Everything Monsters actually got right about Menendez murders as Netflix is accused of 'inaccuracies'

Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.

The nine-part Netflix crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, has been slammed for inaccuracies by Erik - leaving viewers to wonder about the facts of the case.

In 1996, Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison without the eligibility of parole in for the murder of their parents, José and Mary Louise 'Kitty' Menendez.

José and Kitty were shot dead at their extravagant home 16 times with a gauge shot gun in 1989.

Lyle, who was 21 at the time of the murders, and Erik, 18, evaded capture for more than five years - until Erik's confession to his psychiatrist led to their arrest.

The brothers then opened up about a lifetime of alleged sexual, emotional and physical abuse from their father, which their mother was privy to but did nothing to protect them from.

After their first trial resulted in a deadlocked jury unable to reach a verdict, a judge ruled that evidence of the abuse would be excluded from their second trial.

Prosecutors argued the killings were done as a means to access their parents' $14 million (roughly £10.5m) estate.

The brothers were imprisoned to life sentences without the eligibility of parole.

Today, they are held in the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.

The show portrays these facts, as well as the fact José Menendez wore a toupee and that one juror had a heart attack, but has also been chided for bizarre 'incest scenes' between the adult brothers which have no factual basis.

Journalist Robert Rand told the Hollywood Reporter: “I believe the only physical contact they might have had is what Lyle testified, that when Lyle was 8 years old, he took Erik out in the woods and played with him with a toothbrush—which is what José had done with him.

"I certainly wouldn’t call that a sexual relationship of any sort."

Netflix's Monsters was produced by Ryan Murphy, who has been unapologetic about his supposed retelling, while Erik slammed the 'inaccuracies'.

In a statement from prison, Erik, now 53 years old, said: "I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show.

"I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.

"It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward – back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women."

He added: "Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out.

"So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.

"Is the truth not enough? Let the truth stand as truth."

In a red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight, Murphy responded to the backlash.

He said: "I think it’s interesting that [Erik] issued a statement without having seen the show.

“The thing that I find interesting that he doesn’t mention in his quote is if you watch the show, I would say 60 to 65% of our show in the scripts centre around the abuse and what they claim happened to them.

"And we do it very carefully and we give them their day in court and they talk openly about it."

He controversially added: "Two of them are dead. What about the parents? We had an obligation as storytellers to also try and put in their perspective based on our research, which we did."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.