Successful and wealthy, José Menendez was a demanding father and bitterly disappointed with his under-achieving sons, Lyle and Erik. The Menendez boys’ strong bond developed out of their need for companionship and solidarity in the face of their domineering father's tyrannical control. Younger sibling Erik grew up worshipping Lyle and often told his friends how much he admired his brother.

The boys were academic underachievers, possibly with learning problems, and considered immature in relation to their classmates. In 1982, when Erik and Lyle were 12 and 15, they attempted to sexually assault a female cousin, but the incident was ignored.

Seven years later on Sunday, 20 August 1989 in Beverly Hills, two men entered the Menendez mansion and fired upon José and his wife Kitty with a shotgun, killing the couple as they dozed in front of the television. The murders sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of Los Angeles society.

The killings were blamed at first on the mafia, but the seemingly distraught Lyle and Erik soon began to spend their inheritances freely living a life of luxury and abandon. A police investigation prompted by the brothers' reckless spending was aided by the emotional stress beginning to take its toll on the younger brother, and Erik's gradual mental breakdown, which led him to confess to his therapist, finally contributed to the arrest of both brothers.

The Menendez brothers confessed to the murders in July 1993, but claimed that they had suffered from years of sexual abuse under their despotic father. In televised trials that garnered much tabloid attention, the two were eventually sentenced to life without parole in July 1996.