A Beverly Hills mansion built for old money glamour became one of the most searched addresses in the country after a double murder inside its walls. More than three decades later, people still slow their cars near the gate at 722 North Elm Drive, hoping to see it.
This guide covers the Menendez Brothers House from its 1927 construction to its current multimillion-dollar renovation, and explains why buyers, tourists, and true crime fans still care.
Where Is the Menendez Brothers House Located
The Menendez Brothers House stands at 722 North Elm Drive in Beverly Hills, California, 90210. The address sits in the Flats, a grid of quiet, tree-lined streets south of Sunset Boulevard, known for old-money families and low-key privacy rather than flashy new construction.
Here is a quick snapshot of the property:
- Address: 722 North Elm Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
- Built: 1927, redesigned in 1974
- Size: 9,063 square feet of living space on a 22,172 square foot lot
- Bedrooms and bathrooms: 7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms
- Purchased by Jose Menendez: 1988, for 4 million dollars
- Sold to current owners: March 2024, for 17 million dollars
The location alone explains part of the price tag. Homes in the Beverly Hills Flats routinely sell for eight figures based on land and address, even before factoring in a home’s history.
Inside the Mediterranean-Style Mansion
The house follows a Spanish Revival design, a style that was common among Beverly Hills estates built in the 1920s. White stucco walls, a red clay tile roof, arched windows, and wrought iron balcony details give the front of the house a formal, old Hollywood look.
Inside, a circular staircase leads up from a two-story foyer floored in imported Italian limestone. The main level includes a wood-panelled billiard room and a living room with tall Palladian windows. A den with a wet bar sits off the main living space. That den is where Jose and Kitty Menendez were shot and killed on August 20, 1989.
The upper floor holds the bedrooms, including the two that belonged to Lyle and Erik Menendez as teenagers. Outside, the property includes a swimming pool, a tennis court, formal gardens, and a two-story guesthouse tucked behind mature trees.
A Timeline of the Menendez Brothers’ House Ownership
The property has changed hands several times since the murders, and each sale tells its own part of the story.
- 1988: Jose Menendez buys the home from real estate developer Mark Slotkin for 4 million dollars.
- August 1989: Jose and Kitty Menendez are murdered in the den by their sons, Lyle and Erik.
- 1991: The estate, appraised at 4.8 million dollars, sells for just 3.6 million dollars. Court filings at the time referenced the home’s “bad karma” as a factor in the lower price.
- 1991 to 1999: William Link, co-creator of the television series Murder, She Wrote, owns the home for roughly eight years.
- 2001: Investor Sam Delug purchases the property for 3.74 million dollars.
- December 2023: The home is listed for sale for just under $ 20 million through Rodeo Realty.
- March 2024: The property sells for 17 million dollars to an LLC called LAHA ELM.
Before that final sale closed, the listing spent time under contract, which is a useful real-world example if you have ever wondered what it means when a home goes contingent in real estate. A contingent status simply means an offer has been accepted,d but the deal still depends on conditions like financing or inspection being cleared first.
The 2024 Sale and Ongoing Renovation
The buyer behind LAHA ELM LLC is reportedly tied to the Lahijani family, a well-known name in Los Angeles real estate investment circles. Rather than sit on the purchase, the new owners began construction almost immediately.
Crews put up tall wire fencing wrapped in black screening around the perimeter, an attempt to block views from the sidewalk and passing cars. It has not worked completely. Social media videos, including footage from workers, have shown the home gutted down to its wood framing, including the den where the murders took place.
Public permit records for the project have not been consistently available, which has made it hard to confirm the full scope of the work from the outside. What is clear from photos and video is that the renovation goes well beyond a cosmetic refresh. Even the front fountain, a fixture tourists often stop to photograph, was drained for repairs, with a small temporary basin set up so visitors could still toss in coins that get donated to a local Catholic charity.
Renovation work continued through 2025 and into 2026. The owners have not made any public statement about whether they plan to keep the finished home, rent it, or resell it. Buyers who study the kind of real estate investment strategy that turns stigmatised property into a profit will recognise the pattern here: acquire a well-located but reputation-damaged asset, invest heavily in a full rebuild, and let time and a fresh interior soften the history attached to the address.
Why the Menendez Brothers House Draws Tourists
Interest in the property surged again after Netflix released the dramatised series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” in September 2024, followed by a companion documentary. Both brought a new, younger audience to a case that originally played out on live television in the early 1990s.
That renewed attention turned the quiet street into what travel writers have started calling a dark tourism stop. Beverly Hills police have responded to repeated noise and trespassing complaints tied to visitors gathering outside the gate. Tour groups, solo true crime fans, and content creators all show up hoping to get a photo, even with construction fencing blocking most of the view.
For a residential street built around privacy, the ongoing foot traffic has created real friction with neighbours, on top of the usual disruption that comes with a major renovation project next door.
How the Murders Affected the Home’s Value
In real estate terms, 722 North Elm Drive is a textbook stigmatised property, meaning its value and marketability were affected by a psychological association rather than any physical defect. Research published in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics has found that stigmatised homes tied to violent crime tend to sell for measurably less than comparable properties and often sit on the market far longer before finding a buyer.
The 1991 sale of the Menendez house shows that discount in action. An 800,000 dollar gap between the appraised value and the final sale price, described in court records as tied to the home’s reputation, was significant for that era.
That kind of stigma tends to fade over time, especially once a property changes hands several times and undergoes real physical change. The jump from 3.74 million dollars in 2001 to 17 million dollars in 2024 reflects both a booming Los Angeles real estate market and the natural cooling of a decades-old stigma. The home now sits in the same conversation as other infamous addresses, including the John List house, where curiosity and caution both shape how buyers approach the property.
California law also plays a role here. Sellers in the state must disclose a death that occurred on a property within the past three years, which is one reason stigmatised property status tends to matter most in the years immediately following a tragedy rather than decades later.
The Menendez Brothers Case and the House Today
While the house was being gutted, the criminal case connected to it kept moving. In May 2025, a Los Angeles judge resentenced Lyle and Erik Menendez to 50 years to life, a change that made them eligible for parole consideration as youth offenders under California law.
Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a risk assessment as part of a separate clemency request the brothers had filed. That assessment, completed in 2025, found the brothers posed a moderate risk if released and noted several prison rule violations, including unauthorised cell phone possession.
The brothers’ first parole hearings took place in August 2025 and ended in denial for both. A habeas corpus petition seeking a new trial was rejected the following month. A second round of parole hearings in late April 2026 also ended in denial for both Lyle and Erik, who remain incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Their legal team continues to pursue appeals, though no new hearing date has been confirmed as of this writing.
None of that legal activity has slowed work on the house itself. The renovation and the criminal case have run on separate, almost unrelated tracks since 2024.
FAQs
Where is the Menendez Brothers House located?
The house is at 722 North Elm Drive in Beverly Hills, California, in the neighbourhood known as the Flats.
Who owns the Menendez house now?
An LLC called LAHA ELM, reportedly connected to the Lahijani family, has owned the property since it purchased the home in March 2024.
How much did the Menendez house sell for?
The home sold for 17 million dollars in March 2024, after being listed at just under 20 million dollars in December 2023.
Can you visit or tour the Menendez Brothers House?
No. The property is private and currently surrounded by construction fencing. Visitors can only view it from the public sidewalk, and Beverly Hills police have cited ongoing complaints about trespassing and noise near the gate.
Is the Menendez Brothers House considered haunted or cursed?
There are no verified paranormal claims tied to the property. It is best described as a stigmatised property, a real estate term for a home whose value and marketability are affected by a disturbing event rather than any physical issue.
