As a fan who has closely followed the Menendez brothers’ case for years, I must say that Cooper Koch‘s involvement in the story has added another layer of intrigue to it all. His personal meeting with the brothers and his portrayal of Lyle in the series have given us a unique glimpse into their lives behind bars.
Cooper Koch recently watched the Netflix documentary titled “The Menendez Brothers“, which followed after his series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story“. While the actor portraying Lyle Menendez in the Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan limited series praised the documentary, he also raised concerns about why the recently re-examined evidence, currently being evaluated by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, wasn’t featured within the two-hour production.
During his appearance on ‘Watch What Happens Live’ on Tuesday, Koch expressed that overall they did a fantastic job, but pointed out two crucial details that were missing. These were two fresh pieces of evidence: first, the letter Erik wrote to his cousin Andy, and second, the revelation by a former member of Menudo (Roy Rosselló) about being sexually harassed by José Menendez.
Back in ’93, during the first trial against my pals Erik and Lyle Menendez for the tragic slaying of their parents, José and Kitty, I – Andy Cano – stepped up to testify. In our conversations prior, Erik confided in me that he was being inappropriately touched by his father, José.
The letter that Koch referred to didn’t surface until 2018 – a significant amount of time following the brothers’ second trial and conviction in 1996. Trial reporter Robert Rand stumbled upon this letter after Cano’s passing, when his family invited Rand to sort through Cano’s possessions at their house. As Rand recounted to The Hollywood Reporter , he found the letter within a short time and felt it could be crucial to the case, as it appears to back up the brothers’ claims of ongoing abuse by their father, which they presented as part of their self-defense argument.
The letter was penned by Erik at the age of seventeen in December 1988, approximately eight months prior to the murders, and wasn’t introduced as evidence during the trials that took place in the mid-1990s.
Another point made by Koch pertains to a fresh testimony from witness Rosselló, who declared after the trials that he was sexually assaulted as a teenager by José in the early 1980s. Notably, Rosselló was part of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, which was under RCA Records during the period when José held a prominent position there.
In April 2023, Rosselló made an accusation during the Peacock docuseries titled Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. This claim, together with a letter from Cano, were presented in the habeas corpus petition filed by the attorneys of Erik and Lyle the following month, in May 2023. This petition is currently being reviewed. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón has scheduled a hearing for November 29 to discuss whether this new evidence could potentially result in a retrial for the Menendez brothers, who are now in their 50s and serving life sentences without parole.
In a conversation with THR regarding the documentary about The Menendez Brothers, Campfire Studios producers Ross Dinerstein and Rebecca Evans clarified that they chose not to incorporate the latest evidence in their production. Instead, they opted to let the legal team handling the habeas petition deal with this new information.
Evans stated to THR that the core of the battle is taking place between the lawyers and how they handle the fresh evidence and the recent habeas petition. He added that while making the documentary, their role wasn’t about litigating the case or presenting new evidence, but rather leaving that to the attorneys.
Regarding the Rosselló assertion, it seemed as though the story was primarily about Erik and Lyle. It wasn’t so much about the other person involved in the Menudo case. Details about that individual might emerge during legal proceedings or news reports, but our aim was to concentrate on the brothers instead.
Additionally, during his interview with Andy Cohen on Bravo’s late-night show, Koch discussed his encounter with the Menendez brothers in prison at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. This meeting was arranged by Kim Kardashian, who has been campaigning for their release and is focusing on prison reform. The conversation took place prior to the release of Monsters.
Previously, during the discussion about the meeting with THR, Koch mentioned a significant moment when he encountered Erik, the character he played in Monsters, in person. “As we entered the gymnasium of the prison,” Koch said, “Erik was the first person I saw. Our gazes met, we smiled at each other, and we embraced. The moment was incredibly powerful and emotional. It was an extraordinary experience. Both Erik and the others were exceptionally kind and ordinary.
As a gamer, I’d rephrase it like this: In the fifth episode, “The Hurt Man,” Koch praised Erik for his exceptional performance. During this show, Koch opened up about a lifetime of abuse in a powerful 33-minute monologue. He also shared with THR our discussions regarding the series. Moreover, he expressed his hope that the brothers involved receive a reconsideration of their sentences.
He mentioned how remarkable the work done in prison by these individuals is. One of them, Erik, offers meditation classes and speech lessons. They’re truly exceptional people, he added. Previously, many doubted the possibility of male-on-male sexual abuse. It seemed more plausible to society that they had murdered their parents for financial gain. However, with the passage of time, I feel that people are becoming more receptive to comprehending that such an incident actually occurred.
On a Wednesday, just before the upcoming November hearing, I’m gathering my loved ones, including around twenty members from the Menendez family, along with my esteemed friend and advocate, Rosie O’Donnell, for a press conference. My legal team, Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner, have referred to this event as a “strong display of unity,” aiming to demonstrate our solidarity in these challenging times. As a gamer, I can relate this to rallying my teammates before a tough gaming tournament, showing our camaraderie and readiness for the battle ahead.
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2024-10-15 19:25