Craig Cignarelli was Erik Menendez’s high school best friend and became one of the prosecution’s key witnesses at both Menendez brothers murder trials, after Erik confessed to him roughly a week and a half after Jose and Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989. Cignarelli reported the confession to police, agreed to wear a hidden recorder during a later dinner with Erik, and testified in 1993 and again in 1996. He now works as a tennis coach and leadership speaker and rarely discusses the case.
Friendship With Erik Menendez
Cignarelli and Erik met as classmates at Calabasas High School in California and grew close in the late 1980s. They bonded over chess, creative writing, and elaborate plans for a future company that would combine inventions, screenwriting, and law.1The Second Serve. Searching for Craig Cignarelli Within their circle of friends, Erik was “Shepherd,” Kevin Whalen was “Wizard,” and Cignarelli was “King.”2Los Angeles Times. Menendez Trial Defense Witness Testimony
The “Friends” Screenplay
Around 1988, the two co-wrote a 66-page screenplay called “Friends.” Its protagonist was Hamilton Cromwell, an 18-year-old who murders his parents to claim a $157 million inheritance. In a handwritten note, Erik described Cromwell as “immensely psychotic and extremely anxious to obtain his inheritance. A character worthy of Jekyll and Hyde.” In one scene, Cromwell walks to his parents’ bedroom and says, “Good evening mother, good evening father,” before killing them. Afterward, the fictional Cromwell writes a book titled “Five deaths to perfection—Chapter One: Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Cromwell” and goes on to kill again.3Los Angeles Times. Menendez Screenplay Details Kitty Menendez helped type the manuscript. Cignarelli later acknowledged that the opening scene “happened to coincide with what happened on the night of the murders.”4ABC News. Erik Menendez Friends Story and Screenplay
Beverly Hills police obtained the script during their investigation, but Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg ruled it inadmissible, finding it “too difficult to determine who came up with what idea.”5UPI. Former Best Friend Says Erik Menendez Admitted to Killing Parents The jury never saw it.
The September 1989 Confession
On September 1, 1989, Cignarelli visited Erik at the family’s $4 million Beverly Hills property. As they walked the grounds, Erik turned to him and asked, “Do you want to know what happened?”6Los Angeles Times. Menendez Grand Jury Transcripts
According to Cignarelli’s later testimony, Erik said he and Lyle had come home after seeing a movie. Lyle was waiting outside with two shotguns and said, “Let’s do it.” Lyle then shot their father, who was on the couch, and told Erik, “Shoot mom.” Erik said he shot his mother “as she was standing up and yelling,” and the brothers kept firing until the guns were empty. Erik told him there was “skin and blood all over the place.”7Los Angeles Times. Cignarelli Trial Testimony
Going to Police and Wearing a Wire
Cignarelli did not report the confession right away. He later said he wasn’t sure Erik was telling the truth and didn’t want to be the one who turned in his best friend.6Los Angeles Times. Menendez Grand Jury Transcripts He waited several months, then contacted authorities in November 1989. At their request, he agreed to wear a hidden tape recorder during a two-hour dinner with Erik on November 29, 1989. Erik did not confess again during that meeting, though Cignarelli later testified that Erik mentioned he and Lyle would split $90 million in inheritance.7Los Angeles Times. Cignarelli Trial Testimony
Testimony at the Menendez Trials
Cignarelli testified for the prosecution at both the 1993 trial and the 1996 retrial.4ABC News. Erik Menendez Friends Story and Screenplay He first took the stand on July 26, 1993, early in the prosecution’s case.8Court TV. California v. Menendez 1993 Trial On direct, he recounted Erik’s confession and described the “Friends” screenplay and its Hamilton Cromwell character.
Defense attorney Leslie Abramson pressed him hard on cross-examination. Cignarelli acknowledged that his memory was “fuzzy,” that prosecutors had helped him pin down the date of the confession, and that he had initially told police the conversation happened in October 1989 rather than September 1. He also conceded an earlier, somewhat different account of the sequence of the shootings and each brother’s role.7Los Angeles Times. Cignarelli Trial Testimony A defense witness, Kevin Whalen, contradicted him directly, testifying that Erik had spent September 1, 1989, with Whalen, not with Cignarelli at the mansion.9Los Angeles Times. Menendez Trial Defense Testimony
Abramson also confronted Cignarelli with a letter he had faxed to police after officers told his mother he was cooperating. The letter contained the line “Betrayal signifies evil.” Asked from the stand whether betrayal signifies evil, Cignarelli answered, “Sometimes, yes.”7Los Angeles Times. Cignarelli Trial Testimony Throughout his testimony he avoided eye contact with Erik, who watched him from the defense table.
After the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996, Cignarelli described a mix of relief and “a really strange feeling of sadness,” saying, “I actually have just lost my best friend for life.”4ABC News. Erik Menendez Friends Story and Screenplay
Where Craig Cignarelli Is Now
Cignarelli built a career in tennis coaching after the trials. He never played professionally or on a college team but became a well-known instructor in the Southern California tennis community. His early coaching roles included Warner Center and Cal State Northridge before he took over as junior program director at the Riviera Country Club, replacing longtime coach Robert Lansdorp. At Riviera he created the “Grips Program,” a skill-assessment system for juniors modeled on karate belt rankings. His clients over the years included touring professional Lester Cook and actress Elisabeth Shue.1The Second Serve. Searching for Craig Cignarelli
He also coached at the Malibu Racquet Club before leaving California around 2015, citing high taxes, worsening traffic, and a wish to get away from the “celebrity” culture of the local tennis scene. After a short stint in Atlanta, he settled in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and became director of the ROGY program at Rise Tennis Academy, which operates out of Snee Farm Country Club and was founded in 2021.10Rise Tennis Academy. About Rise Tennis Academy
Alongside coaching, Cignarelli works as a leadership speaker based in St. Petersburg, Florida, giving presentations to law and business students, coaches, professional athletes, and corporate executives. He describes his approach as “deconstructing and reconstructing principles, events, innovations, and arguments.”11Town and Country. Who Is Craig Cignarelli, Erik Menendez’s Best Friend He has delivered a TEDx talk titled “The Long Walk to Excellence” and describes himself as a writer with several unpublished creative projects. He lives in South Carolina with his wife and daughter and has generally declined to talk publicly about the Menendez case or, as he has put it, any “ancillary topics.”1The Second Serve. Searching for Craig Cignarelli