(Donald James Smith. Picture credits: Top left: clickorlando, firstcoastnews, Bottom left: staugustine & nzherald)

Before I begin I just want to mention something to my regular readers (and if you are new here, hello! and thank you for stopping by), you may have noticed that I now have a warning link as soon as you click on a post, this is no cause for alarm or anything dodgy. Because of the nature of what I write, it's only sensible to have that warning, plus some of the terrible details that I often share in these posts can be graphic and although I always mention beforehand what I will be talking about, it's still wise to have a little notice. 

So this case was difficult and it's one that I will never forget as I'm sure you will probably feel the same if you know about it or even after you've read this post. It's a case that will stir up a number of emotions, from utter devastation to sheer anger and utter disbelief. 

I will be sharing my thoughts in this too and I hope you will feel comfortable enough to share yours. You can either comment below or come and have a coffee and a natter with me on my Socials. By the way, I don't want that to come across as 'light hearted' on such a serious post, I just like my readers to know where to find me because a lot of people don't feel comfortable to leave a public comment if you know what I mean. 

There might be moments in this post where I share some personal pieces about my own life in relation to some of the details shared. So with all that being said and now that you are somewhat prepared, let's delve into this horrifying case. 

[This post will contain details about child abduction, sexual abuse and murder so please be aware. I will try my best to be as sensitive in sharing the facts] 

I don't have any children....yet, but I do feel very over-protective of them, not only because of the cases involving children, that I have written over the years but because of my own experiences as a child and just that natural part of my personality that wants to be able to take care of a child and nurture that child. It sounds crazy but I treat my cats like they are my kids, so I'm very much a 'Mother Goose' type of person. I think a lot of us are like that and that's heartwarming, but unfortunately there are people in this world who don't see children as the precious, innocent little balls of fun that they are, they have other ideas....sick ideas!

Cherish was born into some difficult circumstances on the Christmas Eve of 2004, Rayne had previously worked as a stripper and her pregnancy with Cherish was the result of a one night of passion with a sailor. Despite the situation and neither parent interested in a romantic relationship with each other, Rayne decided she wanted to be a mother. So beautiful little Cherish was born and what a pretty name too (I keep thinking of the Madonna and Kool & The Gang songs, I wonder if that had been a factor in naming the little princess or if Rayne was just drawn to calling her that because of how she felt about her) but there was drama as her biological father wanted custody so there was a bit of back and forth and a number of court appointments. It was finally decided that they would share custody but that Cherish would spend the majority of the time with her mother and see her father for holidays, this was an arrangement that both parties were happy with.

In June of 2013, Cherish was preparing to spend the summer with her father and she was very excited. Rayne helped her pack up a few things but realised that she was missing a few essentials. There was only one thing for it, they had to go shopping and Rayne was hoping that she would be able to make some of the last $100 that she had, stretch to be able to cover everything and still be able to pay for some of Cherish's transportation the next day, which was when she was due to visit her father. 

Rayne didn't have a car and she didn't want to spend money on cabs or buses (trying to save as much money as possible) so together with the three girls, she took a stroller and they all walked to the Dollar General which is a famous discount store in the USA. When they arrived at the store it became apparent that the little bit of money that Rayne did have, was not going to cover the costs of what they needed. There was a little dress that Rayne had her heart set on but they had to put it back because it would have cut really deeply into the budget. Rayne was sad that she could't get the dress for Cherish and did talk to the sales assistant, maybe as an attempt to get a discount or something? I wish they'd just let her have the dress especially seeing as she was clearly a young mother on her own with three children. I'm naughty like that, I used to work in retail and if it was me there that day, I would have 'turned a blind eye' and put the dress and some other bits in the bag without ringing it through or at least done a discount, pretend the dress was damaged or something. But anyway, Rayne put the dress back.

Whilst all of this was going on and Rayne was trying to figure out how she was going to have Cherish's things all sorted out for the next day, an older looking man with white hair was loitering about in the background. He'd been listening to Rayne, the kids and the conversation with the sales assistant about not being able to afford the dress. The man appeared to look like he was in his 70s but he was actually in his late 50s. A bit of an odd looking character with what looked like a heavy metal t-shirt, like he was an old man trying to dress younger. 

One of the scary things about this guy was that he looked (I'm saying this as an adult woman) like some fragile old man and I know we can't judge on appearances in these types of situations but his mannerisms at that point were quite jovial. He looked like someone's Granddad, He approached Rayne and explained that he had overheard the conversation about money being tight and not being able to afford the dress. Donald James Smith, as he was called, didn't offer to pay for Rayne's shopping right there at the Dollar General but he did offer to give her a $100 gift card for Walmart (another famous store in the USA that sells everything from clothing to milk). It was around 7pm at this point which is a bit late to be shopping but obviously Rayne was just trying to get everything organised for Cherish's trip. 

Donald Smith told Rayne that his wife had the gift card so she would be coming soon. Rayne accepted the 'kind' offer, thinking that this was just some nice, old married man just trying to help out a young mother on her own. With time getting on and no sign of Donald's 'wife', he offered to take Rayne and the girls over to Walmart in his van to meet his wife there. 

This should've been the point where Rayne told him, thank you for your offer of kindness but I have to politely decline and she and the girls should have left the store on their own. For some reason, Rayne took him up on the offer even though she later admitted that she felt uncomfortable around him. He seemed to intimidate her and she seemed to care what he thought. He told her not to worry and that she and the kids would be safe, so they all got in the van. 

He did as he said, at this particular moment because he did take them to Walmart and Rayne felt comfortable enough to leave the stroller and the items that she did buy at the Dollar General, in his van. All of them went into Walmart to browse whilst they waited for Donald's 'wife' to show up. I sat through hours of courtroom testimony, read piles of court documents and viewed the CCTV footage and I was almost tearing my hair out when I saw what had been going on in the Walmart store. Time continued to drone on and on and Donald was hovering about around the girls, supposedly waiting for his 'wife' to show up and I'm going to be honest here, Rayne was putting things into the shopping cart and wasn't paying attention to what the girls were doing. The kids had the run of the store basically and were here, there and everywhere whilst creepy Donald was hanging around like a bad smell. Not once did Rayne look up to see where her children were and it made me angry to watch it. 

