Erik & Lyle Went To The Movies For An Alibi

When Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed in their Beverly Hills home on Aug. 20, 1989, there was some speculation about the crime having stemmed from mafia relations and that Jose, a movie executive at the time of his death, had dealings with them. So no one thought twice about the fact that Erik and Lyle Menendez's initial alibi was that they had been at the movies during the crime. But what movie did the Menendez brothers see after their parents' deaths?

According to their testimonies, Erik and Lyle shot their parents in the den of the family's million dollar mansion and, after waiting for sirens but hearing nothing, decided to clean themselves off and develop an alibi for the murders. Although the murders happened almost 28 years ago, ABC will be airing a brand new two-hour documentary, titled, Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers — American Sons, American Murderers, about the Menendez brothers, which will air on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 9 p.m. ET.

The brothers reportedly stashed their shotguns at the end of Mulholland Drive and then went to the movie theater, where they had intended to see Batman. But since the movie was sold out, they instead bought tickets for License to Kill, and ended up back at their family's home after 11:30 p.m. It was then that Lyle placed his infamous 911 call, on which you can hear the feigned distress in his voice as well as Erik shouting in the background. And the alibi of the Menendez brothers seeing a movie and then calling 911 in a state of supposed shock would have been enough to keep suspicion off of them, however, their lavish spending that followed the crimes is what made investigators take another look at the brothers in the case.

Since the movie theater tickets provided Erik and Lyle with an alibi for the evening, suspicion was drawn to possible mafia ties that Jose had allegedly had throughout his business dealings. According to Vanity Fair, Erik even publicly pointed a finger at Noel Bloom, a former member of a local crime family who Erik claimed had entered into a deal gone wrong with his father. When questioned, Bloom denied having anything to do with the crimes and it was Erik who eventually confessed to his therapist what he and Lyle had done.

Even if he hadn't, though, chances are police would have put the clues together in figuring out the brief, false alibi the Menendez brothers had given them, as well as the near $1 million they spent in the months following the death of their parents. So in a way, the Menendez brothers having the movie theater alibi was almost a waste of time.