In a shocking crime that later gripped the nation, Lyle and Erik Menendez gunned down their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989. The Menendez brothers were arrested for their parents’ murders in March 1990. They have been behind bars ever since—but, for Lyle, that might soon change.
On Friday, the elder Menendez brother is virtually attending his first parole board hearing after a judge resentenced him and his brother to terms of 50 years to life in prison. The reduced punishments came with immediate parole eligibility due to their ages at the time of the crime. Lyle and Erik, who was denied release Thursday, were 21 and 18 years old when they killed their parents.
It took two trials for the Menendez brothers to be convicted for the murders. In their first trial, Lyle and Erik testified that their father had sexually abused them as two juries, one for each brother, listened on. They said this abuse, which their mother had been aware of, made them fear for their lives, and that they killed in self-defense. That first trial resulted in a deadlocked jury for each brother. In the brothers’ joint second trial, the judge limited the defense’s ability to introduce sexual abuse allegations, and Lyle and Erik were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996.
Lyle and Erik are now 57 and 54, older than their parents ever were. After spending so many years in prison, the two have adapted to the rhythms and rules of incarceration. Here’s everything you need to know about where the Menendez brothers are now, what their life is like today, and when they could get released.
Jump to:
- Where are the Menendez Brothers incarcerated?
- What is life in prison like for the Menendez brothers?
- What interests have the Menendez brothers developed in prison?
- How do the Menendez brothers keep in contact with friends and family?
- Both Lyle and Erik are married and met their wives while behind bars
- Are the Menendez brothers getting released from prison?
- The Menendez brothers’ story became a major Netflix show
Where are the Menendez Brothers incarcerated?
Lyle and Erik asked to be housed in the same prison when their sentences began in 1996. However, at the time, prison officials preferred to separate people who’d committed crimes together. In addition, a detective on their case warned that the brothers might plan an escape.
In a February 2025 interview, Erik said he initially experienced “a lot of bullying and trauma” in prison. “I was separated from Lyle, and I remember the day that I was told Lyle just got assaulted and got his jaw broken,” he told the 2 Angry Men podcast. “I’m thinking he’s over there, I’m going through this over here, and at least we could protect each other, maybe, if we were together, but we were not even allowed to be together.”
Through the years, Lyle continued to request a placement closer to his brother. On February 22, 2018, he was transferred from northern California’s Mule Creek State Prison to San Diego’s Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, where Erik had been incarcerated since 2013.
Lyle initially lived in a different housing unit than Erik at Donovan. But on April 4, 2018, prison officials moved Erik to the same unit as Lyle. According to Robert Rand, a journalist who keeps in contact with the Menendez brothers and members of their family, the two “burst into tears immediately” when they saw each other for the first time since 1996. Once only able to communicate via letters, now the brothers can meet during exercise, recreation, and meal periods.
What is life in prison like for the Menendez brothers?
The brothers’ notoriety has drawn attention from other inmates. In 2005, Erik told People: “I have gotten into fights… many fights. But I never fight first. You have to learn to be smart. There is a perpetual state of fear that exists as background noise. You always have to be aware of who is around you. You have to continually hone your survival instincts.”
In the past, Erik was affiliated with a prison gang and broke rules by drinking alcohol. More recently, Lyle and Erik haven’t been regular troublemakers behind bars. The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation told Biography.com via email, “During his incarceration, Erik Menendez has incurred two serious rules violations. Joseph [Lyle] Menendez has incurred no rules violations.” Erik has been caught illegally using a cellphone.
Watch the hit Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story or the documentary Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers
Thanks to their good behavior and efforts in prison jobs and classes, Erik and Lyle now live in a “non-designated programming facility” at Donovan. This unit, known as Echo Yard, offers inmates more freedom and rehabilitative and educational programming. Echo Yard prisoners take yoga and art classes, study different academic subjects, and join groups to address issues like anger management or alcoholism.
Although Echo Yard is less restrictive, it is still part of a prison. Inmates must stand for regular formal counts. Lyle and Erik live in different dorm rooms with other inmates, and these cells are locked overnight, beginning at 9 p.m.
What interests have the Menendez brothers developed in prison?
Erik has worked with terminally ill inmates and been sober since 2013. He’s also become interested in meditation and has led classes about religion. In 2018, his aunt told ABC News, “[Erik] was really making sure that the prisoners knew that there is a God that loves us. That was marvelous to me because he never got that at home.”
Additionally, Erik has spent time painting in prison. Together, Erik and Lyle came up with a plan to paint a mural on the concrete walls surrounding Echo Yard. In November 2024, Newsweek reported the mural is 60 percent complete.