I was on the edge of my seat, anxious, watching this creep hanging around Cherish whilst Rayne was at another section of the store not looking after her children. The other two girls were at another section so Rayne wasn't near any of them. Not only were the girls being left to their own devices BUT Rayne allowed Donald to take Cherish to the changing rooms twice!! Allowing a strange man to take your 8 year old child to the changing rooms? and twice! I couldn't believe it. The situation got even more ridiculous and disturbing when Donald picked out a pair of shoes for Cherish. A pair of high heeled woman's shoes!! Cherish took them to show Rayne and was told by her mother to put them back.

For some reason, instead of shouting ''Mum, there's this creepy bloke here that keeps staring at me and trying to get close to me.'' I made a run for it and that was worse! he chased me. This scary man chased me all over the shopping mall, right there in public view. The whole experience was terrifying and I didn't know what I was doing, I was just on auto-pilot, I didn't want him to catch me. 

I ran outside of the shopping mall and there was a phone box with a crowd of people standing near to it. For some reason, I ran into the phone box and pretended to call the police. Nothing I did was rational, I wasn't thinking straight, I was just a kid. He stopped and continued to stare but with a disappointed look on his face, he shook his head and got into his car. My heart was thumping out of my chest. I was so scared thinking he was going to come back. 

I ran back into the shopping mall and finally found my mum and told her, she didn't take it seriously and that was basically the end of the matter. On the drive back home, we drove past the entrance to the shopping mall and I could have sworn that I had seen him again, I tried to tell my mum but she dismissed the whole thing. It is a memory that has stayed with me all of this time and during the research of this case, I have to admit that it did pop up when I was thinking about Cherish and other victims of the sick and depraved, Donald James Smith. I was one of the lucky ones, that's why it's so important not to let your children out of your sight because these monsters pop up everywhere, even in a crowded shopping mall or grocery store. 

Back to the case, it was approaching 10pm and there was still no sign of Donald's 'wife', the kids were getting hungry. Donald James Smith had only made one purchase the whole time that he was with Rayne and the girls.....some rope! There was a McDonald's situated inside the store and Donald mentioned that he had a gift card to spend, he offered to buy Rayne and the girls some food. The kids were excited as you'd expect, that was the other thing, Rayne didn't take into consideration that hours had gone by and the girls would be hungry, you would have thought that she'd be able to see this guy was full of BS by now and just take the girls back home but no. 

The last word that little 8 year old Cherish said to her mother was ''cheeseburgers''. Cherish was allowed to walk off with this strange man yet again because, Rayne said that because he'd taken Cherish to the changing rooms twice before and brought her back, she thought this was ok. 

(Cherish & Donald James Smith. Walmart CCTV camera footage. Picture credit: nzherald)

Cherish and Donald walked towards the McDonald's which was now closed and they were captured on the CCTV camera, standing for a few seconds before walking out of the front entrance. Those images are haunting, you're left with feelings of anger and heartbreak because you know what is coming next for Cherish and it should have never gotten to that in the first place. 

God knows what Donald told Cherish in order to get the young, hungry and innocent little girl to follow him into that van but witnesses overheard him say ''We are going to get cheeseburgers'' (or hamburgers, words to that effect). So he conned Cherish into thinking that they were going to get food. Children often watch their parents to see how to respond to people and situations. The fact that Rayne just let Donald hang around, they got in the van with him before, she'd left the stroller and Dollar General items in his van so Cherish knew that they were there and the fact that Rayne let Donald take her to to the changing rooms twice, it must be safe to go with him cause Mommy hasn't told him to leave. 

The footage that was captured of the parking lot as the tall, older Donald James Smith walked towards his van with the tiny little doll-like figure of Cherish following behind, words can't describe it. As the van pulls away and leaves the parking lot you can only feel powerless as you watch this little girl go to a horrific end at the hands of this evil predator. It's not easy to watch, you just feel like crying. 

Back in the store, it took Rayne 20 minutes to discover that Cherish had not returned and realised that it was taking them some time to come back with the food from McDonald's. So finally she becomes concerned about her daughter's whereabouts and starts looking for Cherish, realising the McDonald's is closed, the panic set in. Rayne tried to get some help from the staff and borrowed a mobile phone to call the police and it's quite harrowing as you would expect. Rayne is in a panic and says things about rape and being raped, she said that she'd been raped in the past herself. The police didn't know what to make of it all and some of them thought it was a practical joke. You and I know it wasn't a laughing matter and it was a really horrible situation but the way Rayne was conducting herself and was saying things like ''I'm a psychic'' and telling the cops that they'll be bringing her daughter home in a coffin. It was all really disturbing and despite her faults and clear neglect (let's be honest here) of the girls, she didn't deserve what happened, none of them did, especially Cherish. 

The police finally took the matter seriously and checked out the CCTV footage. It didn't take them long to know who they were looking for. Donald James Smith, a convicted and highly dangerous paedophile in his late 50s who had a history of inappropriate behaviour towards young girls from as far back as 1977. The first time he was diagnosed as being a Mentally Disordered Sex Offender was 1977 but that was after an incident of flashing that he was caught, he could have been at his disgusting behaviour years before and just managed to avoid detection. 

He wasn't married, he was in his late 50s, unemployed (did the odd painting and decorating job when he wasn't in prison), just out of prison and lived with his mother. He did have one son that he was estranged from because he'd spent the majority of the boy's childhood behind bars (his son was a drug addict who later credited finding Jesus with his recovery and he has since re-connected with his father, he visits this beast once a week). There were previous incidences of exposing himself to young girls, impersonating a person of authority in order to speak to a child on the phone where he proceeded to say inappropriate, sexual things to to her. He tried to persuade the girl's relatives to bring the child to a McDonald's so that he could examine her, Luckily this horrible plan did not work and he was caught. There was another occasion where he tried to force a terrified, young girl into his van and chased her down the street. The poor girl had to hide inside a children's slide by wedging her legs at either side in order to try and keep herself safe from him. He was put away for some time for this horrible incident too. Despite the fact that this THING was highly dangerous to children and a ticking timebomb, he kept falling through the cracks. 

