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Lyle and Erik Menendez have been serving life sentences for the brutal murders of their dad and mom on August 20, 1989, when the brothers—then 21 and 18—shot and killed José and Kitty Menendez inside their Beverly Hills mansion.
Greater than three many years later, the Menendez brothers obtained again within the highlight as the main focus of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The ten-episode collection reexamines the central query on the coronary heart of their case: have been they cold-blooded killers motivated by greed, as prosecutors claimed, or victims of years of bodily, emotional, and sexual abuse, because the protection argued—and because the brothers nonetheless keep?
On Could 13, 2025, Los Angeles County Superior Courtroom Choose Michael Jesic resentenced Lyle and Erik to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole after serving greater than 35 years. Their parole listening to is scheduled for June 13, 2025.
With parole now on the desk, right here’s what to know in regards to the Menendez brothers and their notorious 1993 conviction.
Lyle and Erik Menendez Had Promising Futures
On the time of their dad and mom’ murders on Aug. 20, 1989, Lyle was a pupil at Princeton, and Erik was an incoming freshman at UCLA. The brothers had grown up in Beverly Hills, having fun with a privileged life because of their rich dad and mom—Jose, a Hollywood govt, and Mary Louise “Kitty,” a former magnificence queen.
Lyle and Erik Had been Arrested Seven Months After Their Mother and father’ Murders
After Jose and Kitty have been discovered brutally shot to dying of their Beverly Hills mansion, Lyle and Erik spent cash recklessly, burning by way of an estimated $700,000 of their dad and mom’ wealth on automobiles, jewellery, and even buying eating places and cafes. However their eventual downfall occurred when Erik confessed to his psychiatrist, Jerome Oziel, who then shared the knowledge along with his mistress, Judalon Smyth. Smyth knowledgeable the police, revealing that Erik had confessed to the murders in remedy and that there have been audiotaped recordings of the confession. The brothers have been subsequently arrested in March 1990, sparking a multi-year authorized battle over the admissibility of Oziel’s recordings.
“I by no means thought I believed in evil, however after I heard these boys converse, I did,” Smyth informed investigative journalist Dominic Dunne in 1990.
Lyle and Erik Had been Convicted of First-Diploma Homicide
The brothers claimed at trial that their father—who was almost decapitated by a point-blank blast from a 12-gauge shotgun—was a violent pedophile. These allegations have been backed by testimony from two of the brothers’ cousins, Andy Cano and Diane Vander Molen, who stated Lyle and Erik had confided in them in regards to the sexual abuse once they have been kids. As for his or her mom—who was shot 14 occasions—the brothers stated she was an alcoholic who enabled and inspired her husband’s abuse.
Their first trial, which started in 1993, resulted in a deadlocked jury. Within the second trial, the decide restricted testimony in regards to the alleged abuse and barred the jury from contemplating manslaughter costs as a substitute of homicide. Each brothers have been convicted on two counts of first-degree homicide and sentenced to life in jail with out the potential of parole.
“Erik and Lyle Menendez have been incarcerated for 34 years and 6 months, and I consider that they’re in jail for killing their lifelong abusers,” stated Robert Rand, who has spent appreciable time with the brothers because the crime and is the creator of The Menendez Murders: The Stunning Untold Story of the Menendez Household and the Killings that Shocked the Nation.
“The right verdict for the Menendez brothers’ trial ought to have been manslaughter, not homicide.”
Lyle and Erik Each Married Whereas in Jail
Regardless of their brutal crime and life behind bars, there was no scarcity of ladies within the Menendez brothers. Lyle married Anna Eriksson on July 2, 1996, however they divorced on April 1, 2001, after she found he was “dishonest” on her with one other girl by way of a pen pal relationship (as conjugal visits are usually not allowed). In November 2003, Lyle married Rebecca Sneed, a former journal editor turned lawyer. They’d been involved for almost a decade earlier than marrying in a ceremony at Mule Creek State Jail. Regardless of their separation introduced in November 2024, Sneed continues to assist Lyle and advocates for his and Erik’s launch.
Erik additionally discovered love, marrying Tammi Ruth Saccoman on June 12, 1999, at Folsom State Jail.
Lyle and Erik Menendez Have Amassed a Enormous TikTok Following
Practically 35 years after murdering their dad and mom, a big variety of teenagers are calling the brothers’ sentence unfair and unjust. The account menendezsupporterrr—which calls for “Justice for the Menendez brothers”—has over 12.9M likes and 258.1K followers. One other account, ..menendezbrothers, states in its bio, “They’re victims. don’t sexualize them,” and has 109.1K followers and 9.6M likes.