In August 1990, Lyle, left the court with Erik Menendez in Santa Monica, California. They were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996, with no possibility of parole, and were upset this week. Nick Ut/ap Closed subtitles
Lyle and Erik Menendez, who spent more than three decades in jail for fatal shooting of their parents in Beverly Hills mansion, were indignant on Tuesday and closer to potential freedom.
After a full day of hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced their sentence from a sentence without parole to 50 years. This qualifies them for parole under the California young criminal law, as they murdered the murder before they were 26 years old.
The brothers were found guilty in 1996, murdering their parents, Kitty and José Menendez, 1989 - Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21.
While there has been a long-standing supporter of defending the Menendez Brothers, Netflix documentaries and documentaries have attracted the re-attention and sympathy of the brothers last year. Their defense also claimed that new evidence reinforced their claims of sexual abuse.
In October 2024, then Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón suggested getting excited about the brothers, citing “around the complexity of sexual violence” and “continued recovery efforts during incarceration.” His successor, Nathan Hochman, who was elected a month later, disagreed - but his process of trying to stop the attitude was unsuccessful.
All of this peaked at Tuesday’s hearing, during which the brothers’ lawyers argued that they no longer pose a risk to safety and several members of their extended family lobbied for a second chance.
According to ABC News, the Menendez Brothers, now in their 50s, participated through jail videos and spoke directly to the judge - apologizing for the killing of parents and subsequent court lawsuits.
Erik said there was no reason for his actions, which he called "crime, selfishness and cowardice." But he also said that he "has been a long way on this path to redemption," adding: "I will not stop trying to make a difference."
Laist reported that Judge Michael Jesic listed the brothers’ rehabilitation work for themselves and others, as well as letters of support he received from correctional staff – in his attitude decision.
Jesus said: "I do believe they have done enough in the last 35 years and one day they should have a chance."
The brothers’ fate now relies on state parole officials and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who have the right to veto or grant them leniency. According to the DA's office, the state parole board plans to hold a hearing on June 13 "as part of parole bids by the brothers alone."
Meanwhile, here is how the case gets here - what might happen next.
Lyle and Erik Menendez spent their early years in New Jersey. The family moved to the Los Angeles area in 1986, and their father, Jose (immigrant from Cuba and successful RCA record director) rose in the entertainment industry.
Two years later, they moved into a seven-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills. But the brothers say there is a dark undercurrent in their privileged lifestyle, accusing their parents of years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
In August 1989, while José and Kitty Menendez were watching TV in their living room, the brothers walked in and shot them with a newly purchased 12 slogan shotgun. The brothers later called 911 and said their parents were killed by the invaders.
Due to the extreme nature of the crime scene and Jose's business ties, authorities initially suspected potential mafia involvement. But they are increasingly focusing on the brothers, who have started a huge spending rave in the days and weeks after the murder.
In early March 1990, Beverly Hills police arrested Lyle in connection with the murder of her parents. Erik, who was playing tennis in Israel at the time, turned around a few days later.
Left Erik Menendez and his brother Lyle sat in Beverly Hills court in 1992. Nick Ut/ap Closed subtitles
The case attracted much of the country, partly because court television broadcasts live broadcasts of the brothers’ 1993 trial.
The brothers’ defense attorney argued that they acted in self-defense, and the brothers said they were worried that their parents would kill them in order to silence their stories about the so-called abuse. They claimed that Jose had suffered physical and sexual abuse over the years, and Katie (described as an unstable alcoholic who abused them too), let them happen.
However, prosecutors believe the brothers were motivated by greed and money—their father died with property worth nearly $15 million.
In that trial, each brother had his own jury. They both were in a deadlock, leading to crime.
In the second trial, the judge limited the amount of testimony and evidence regarding the brothers’ claims of sexual abuse, a core pillar of the brothers’ self-defense strategy.
The trial ended in 1996 and each brother was convicted of first-degree murder. They were sentenced to two consecutive life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The first 20 years of the sentence saw the brothers detained in different prisons, but they have been in the same San Diego correctional facility since 2018.
The brothers' lawyers described them as model prisoners who returned others.
Brothers married in prison: Erik married his pen-style wife Tammi in 1999, while Lyle married Rebecca Sneed in 2003. Sneed announced separation in 2024, but she said she remains “forever committed to fighting for the freedom of Lyle and Erik.”
Lyle earned a sociology degree from the University of California, Irvine through a prison program.
Reality show star and criminal justice advocate Kim Kardashian wrote in a 2024 article that both brothers have earned multiple college degrees, served as caregivers for those incarcerated for middle-aged and senior citizens in hospice care, and served as tutors for college programs. "These efforts include launching a beautification project at their San Diego prison.
Even though he lobbib Balian at a hearing on Tuesday against the brothers’ release, saying they were distrustful, Deputy Deputy Prosecutor Habib Balian admitted that they “doed great things” in prison by starting and participating in other people’s rehabilitation programs, according to LAS.
A combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, Left and Lyle Menendez. California Correctional/AP Department Closed subtitles
The brothers' lawyers filed a habeas truce petition in May 2023, asking the judge to consider new evidence of father's sexual abuse.
The evidence includes a letter written by Erik to his uncle Andy Cano in 1988, describing his father's sexual abuse. The brothers mentioned and asked about the letter in 2015's Barbara Walters TV show, and their lawyers were not aware of the letter, according to the Associated Press. LAIST reported that it was only discovered after Cano's death.
Another evidence comes from Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin boy band Menudo, who signed the RCA during his tenure at José Menendez. He claimed in a 2023 documentary that Jose poisoned him when he was a teenager in the 1980s.
The brothers’ case re-enters the attention the following year, not only because of emerging evidence, but because of new reports: True Crime Drama Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez (Criticized by Erik) and Brothers Menendez The documentaries all arrive on Netflix in the fall of 2024.
A few weeks later, more than twenty Menendez relatives gathered in Los Angeles to push the brothers’ resentment.
Kitty Menendez's sister Joan Andersen Vandermolen told reporters that the brothers "failed to be someone who should have protected them."
“The world is not ready to believe that boys will be raped… Today, we know,” she added. “It’s time for them to have a chance to get rid of the rest of their past lives.”
The brothers are eligible for parole under the California Young Criminal Law, but there is no guarantee that they will be able to walk freely soon.
The California parole hearing is the agency responsible for determining whether an individual is suitable for release. According to its manual, the process usually involves consultation, followed by a first parole hearing.
If the panel denies parole, parole must be performed within three, five years, seven years or 15 years - at which point the individual will receive a subsequent parole hearing. Even if the panel does approve parole, the decision can be reviewed and rejected by the governor under California law.
According to Newsom's website, the governor's parole review process can take up to 150 days. Newsom said in February that he directed the state's parole board to investigate whether the Menendez Brothers would create "unreasonable" public safety risks if released.
He said the findings will be submitted to the district attorney and the judge who presided over the proceedings, and stressed that "the results here are not guaranteed."
"My office has conducted dozens of leniency surveys consistently, but the process just provides greater transparency, which I think is important in this case and that due diligence before I determine my forgiveness," Newsom said.
The Menendez brothers have planned to hold a board hearing on June 13, in connection with another broad-minded petition. It is not clear whether this will also serve as their parole hearing.