I think a lot of that had to do with his mommy, she made me feel sick too. He came from quite a comfortable lifestyle, never wanted for anything. Money was no object and his mother believed the sun shone out of his backside. She was a person who was quite the snob and was all about appearances. She knew he was a disgusting pervert but she swept it all under the carpet. He was always taking drugs and she'd be in denial about that too and pay off any debts that he had. 

Another thing that blew my mind was that his neighbourhood knew that he was a creepy pervert but nobody really bothered about it. It's funny what some people are prepared to put up with or turn a blind eye to, if they think that someone has some money. 

At the time of Cherish being driven away in his filthy white van, Donald James Smith had only just been out of prison for 3 weeks. As the hours ticked on and it becoming abundantly clear that Cherish wasn't coming back and this wasn't just a silly plan that was hatched up by Rayne as a custody thing with Cherish's father (the cops considered that to be a possible factor early on). Word was out that Cherish was missing and the search was on. The investigators did do a remarkable job as they did find her the next morning but the heartbreaking truth was soon realised, Cherish was found deceased behind a church, she'd been placed in a creek. Donald James Smith had dumped her little body there hoping that all of the evidence would be washed away and that she would never be found. 

The investigators who found Cherish tried to treat her with as much respect as they could and refused to leave the site where she had been placed until forensics had gotten there because they feared the possibility of animals being able to get to her remains which by now had ants crawling on certain areas. It was truly devastating. 

The nightmare of Cherish being taken away in that van with that absolute monster was a horrible and frightening thought to begin. But when more horror was revealed at the trial, it was just too much. People were sickened, angry and plenty of tears were shed. I'm going to try and be as sensitive as I can here but basically, that THING worked very fast as soon as he led that little girl into that van under the promise of getting some food for her and her family. He took Cherish somewhere, parked up and put her at the back of the van where he subjected her to the most brutal sexual assault imaginable. There was bruises on his penis and her throat was badly bruised. Her gums had bled from where he forced her to fellate him, he completely destroyed her private areas at the front and back. He had left a bruise on her nipple where he had sucked on her chest. He had choked and strangled her so brutally that she had blood in her eyes. Then after he had finished this sick rape and torture, he dumped her body in the creek. 

As a woman, a lot of us have experienced sexual relationships and at times there are situations where things can be a bit painful for whatever reason and that is when you are a fully grown adult. Cherish was only 8 years old, a baby, her body was still growing and he basically tore her apart, which makes me sick to say but that is what that monster did. 

So the cops had him and he had the nerve to plead not guilty. He had his trial in early 2018 and I watched this piece of filth sitting there like he was sat at some meeting. Not a tear or sign of remorse from him. There were moments where he was smirking and I just wanted to jump through my laptop and grab him, put these nails to good use! I have to take my hat off to everyone in that courtroom because I would not have been able to just sit there and breathe the same air as that thing. I'd happily do time in prison serving him some 'Justice' and I don't think anyone would blame me.

The whole trial seemed like a bit of entertainment for him, a chance to relive his disgusting crimes and take joy in all of the lives he's managed to ruin. He makes me utterly sick! He blamed everyone but himself, he blamed Rayne for trusting him and he blamed Cherish for following him into the van. All he could think about was himself and he and his lawyers tried to paint him as some poor guy who was a victim of his own paedophilia and that it really wasn't his fault, he was helpless apparently. It was a load of crap and seemed to drone on and on because they were trying to save him from the death penalty. 

I was really angry the majority of the time watching this trial but even more so when Cherish's autopsy details were discussed. I was furious that he was sat there the whole time as the full extent of Cherish's injuries were revealed, including the utter devastation to her private areas. Pictures were shown and things were described in detail and that monster (who gets off on hurting children) was sat there the whole time, reliving what he had done. 

Rayne was obviously in the courtroom and she was utterly beside herself in grief and you could really see how losing Cherish in such a horrible and sickening manner, had affected her and the massive amount of guilt she felt. Although I wasn't happy with how she didn't look after the girls properly and had helped put them in a vulnerable position, I knew that it wasn't intentional. In my opinion, Rayne was like a teenager underneath it all who was way in over her head with 3 kids, she couldn't cope but she did love those girls. 

Rayne had been through a lot in the past and was clearly a vulnerable woman who'd made mistakes. I just feel so bad for her in many ways, especially with what happened to her beautiful little girl but there is a part of me that is annoyed that basic common sense did not come into play as soon as this creep approached her at the Dollar General, she admitted later on that she felt uncomfortable with him but she was more concerned about him thinking she was being too overprotective. 

During the trial a tape was presented to the courtroom and it was recorded some time after Cherish's death, Donald was having a conversation in prison with a fellow prisoner. He said to this person that he liked 12 year old girls and that was his usual target. he also said that Cherish had a lot of butt on her for a white girl. It just made you feel even more sick, hearing him say those things without a care in the world. He has never shown remorse. 

There was a huge outpouring of grief and anger at what had happened to Cherish, Rayne did receive a lot of support and understanding from a lot of the public, there were some who did feel that her actions that day had helped put Cherish in that situation. It's very difficult because here you have a mother who's completely broken over the decisions she made that day, she's lost her child in the most horrific way imaginable and nothing will ever change that, but a lesson has to be learned here. Don't have your kids around strangers, if some random dude walks up to you and your children at the store offering to give you money, just walk away. 

There are good people in this world, kind people but unfortunately there are a lot of evil people out there too, predators just waiting to pounce when they see any opportunity. Paedophiles can sniff out inexperienced or neglectful parents a mile away, it makes their plans for abduction a lot easier. Some of them get into relationships with vulnerable women just to get access to their children, it's terrifying but you have to be careful who you let into your children's lives. I lived next door to a paedophile and never knew. I would go next door to play at my friend's house and their mother's boyfriend would babysit them. As a child, I didn't like him, he gave me the creeps so I tried to avoid him. Their mother had a baby with this guy and one day all hell broke loose because it had been discovered that he had been abusing my friends and their little baby sister. I don't know exactly what happened afterwards, whether the case went to court or whatever but I do know that some years later, this same guy (don't want to give away too many details here) had been working as a taxi driver and had assaulted a woman. The woman's husband and a few members of the local community basically drove him out of town and nobody ever saw him again. Whatever the case with that situation, it's none of my business but I do hope that karma came to that guy. 

