Jose Menendez’s Connection to Menudo: Roy Rossello’s Abuse Claims Might Help Brothers Erik and Lyle

Netflix’s new series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story from Ryan Murphy has reignited interest in the case that shocked the nation in the ‘90s. Claims of abuse by the Menendez brothers’ father from Menudo’s Roy Rosselló have fans wondering if his allegations will have an impact on the case.

What Did Jose Menendez Allegedly Do to Menudo’s Roy Rossello?

In 2023, Peacock released a docuseries titled Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed which featured Roy alleging that he was drugged and raped by Jose in the ‘80s when he was just 13 and 14 years old. Jose worked as the head of RCA Records at the time, and the label was about to sign Menudo to a record deal.

In the Habeus Corpus petition filed in May 2023, attorneys claimed that in 1983, Menudo’s manager asked Roy “to ‘do a favor,’ and instructed him to go downstairs at the hotel and join Jose Menendez in a limousine.” Roy was then allegedly driven to Jose’s house where he was plied with wine and raped.

“Roy lost consciousness and woke up back in his hotel,” the petition states.

The petition also alleged that Roy was raped a second time by Jose in a New York City hotel room.

How Could the New Petition Help Erik and Lyle Menendez?

During their two trials, prosecutors argued that Erik and Lyle’s motives for killing Jose and their mother, Kitty, were rooted in greed, but the allegations from Roy line up with Erik and Lyle’s claims that they killed their parents after years of suffering from sexual abuse.

The Menendez brothers’ post-conviction attorney, Mark Geragos, described Roy’s claims as “a game changer.”

“We’re saying the second trial did not comport with constitutional protections for a variety of reasons,” Mark told People. “And a Habeas [Corpus petition] has new evidence. It requires new evidence because this case had basically been moribund for close to 17 years. And the new evidence was the Menudo accuser and the letter that Andy Cano wrote or received from Erik eight months before the killing.”

A Newly Discovered Letter Written by Erik Menendez Might Also Help Their Case

Along with the petition, a letter from Erik written to his cousin Andy Cano was recently discovered that details the sexual abuse claims he and Lyle spoke about during their trial. The letter was written months before the murder of Jose and Kitty occurred.

Robert Rand, who is an expert on the case and helped produce Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed is the one who discovered the letter.

“I found a letter that Erik Menendez had written to his cousin Andy Cano in November of 1988, nine months before Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed,” Robert told KTLA in September 2024. “And in that letter, Erik Menendez complains about the ongoing sexual abuse by his father.”

Mark called the letter “a significant development” in the case.

“It was written before the homicides took place and laid out all of the abuse that was going on,” Mark said to KTLA. “It wasn’t like these were destitute kids who needed to kill their parents in order to live larger than life. They were living in the lap of luxury at the time, but obviously, there was something dysfunctional going on.”