Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story provides a deeper exploration of the complex relationship between the Menendez brothers. A particularly emotional moment occurs when Kitty Menendez rips off her son Lyle’s wig, revealing his bald head. This act symbolizes the bullying the brothers endured from their parents and strengthens their bond. In Episode 3 of the Netflix series, after being sent to prison, Lyle struggles to keep his toupee intact.
As their second trial commences, Lyle faces criticism from his defense attorneys for spending $2,500 on a wig, given their tight financial situation. Earlier in Monster Season 2, it is revealed that Lyle wore a wig due to pressure from his father, Jose Menendez.
However, the show’s co-creator Ryan Murphy has received backlash from true crime enthusiasts, and even the Menendez family, regarding numerous “inaccuracies”in the series, leading to questions about the authenticity of this detail.
Did Lyle wear a wig?
Lyle Menendez indeed wore a wig, having started to experience hair loss during his teenage years. He disclosed during his testimony that five days before he and Erik tragically shot Kitty and Jose in 1989, he argued with his mother over his hairpiece.
In his statements, Lyle described Kitty as being “out of control,”accusing him of being responsible for her father’s demise. At one point, she lunged at him, grabbing and ripping off his hairpiece. When questioned about how the toupee was attached—a detail that Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story also illustrates—Lyle explained, “It’s attached by a solvent glue,” describing the process as “painful”since a specific blue chemical is required to remove it.
Furthermore, Lyle recounted that he first noticed signs of hair loss around the age of 14. He indicated that it was actually Jose Menendez who encouraged him to get a toupee when he was about 19, believing it would improve his appearance at Princeton University.
However, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story portrays Lyle as completely bald by this age, while his testimony shared a different story—he claimed the hair loss was “not very noticeable,” although the area for the hairpiece had to be shaved.
Following the argument, Lyle acknowledged that it ultimately brought him and Erik closer; Erik confided in Lyle about the ongoing sexual abuse from their father. “Clearly he was coming to me, wanted me to do something about it, and it was true because my dad never denied it when I talked to him about it,” Lyle recounted.
Theory Suggests Lyle Lost Hair Due to Stress
While genetics certainly contribute to hair loss, a popular theory suggests that the stress from the alleged abuse at home was the primary reason Lyle started losing his hair at such an early age.
As noted by a Reddit user, “Lyle Menendez was losing his hair BECAUSE of the abuse. That’s a huge distinction the boys overlooked… It wasn’t just that his hairline was receding – it was falling out in clumps due to stress.”
The series includes a scene showing Lyle losing clumps of hair.
Several witnesses testified for the defense, with one emphasizing that “numerous behaviors observed by teachers, coaches, friends, and family members were consistent with those of sexually abused children.” This includes hair loss at 14, as well as extreme dissociation, bedwetting in adolescence, hypersexualized behavior at a young age, playing with stuffed animals until age 17, heightened anxiety, sensitivity to touch, and frequent nightmares.
While these claims remain unproven and speculative, they add to the widespread belief among true crime enthusiasts that Lyle and Erik were indeed victims of abuse.
Lyle Could Only Wear the Hairpiece for Trials
Although Lyle was not permitted to wear a wig while in prison, he was allowed to for the trials. Currently, hairpieces are strictly prohibited in prison.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were reunited in 2018.
Today, Lyle has embraced his bald appearance; recent photos—including the profile picture on the family-managed Facebook account—show him without the toupee. Both Erik and Lyle Menendez continue to serve life sentences at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County, California, now aged 53 and 56, respectively.
As depicted in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the brothers were separated after their conviction for first-degree murder and only reunited in 2018 after their request was approved. They are currently engaged in efforts to have their first-degree murder charges re-evaluated with hopes of obtaining a manslaughter ruling. If you’d like to know more, check out what legal experts have said about the appeal. You may also want to explore the conclusion of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
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