I just want to point out too that some women can also be a potential danger to children so you really have to have eyes on the back of your head trying to keep kids safe. I admire any parent who tried their best for their kids because being a parent is not an easy role. 

I know this post was very hard to get through and I thank you for getting through it with me. Cherish was a beautiful little light in this world and she deserved to go on to have a chance at life. She should have been on her way to see her father for the summer holidays, she should be with us now but sadly she isn't and it's all down to the evil actions of one sick pervert. Rayne made mistakes but she was too naive too see the dangers, the usual common sense and for that she is continuing to pay the price which must be a living nightmare for her. 

RIP beautiful Cherish, you will always be remembered for your beautiful eyes, your smile that could light up a room, your kind and innocent heart that believed that all people were good and that all adults were to be trusted. You're an angel that gained your wings far too early but we'll never forget you and we hope that others will take lessons from your story. 

"In memory we see her the same, as long as we live we'll Cherish her name"

I think about Rayne and her girls and I know they have to live with this every day, I pray and wish the best for them. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Donald Smith Trial | YouTube

- Court Documents | Supreme Court of Florida

- Donald Smith: Article | Jacksonville.com

- Cherish Perrywinkle: Article | Yahoo News

- Murder of Cherish Perrywinkle

- Cherish Perrywinkle: Article | The Sun

- Cherish Perrywinkle: Article | Daily Mail

- Cherish Perrywinkle | Tribute Instagram

- Rayne Perrywinkle: News Report | WOKV News

- Cherish Perrywinkle: Article | CBS News

- Donald Smith Trial | 911 Calls & CCTV Footage

- Cherish Perrywinkle: News Report | News4Jax

- Cherish Perrywinkle Memorial

- Cherish Perrywinkle | Dignity Memorial

I hope you will join me in my next post and until next time, I hope you'll join me on my socials

Take care x 

 (From left to right; The Menendez Family. Lyle, Kitty, Jose & Erik. Picture credit: tvfanatic)

So, as clearly stated in the title of this post, we have come to the end of my Partners In Crime series in this seventh and final instalment and what better way to end this series than with a case that sent shockwaves all over the world. I think just about everyone knows about the Menendez family, to say the case has been highly publicised is an understatement. So many books, TV movies, documentaries and comedy spoofs (yes, comedy spoofs) have been written and created about this fascinating family. Why do they fascinate us and continue to fascinate us? Well, they looked like they had it all, the picture perfect family, the beautiful mansion in Beverly Hills, staying in a location that was once the neighbourhood of the likes of Michael Jackson and Elton John, the vast amount of money, the lifestyle, the talent, the showbiz connections....quite simply, to the onlooker, they had it all......or did they?

My first introduction to this case was many moons ago when my mum was watching the TV movie: Honor Thy Father & Mother: The Menendez Killings, I was just a child but vaguely remember a storyline of two young boys who had a tyrant for a father and ended up killing their parents before going on a massive spending spree with their deceased parents money. I think that's the understanding of most people when they think of this case and it was mine over the years because I didn't really focus that much on it. I'd always see the Menendez case pop up quite a lot because there always seemed to be another movie or documentary based on the case.

So I decided that this past week I would really delve into the whole story and what really happened. I was shocked at a lot of the things I heard from the courtroom tapes. I sat through and watched endless hours of the trial that was broadcast on Court TV back in 1993, the testimonies, the cross-examinations, the closing arguments etc as well as the TV interview with Barbara Walters and I've read endless books. There was a lot to get through but I learned a lot about this case that I never knew before. 

In this post, I will be sharing some very graphic details to do with the murders as well as disturbing details to do with child sex abuse. I will try my best to be as sensitive as I can whilst stating the details. Watching and hearing the boys (I keep calling them boys) talk about what they allegedly endured at the hands of their parents was quite difficult to stomach a lot of the time and what was said and done by the pair, before, during and after the murder of their parents is still something that is very much up for discussion and debate. There's people who believe them and there's people who don't. Everyone seems to have a strong opinion on this case and I no doubt will have some smart-ass (it usually happens on Twitter) comment that someone has  seen one TV movie and therefore know everything there is to know about the case and have fully made their minds up about the Menendez brothers. 

I always say to be aware of TV movies based on real murder cases because a lot of the time, dates and times are changed, names are changed, locations are changed and some scenes are created for dramatic affect. It's very rare that you are going to get the real facts from a glossy TV movie. I highly recommend books, the trial footage (if it's available) and any interviews with the actual witnesses, family members or perpetrators themselves, to get an idea of the real story. 

As I always do, I approached my research into this case as if I had never known anything about it before and I started off with the book The Menendez Murders: The Shocking Untold Story of The Menendez Family & The Killings That Stunned A Nation by Robert Rand. This was a real eye-opener of a book and very graphic, it didn't hold back on the details and afterwards when I watched the 1993 trial I heard all of the horrendous details repeated again from the book, it's a very harrowing and interesting read for anyone who is wanting to know a more in-depth, no holds barred, account of the case. 

So with all that being said, let's get into the case. Jose Menendez was quite the success story having come from humble beginnings in Cuba, his background was one of struggle and allegedly quite an abusive one too. He reportedly suffered sexual abuse as a child by a female family member and it seemed to be a common thing in that family with relatives turning a blind eye. Despite the difficulties he faced, he was quite an intelligent child who was very much a dreamer, someone who wanted more out of life, he wasn't one for settling with his lot, he always wanted more and this was (at times) an admirable trait because he became a very successful man but in regards to others, he would often place unrealistic and unnecessary pressure and expectations. Some people would find him very intimidating and hard to get along with as he came across as quite a strong minded, forceful character and this was demonstrated from a young age. 

He had goals to be a professional swimmer and he was quite successful and earned a scholarship at a college. He ended up emigrating to America after the Cuban Revolution during the 1950s and took various jobs whilst studying at university where he met his future wife Mary (who was known as Kitty). Kitty was a beautiful young woman who was very intelligent herself, she'd partaken in beauty pageants in the past and had also done some teaching. She had dreams of becoming an actress and the pair seemed to be something of a romantic love story with the handsome young ambitious Cuban man coming all the way to America and sweeping this all American beauty queen off of her feet. They were soon married and Jose never stopped working towards his dreams. He turned from the swimming to working in the entertainment industry and had managed to work himself all the way to the top quite literally through hard work, grit and determination.

