Former Menudo Member Roy Rossello Claims Father of Menendez Brothers Drugged and Raped Him

Trigger warning: The article mentions sexual abuse, substance abuse, and rape. Readers' discretion is advised.

Former Puerto Rico band member from Menudo, Roy Rossello breaks his silence after years and claims that he was drugged and raped by the infamous Menendez brothers - Erik and Lyle's father, Jose Menendez. Multiple reports from outlets like People Magazine now reveal that Roy Rossello, 51, explained in an interview that the father of the convicted killers had sexually abused him while he was a mere lad at 14 years old. He reveals this in a Peacock docuseries - The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All. 

Rossello looked at a monochrome photograph from back in the day which had Jose Menendez's picture circled for confirmation and immediately recognized the man who had scarred him for the rest of his life. "I know what he did to me in his house" he recalls. "That's the man here that raped me," he says with sadness and disdain, calling him a pedophile. 

On hearing these claims, the 52-year-old Menendez brothers responded and expressed their dismay over knowing that there was one more victim who suffered the fate of being sexually abused by that man. In conversation with Robert Rand, Erik mentions: "It's so sad that there was another victim of my father, I always hoped and believed that one day the truth about my dad would come out, but I never thought it would come out like this [referring to Rossello] - the result of trauma another child has suffered" 

According to the original Cover story published by People in 1990, Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted on March 20, 1996, being held guilty of murder in the first degree of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise a.k.a Kitty Menendez, after shooting both their parents multiple times with a shotgun. The brothers were arrested on the same night as they shot their parents in cold blood on August 20, 1989.

Erik was then 18 years old and Lyle was 22 when they committed these murders. Reportedly, while the parents were watching TV, Erik was the one who shot his father eight times in such a manner that the "barrel of the gun was shoved so far his throat that it blew the back of his head off." As his mother attempted to flee the scene for dear life, he ended it by gunning her down with five shots before she succumbed to death. Prior to being killed, there was an argument that triggered Erik to take such a bold step. The bodies were discovered in the $5 million dollar Beverly Hills mansion by Lyle prior to both their arrests. Erik justified his actions as an act of self-defense against their parent's abuse.

Peacock's new series Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed is a series that revolves around the reason behind the now 47-year-old Erik and 49-year-old Lyle killing their parents, from the court hearings to Erik's personal 12-minute recordings from prison that have never been made public to uncovering the truth - did the brothers do it for money or are they speaking the truth? The two are currently serving life imprisonment without the sheer possibility of parole. However, tables may just turn after these newly surfaced allegations.

If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)