Lyle served in inmate government for 15 years at Mule Creek State Prison. According to Robert Rand, Lyle has worked on prison reform, an interest Erik also shares. Both brothers have offered support and guidance to people who experienced childhood sexual abuse.
How do the Menendez brothers keep in contact with friends and family?
Erik and Lyle are both categorized as Group A prisoners, who have the most privileges to receive visits and make calls within California’s corrections system. For most of their incarceration, making calls from prison was expensive, but in January 2023 telephone calls became free for inmates and their families.
The state of California began providing tablets to prisoners in August 2021, but the devices didn’t reach Donovan inmates until June 2023. The tablets don’t permit access to social media or internet browsers, though inmates can read magazines and keep up with the news. Prisoners can stay in touch with approved contacts via the tablets. In addition to email and free calls, they receive a limited amount of video call minutes and text messages with the option to pay for more.
Both Lyle and Erik are married and met their wives while behind bars
Prison hasn’t stopped Lyle and Erik from finding love.
Tammi Saccoman watched Erik’s first trial and wrote to him. The pen pals met in person in 1997 and got married at Folsom State Prison in 1999. Several years into their marriage, Tammi wrote a book about their relationship titled They Said We’d Never Make It: My Life With Erik Menendez.
Lyle married Rebecca Sneed in the maximum-security visiting area at Mule Creek State Prison in 2003. It was his second prison wedding; his first marriage to former model Anna Eriksson ended in divorce.
California prisons permit inmates to have conjugal visits, which are officially known as family visits. Prisoners serving life sentences without parole weren’t eligible for these visits until the law changed in 2016. However, the state continues to prohibit family visits for prisoners who committed a violent offense against a family member, meaning Lyle and Erik remain ineligible for family visits.
Lyle told ABC News, “I’ve found I can have a healthy marriage that is complicated and built around conversation and finding creative ways to communicate, sharing, without all the props that are normally there in marriage in terms of going out to dinner and having as much intimate time together and so on.”
Are the Menendez brothers getting released from prison?
Erik and Lyle filed multiple appeals during their years in prison, but none succeeded, and it seemed they had no viable path to freedom. Today, the outlook is much different.
In October, then–Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended a judge resentence Lyle and Erik. “I believe that they have paid their debt to society,” Gascón said at the time. The resentencing hearing was delayed multiple times, including after the election of current District Attorney Nathan Hochman in November. Hochman opposed resentencing and unsuccessfully attempted to walk back his predecessor’s recommendation.
Finally, this May, Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic agreed to alter the Menendez brothers’ sentences, which had been life in prison without parole. Jesic resentenced them to terms of 50 years to life. Lyle and Erik became immediately eligible for release via parole.
Erik’s initial request for parole was denied Thursday after a panel of state commissioners deemed that his rule violations in prison make him “an unreasonable risk to public safety.” He can try again in three years.
Lyle’s fate will soon be decided at his own parole board hearing. If he is recommended for release, California’s chief legal counsel has 120 days to review the case. After that, Governor Gavin Newsom will have 30 days to affirm, reverse, or modify the decision.
Freedom once seemed a faint prospect for the Menendez brothers. Back in 2019, Lyle told journalist Robert Rand he and Erik are trying to manage their expectations regarding release: “We’ve seen too many friends get their hopes up with appeal filings and commutation requests. They’ve marked the days off on calendars. In the end, they are turned down and sadly sink into a deep depression.”
The Menendez brothers’ story became a major Netflix show
More than three decades have passed since they killed their parents, but the Menendez brothers’ notoriety persists. Their first trial was broadcast on CourtTV and can still be viewed online. The brothers’ story has also inspired multiple movies and TV shows, including the drama Menendez: Blood Brothers, Law & Order True Crime: the Menendez Murders on NBC, and the documentary Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers - American Sons, American Murders.
In September 2024, Netflix released the second season of its runaway smash hit Monster that turns the lens on the Menendez brothers. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story starred Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik, respectively. Academy Award winner Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny portray their parents, José and Kitty.
Erik initially condemned the anthology series, which previously focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in its first installment, for its “vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and me” and the “blatant lies rampant in the show.” Months later, Lyle told the 2 Angry Men podcast he appreciated that the show made viewers better understand their childhood experiences of abuse.
Lyle and Erik also participated in a documentary for Netflix that began streaming in October.
Sara Kettler is a Connecticut-based freelance writer who has written for Biography.com, History, and the A&E True Crime blog. She’s a member of the Writers Guild of America and also pens mystery novels. Outside of writing, she likes dogs, Broadway shows, and studying foreign languages.
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