Lyle Menendez wore a hairpiece because of hair loss, according to widely repeated coverage of the Menendez case. The wig became memorable because it appeared inside a much larger public story about image, family pressure, and courtroom perception.
Why it mattered publicly
In ordinary life, a young man wearing a hairpiece would not be a headline. In a televised criminal case, every appearance detail became part of how the public read the defendants.
Be careful with the framing
The hairpiece is not the case. It is one detail that media coverage amplified because it was visual and easy to remember.
Bottom line
Lyle Menendez wore a wig or hairpiece because of hair loss, and it became famous because the trial turned private grooming into public symbolism.