MonstersStar Cooper Koch Says He 'Cares So Much' for Erik Menendez After Meeting Him in Prison

Mar. 15, 2025

Cooper Koch; Erik Menendez.Photo:Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty; Roy Rochlin/Getty

Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty; Roy Rochlin/Getty

Cooper Kochis sharing more about his prison meeting withErik Menendez.

“Preparing to play him was, in a way, preparing to meet him at the same time,” the actor, 28, who played Erik in Netflix’sMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez StorytoldDeadline. “Because in preparing to play him, I developed such a care and true — I just care so much for him.”

He added, “I believe him, I think he’s an amazing human being. And so, after playing him, getting to meet him was so rewarding and special and one of the most amazing experiences I think I’ll ever have in my life.”

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Erik and Lyle Menendez in 1989.Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times via Getty

Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times via Getty

“I would say just like more nerve-wracking ‘cause I’ve known about them for so long and care so much about them,” he continued. “It was just like nervous but then when I got there it was all great.”

Koch paid the brothersa visit in prisonalongsideKim Kardashian,Khloé KardashianandKris Jenner, just days afterMonsterspremiered.

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Last month, Koch told PEOPLE he was “so nervous” ahead of the meeting in San Diego at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.

Adding that there was “an immediate connection,” Koch continued, “I got to hug both of them, and I sat next to Erik in this circle with all the other incarcerated individuals who were telling their stories, and they were both so kind. They’re amazing people.”

Copper Koch as Erik Menendez in ‘Monsters’.Miles Crist/Netflix

Miles Crist/Netflix

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storytells the storyofbrothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who killed their parents José and Kitty Menéndez in 1989 and have been serving life sentences in prison since 1996.

While the prosecution argued that José and Kitty were killed due to the family’s fortune of more than $14 million, the Menendez brothers have maintained that they killed their parents after suffering from ongoing mental, physical and sexual abuse.

In 2005, Erik told PEOPLE, “I’m not saying what I did was rightor justifiable. I needed to go to prison. But place another child in my life and see what happens.”

“I felt it was either my life or my parents’ life … Being arrested was such a relief. My life was over and I was glad. I didn’t want the money,” he added.

source: people.com