Breaking Down Erik and Lyle Menendez’s Surprising History With O.J. Simpson After ‘Monsters’ Scene
Ryan Murphy's Monsters series showed Erik Menéndez giving O.J. Simpson legal advice in prison — but did they actually know each other?
During the penultimate episode, which was released on Thursday, September 19, Erik is seen watching coverage about Simpson's infamous Bronco chase. Simpson was ultimately apprehended and brought into the same prison as Erik, with their cells being right next to each other.
"I guess it's hard not to think that people are going to stop paying attention to us and just pay attention to you," Erik (Cooper Koch) admitted to Simpson (Trae Ireland). Only Simpson's voice was heard during the cameo, and Ireland didn't physically appear as the late football star in the series at all.
Erik and Lyle Menéndez initially made headlines in 1989 when their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were found dead in their home. Lyle and Erik were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder each. Three years later, the brothers were tried separately as they alleged that years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse caused them to shoot their mother and father.
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The case ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. A retrial began in 1995, but most of the evidence surrounding the abuse couldn't be used as a defense. Erik and Lyle — who were now being tried together — were ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in 1996. They continue to appeal the decision but have been denied.
Simpson, meanwhile, was named as the primary suspect after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were fatally stabbed outside of her home in Los Angeles in 1994. Simpson was ultimately acquitted on the murder charges in 1995 after a high-profile criminal trial but was found liable for Brown Simpson and Goldman’s deaths after their families sued him in a civil trial. The former athlete died of prostate cancer at age 76 in April.
While Erik and Simpson’s conversation on Monsters came as a surprise to some, the Menéndez brothers have spoken about forming a friendship with Simpson when they were both behind bars. Keep scrolling for everything they mentioned about their history — which started before their respective arrests:
When Did the Menendez Brothers Meet O.J. Simpson?
In the 1970s, Lyle and Erik’s father helped secure an endorsement deal for Simpson during his time as the running back for the Buffalo Bills. Simpson became a regular guest at the Menéndez household, with Lyle and Erik even getting signed footballs from the NFL player.
“[José] happened to be the head of a company and they were moving into heavy advertising, and they had this novel idea of having a sports hero do it,” Lyle recalled to People in 2017. “More people knew O.J. for that [the TV ads] than anything else. Before what happened ... happened.”
He added: “O.J. Simpson came over to our house several times. I certainly never thought that we’d be later meeting in prison, facing murder charges. That’s for sure.”
How Did Their Individual Legal Issues Reunite Them?
After Simpson’s arrest, he landed in the same cell as Erik at Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail. Lyle and Erik were already incarcerated for more than four years and awaiting their retrial by the time Simpson was accused of being involved in the murder of his ex-wife and Goldman.
According to Robert Rand’s 2018 book The Menendez Murders, Erik offered Simpson advice about his legal strategy and handling the overwhelming media coverage of his trial.
“When you cry — remember those tears,” Erik wrote. “Hold them because you’re crying for your children, you’re crying for everything you’re losing.”
The 2018 docuseries The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All claimed it was Erik who connected Simpson with his attorney Johnnie Cochran. Lyle, for his part, also interacted with Simpson, with them sharing more than 100 conversations while awaiting meeting with their respective lawyers in the jail’s attorney room. Lyle allegedly advised Simpson to plead guilty to accept a plea bargain.
“I told him I thought the public would understand,” Lyle told Rand in an interview for The Menendez Murders. “I expressed my concern that [lawyer] Robert Shapiro wouldn’t let him tell the truth. I said I knew it obviously wasn’t planned and that he had snapped in the heat of passion.”
Did Erik and Lyle Think O.J.'s Trial Affected the Outcome of Their Retrial?
“O.J.’s verdict had a very negative effect on our case,” Erik said in The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All while suggesting the L.A. County District Attorney’s office needed a win after Simpson was acquitted. “Because this verdict was so shocking, there was this sense that an extreme injustice had happened and now we’re gonna have to right it with every defendant that comes up. We were the next defendant.”
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Viewers saw one conversation between Erik and Simpson after the athlete was brought to prison. Erik advised Simpson not to rely on Shapiro. Simpson, meanwhile, wasn't actually shown on screen, and the series instead only let Us hear Ireland speaking through the adjacent cell.
"I tell you what, I'm not going to be in here long. Because I didn't f---ing do it. You know? Nicole hit me," the fictional Simpson said on the show. "I'm getting a bunch [of lawyers]."
Erik advised Simpson to consider a plea bargain, adding, "I heard that Robert Shapiro is your lawyer? I just wanted to tell you that he was our lawyer too. Actually you should just watch out for him because he kind of f---ed us. Like, I could have stayed in London and I wouldn't be up for the death penalty, probably. But he was the one that told me to come home."
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