So with all that success in his career, the couple were able to enjoy the fruits of all of Jose's labours and began to live a more comfortable lifestyle. The happy couple welcomed two sons, Joseph Lyle Menendez (Lyle) was born first on the 10th of January 1968 and his brother Erik Galen Menendez was born not that long after in 1970. They were almost like twins, not in looks or personality but they were close. 

In the early years of Lyle's life, everything seemed to be great within the family and with his relationship with his father, however, when he turned 6 years old, things took a more confusing and disturbing turn. Jose began behaving quite inappropriately with his young son. Jose began touching him in private and forcing Lyle to perform sex acts on him and he would do the same. This was done in private away from Kitty and Erik and Jose would tell Lyle that it was their secret and that it was natural. Jose would say that it was a form of father and son bonding and that the Greeks would partake in mutual masturbation before going into battle. Jose would force Lyle to read passages from historical books which supposedly detailed this 'ritual'. He said that it was his role as a father to teach his son how to (as he put it) 'relax' and 'get rid of 'tension'. He told Lyle that he would do the same thing with his child when he became a father in the future. 

Lyle was very confused and loved his father but was also very scared of him and wanted his father's approval in everything. The sexual abuse that Lyle endured was reportedly from the ages of 6 to 8 and it stopped abruptly to Lyle's relief. However, Jose seemed to have turned his attention to Erik and Erik claims that his experience of sexual abuse from his father also started at the age of 6. As I mentioned before, the boys had very different personalities as you would expect but Lyle seemed to be a bit tougher than Erik. Lyle seemed to be a bit more headstrong like Jose whereas Erik cut quite a sensitive figure and would often be very emotional and cry which very much irritated Jose. Jose hated seeing weakness, he didn't have much of a bedside manner and wanted to toughen the boys up. 

As Lyle got older he became more confident and a bit of a rebel who had quite a few of his father's traits and he seemed to be quite bright and good at sports which Jose was thrilled with in the beginning. Jose saw a lot of himself in Lyle and there was an element of favouritism with Jose and the boys. Lyle got things a bit more easier than Erik but Kitty was reportedly always quite distant with the boys, especially Lyle. Kitty began to say things to Lyle which were quite upsetting such as that he ruined her life when he was born, that all of her dreams were ruined when she found out that she was pregnant with him. Depending on her moodswings, she would often blame both of the boys for what she said was not being able to live her life the way she always wanted to live it. Despite living the high life, she apparently resented the boys and didn't seem to be interested in being a mother. Looking after the boys didn't seem to be on her high list of priorities and she wasn't affectionate, neither was Jose who didn't believe in praising people because he said that it stopped people from working harder. 

As I mentioned previously, Lyle's sexual abuse ceased at the age of 8 but Jose's horrific assaults on Erik would continue on for a shocking 12 years. The abuse went from inappropriate touching to the most horrendous things you could imagine. Erik was very detailed and graphic when sharing the details of what he claims had happened with his father and it was nightmarish. Erik was forced to swallow his father's semen, objects were forced into his backside, he would be forced to perform sexual acts on his father whilst Jose would put pins in his legs and body. Erik would cry out in pain and this just further angered Jose and he would say ''Why can't you just be like your brother, you will get used to it.''.

Lyle did try and tell a female relative about the sexual abuse that he suffered in the past and this same relative told Kitty who refused to believe it and branded Lyle a liar and that was the last that was said on the matter. Later on during the 1993 trial, Lyle confessed that during his abuse he remembered taking Erik to some woods and inappropriately touching him. Lyle tearfully apologised to his brother in the courtroom.

This horrible nightmare would be a regular occurrence and it would be even worse if Erik failed at something or got a bad grade. Lyle and Erik were being pressured to take part in sports, particularly tennis. Lyle seemed to be quite good but Erik needed a bit more practice. The boys would be forced to take part in gruelling practice sessions which would often be up to 45 hours per week and this was not counting school. Everything they did was critiqued by Jose and if they took part in a tennis tournament and lost a match, Jose would sit them down and go through the match step by step. Everything would be scrutinised from their performance right down to what they had eaten. The boys food and drink intake was recorded because Jose believed that whatever they ate could affect their performance. There was no room for failure in Jose's book. Jose allegedly took nude photographs of the boys which were shown at the trial. Erik and Lyle claimed that their father often took pictures of them naked. 

The boys went through reportedly 50 tennis coaches because Jose had a habit of getting rid of people that he felt were getting too close to the boys. He didn't want Erik and Lyle to have a friendly relationship with anyone because he believed that they should see everyone as a potential competitor. He didn't believe in friendships because he felt that this would weaken their resolve and make them fail at whatever task or competition they participated in. 

During the years of sexual abuse, Kitty would often come to Erik's room to (he claimed) 'examine' him. Because of the injuries that would be inflicted by Jose, Erik had some blisters on his private area. Kitty would ask him to sit naked on the edge of the bed whilst she touched and apparently squeezed these blisters. There was no discussion and Erik didn't say anything to his mother about how the blisters got there but he was very confused as to why she was doing that and her behaviour was very strange. 

The relationship between Erik and Lyle wasn't just difficult with their father, there non-existent bond with their mother was very difficult too. To the outside world, Jose and Kitty would portray their family as this close-knit, perfect unit but in reality it was more like a warzone. Kitty was having all sorts of personal problems, she was obsessed with her appearance and scared of looking older. She would go on extreme diets and became obsessed with having facial treatments done. She was going through moodswings and drinking heavily. All of this was further exacerbated when she found out that Jose had been having a number of affairs. 

Lyle was going from strength to strength with his tennis career and went on to win the No 1 position for the States Tennis Association, Erik was at number 5 but this still did not satisfy Jose who was annoyed that his family had not been voted to win the Family of The Year award. He felt that if Erik had done better than they would have won. Even though Lyle was in No 1 position, with Jose, there was always a criticism to be had and his attitude was that Lyle was No 1 in the States Tennis Association but it wasn't worldwide so therefore it still wasn't good enough. Previous tennis coaches later commented that Jose was very harsh on the boys and would work them to the bone during practice. 

