Who is Diane Vander Molen? Lyle and Erik Menéndez's cousin first brought abuse claims to light
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’s discretion is advised.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The twisted case of Lyle and Erik Menéndez, who was convicted of killing their parents on August 20, 1989, is back in the spotlight with Netflix's latest true-crime series, 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story'. Just as a coin has two sides, this crime too has two stories- one which portrays the brothers as criminals who murdered their parents in cold blood, and another, where they see themselves as victims, claiming the crime was an act of self-defense.
During their trial, they claimed that they shot at them in self-defense as they feared their parents would kill them if they went public about the years of alleged molestation they suffered from their father. Their allegations were backed by their cousin Diane Vander Molen, who recalled Lyle as a child once told her about the physical abuse.
Diane Vander Molen testified in Lyle and Erik Menéndez case
When the case went into first trial, Diane Vander Molen supported the allegations made by the brothers against their parents. She told that in the summer of 1976, she came to stay with them. It was the first time that Lyle, the elder of the two brothers, confided in her and opened up about being molested by their father.
“One night, I was in my room changing the sheets in my bed, and Lyle came in. He became very serious about asking me if he could sleep in the other bed next to mine and saying that he was afraid to sleep in his own bed because his father and him had been touching each other down there, indicating that it was his genital area”, Vander Molen told ABC News.
“He was scared to sleep in his own bed because he was afraid that his father was going to come in and molest him that night,” said Vander Molen. Lyle was just 8 years old, and Vander Molen was 17 at the time. As Lyle confided in her, Vander Molen went to Kitty (Lyle's mother) and told everything he said to her. Much to her surprise, Kitty sided with her husband and said Lyle was lying. Vander Molen told that this was the first and the last time she heard of the claim.
“By her demeanor, I could tell that she was not believing any of this. And [she] went downstairs, and Lyle had already gotten into the bed next to mine, and she went ahead and yanked him by the arm and took him back upstairs and I never heard anything else about that,” she was quoted by ABC News.
Diane Vander Molen regrets not helping Lyle and Erik Menéndez
Vander Molen believed that Kitty had put an end to the abuse as Lyle later never spoke about the abuse. She expressed her regret for not being able to help the brothers before it was too late. “In hindsight, I wish that I would have been stronger about what Lyle was telling me so I could have done something to help them,” she said.
“I know that they would never, ever have done what they did unless they felt that they had no choice -- that it was either them or their parents. I believe that very strongly," she told ABC News after her testimony during the first trial.
Where are Lyle and Erik Menendez now?
Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 when they shot and killed their parents Jose Menendez, 45, and Kitty Menendez, 47, at their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989. The case went into trail twice. Eventually, both brothers were convicted for the first-degree murder of their parents.
On July 2, 1996, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They are currently serving their punishment at Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility, a California state prison near San Diego.
How to stream 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story'?
'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' is the second season of the American true-crime anthology series 'Monster', created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. The popular case is explored in lengths in the Netflix series comprising of nine episodes.
'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' premiered on Netflix on September 19 with all the episodes being released simultaneously. Nicholas Alexander Chavez appears as Lyle Menéndez while Cooper Koch plays Erik Menéndez.
'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' trailer