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Did Lyle Menendez really wear a hairpiece? How it mattered

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The Netflix limited series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” has reignited interest in the case and the trial that captured public attention in the 1990s.

The series is a fictional retelling of the murders of José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez by their sons Lyle and Erik Menendez in August 1989 and the second installment of Ryan Murphy's “Monsters” anthology, which began with the release of “Monsters” in 2022 . Monsters: The Story of Jeffery Dahmer.

The series follows the lives of Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez, played by Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch respectively, leading up to the murder and subsequent trial. The case's many complex layers left years of speculation, theory and controversy in its wake, making it one of the most infamous in true crime history.

The series' creators, particularly co-creator Ryan Murphy, have been criticized for what some call inaccuracies in the series, including repeated claims by the Menendez family that the series is full of “lies.”

In separating fact from fiction, a point of interest to viewers has become the reality behind Lyle Menendez's alleged baldness and use of hairpieces. Are you wondering what is true and what is questionable? We know that.

What is happening in the scene?

In “Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story,” the scene takes place at the dinner table.

In it, 20-year-old Lyle Menendez tells his parents that he wants to marry his girlfriend, and the family begins to argue when they tell him that he is too young for marriage.

When Lyle points out that his parents, José Menendez (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny), were married at the same age, Kitty rips off his hairpiece in a fit of rage, revealing an almost completely bald head underneath.

Embarrassed, Lyle runs to the guest house to put it back on, followed by his brother Erik. In the television version, the couple bond in this moment, leading them to confess their father's abuse and commit to supporting each other.

In the series' timeline, this is one of the final triggers of murder.

Fact versus fiction: Did Lyle Menendez wear wigs?

Lyle Menendez actually wore hairpieces, which he admitted to in his own court testimony. As Menendez recounted on the witness stand, he and his mother argued about it five days before the brothers killed their parents.

He told the interviewing attorney that the argument “definitely had something to do with my hairpiece at one point” and claimed his mother was “out of control, waving her arms and screaming” during the argument. At one point he also said, “She grabbed my hairpiece and just ripped it off.”

He described in detail how he attached and wore the hairpiece, saying it was applied to the skin using a solvent adhesive. He testified that it was painful for his mother to tear it off because they had to use “that blue chemical” to separate it properly.

“[My brother] “I didn’t know I had a hairpiece,” he said. “I was completely embarrassed in front of my brother.”

He later testified that he suffered from hair loss around the age of 14 and that it was his father who suggested the toupee. Several accounts and the account of events in Robert Rand's book “The Menendez Murders” claim that Menendez was preoccupied with his hair loss and that his father had told him that a full head of hair was important to his success at Princeton and beyond.

He also reportedly had to shave the area on the top of his head in order to properly attach the toupee, which Vanity Fair had previously estimated to be worth over $1,450 (over $3,000 today). Apparently he owned several expensive pieces. Hairpieces are not allowed in prison and recent mugshots of Menendez show him with a completely bald head. He was not allowed to wear the garment in prison during the trial, but was allowed to wear it during court.

While the Netflix series showed that Menendez was almost completely bald on his head at this point in his life, eyewitness testimony and “The Menendez Murders” indicate that he was suffering from thinning at this point rather than already completely bald Bald.

Why was it important?

Depending on who you ask, the hairpiece incident may have been one of the “final straws” that led to the murders of José and Kitty Menendez.

According to the brothers' testimony and “The Menendez Murders,” Erik followed his brother to the guesthouse where he planned to reattach the toupee after his mother took it off in real life.

There, the couple reportedly complained about the secrets they had kept from each other, and Erik confessed that his father had sexually abused him, an accusation both brothers made against José throughout the trial. Apparently they had devised a plan for Erik to move away with his brother when he went to school at Princeton.

The allegations of abuse, which the brothers said went beyond mere sexual abuse, were at the heart of the trial and were detailed by the defense. Ultimately, however, both were found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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