Joseph Lyle Menendez (known by his middle name) was born in 1968. His brother, Erik, followed in 1970. They grew up with their parents José and Kitty in New Jersey and then Beverly Hills, California. Lyle attended Princeton before he was suspended for plagiarism. Erik was a star high school tennis player. While testifying in court years later, both brothers claimed that the family patriarch had abused them sexually, physically, and emotionally. The reason they were on trial? On the evening of August 20, 1989, the siblings entered the den where their parents were watching television and blasted them with 12-gauge shotguns, reloading to finish off their mother. They blamed the murders on unknown perpetrators. The case of the Menendez brothers was a national story. Were the horrific killings the result of years of torture, or were Lyle and Erik bent on inheriting their parents’ wealth? Netflix’s latest iteration of its “Monsters” series dramatizes the whole affair. It’s riveting, but not for the faint of heart. —Jack Sullivan