One of the biggest hits of Netflix “Monsters: Menendez Brothers: Parent Killers “, portrays the murder of Joseph and Kitty for your children, Lyle and Erik Mendendez . The success of the series brought the brothers back to the tabloids, especially after the announcement of a new hearing due to more evidence in the case.
What is rarely mentioned in the streaming platform’s production are the case’s connections with the Puerto Rican group Menudos which was a hit in the 1980s and catapulted Ricky Martin to stardom.
This is due to the fact that José Menendez was a manager for the music label RCA Records, who signed the group, as well as other bands of the time, such as Duran Duran and The Eurythmics . Menendez, having Cuban origins, was assigned to look after Latin artists and became responsible for the Menudos during their heyday.
More than 30 years later in 2023, one of the band members, Roy Rosselló, revealed in interviews and in the documentary “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed ” that the businessman had sexually abused him in 1983.
Rosselló’s allegations are now part of a petition that lawyers for the Menendez brothers have filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court to overturn their convictions . Find out more about the case .
In the Habeas Corpus petition, filed in May 2023, the lawyers mentioned an alleged incident in which, according to the petition, the group’s manager, Edgardo Díaz asked Rosselló to “do him a favor” and instructed him to get down to the hotel to meet José Menendez in a limousine .
According to the petition, Rosselló, at age 14, was allegedly taken to Menendez’s New Jersey home, where he was offered wine by José and then raped. “Roy lost consciousness and woke up back in his hotel,” the document says.
According to the petition, the singer was allegedly raped by Menendez a second time in a hotel in New York City.
“He threatened me, saying that if I didn’t agree, I would be expelled from the group,” said Roy in the documentary “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed”.
Since 2015, the artist lives in João Pessoa in Paraíba. Roy was also a pawn on A Fazenda 7, a reality show on Rede Record.
In 2017, Rosselló revealed on the program The Noite, presented by Danilo Gentili that Díaz also sexually abused him and other members of the group.
Understand the crime
On August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered their parents José and Kitty, at the family home in Beverly Hills, in the United States. At the time, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18. Together, they shot the couple more than 12 times with shotguns.
On the night of the crime, after committing the murders, Lyle, the older brother, called the emergency services, claiming that they both found their parents dead upon returning from a movie session .
With the family inheritance at their disposal, the brothers began to spend their fortune. Lyle purchased a coffee shop and luxury items, while Erik hired a private tennis coach, a sport in which he wanted to excel.
Less than a year after the crime, in March 1990, Lyle was arrested, and Erik was detained three days later. During the trial, held in 1995, the two did not deny their responsibility for the murders. The case, broadcast on television, attracted widespread media attention in the United States.
The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, his lawyers continue to try to reverse the sentence to secure his release.
In court, Lyle and Erik denied that the motive for the murders was financial, stating that the crimes were the result of the physical, emotional and sexual abuse they suffered during their childhood and adolescence.
At the moment, the Menendez case is being re-examined through two Netflix productions : “Monsters” and the documentary “The Case of the Menendez Brothers”, which brings the Lyle and Erik’s first interviews after 30 years in prison .
“Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” is not available in Brazil.
Ryan Murphy responds to criticism of Erik Menendez’s “Monsters”
This content was originally published in What does the ex-Menudo who lives in Brazil have to do with the case of the Menendez brothers? on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
