There really was an earthquake during the Menendez trial and it caused billions in damage

In episode eight of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix, aptly named Seismic Shifts, we see multiple earthquake tremors hit the court room as the brothers face trial. From the show, it looked as though people in the area were pretty frightened of what was happening, and many after shocks were felt after the main event.

A lot of things in Ryan Murphy adaptations are made up for dramatic effect, and already the show’s creator has been called out by Erik Menendez himself for “blatant lies” told in the series, and people spotted a huge inaccuracy in the José and Kitty death scene.

However, the addition of the earthquake during the trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez was based on a true story, and not just added for the benefit of us watching at home. So, here’s what actually happened and how serious the natural occurrence was.

via Netflix

The earthquake happened in 1994, during the trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez

There was an earthquake that took place in the San Fernando Valley, California, in 1994 – during the trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez. At the time, people feared the tremors may have had an impact on the trial proceedings, but everything still went ahead.

The real life quake was called the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and it took place in California at around 4:30am on January 17th, and lasted for approximately eight seconds. According to reports, at a 6.7 magnitude, it was the largest earthquake in the region since 1971.

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Just like in the Netflix series, the brothers were in their cells when the first tremor took place, and lawyer Leslie Abramson rang the jailhouse to make sure her clients were safe. It’s also been reported that during the earthquake, Lyle fell from his prison bed and injured his arm.

via Netflix

According to journalist Robert Rand’s book about the brothers, following the earthquake Lyle and Erik Menendez were locked in their cells for three days because of a shortage of prison staff. Public transport and roads suffered in the aftermath, so people struggled to get into work.

As a result of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, 57 people died and more than 9,000 were injured, including 1,600 people who required hospitalisation. In addition to this, property damage was estimated to be between $13-50billion, making it among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

Seismic observatories recorded 3,000 aftershocks greater than magnitude 1.5 in the three weeks following the main earthquake, and damage was recorded up to 85miles away from the epicentre.

The earthquake is now so famous, it’s popped up in multiple other pop culture references. It was the subject of the 1995 film Epicenter U, and was part of the plot in the 2004 film, A Cinderella Story. In the film, Hillary Duff’s character Sam lives in the San Fernando Valley with her father, stepmother, and two stepsisters. Her father, Hal, dies in the quake trying to save her stepmother.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Leslie Abramson: Where the Menendez lawyer is now, decades after the brothers’ trial

• Inside the real Menendez family Beverly Hills home – and what the house looks like today

• So, who was Lyle Menendez’s girlfriend Jamie and where is she now?