Hollywood’s Infamous Murder Cases: From Menendez Bros to O.J. Simpson

Hollywood has been the site of many high-profile murder cases over the years — and some have even overlapped.

Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez made headlines in 1989 for their involvement in the death of their parents. While Erik and Lyle awaited trial, they crossed paths with O.J. Simpson, who was named as the primary suspect after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were fatally stabbed outside of her home in Los Angeles in 1994.

Simpson was ultimately acquitted on the murder charges in 1995 after a high-profile criminal trial but was found liable for Brown Simpson and Goldman’s deaths after their families sued him in a civil trial.

Erik and Lyle, however, were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder each. The case ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. A retrial began in 1995, but most of the evidence surrounding the abuse couldn’t be used as a defense. Erik and Lyle — who were now being tried together — were ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in 1996.

“O.J.’s verdict had a very negative effect on our case,” Erik said in the 2018 The Menéndez Murders: Erik Tells All special while suggesting the L.A. County District Attorney’s office needed a win after Simpson was acquitted. “Because this verdict was so shocking, there was this sense that an extreme injustice had happened and now we’re gonna have to right it with every defendant that comes up. We were the next defendant.”

A renewed interest in Lyle and Erik’s case paved the way for the Los Angeles District Attorney to recommend in October 2024 that a judge resentence Erik and Lyle to 50 years.

Keep scrolling for more of Hollywood’s infamous murder cases: