While the trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez captivated millions around the world in 1996, Netflix’s new series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has put the controversial brothers back in the spotlight. In Ryan Murphy’s latest project, the first episode, “Blame it on the Rain,” shows the older brother, Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez), having a wig ripped off the top of his head following an argument with their mother, Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez (Chloe Sevigny). The scene, which comes just over the halfway point of the pilot, shocked and confused viewers who were unaware of the wig that would change their family’s history.
According to Lyle’s own testimony at his murder trial, Lyle suffered from alopecia from a young age, which made him distressed about his appearance. The cause of his alopecia is unclear, but the eldest brother claimed that their father, José Menéndez (Javier Bardem), was ashamed of it. The brothers revealed in court that their father put a lot of pressure on them growing up, wanting a successful political career and wanting his sons to follow in that same path. They also claimed that José firmly believed that people associated fame and success with lush hair, which would have shattered Lyle’s bright future as a student at Princeton University.
In a key scene in Monsters, Lyle and Kitty argue about Lyle’s insistence that he is 20 years old and old enough to marry his then-girlfriend Jamie Pisarcik (Jade Pettyjohn), a claim that Kitty strongly disagrees with. Lyle repeatedly points out that his mother is being hypocritical, since she and Jose were also married at young ages. This is where the big truth is revealed:
“Hypocrite? What’s going on?” Kitty cries, removing Lyle’s wig as he begins to cry and run away in pain. Eric (Cooper Koch) follows his brother and confronts him about the situation. This scene sets the stage for the next eight episodes.
“I didn’t know. Why didn’t you know?” Eric asked. Lyle replied, “Because I didn’t want you to know. That’s the problem, Eric. No one’s going to know.”
Did Lyle Menendez wear a wig? Why did Lyle Menendez go bald at such a young age?
It may seem insignificant, but the Netflix series needs viewers to understand that this situation — specifically Kitty’s decision to rip off her wig and Jose’s insistence that Lyle wear one — is a turning point in the family dynamic.
In the first episode, Eric describes to a therapist how he came to kill his parents, acknowledging that Lyle’s hair loss was symbolic of larger family issues. Ultimately, the brothers committed a double murder by shooting their parents on August 20, 1989, a move they claim was in self-defense after years of abuse and mistreatment.
“And then all of a sudden I realized how cruel it was,” Eric tells his therapist in a scene after the wig is revealed, “what was going on in that house.”
In Murphy’s series, the shocking wig exchange served as one major catalyst in the brothers’ decision to kill their parents. In real life, the brothers say this is one of the facts about the show. In Robert Band’s book, “The Menendez Murders,” on which the show is based, the altercation actually happened about a week before Kitty and Jose’s murders, but rather than plotting or planning what would soon happen, the brothers commiserated over their family’s lack of cohesion. Either way, Lyle’s hair loss is a key part of this wild storyline, and it’s true.
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Is Lyle Menendez bald in real life?
Current prison photos show that Lyle has been completely bald for several years now, a stark contrast to how Chavez’s Lyle looked in Episode 1, when he had hair covering at least the sides of his head, while more recent photos show that Eric still has a full head of hair.
The brothers were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to murder and are currently serving life sentences at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.
Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez is currently streaming on Netflix.
