Where are they now: All the real life people who featured in Monsters on Netflix

Right now, nobody can stop talking about the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez following the release of Monsters on Netflix. The show covers the story of the two brothers in depth, who were found guilty of killing their parents.

Along the way in the show, we’re introduced to many people who have been affected by the case in a whole variety of different ways. From Lyle and Erik Menendez themselves, to their lawyers, therapists and former girlfriends.

So, here’s a rundown of some of the most important people featured in Monsters on Netflix, and where they are now – 35 years after the crime happened in real life.

Lyle and Erik Menendez

Lyle and Erik Menendez in 2023

After being sentenced to life in 1990 for killing their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez are now housed at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County.

The brothers don’t have a bad record behind bars. Lyle has never broken a rule in prison, and Erik has only ever had two serious rule violations. Because of good behaviour, the brothers now live in a “non-designated programming facility” which gives them more freedom in prison.

Last year, the brothers launched a new appeal after new evidence alleged their father had also molested boy-band member Roy Rosello. The brothers’ attorney filed a petition in May last year citing both Rosello’s claims and a letter given as evidence meant their convictions should be quashed.

Right now, Lyle and Erik are waiting to find out if their case many be reopened.

Leslie Abramson

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via Netflix / YouTube

Leslie Abramson was “considered to be the most brilliant Los Angeles defence lawyer for death-row cases.” This was said of her in 1990, the same year Lyle and Erik Menendez were arrested for murder and she was set to defend the latter in court.

Now, Leslie Abramson is 80-years-old, and as well as being best known for the Menendez case, she’s a published author. Leslie has been married twice, and has two children. As you could probably expect, she has long since retired from law.

In 2017 there was a series of Law & Order which featured the lawyer, played by Edie Falco. It was titled Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, and at the time, Leslie spoke of seeing herself played on screen. “Oh boy,” she said on a call with The Wrap. “I have nothing to say. Absolutely nothing. Goodbye.”

Show-runner René Balcer told EW Leslie did not participate in the series in any way, but commented that “she’s having a nice life, a nice retirement.”

Lyle’s former girlfriend Jamie

via Netflix / YouTube

During Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix, we’re introduced to Lyle’s former girlfriend, Jamie. It is said she met Lyle around the time he was heading to Princeton, and it was a relationship Lyle’s parents very much didn’t approve of. Jamie’s full name in real life was Jamie Lee Pisarcik, and she gave evidence in the Menendez brothers’ trial,

Now, Jamie is 61 and works as a real estate agent. The former tennis player specialises in golf properties, equestrian estates and single family properties. She is now Jamie McDevitt as she got married, but it’s been reported this relationship broke down.

Dr Jerome Oziel

via Netflix / YouTube

Someone who was key to the Menendez case and trial was Erik’s therapist, Dr Jerome Oziel. Just as it happened in the show, in real life Erik confessed to the murders to the therapist, who would later record sessions with both brothers.

Following the Menendez trial, in 1997, Dr Jerome Oziel was stripped of his psychology license after the Los Angeles Times claimed he’d been “accused by a state panel of breaking confidentiality rules,” and engaging in inappropriate relationships with his female patients.

In 2017 Dr Jerome Oziel was interviewed by Bustle and claimed he didn’t give up his license because of the Menendez brothers. He explained: “I did not surrender my license due to the accusation, which implies I gave up my practice because I did things alleged in the original accusation. That is flatly and completely false.”

As for what he’s doing now, Dr Oziel is still giving out therapy at the Marital Mediation Centre in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Dominick Dunne

via Netflix

Dominick Dunne was a Vanity Fair journalist, who is introduced to the Monsters series on Netflix when we learn about the death of his daughter, Dominique. Following feeling wronged by the killer’s trial, Dominick became an investigative and crime journalist, and went on to cover the Menendez case.

He covered the case in depth for Vanity Fair, as well as other well-known crime cases, such as that of OJ Simpson. Dominick Dunne followed this trial all the way up til 2008 – one of the final things he worked on before he passed away. In 2008, Dominick revealed he had been suffering from blood cancer, and the following year he passed away.

John Sweeney

via YouTube

After being introduced to Dominick, we hear more about the murder of his daughter Dominique, who was killed by former boyfriend John Sweeney. In the show, we see a small part of the murder trial for John Sweeney recreated, before seeing him sentenced.

He was instead found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to six years in prison. In September 1986, John Sweeney was released from prison, after serving just over three years and seven months for the murder of Dominique Dunne. Following his release, he went back to working in the food industry, which he had been in before his crime. He went on to be head chef at The Chronicle, a fancy spot in Santa Monica.