At least by 1980s standards, the Menendez family seemed to be a perfect model of the American dream. José was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States after the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s. He was living in the attic of a cousin’s home until he wanted a college scholarship for swimming. He then wooed and married Kitty, a beauty pageant queen, and then rose from washing dishes to becoming a successful young entertainment executive. José spent the early 1980s as the head of RCA Records and was involved in the signing of bands such as Duran Duran and The Eurythmics. The house in which José and Kitty were killed was located on one of the most exclusive blocks in Beverly Hills and, at different times, was occupied by Michael Jackson and Elton John.

The Menendezes had moved to Los Angeles just a few years before the murders so that José could take a job in the movie business. Their sons, Lyle and Erik, who were 21 and 18 respectively at the time of the killings, also seemed like the platonic ideal of the famous Reagan era in the United States. Lyle was a star tennis player who attended Princeton and seemed destined for a career in business just like his father, whom he openly worshipped. Erik turned out to be even better at tennis, helped by his father’s compulsive intervention, and wound up as a nationally ranked player in his age bracket. In a sense, they had no choice but to be successful; José was known as a hard-driving father who would work for his children to the bone in athletics and everything else.

Their former swim team coach told the Los Angeles Times in 1990, “It seemed like José was so competitive, he was doing everything he could to try to make him better. But he was so completely overbearing, it had the opposite effect. Erik had so much less self-confidence because everything he did was never good enough.”

Once they moved to California, Erik began to run with some teenage delinquents, getting himself in trouble for a string of burglaries. Lyle enrolled at Princeton University but was suspended for a year due to plagiarism, which led to more troubled years.

The Menendez murders were a gruesome, barbaric crime; José and Kitty were nearly unidentifiable by the 15 rounds fired from two 12-gauge shotguns. It was so brutal that police thought the killings were a mob hit, and early investigations focused on business rivals and other film executives who had a bone to pick with José. On the night of the murders, the brothers told police they’d gone out that night to see a movie but had to make a pitstop to retrieve Erik’s ID. That’s when they discovered their parents’ decimated bodies and dialed 911. The officers who responded to the 911 call found Erik sobbing on the lawn before entering the crime scene.

In the months that followed the slayings, neither of the Menendez brothers acted like young men who had recently found out that both of their parents had died in a brutal murder scene. Instead, they acted like two guys who had just won the lottery. José was worth $14 million at the time of his death, and within six months, the brothers spent an estimated $700,000 of his fortune. Lyle purchased a Rolex, a Porsche, lots of clothing, and a restaurant back in Princeton, where he had been living before the murders. While Erik was more practical, he opted for a Jeep Wrangler, a $50,000 personal tennis coach, and a $40,000 investment in a rock concert that never happened. They took exotic vacations as well, thinking they had even more money coming to them over time.