Erik was still very sensitive as the years went on and Kitty and Jose would force Erik to participate in various tasks in an effort to toughen him up. Jose once told him: ''You are the biggest sissy I have ever known in my life, I'm ashamed that you are my son.''

As Erik grew older the sexual abuse got worse, he now had names for each type of abuse his father inflicted on him, he called them:

Knees

Nice sex

Rough sex

Just sex

The type of abuse that Erik would be forced to endure, depended on what mood Jose was in. The abuse had reached the point where Jose was now sodomising his son, according to Erik's testimony. 

Kitty began to taunt Erik about him not having a girlfriend, she would ask him if he was homosexual to which he replied that he wasn't. Both Kitty and Jose were fiercely homophobic and would make distasteful remarks. Erik would think to himself that his father was a hypocrite because of how he was treating him and abusing him. 

Things were going from bad to worse with the family when Erik and Lyle got involved in petty crimes. They both began stealing people's property out of their homes and Jose found out about it. Jose did what he could to fix the situation with the victims involved and gave them their belongings back as well as a large sum of money for any items not returned. Jose was highly embarrassed by this and told a friend that he was going to cut Lyle and Erik out of his will. Jose ordered the boys to attend appointments with a psychiatrist called Dr. Jerome Oziel. 

The marriage between Kitty and Jose was in turmoil on one hand but Jose's success was blossoming on the other, he found himself as the head of RCA Records and had worked with some of the most iconic artists of the 1980s. When it came to money, they were rolling it, money was no object for the Menendez family but it was all under Jose's control. They moved about a bit but always stayed in the most luxurious of places. Jose, not being content being a huge success in the entertainment industry he decided he wanted to move into films too on some capacity but not as an actor. Kitty still had her dreams of becoming an actress or an anchor.

Whilst the family were living in this beautiful big mansion in Beverly Hills, Kitty was still suffering with mental health problems, she was swallowing dozens of pills every day. Jose was still carrying on with other women and Kitty's relationship with her sons was still distant and tense. 

Erik and Lyle grew tired of the fact that Kitty (reportedly) would always stand by and do nothing whilst Jose would shout at them. There was animosity because of her attitude towards the revelation that Lyle had been abused years before but she just cast that aside. The boys couldn't understand why she never attempted to help them or try and keep them safe from Jose. There was more drama when Jose and Kitty would argue and threaten divorce. On one occasion Jose had been putting pressure on Erik during tennis practice and not thinking, Erik shouted ''Alright, Alright'' to which Jose threw him against a glass panel, he then threw him against it again and he fell threw it. Kitty had been watching the whole incident and didn't do a thing to stop it. 

There's people who will say that Kitty and Jose were some of the nicest people you could meet and that they worshipped their two sons, In fact it was reportedly Erik and Lyle who would be very rude to their parents and would be overheard shouting at Kitty and Jose on a number of occasions. 

Things were are brewing point with the family despite living at the beautiful 722 North Elm Drive mansion, Erik wanted to escape and go to university, he had his heart set on it and saw it as a way to get away from the sexual abuse, Jose had other ideas. Jose made it clear that Erik could attend this university but he would still have to come home and stay at the house. To Erik, this meant that his father was basically saying that the abuse was going to continue. Jose also apparently said that both Erik and Lyle would have to continue living by his rules, no matter where they were staying. Jose spelled it out to the boys of what he had planned for their futures, he was going to decide what career they would have and who they would be able to marry. 

Erik was furious and tried to talk to his mother but was greeted with a hostile reception. Erik claimed that Kitty blurted out that she had always known about the sexual abuse and when Erik (who was horrified and in shock) asked her why she didn't help him, she responded ''Why should I help you? Nobody has ever helped me in my life.''

Erik was devastated that Kitty had known about his sexual abuse all of this time and had done nothing to help him. He was very emotional about it. Erik wasn't the only one on the receiving end of Kitty's cold and distant demeanour, Lyle was to find himself in tears over something that had been bothering him for years that Kitty enjoyed tormenting him about and that was his hair. Lyle had suffered from hair loss from his early teens and it had a profound affect on his confidence. Jose and Kitty were very concerned about it but nobody knows if their 'concern' was due to Lyle's state of mind or because Lyle's hair loss wouldn't have fitted in with the perfect image they were trying to portray to the outside world. Whatever the reason, Lyle was given a professional hair piece which was securely glued to his scalp. It was made from real hair and looked natural. The specialist glue enabled him to go swimming, be outside in all kinds of weather, showers etc and it not come off or cause any sort of potential embarrassment. These days, hair pieces and extensions are all the rage but back then it was sort of a hush-hush thing, especially if you were a man. 

Erik claimed that he never knew that Lyle wore a hair piece, not that it was a big deal to him. He knew that Lyle had suffered from hair loss but thought that he'd had some sort of surgery because he'd been swimming with him and never saw the hair come off, he thought it was natural. Erik was surprised to hear some commotion and overheard Lyle shouting ''Please, Mom I need it.''  The next minute, Kitty comes storming out of the room and has Lyle's hair piece in her hand which she threw back at him before going to her bedroom. Lyle was in tears and seemed to be humiliated. His scalp wasn't bleeding but it was red from where Kitty had harshly ripped off the hair piece, now whether this incident actually occurred, we only have Erik and Lyle's word on this but one thing's for sure, there was something very wrong with that relationship (or should I say lack of) that those boys had with their mother. 

Lyle ran off to the guest house, Erik followed to see if he was ok. Lyle went to the bathroom and tried to sort out his hair piece. Erik told him that it didn't matter about his hair and that he still loved him. With emotions running high, Erik opened his heart to Lyle and told him about the abuse at the hands of their father. Lyle was upset about what Erik told him and claimed that he never knew. They both went back and forth in conversation about their horrible experiences with Jose and they wanted to put a stop to it. Lyle was determined and wanted to confront Jose. Some time later this actually happened but he was met with the response ''I do what I want with my family.''

It was clear what the situation was going to be for Lyle and Erik, they had heard they were going to be cut out of their father's will, Jose made it clear that they were going to live by his rules no matter where they were and Erik was terrified because Jose had threatened him in the past that if he told anyone about the sexual abuse that he would not only kill him but he'd kill the person he told, so he thought (or he claims to have thought) that it was only a matter of time before his parents got rid of both himself and Lyle. 

