Buyers of Menendez Brothers' $17M Murder House Renovate The Property
Could you live in a hot tourist location with constant prying eyes?
It’s one of the most famous and shocking murders in the Beverly Hills 90210 zip code.
The beautiful Mediterranean villa at 722 North Elm Drive is on a quiet, leafy street. It is an unlikely destination for tour vans and true crime-obsessed looky-loos
But it’s the notorious address of the multi-million dollar home where Lyle, 21, and his brother Erik Menendez, 18, killed their parents with a flurry of shotgun blasts on a summer night in August 1989.
A grisly murder scene
José and his wife, Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, were found shot multiple times at close range in the den of their Beverly Hills mansion in 1996.
The Beverly Hill detective who investigated the murders said the crime scene was so horrific that José was “unrecognizable.” Detective Les Zoeller of the Beverly Hills Police Department told NBCLA in 2017 that “it was one of the worst murder scenes he had ever encountered.”
Erik and Lyle were convicted of killing their parents inside their family home and were later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Huge amount of public interest
The Menendez Brothers are two of the most important figures in American True Crime history. Their brutal parricide caught the world's attention in the 1990s.
Over the years, the stunning mansion, built in 1927 and remodeled in the 1970s, has continuously drawn viewers. Far from the walls of the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, CA, where the brothers are serving their sentence, the case has continued to capture attention.
Most recently, in 2024, the Netflix series "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" and the documentary "The Menendez Brothers" have triggered renewed worldwide interest.
The brother's former 9,063-square-foot Mediterranean-style estate has been occupied ever since it was sold after the murders. Some former tenants in the mansion included Prince Elton John, celebrated Broadway director and producer Hal Prince, and a Saudi Prince.
The Menendez Mansion circa 2025
In the 1980s, Beverly Hills was "maybe the safest place in America," according to Alan Abrahamson, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who also appeared in the Netflix doc. According to Abrahamson, living in the 90210 zip code was the stuff of dreams.
The Menendez family purchased their home for $4 million in 1988 from real estate mogul Mark Slotkin. Under Slotkin's ownership, the home underwent a significant renovation in 1974. The mansion features soundproof rooms, a detached guest house, seven bedrooms, and nine bathrooms.
The house includes a "grand entry with a dramatic circular staircase, imported Italian limestone flooring, and a gourmet kitchen complete with high-end appliances and a walk-in pantry.
According to a listing on Realtor.com, the property is an oasis for the ultra-wealthy, with a private tennis court, pool, rose gardens, and a wine cellar with a tasting room.
The purchase history of the famous Mansion
Following the infamous murders in 1996, the house has changed hands four times. A year after the murders, the home was sold to an undisclosed buyer for $3.6 million.
In 1993, William Link, who co-created the hit murder mystery show Murder, She Wrote, purchased the mansion for an undisclosed sum and lived there for eight years.
Link sold the home in 2001 for $3.7 million to telecommunications executive Sam Delug. The mansion made headlines in March 2024 when Delug sold the estate for $17 million. The buyer was an LLC known as LAHA ELM.
The mansion, listed by Amy Vertun of Rodeo Realty, was initially listed for $19,999,500 in December 2023.
Would you want to live in a hot tourist site
Yes, the mansion is absolutely stunning.
There's just one problem. Because it's the famous scene of one of the most famous murders in America, the house is constantly being visited by crowds of tourists. True crime fans can be seen on the property's perimeter gawking at it.
Even as the two brothers are fighting to be re-sentenced, the famous murder mansion is currently undergoing extensive renovations.
The new owners of the expansive dwelling have not let the crowds of tourists at the "murder home" prevent them from transforming the property into their ideal abode.
In an attempt to stop the large crowds from sneaking a peek at the infamous murder site, workers have surrounded it with wired fencing and black screens.
They can continue construction away from prying eyes—although the barriers have not stopped onlookers from checking out the progress.
Would you want to be a neighbor to a famous murder mansion?
Residents who live on the same street were previously revealed to be furious about the surge of visitors in the neighborhood and have begged the police to put a stop to the spying.
According to TMZ, police in Beverly Hills received several calls from irate residents complaining about the number of people walking and driving down their street to catch a glimpse at the mansion.
The complaints began pouring in after the release of Ryan Murphy’s "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," which reignited interest in the brothers' decades-old case.
Murphy's Netflix series was not shot at the property, which was considered a real estate gem before the bloody murders took place. It did spark fierce backlash over the brothers' sentence.
TikTok videos
One social media user visited TikTok in 2024 to document when she traveled to the Beverly Hills estate to show their support for the brothers.
She walked toward the property and said, "You guys will not believe what I am currently looking at; I am walking to the Menendez house right now. It's in Beverly Hills, and it's so crazy to see this house in person."
"It's completely guarded, and they have no-trespassing signs up because a lot of people have been visiting like myself, and they are doing work on it, and you can literally see the inside," she said as she turned the camera to the house to reveal wooden beams and the front door cracked open.
As she flipped the camera to the home, construction workers continued demolishing parts of the house, sending wood falling from the second floor.
"Right now, it looks basically precisely the same as it did way back then.
Their trial is this Thursday, and I hope that they get released; I am fully on the team to release the brothers; I hope they get released," she added before deeming the street the murder site is situated on as "calm."
Other viewers shared clips of themselves driving past the guarded property as construction continued.
Would you want to live in a murder house?
Some people might not find living in a house where a horrible murder was committed as a deal breaker. It is a notorious address that has been attracting true crime fans.
It seems to be the case of the Menendez Brothers murder house. The house has changed hands recently. None of the buyers seem to have been worried about the house's history; otherwise, they wouldn't have purchased the property.
It's interesting that the house's value increased from $4 million in 1988 to $17 million in 2024. Sometimes, a house becomes difficult to sell when someone dies in it or is murdered there.
Strategic Property Analytic President Orell Anderson told Realtor.com that the Menendez luxury mansion sold for roughly 25% below market value because of the famous murders. Also because of the constant visitors.
"It really is the bad voodoo that comes in when buying a house to live in with your family that can creep out people," he said. "There tends to almost always be a discount, but sometimes it's purchased by people who are not bothered by these things."
Lingering questions
I have lingering questions. Will the house continue to attract visitors if the two brothers are released from jail? Or will the mansion continue to be an infamous address even after the Brothers are long gone from this plant?
The other question is whether the newest owners would be able to sell the house if they get tired of all the intrusion from looky-loos and tour buses.
The new owners may eventually open the mansion for paid tours or erect high walls to prevent anyone from getting a glimpse of the infamous abode.
Only time will tell.
What do you think? Would you buy a famous murder mansion?
All of this is news to me! I did a quick search, and it turns out the property was bought by the Lahijani family, who do a lot of real estate investment stuff. In other words, it's a killer house flip! Let's hope for the Lahijani's sake that the Property Brothers aren't helping out with the rehab.
The house is almost as popular as the Full House place.