# What were the Menendez killings about?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-menendez-killings-about/36670>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 12, 2000, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-menendez-killings-about/36670 "2000-10-12T14:36:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2000, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-menendez-killings-about/36670/1 "2000-10-12T14:36:21Z")

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I didn’t follow the trial.

My only knowledge is that the defense said that the brothers had been abused and killed their parents out of fear (or something like that).

Was it just so that they could get their parents’ money and enjoy a leisurely life?

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**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2000, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-menendez-killings-about/36670/2 "2000-10-12T14:39:22Z")

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IIRC, you’ve given both the defense and the prosecutors versions. Took a whole lot more time in the real life version.

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**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2000, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-menendez-killings-about/36670/3 "2000-10-12T14:40:30Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mjollnir \*  
> \*\*Was it just so that they could get their parents’ money and enjoy a leisurely life? \*\*

That was pretty much the impression that I got. Really, who knows why they did it? But there were some pretty creepy things that they did that pretty much sealed their fate. Things like, IIRC, going on a shopping spree of some sort right after you kill your parents. In that type of situation, a flashy new car would be the least of most people’s worries. I don’t remember all of the specifics, but the general idea, I think, was that they just wanted the money.

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**Author:** ![cleosia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@cleosia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleosia)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2000, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-menendez-killings-about/36670/4 "2000-10-12T19:52:37Z")

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Rather than being abused, the evidence suggested that the mother was a somewhat indulgent parent (she recieved the more brutal treatment).

Also, they had to move away from the town they were living in previously (where they had many social connections) because the older brother was constantly in trouble with the police. So apparently he was trouble long before the murders.