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

Warning: This article contains a discussion of child abuse that some readers may find disturbing.

Netflix has released the trailer for the second part of Ryan Murphy’s Monster Crime drama franchise that tells the stories of some of the world's most gruesome murders.

While the first part, which was released in 2022 and in which American Horror Story While the series – fronted by Evan Peters – followed the gruesome serial murders of Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and dismembered seventeen men in the 1980s, the second season tells a completely different story.

Titled The story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, The new series, which will be released on the streaming service on September 19, commemorates the murders committed by two brothers from Beverly Hills in the late 1980s.

The crime occurred in 1989. The victims were the brothers' parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez. The duo later claimed that they had been subjected to incessant physical and sexual abuse since childhood.

Jose and Kitty were shot a total of 16 times with a shotgun in their home. However, when police arrived at the scene after receiving reports of gunshots, Lyle and Erik claimed they returned home to find their parents in that condition because they had been at the movies at the time of the attack.

With no suspect to arrest, the brothers believed they were free of any crime and began spending their inheritance lavishly on luxurious items, including traveling abroad and investing in successful businesses.

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

In total, they spent about $700,000 before investigators became suspicious of their behavior.

And after Erik's psychologist – the only person he confided in about his crimes – told his own girlfriend, who in turn told the police, the two were arrested.

The events that followed were among the most sensational and shocking crimes of the 20th century.

Her harrowing case became a national sensation when Court TV decided to broadcast the entire trial.

Erik, believed to be the main victim in this heartbreaking abuse case, described his father Jose as a cruel perfectionist and pedophile who gave him “penis massages” as a child.

The brothers also described their mother, “Kitty,” as a mentally unstable alcoholic and drug addict who enabled her husband’s abuse, even though Erik and Lyle had repeatedly told her about his perversions.

The new Netflix series will tell the story of the Menendez brothers' crimes. (Ted Soqui/Getty Images)

The couple said they killed their mother and father out of fear after Jose reportedly threatened to kill them if they broke their silence about the abuse they were subjected to.

Although two of the brothers’ cousins ​​later testified in court and supported their abuse allegations – And When a photograph of Erik's genitals as a child, allegedly taken by Jose, was presented to the court, the prosecution maintained its claim that they murdered their parents for financial gain.

Tragically, after the first trial ended inconclusively, Lyle and Erik Menendez were found guilty in a second trial 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 performance in American Horror Story – will play his wife Kitty.

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