Tragic story of Poltergeist actress murdered aged 22 as she’s discussed in new Netflix Monsters series

The heartbreaking story of the murder of a Hollywood star is weaved into Netflix's Monsters - and the true story of what happened is incredibly disturbing.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story mostly follows the two brothers who shot their parents dead.

It has been criticised by Erik Menendez for what he says are 'blatant lies'.

The series also touches on other true crime stories, one of which is the murder of Poltergeist star Dominique Dunne in 1982 by her ex partner John Sweeney.

Her story is brought into Monsters because her father Dominick was a Vanity Fair journalist who covered the Menendez trial.

In the series he's played by Nathan Lane as Monsters touches on the tragic story of his own daughter's murder and how it affected him and the coverage of the trial.

Dominique Dunne (right) in horror movie Poltergeist. (Warner Bros)

Dominique Dunne had started her on-screen acting career in 1979 with the film Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker before appearing in a number of other TV shows and films.

In 1982 she appeared in classic horror movie Poltergeist, with the Steven Spielberg-directed film being released just a few months before she was killed by her ex.

Sweeney had already been violent with her, he had been physically abusive towards Dominique, having pulled some of her hair out in August 1982.

In September of that same year, just a few weeks before her murder, he grabbed her by the throat and started strangling her.

A friend who was staying with them walked in and Dunne later escaped from the house through a bathroom window before getting in her car and driving away, though not before Sweeney jumped onto it.

She would later call him and tell him the relationship was over, and once he moved out she had the locks changed.

Tragically, on 30 October she was at her home in West Hollywood with fellow actor David Packer rehearsing for a part when Sweeney arrived.

She played Dana Freeling in the horror film, but just a few months after it was released she was strangled to death by her ex. (Warner Bros)

Dunne went outside and they began arguing, Packer would later say he heard smacking sounds, two screams and then a thud.

The actor called the police, then called a friend and said if he was found dead then Sweeney was his killer.

He went out of the house to find Sweeney kneeling over Dominique's body, when police did arrive he said: "I killed my girlfriend and I tried to kill myself."

Sweeney later testified that he could remember being on top of Dunne with hands on her neck.

She was rushed to hospital and placed on life support but never regained consciousness and doctors found that she had no brain activity.

Dunne's life support was switched off on 4 November, and a funeral held for her two days later.

Sweeney would be convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison, at the trial the judge criticised the jury for returning a manslaughter verdict saying it was 'a case, pure and simple, of murder'.

The jury foreman said if they'd been able to hear all of the evidence they would have convicted Sweeney of murder.