They wanted to run away but decided against the idea because they knew with Jose's connections and money, he would find them. Erik had attempted to run away in the past when he was a child but Jose found him and threatened to kill him if he ever tried anything like that again. They were stuck and didn't know what to do. They later claimed that they were terrified because they knew their parents had guns in the house, Kitty had bought one the year before too. When Erik asked her why she bought it she responded that she planned to kill someone but he didn't ask who it was. This puzzled the courtroom at his trial in 1993 and he explained that you never questioned his parents on anything and he figured it had something to do with someone his father was having an affair with because his mother was completely miserable at this point. 

Kitty was all over the place emotionally and threatened to kill the boys and Jose with poison. It got to the point where Jose started taking Erik and Lyle out for dinner cause they couldn't trust what Kitty was going to do next. 

So the lead up to that horrific and infamous night of the 20th of August 1989, if we are to believe what Erik and Lyle have been saying all of these years, the Menendez family were teetering on the brink and it was all going to come crashing down around them. Depending on what you believe to have happened that horrible night, the story we know is this...

Erik arrived home around 9:30pm (he claims) and was in fear that his father was going to come to his bedroom to abuse him. According to the evidence, Erik burst into the family room where his parents were watching TV on the sofa (Erik claimed that they were standing) and he opened fire. Lyle was behind him, holding a fully loaded gun and they both shot at their parents. At the trial, excuses were made about forgetting details, not being able to remember anything etc but it was clear that they knew what they were doing as only two shots missed as they entered the French doors behind their parents. Jose had been shot 6 times and in one of those shots, Lyle had chillingly walked up behind him and shot him in the back of the head at point blank range. 

As if the horror couldn't get any worse, they had shot Kitty 10 times, remarkably, she was still alive and had ended up on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table. Lyle later drew gasps from people in the courtroom at the trial because he'd described his mother as 'sneaking' around the coffee table so he knew she was still alive. Kitty had been moaning from what her two sons had done to her, covered in open wounds and blood. It was horrific as anyone who has had the unfortunate experience of viewing the crime scene pictures will know.  They both went outside, Erik couldn't deal with his mother's moans of pain and they went to the car where he gave Lyle a cartridge. Coldly and calmly, Lyle walked back into the room and shot his mother in the face. 

Without missing a beat, they came up with the idea of collecting all of the shotgun shells in the room just incase they happened to have their fingerprints on them. So they walked back into that room which was covered in blood, their parents completely slaughtered and laying there, Erik later said they looked like 'wax figures'. They managed to collect every single shell and they both got in Erik's car with the guns and shells. They both realised that they had spots of blood on their clothes. They dumped the shells and got changed at a gas station and went to a movie theatre in an attempt to get some tickets for an alibi, that didn't go to plan and they ended up going back to the house to call the police and put on the performance of a lifetime, screaming and yelling ''somebody killed my parents.''(The Menendez crime scene. picture credit: abcnews)

From the beginning of the investigation, the police actually believed that this horrible set of murders could be the result of the mafia or some sort of dodgy business deal gone wrong. Jose was worth a lot of money ($14 million dollars to be exact plus a $5 million dollar life insurance policy) and he had a lot of enemies. Who could believe that these two, nice young boys could ever do such a thing to their own parents? Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18. I think the cops looked at the house, the fancy cars etc and put 2 and 2 together and came up with 500. Questions raised about how a man from Cuba had come to America and who started out washing dishes to make money, could have amassed such huge success, luxury and wealth. Erik was an absolute mess, they couldn't imagine him killing a spider let alone his own parents, he was like a little boy but was it all an act? 

Whatever the story, the pair of them lived the high life for 7 months whilst the cops went looking in other directions for mob ties, dodgy non-existent drug deals gone wrong etc. The thing that really sealed their fate and raised eyebrows, was the fact that within a short space of time they had learned (they claimed they believed that they had been cut out of their father's will) that suddenly they were multi-millionaires thanks to their father's fortune and they couldn't contain their excitement. There didn't seem to be any upset, any grief. They didn't act like two young boys who had walked into a horrible bloodbath where their parents had been brutally murdered. Other people would be in bed, crying non-stop, on valium, totally beside themselves but not the Menendez brothers, they decided to do a little shopping and bought fancy dinners, cars and holidays. Lyle bought a Rolex and a restaurant, Erik was going to invest some money into a concert. They were spending like mad and in the space of 7 months they blew $700,000. 

Erik (who was apparently sick of Tennis and said that his father forced him to do sports) hired a full time Tennis coach and went on a tournament and ended up in Israel. Before this though, he'd dropped an absolute bombshell at Dr. Jerome Oziel's office and told him everything. The whole situation with Dr Oziel was an absolute shambles and it was hard to keep track cause this Dr was a drama all in himself. Originally, Lyle and Erik were sent to Dr Oziel by Jose after the thefts and they did talk about their childhoods but after the murders, Erik (as, knowing a bit about his nature) started to crumble and couldn't keep quiet so he went to see Dr Oziel. Lyle was absolutely furious and according to Dr Oziel's secretary (who he'd been having an affair with at the time - he was married with kids too), she heard through the door that Lyle said that they would have to kill Dr Oziel. It was all a big drama with Dr Oziel, claiming to be in fear for his life and the life of his family so he told the boys that he was recording their sessions and the tapes would be in a secure location so that if they did indeed murder him, the cops would come after them. It was a security policy on his part but then (according to Lyle and Erik), Dr Oziel was asking questions about the money they inherited and started to put possible business ventures to them. Dr Oziel said he would keep things quiet but his mistress went to the police and the next minute, Lyle's being arrested and Erik flew back to the US and handed himself in. 

The trial took a while to come about because there was a lot of issues with the tapes that Dr Oziel had recorded of the brothers and it was to be decided if they would be able to be heard in court. After a couple of years of back and forth it was decided that 2 out of the 3 tapes could be played in court and so the trial finally went ahead. 

