Knicks trading card featuring Menendez brothers after parents murder becomes collectors item
A 1990 trading card of Erik and Lyle Menendez skyrocketed in value following the infamous brothers’ 1996 conviction in their parents’ Beverly Hills, California, double murder.The trading card featuring New York Knicks guard Mark Jackson, obtained by Fox News Digital, gained notoriety after eagle-eyed collectors noticed that the Menendez brothers were sitting in a pair of floor seats at the game.The discovery of their presence on the card sparked significant interest among collectors and true crime aficionados.Previously valued at mere cents, the card’s price surged, with some listings reaching hundreds of dollars.However, eBay eventually removed listings that explicitly referenced the Menendez brothers, citing policies against items associated with violent crimes.According to a TMZ report, some collectors are sending the card to the brothers in prison so it can be autographed.Along with purchasing courtside seats for a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden during the 1989–1990 NBA season, the brothers lavishly spent their parents’ fortune following the August 1989 murders of Kitty and José Menendez. In the months following the brutal murder of their parents, Erik and Lyle Menendez began living an extravagant lifestyle that starkly contrasted with their earlier claims of grief and trauma. While the defense would later frame the spending as part of a psychological escape from years of alleged abuse, prosecutors alleged that the brothers’ crimes had been due to their efforts to gain access to the family’s fortune. Lyle, the older brother, indulged in high-end purchases, including designer clothing and a Porsche.He also invested heavily in a Princeton, New Jersey, restaurant called Chuck’s Spring Street Café. In their 1995 trial, jewelry sales representative Mary Ellen Mahar testified that the brothers had come to her store just four days after the killings and spent about $15,000 on three Rolex watches.Lyle rented upscale propertie...