Jose and Kitty Menendez were found dead in their Beverly Hills mansion after being shot multiple times in August 1989.

Her sons Erik and Lyle called police and told authorities they came home to find their parents dead.

The authorities initially didn't suspect the brothers. But the duo began to attract attention with their behavior – spending heavily on extravagant spending sprees, gambling and partying.

A confession to their phycologist became their undoing when the doctor's friend recorded their admission on tape.

In March 1990, the brothers were charged by Los Angeles police. They went to trial in 1993 and the brothers admitted the murders but argued they had acted in self-defense and feared their parents would kill them first.

They described years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse – particularly at the hands of their father Jose, who worked as a film executive in Hollywood.

Lyle and Erik said they confronted their parents about the sexual abuse, that there was conflict in their household and that they believed their parents were planning to kill them.

Family members testified about the abuse they witnessed – but none said they had seen sexual abuse firsthand.

Prosecutors argued their motive was money. They explained their methodical planning, purchasing two shotguns days before the murders and their spending spree afterward. They portrayed the brothers as spoiled rich kids who thought they could get away with anything.

Their first trial ended in a mistrial, but a second in 1995 resulted in them being convicted of first-degree murder.