“Monsters” star Cooper Koch “sides” with the Menendez brothers and calls for a retrial | Ents & Arts News

The actor, who plays one of the Menendez brothers in a Netflix drama about the real-life murder of Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989, says he “stands with” and “supports” the brothers in their call for a new trial .

Cooper Koch, who plays Erik Menendez in Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story, told Sky News: “I fully stand by them and support them and can only hope that the justice system makes the right decision.”

The brothers were convicted of shooting her father and mother Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez up close several times in the family mansion in Beverly Hills, Californiaon August 20, 1989. They were 21 and 18 years old at the time.

During their trial, the defense claimed the brothers committed the murders in self-defense after years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Prosecutors argued the murders were motivated by greed and that the brothers killed their parents to avoid disinheritance.

While an initial trial for each brother ended in a mistrial, in a second joint trial they were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The day after Netflix When the drama aired, Erik Menendez, through his wife Tammi, issued a scathing statement about the show, calling it “dishonest” and “inaccurate.”

Koch, who recently visited the brothers, responded to his criticism Kim Kardashiansaid, “I understand where he’s coming from. It is very difficult to have one's life dramatized and retold in a Hollywood retelling of the greatest trauma of one's life. One that defined you in some way.”

“I can only have pity and compassion for him and stand by his side. You know, I understand.”

No “battle” with ethical issues

Drawing a line between fact and fiction, the 28-year-old actor said: “I definitely think there is an ethical thing there. Nothing I’ve struggled with.”

“I just made it my priority every day to make sure that I (Erik) and that I was authentic to the story, just working with integrity and making sure that I was always studying and observing the testimony and getting deeper and deeper into it. and its story.

He said that Erik's own words in court made his job as an actor easier: “I don't really have to use much imagination. It's like he's telling it to me, and I just have to imagine what happened and the stories that he tells on the witness stand.

“In that sense, it kind of makes the job easier…It's like you already have that plan. You don’t have to create from a blank canvas.”

Erik is “sadly still in prison”

He said one thing that made the job “a little more difficult.”

“There is pressure that he is a real person and that he is still alive. And unfortunately he is still in prison. So I made sure I thought about him every day, and I made it my highest priority to just be as authentic as possible.

Actor Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays older brother Lyle in the series, told Sky News that there is “a huge weight involved in playing a real person”.

Chavez said after “extensive research” and collaborating with the creative vision of the directors and showrunners, “What ends up on the screen is art.”

Regarding the accuracy of the portrayal, Chavez said, “We all want it to be as respectful as possible.”

Visit to prison with Kim Kardashian

Koch recently visited the brothers at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County, where both brothers are being held. next to Kim Kardashian.

He called the visit “a very rewarding experience” and that Kardashian, who has been training to be a lawyer since 2019, is “very passionate” about criminal justice reform.

Koch said their visit was inspired by Lyle and Erik's leadership of a green space project – Greenspace – that aims to improve the appearance of prison yards to support rehabilitation.

He explained that they hope “to make it feel less gray and cold… and to make these inmates feel like they can have meaning and purpose in their lives in prison.”

Koch said the experience of working on the Ryan Murphy show “definitely changed my life.”

Possibility of a retrial?

The original Menendez brothers trial in 1993 was a media sensation, televised by Court TV and the talk of the town.

The joint trial two years later, at which evidence of the brothers' alleged sexual abuse by their father was ruled inadmissible.

After their conviction in 1996, the brothers did not see each other for 22 years and served time in different prisons until Erik was transferred to the same facility as Lyle in 2018. They are now 53 and 56 years old respectively.

Interest in the case has surged in recent years, and there is a growing TikTok movement calling for the brothers' release.

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The Netflix drama and an upcoming documentary coming to the streamer in October have only added to growing speculation about the case.

Now, recent new evidence that came to light in the 2023 documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed has led to calls for a retrial.

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The film included allegations from former Puerto Rican boy band member Roy Rossello, who claimed Jose Menendez sexually abused him when he was a teenager.

The brothers' defense team also says they discovered a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin that was dated months before the murders. In it he spoke of abuse by his father and the fear of him.

The defense team says this should warrant a new trial because it involved information that was not available to them when the case was first presented to a jury.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office told Sky News' US partner NBC News that they are investigating the allegations and will receive a response by September 26.