The Menendez trial was shown on Court TV which was still in it's infancy at the time, it brought America to a standstill. The trial lasted 5 months and resulted in two hung juries. Straight away it was decided that there would have to be a retrial and this time, it was a different judge, different rules and that meant no cameras or media sensation around this new trial. In order to get any information about what took place in court on any particular day, the media had to wait for written accounts of what had transpired. By this point, the public were beginning to be less focused on the case. The 1993 trial had been so sensationalised and so shocking that they didn't think there was anything new to learn about the case. Both Erik and Lyle were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole so right now, as it stands, they will die in prison. 

Since they've been in prison they haven't been short of endless letters by female (& male) admirers. They get everything from letters from abuse survivors to naked pictures from lonely housewives. It's crazy to think that Lyle is now 55 and Erik is 52, they've spent such a huge chunk of their lives in prison and missed out on so much. But what was it all for? Were they really two traumatised, abused kids who thought that killing their parents was the only option? or was it all just pure greed and lies? I find it really hard to believe that they were not sexually abused by Jose, this is just my opinion. Going from his background in Cuba, being molested himself and the pure hatred and anger that those boys felt for their parents. What they did was overkill, it wasn't a quick splash of poison in a glass of wine or a quick push down the stairs....they shot the hell out of both of them and then for it to be so up close and personal, the shot to the back of Jose's head and the horrific moment when Lyle walked up to his mother and shot her right in the face, it's just insane. 

Those boys had nothing but hatred for their parents, that anger had to come from somewhere and the way they spent their father's money, almost as if to taunt him and gloat. It was like a celebration for them both. That's a lot of hatred right there and that leads me to believe that there is some truth to what they were saying about the abuse. 

The details of the sexual abuse was horrific and they both sat there in a crowded courtroom with the whole of America watching them on TV sharing these disgusting details of being molested and forced to do this and forced to do that, absolutely humiliating. Why would they put themselves through all that? Sympathy? All they had to say was that Jose had touched them once and that would be quite enough to make people sick and feel some sort of empathy for them but what they talked about was just nightmare after nightmare and to me, it explains a lot of that rage and anger. 

If they are indeed, true survivors of sexual abuse I think it does explain quite a lot, even the petty crimes. Stupid behaviour when they lived in a mansion and were privileged so there was no need to steal. Sometimes, people who have been abused carry out strange behaviours as a way of trying to gain some control back. I'm wondering if a lot of what they did during the murders and afterwards was their way of fighting back and getting control, we know its wrong but who know's where a person's mind is when they've spent years being molested by their own father. 

I remember a horrible part during the trial where Erik spoke in detail of how his father forced his penis into his backside and he yelled and cried in agony. Jose told him ''Next time you yell, I'm going to beat you so bad you'll never be able to yell again.'' 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this was going to be a very difficult and disturbing journey and it does throw up a lot of questions.

Both Erik and Lyle have had various relationships behind bars and they have exhausted appeals but they are still no near to ever getting out of prison. There are some people who believe it's time that they were released, they do have a lot of supporters. If they were to be released, I think it would be appropriate for them to be out on licence for the rest of their lives that way they are monitored to some extent. Also, I think it's right that they do not have access to their parents money. At the end of the day they committed murder in the most brutal fashion and the whole thing was horrific and hard to take in but walking up to your own mother and shooting her in the face? I don't even know what to say about that. 

Erik and Lyle had been serving their sentences in separate prisons up until 2018 where they were finally reunited. When they were able to see each other again after so many years they embraced and were very emotional. 

Well, if you've made it this far, I take my hat off to you, I really appreciate it as always. This concludes my Partners In Crime Series and wow.....what a case to finish with! Disturbing to say the least but a case which people still talk about today. I could go into the connection between OJ Simpson and the Menendez brothers but this post is long enough (basically they befriended OJ in prison and offered him advice) so I will end it here. 

A little bit of strange trivia: I'm a huge fan of Fright Night (1985) as you may know and during the time of the release of it's sequel: Fright Night 2, Jose Menendez, who was the chairman of Live Entertainment at the time, was in talks to make a third Fright Night movie but sadly it wasn't to be. With Jose's shocking death, a lot of things got put on hold or were never to come to fruition, Fright Night 2 suffered greatly from lack of promotion but we still love it all these years later, it's a hidden gem but I have no doubt if the horrible events of the 20th of August 1989 had not have happened, the movie would have been appreciated more and we could have had a third classic Fright Night movie. 

Also, The Billionaire Boys Club (BBC) was mentioned a lot in the trial, it was alleged that they boys were inspired by this mini-series that was based on a true crime case, inspired the boys to kill their parents as they apparently mentioned that the father in the series, reminded them of Jose. You can find the series here 

Erik denied that BBC inspired them to murder their parents but he claimed that he was friends with one of the boys involved with the case. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- The Menendez Murders | Book by Robert Rand

- The Menendez Trials | Menendez Trials Youtube

- Menendez: A Killing In Beverly Hills | TV Movie

- The Billionaire Boys Club | TV Series

- Lyle & Erik Menendez | Wikipedia

- Menendez Article | Biography

- Erik & Lyle Menendez | Crime Museum

- Jose Menendez | Find A Grave Memorial

- Kitty Menendez | Find A Grave Memorial

- The Menendez Brothers: Erik Tells All | Channel 4

- The Menendez Brothers | Court TV

- The Menendez Brothers on Netflix: Article | Forbes

RIP Jose & Kitty 

UPDATE: A new series based on the Menendez case will begin streaming on September 19th (2024) on Netflix. For more details, check out this article!

UPDATE: Sept 2024. The Netflix series 'Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story' was released on the 19th of September. As was expected, some details were not accurate and some scenes were created for dramatic effect (as if the case wasn't dramatic enough). I managed to watch half of it before giving up, having studied the case and watched the trial many times, it was driving me mad with the inaccuracies that kept popping up. The brothers themselves were not happy especially with the portrayal of Lyle (not to take away from the actors as everyone played their parts brilliantly). Erik spoke out in defence of his brother with the statement: 

''I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent. It's sad for me to know that Netflix's dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward - back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women. Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have been broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander''.

Just weeks after this series, Netflix will be releasing a documentary on the 7th of October (The Menendez Brothers) which will feature both Lyle and Erik, telling their story in their own words. 

More updates to follow.....

I will be back again with a fresh new case so please keep your eyes peeled for that one.  Hope you will join me again next Sunday, whether you read my work sitting at your coffee table or late night in bed, I really appreciate it, thank you. 

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