on the abuse they faced.

However, the prosecution were unyielding in their claims that they'd murdered their parents for financial gain.

Lyle and Erik Menendez were found guilty in a second trial - after the first resulted in a deadlock - and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

No Country For Old Men actor Javier Bardem will take on the role of Jose Menendez, while Chloë Sevigny - also known for her appearance in American Horror Story - will star as his wife, Kitty.

The Menendez brothers will be played by acting newcomers Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch.