Two new pieces of evidence have been found for the case of the Menendez brothers.
Roy Rosselló, an ex-member of Latino pop music band Menudo, came forward claiming he was sexually assaulted by Jose Menendez, a Los Angeles businessman, in the mid-1980s. The second piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin, Andy, about his father sexually abusing him in 1988, months before the killing.
If you aren’t familiar with the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, here is a short run down. The two brothers made the news after killing their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. After years of sexual abuse and threats by their father and mother, it felt like it was their only way of escape.
They acted purely out of fear believing their parents would kill them if they didn’t act first. After they sat there waiting for the police to show up, no one ever did. Lyle and Erik took their opportunity to hide the guns and make an alibi.
Later when they got home Lyle phoned the police. Erik’s screams of panic and terror could be heard in the background, still emotionally disturbed by what he did.
After months of getting away with the crime, they were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.
The main question surrounding this case is why the Menendez brothers didn’t come forward about the sexual abuse in the first place.
Robert Rand, journalist and author of the biography “The Menendez Murder,” answered the question for the public.
“They were 18 to 21. Why didn’t they leave home?” Rand said. “The answer is the therapy experts who evaluated them told me that their emotional maturity was somewhere around 8-10 years old. Jose and Kitty Menendez made the brothers very dependent on them. They could not imagine walking out the front door of the house.”
Money played a role in Menendez’s trial. Many believed it was their motive. Two spoiled sons who killed their parents for money were more believable for the public than a father and mother sexually and emotionally abusing their sons.
Sexual abuse allegations were dropped even if they had stable evidence from family, friends, coaches, and teachers who testified in their defense. However, many believed they were coached on what to say and were not welcomed to the second trial.
Leslie Abramson, Erik Menendez’s former lawyer, fought hard to open the people’s minds that males could be victims of sexual abuse. The public, however, responded with anger and resentment towards this story.
“He’s such a great actor. How come I couldn’t get him on the witness stand to act?” Abramson said. “Would have been useful if he had been a little more emotional. He was so frightened and so cranked down you hardly saw any feelings at all in him.”
Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister, Anamaria Baralt, a niece of Jose Menendez, and Karen VanderMolen, a niece of Kitty Menendez, etc. testified in their defense that they saw firsthand when they stayed in the Menendez’s home. They recalled Jose would take Erik to his room before dinner, and nobody was allowed to walk down the hallway. They expressed concern to Kitty when the brothers brought up the sexual abuse actions Jose would do to them.
This is where Roy Rosselló’s confession changes the Menendez case. He speaks out about remembering his time in the boy band, being raped by Jose Menendez at the age of 14. He interviewed for a Peacock show “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.” He talked about his first meeting with Jose at his New Jersey home. Rossello could see in Jose’s eyes that he had other intentions.
Entering the house, he could feel the dark negative energy in the house, the abuse. At the dinner table, he was offered wine. After drinking it he explained he felt tired and heavy, unable to move.
“Someone pushed me. Someone carried me. Someone tried to push me,” Rossello said. “I walked down a long hallway and there was a room. I couldn’t react because I had no control over my body. They drugged me. After that, I woke up in the hotel. I have no idea how I got to the hotel but when I went to the bathroom, I was bleeding.”
He remembered the pain lasted for a week, unbearable and hard to move.
Rossello went to Edgardo Diaz, a Puerto Rican music producer who also attended dinner with Menendez, that he was bleeding. Diaz brushed it off and told him to relax, that it would heal soon and be ready again soon. He even claimed Diaz raped him many times when he 13-years-old.
“That is what I went through,” said Rossello.
The letter Erik wrote to his cousin also impacted the Menendez case because it dated back nine months before the killing. That the alleged sexual and emotional abuse isn’t a cover-up for them but the reality.
With the two new pieces of evidence, their hearing is set on Nov. 29 for a chance at freedom or to be resentenced. They also confirmed a third trial will not happen due to the fact Los Angeles is unable to afford it.
Lyle even has a Facebook account run by their family to create a safe space for people who have experienced abuse. It is made clear in his pinned post how the page isn’t only about him but all survivors.
“On the advice of counsel, Lyle has asked that I let you all know to please NOT participate in any kind of group bombardment of mailings, emails, or phone calls to the governor about this case. Thank you for your ongoing support and your understanding. Please spread the word.”
They are unable to comment on the pending case.
