A former Sons of Anarchy star, as well as some other high-profile actors, have landed respective gigs in an upcoming Lifetime movie centered around the real-life Menendez murders that occurred in the late 80s. While I frequent the Lifetime channel as much as I would assume the average male does, the film topic and actors involved have me interested enough to tune in, as Lifetime has cast Sons' Benito Martinez, Glee's Myko Olivier, and American Crime's Nico Tortorella to round out the Menendez clan.
Benito Martinez, who had an impressive stint on Sons Of Anarchy and had previously worked with Kurt Sutter on The Shield, will be playing the role of Jose Menendez, the Cuban immigrant-turned-corporate success living a luxurious life in Califonia. The family patriarch lived in a sizable mansion with his wife Kitty (who will be played by Courtney Love) and his two sons Lyle and Erik. Both Jose and his wife Kitty were brutally murdered in the very secure mansion, which kicked off the complication-filled case.
Nico Tortorella (Younger) will play the role of the older of the two Menendez brothers, Lyle. In the months that followed the deaths of their parents, both Lyle and Erik began to make lavish purchases which began to turn authorities onto them as suspects. The mansion was well protected and had temporarily housed celebrities such as Prince and Elton John, but investigators had nothing to put specifically on the two siblings. The break in the case would come after a revelation by the younger Erik Menendez. .
Myko Olivier, who was on Glee, will play Erik Menendez, according to Deadline. He was the key to the mystery, breaking the case wide open with his shocking revelation. Wracked by the guilt of brutally murdering their parents, Erik confesses the crimes to his therapist, started the unraveling of claims of longtime sexual abuse by the boys' father, leading to a near-mistrial. Eventually, the two young men were sentenced to life sentences that they are still serving today.
I know it sounds like I practically laid the whole thing out there for you, but there's still plenty of gruesome and twisted stuff that I left out of there. The two brothers have been in prison since being tried in 1990 and have not spoken to each other in over a decade. You may be surprised to learn that both are currently married as well. And rest assured, there's going to be plenty going on in this movie for you to shake your head in disbelief at that I didn't talk about. The Lifetime film does not presently have a release date, but head to our midseason premiere schedule to see what's hitting the small screen in the future.
