Jail Phone Calls Between Lyle Menendez and a Fan Were Secretly Recorded Then Turned Into a Book
"If this was really explosive, do you think they’d have only paid $12,500 for it?"
Published Sept. 24 2024, 2:54 p.m. ET
Brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez were arrested in March 1990 and subsequently charged with the August 1989 murders of their parents. Jose and Kitty Menendez were watching television in the den of their Beverly Hills mansion when their sons walked in and shot them a total of 15 times. In the weeks following their deaths, Erik and Lyle went on a spending spree that reportedly added up to $700,000.
After they were taken into custody, the Menendez brothers would spend three years in the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail. Initially, Erik and Lyle were kept in the same cell block, until correctional officers discovered an escape plan hatched by the brothers. Once they were separated, Lyle began a phone friendship with a woman who would later profit from their conversations. Did she secretly record these calls? Here's what we know.
Did Lyle Menendez get recorded by his girlfriend? She was actually a friend, kind of.
An unlikely friendship grew between 21-year-old Lyle Menendez and 55-year-old Norma Novelli who used to publish a newsletter titled Mind's Eye. Novelli mailed this to prisons and jails, which is how Lyle became aware of her. He wrote Novelli a letter in response to one of her articles, and the two began corresponding fairly regularly only two months after his arrest.
Eventually, Novelli began visiting Lyle as often as four days a week. She was almost like an assistant, bringing Lyle shoes, books, magazines, and whatever else he required. Lyle was particularly interested in dimes as he needed them to make phone calls. Soon, the subject of a possible book came up, with Lyle saying if he was acquitted he could go on a book tour.
After they decided to move forward with a book, with Novelli later testifying that its purpose was to show the other side of Lyle, she would furiously take notes during phone calls. When that became too daunting, Novelli said she asked Lyle's permission to record their calls. He consented and she began doing so in 1991, though in the book, Novelli said this started in the fall of 1992.
What was the Lyle Menendez book about?
Beyond giving readers the opportunity to get to know Lyle better, Novelli wanted to provide insight into what life behind bars was like for the older Menendez brother. The book was titled The Private Diary of Lyle Menendez: In His Own Words and included jail stories such as Lyle having a pet mouse he named Buffy as well as how satisfied he felt after successfully ridding his cell of roaches.
Lyle also rambles a bit about things like what he wants in a spouse. "I’d like a woman to be a good cook, a prostitute in bed, not too independent, and waiting for me when I get home," he said. Unfortunately, he also provided ammunition used by the prosecution during the Menendez brothers' retrial. In the book, Lyle bragged about beating District Attorney Gil Garcetti, saying he got "his a-- kicked." He also referred to himself as "Trial Lyle" and mentioned making things up regarding Dr. Jerome Oziel, the therapist Erik confessed to.
The conversations were taped between 1991 and 1994 and were subsequently sold to Dove Books for $12,500, per the Los Angeles Times. Because this affected Lyle's credibility, he was told he couldn't testify during the retrial. Leslie Abramson, Erik Menendez's attorney, later said it was Novelli who was not credible, pointing to the fact that the book was being framed as including "explosive evidence" about the brothers. "If this was really explosive, do you think they’d have only paid $12,500 for it?" she asked.
