“Lyle Is Not Full of Rage & Never Even Raises Voice”: Menendez Brothers’ Cousin Slammed ‘Monsters’

“Lyle Is Not Full of Rage & Never Even Raises Voice”: Menendez Brothers’ Cousin Slammed ‘Monsters’

#MenendezBrothers #ErikMenendez #LyleMenendez #LyleANDErikMenendez


A family member speaks for the first time about the depiction of her cousins in Netflix's new drama about the infamous murder case

ANAMARIA Baralt couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The devoted first cousin of Lyle and Erik Menendez was aghast after watching the first episode of the Netflix smash hit Monsters, which depicted the nightmare scenario that has haunted her family for over 30 years.

DEVOTED SIBLING

Anamaria remains very close to Lyle and will forever be heartbroken about the events of August 20, 1989.

The yoga instructor, based outside of Seattle, has visited him countless times in prison.

The 53-year-old knows him better than most, and in a world exclusive for The U.S. Sun, she has spoken publicly for the first time about the killings that ripped her world apart.

First, however, Anamaria wanted to set the record straight.

"The portrayal of Lyle as this rage-fueled, fly-off-the-handle, aggressive personality is so far off the mark of his personality," she said.
"When I spoke to Lyle the other night, I said, 'I don't think I've ever heard you raise your voice.' And he agreed."

Cooper Koch, who plays Erik in the Netflix mini-series directed by Ryan Murphy, visited both brothers in San Diego prison last weekend.

POETIC LICENSE

"When you do meet them, you realize how funny they are," added Anamaria. "You wouldn't expect somebody in prison for 35 years to laugh, joke around a lot, and be so warm. But they are just joyous people."

She appreciates that some dramatic effect was added to boost ratings — Anamaria called the decision to make it seem like music was played at Jose and Kitty's funeral "insane" — but struggled to understand why moves weren't made to connect with the real-life characters before filming began.

"Shouldn't it have been the other way round?" she asked.

"If they had met him for five minutes, they would have seen how contrary to his personality. I think it's weird."

Viewers have also flooded social media about the homo-erotic storyline, which appears to suggest there was an incestuous element to the brothers' relationship.

"That's a weird one," Anamaria conceded. "I can appreciate poetic license and creating entertaining shows. But these are real people. I would hope that there would be a little bit more effort."

The U.S. Sun contacted Netflix for comment but has yet to hear back.

Show creator Murphy has defended the portrayal, claiming that it was a "point of view" that emerged during the brothers' trial.

FAMILY AGONY

Anamaria emphatically states there are "boundaries" that won't be crossed.

However, she recalls the pain of being at the center of such a torrid tragedy.

The emotional turmoil was intense. Yet to have her pain beamed across the globe with millions of people dissecting every twist and turn was excruciating in the extreme.

Anamaria remembers "blanket coverage" and late-night talk shows cracking warped jokes about the killings.

"I don't know that anybody who has not been through that particular horror can understand what that's like," she said.

In the months after the murders, Erik and Lyle went on wild shopping sprees, flashing their father's cash, buying fast cars, and living a life of luxury.

FAMILY PAIN

"When they went to jail, we had lost four people," she said.

She remembers both men putting on "brave faces" and showing incredible empathy in the face of such a devastating turn of events.

"I would visit Lyle and feel guilty about telling him all about my life, my travels, and what I was doing,"  Anamaria continued. "But he wanted to hear about those kind of things."

The brothers remain hopeful of being released this year, with their attorneys pushing harder than ever.

Anamaria says almost everyone in her family - apart from one person on Kitty's side who has since died - would like to see them set free after 35 long years behind bars.

WORRYING PORTRAYAL

Despite admitting Koch's performance could have been better, she's still deciding whether to watch the remainder of Monsters.

"He told me he had been studying Erik for seven years and watched every moment of the trials and the testimonies; I thought his portrayal was not bad at all," said Erik and Lyle's cousin.

"The decisions made with Lyle's character were surprising."

So, did all the perceived falsehoods in the latest dramatization bring up old wounds?

"I'm pretty used to it," Anamaria sighed. "After all, it's been over 30 years."


#MenendezBrothers #ErikMenendez #LyleMenendez #LyleANDErikMenendez