The fortune that slipped through the fingers of the Menendez brothers will be back within reach if they see the sentence for murdering their parents overturned.
Prosecutors alleged that Lyle and Erik killed their parents because they wanted unfettered access to their family’s $14 million estate.
Both bought Rolex watches, condominiums, sports cars, and other expensive items in the months after the murders, before being stripped of their wealth and sentenced to life in prison.
Now industry experts predict they could earn ‘millions’ from books, films, podcasts and public speaking gigs should they walk out of jail after 28 years, but warn that convincing a judge will be the easy part.
‘They need to clear their names in the public mind and clear the stigma,’ said Valerie Zucker of the Zucker Media Group.
The case of Erik and Lyle Menendez has gripped the public imagination since their parents were gunned down by the pair at their Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989
Dozens of films and documentaries have been made about the killings since the brothers were jailed for life without parole in 1996
If they do, they will be traveling and increasingly well-trodden path.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2016 for the second-degree murder of her abusive mother at the home they shared in Springfield Missouri.
Valerie Zucker of the Zucker Media Group
She was the victim of one of America’s most notorious cases of Munchausen’s-by-proxy at the hands of her abusive mother Clauddine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard.
She had more than 10 million followers on social media within days of her release in December last year while the hashtag #GypsyRoseBlanchard has had more than two billion views on TikTok alone.
Interest in her case was sparked by the 2017 HBO documentary ‘Mommy Dead and Dearest’ which revealed how her childhood was blighted by a mother who shaved her head, pumped her full of unnecessary medications, and convinced the world she was suffering from leukemia.
The Menendez brothers are already among the most famous killers in the US with broadcasters including Netflix, CBS, ABC and Discovery featuring their story in documentaries and dramatizations.
Celebrities including Kim Kardashian have weighed in, claiming that they ought to be released from prison.
Kardashian wrote in an op-ed earlier this month: ‘Following years of abuse and a real fear for their lives, Erik and Lyle chose what they thought at the time was their only way out – an unimaginable way to escape their living nightmare.’
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2016 for the murder of her abusive mother Clauddine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard at the home they shared in Springfield, Missouri
Blanchard has turned her life around and gained more than 10 million followers on social media since her release from prison in December of last year
The siblings fatally shot their mom Kitty, a socialite, and dad Jose Menendez, a wealthy record company executive. The family is seen above in an undated photo
The Beverly Hills mansion, the site of the Menendez brothers’ gruesome murder of their parents was sold for $17 million, exactly 28 years after their conviction
But many accounts of the case have been hostile to the brothers including ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ that was slammed as ‘dishonest’ by Erik when it aired on Netflix last month.
Chanel Rae Pettaway of the Legion Media Group said the audience for their own account of the abuse that drove them to kill could be unprecedented.
‘Event their experiences in prison, one of them is married, how did that happen?’ she asked.
‘How did the Kim Kardashian thing come up? There are just so many questions that need to be answered.
‘There are definitely million-dollar deals to explain the dynamics of it.
‘I was in elementary school when it happened and I felt the impact.’
With a social media following in the millions Blanchard can command a $100,000 fee from advertisers for a single post and tens of thousands for speaking engagements.
Amanda Knox spent three years in an Italian jail for the murder of her British room mate Meredith Kercher, before her conviction was quashed in 2011.
The story of the Seattle student at the mercy of a European court made headlines around the world with prosecutors painting her as a sex-crazed dope smoker who had persuaded her boyfriend to stab Kercher in the neck during a violent orgy.
Five years later she was the subject of a Netflix documentary which now features on her glossy website where she advertises herself as a public speaker on the theme of ‘criminal justice reform, media ethics, and personal resilience’.
Amanda Knox spent three years in an Italian jail for the murder of her British room mate Meredith Kercher, before her conviction was quashed in 2011
Since her release from an Italian prison in 2011, Knox has embraced life, becoming a mum of two and a successful broadcaster
The family of suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann have been offered nearly $1 million between them to participate in a Netflix documentary on the murders
The case spawned a cottage industry of books and documentaries before Knox herself began adding to the corpus with two biographies, a series of podcasts, and a series on Vice in which she has interviewed women including Amber Rose, Daisy Coleman, and Tess Holliday on the theme of being ‘sexualized, scrutinized, and demonized by the media’.
In a series of subscription-only columns she weighs in on other notorious cases including Ghislaine Maxwell, Elizabeth Holmes, and Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
‘If you know anything about Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s case you know that 48-year-old Clauddine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard had it coming,’ she told her followers.
Big money is also on offer for the family members of high-profile murder suspects.
Netflix commissioned three documentaries within weeks of suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann being arrested in July last year.
His estranged wife Asa is thought to have made signed a $400,000 deal for her co-operation while her daughter Victoria and stepson Christopher are thought to have pocketed $200,000 each.
Documentary filmmakers have also approached the family of Brian Kohberger as he awaits trial for the murder of four University of Idaho students in November 2022.
But law experts warned that the brothers should not look for the law to restore their fortune should they be released.
Childhood friends Henry McCollum and Leon Brown were awarded $75 million in compensation after spending 31 years in prison for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old before they were exonerated in 2014.
Former federal prosecutor Stephen Cazares said that a judge would only offer the brothers compensation if they were ‘actually innocent’ of their parents’ killing.
He said that they will have to prove that the new mitigating evidence was not available at their original trial in 1996, meaning their hopes of a reduced sentence are still very much undecided despite positive hints from the LA District Attorney’s office.
PR chief Chanel Rae Pettaway said there are millions of dollars to be earned by the brothers but former federal prosecutor Stephen Cazares said they cannot look to the courts
The hashtag #GypsyRoseBlanchard has had more than two billion views on TikTok alone but social media experts have said the brothers could enjoy similar success
‘I suspect there’s going to be going to be a little pushback because that’s the natural reflex for prosecutors,’ he added.
Lyle Menendez completed a bachelor’s degree in sociology earlier this year and a media career was not among his stated ambitions as he spoke of his hopes for release.
‘I’ve had these discussions with corrections officials who are in charge of letting formerly incarcerated people return to the prisons to do good work,’ he explained as he phoned in to an event at the CrimeCon 2024 convention in June.
‘And they are definitely open to and would like me to continue to work on this idea of transforming prison yards so that it creates living environments and communities that produce better neighbors.’
He has set up therapy groups with fellow inmates and he hopes to help other survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
‘I’ve had talks with Rose O’Donnell about creating a foundation where we would go and try to speak to the forums in those groups, and help in that space,’ he added.
‘It’s an area that I spend a lot of my time in.
‘As you’re probably aware, a lot of the prisoners had difficult childhoods and come from difficult circumstances, and so I’ve formed groups where they can more confidently talk about that.
‘So, I’ll probably continue those two things. That would be exciting.’
But PR chiefs are clear that there is serious money available to both brothers if they want to finally tell their story to the public.
‘From back in the ’90s it was such a big deal, and there have been pulse points where it has been invigorated ever since,’ said Zucker
‘Anything where you have streaming, it’s going to be a whole different level of opportunity.’
