As the Menendez Brothers Take a Step Toward Freedom, Experts Reveal What That Means for Their $17 Million Murder Home

The Menendez brothers could be on the road to freedom after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón recommended that they be resentenced after spending more than 30 years in prison for the murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez.

Gascón’s announcement comes amid furious speculation surrounding Erik and Lyle Menendez, whose case has been the subject of not one, but two Netflix shows, bringing huge attention to their story and raising questions about their convictions and sentences.

“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” presented a dramatized version of events that painted the brothers as troubled youths who faced untold abuse at the hands of their father, while a follow-up documentary, simply titled “The Menendez Brothers,” saw the siblings speaking out about their experiences in candid interviews from behind bars.

The furor surrounding these shows prompted huge debate about Lyle and Erik’s version of events, and even saw reality star Kim Kardashian calling for their sentences to be reexamined.

However, the heightened interest in the siblings’ case has also had an impact on another unlikely aspect of their lives: their sprawling family mansion in Beverly Hills, CA, which was bought for $17 million in March of this year and has since been undergoing a huge renovation.

Macabre tourist attraction

The seven-bedroom, 9,063-square-foot, Mediterranean-style mansion has become a local tourist attraction of late, especially since Netflix released “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” last month.

Many are crediting the true-crime thriller series for the renewed interest in the case, and the possible revision of the sentencing—which could be reduced from life without the possibility of parole, to 50 years to life, with immediate eligibility for parole.

Sudden celebrity

The Netflix show also revived morbid interest in what many consider to be a “murder house.” This may be a boon for local tourism, but not the local real estate market.

The tour bus and foot traffic on the block do no favors for the other homes in that segment of North Elm Drive in the posh area known as the Beverly Hills Flats. But it’s the price of the home itself that has taken a beating.

The elegant mansion with high ceilings, a grand entry, imported Italian limestone flooring, designer closets, and many other pricey virtues was sold last March for $17 million, which is roughly 25% below prevailing market values, according to forensic appraiser Orell Anderson, the president of Strategic Property Analytics.

The property was originally listed for $19,999,500.

Anderson previously told Realtor.com® that typically, homes where highly publicized murders have occurred sell at a discount, as many prospective buyers are uneasy about living in these properties. The discounts can range from 10% to 15% for violent crimes that receive only local news coverage, or even more for nationally publicized murders.

“It really is the bad voodoo that comes in when buying a house to live in with your family, that can creep out people,” Anderson told Realtor.com. “There tends to almost always be a discount, but sometimes it’s purchased by people who are not bothered by these things.”

After the murder, the home languished on the market for years.

Could the dark vibe add value?

Some have wondered if the home where a highly publicized crime like this one occurred might, alternatively, attract a premium from someone who actually values this type of attention, and might want to preserve as much of the original crime scene as possible as a time capsule of sorts.

Might there be a profit in events and short-term rentals to like-minded thrill seekers?

Los Angeles real estate agent Nathaniel Pitchon-Getzels, of The Getzels Group, Compass, quickly quashed that theory for several reasons.

First,  he says, “No one wants to live for any length of time in a house that looks and feels like a famous murder scene.”

He compares it with the homes where Charles Manson and his cult committed murders: “No one is going to be attracted to that. There is no added value to that.”

Second, he continues, “The house as it is, is functionally obsolete, and is located in one of the most desirable cities and neighborhoods in the world. It would need to be redone even if it wasn’t a murder house, to keep up with the times. No one who can afford to live in a house of that caliber would want to be there in its current condition, murder or no.”

Third, he concludes, “The attraction to the niche group that would want to stay in that house on a short-term basis is already gone. It’s already been cleaned up. And it’s unlikely that permits for short-term rental or special events use would be granted anyway.”

Refreshed residence

These days, looky-loos and tourists who pass by the home are in for a bit of a disappointment. Formerly visible from the street, it is now gated and surrounded by a construction fence, undergoing yet another makeover.

Originally built in 1927, the Mediterranean villa was redesigned in 1984. It has been through several owners and remodels since then.

The most recent seller, telecommunications executive Sam Delug, purchased the property in 2001 for $3.7 million. He put it on the market in December 2023 for just under $20 million, then accepted $17 million for it last March, from an LLC called LAHA ELM.

Records indicate that the LLC, which is located in Beverly Hills and was created on Feb. 7, 2024, is owned by the Lahijanis, a wealthy Iranian family who live in L.A.

It appears the Lahijanis have not yet moved in and are giving construction workers plenty of time to renovate the mansion to their own taste. TMZ recently posted photos shot by one of those construction workers, showing the stripped-down structure where little of the 1980 decor remains.

Was the mansion used for the Netflix show?

After watching the Netflix series, many people were left wondering if filmmakers might have shot some scenes in the home where the murders took place. The sets do resemble the crime scene photos.

Realtor.com reported that the creators of “Monsters” shot in a lookalike property in Hancock Park, a Los Angeles neighborhood located just a few miles away.

Built in 1925, roughly the same era as the former Menendez home, the lookalike features the trademark red-tile roof. The exterior appears to be mostly unchanged from the time it was built.

That home has found extra value in preserving some original features. It’s a popular filming location, seen not long ago in the Paramount+ series “Why Women Kill.” But since only fictitious crimes were committed there, no bad vibes remain.

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