Joseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez are American brothers who killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home.
In 1996, both were convicted for the murders of their parents. During the trial, the brothers admitted to killing both of their parents on August 20, 1989. However, they denied committing the crime to inherit their father’s multimillion-dollar estate.
Lyke and Erik stated that they killed their parents in fear that their father would kill them after they threatened to uncover him for years of constant emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
Menendez brothers were tried separately, with one jury for each at the beginning. Both juries deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial. Later, the brothers were tried together by a single jury for the second trial, which found them guilty.
American brothers, Lyle and Erik, were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
- Lyke and Erik Menendez brutally killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
- Menendez brothers made shocking allegations of abuse in court.
- They were found guilty and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Both were housed in different prisons for many years.
- The brothers are incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Where Are Lyle And Erik Menendez Now?
Lyle and Erik Menendez are currently serving life sentences in San Diego at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
The California Department of Corrections separated Lyle and Erik and sent them to separate prisons. Both were regarded as maximum-security inmates and were segregated from other prisoners.
The brothers remained separated until February 2018, when Lyle was transferred to the Richard J. Donald Correctional Facility in San Diego Country from Mule Creek State Prison in northern California.
Erik had spent some time at Pleasant Valley Prison in Coalinga, California. On April 4, 2018, the older brother, Lyle, was moved into the same housing units as his younger brother. Both reunited for the first time since they began serving their sentences nearly twenty-two years earlier.
Both got emotional and burst into tears, hugging each other at the first meeting in the housing unit. The unit where the brothers are housed is reserved for inmates willing to participate in rehabilitation and education programs without disruptions.
Lyle And Erik Menendez Killed Their Own Parents -Kitty And Jose Menendez
Lyle and Erik Menendez fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, on August 20, 1989, using a shotgun in their Beverly Hills home.
Jose and Kitty were standing in the den of their mansion when their children entered carrying shotguns. They shot their father six times with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.
Kitty was shot ten times before the fatal shot to her cheek. She fell to the ground, slowly crawling, when Lyle ran to his car to reload the shotgun and then fired the fatal shot at her face.
After committing the crime, they remained in the house, expecting the cops to arrive following the noise of the gunshots. As the police did not respond, they picked up the shotgun shells and disposed of them.
Erik confessed his crime to his psychologist Jerome Oziel, who then said his mistress, Judalon Smyth. She then told the police about the brother’s involvement in the brutal murder of their parents after breaking up with the psychologist.
The officers arrested Lyle on March 8, 1990, and Erik turned himself in three days after returning to Los Angeles from Israel. The brothers were kept separate from each other and held without bail.
The Menendez Brothers Have Spent More Than Half Their Lives In Prison
Judge Stanley Weisberg sentenced Lyle and Eric Menendez to life in prison without the possibility of parole on July 2, 1996.
They also received consecutive sentences for brutally murdering their parents and the charges of conspiracy to commit murder. No 53 and 50 years old, Lyke and Erik are serving their sentence at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
The legal team for the brothers argued that they were physically and sexually abused by their father. Both were featured on ABC’s 20/20 in April 2021, and the brothers have a new generation of defenders – on TikTok and Instagram.
Since the special aired, many TikTok accounts have been dedicated to freeing the convicted Menendez brothers. Their supporters have been sending letters to Governor Gavin Nesom and the LA County DA, George Gascon, to try and take a second look at their case.
While the brothers have been behind bars since 1996, there is new hope for them to get a new trial with the new groups of supporters.