Where are the Mendendez brothers now? In 1996, Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents. Here's what they're up to now.
(L-R) Erik and Lyle Menendez
When most people think of televised court cases, the O.J. Simpson trial is usually the first one that springs to mind. That makes sense as the entire country had access to this case, beginning with Simpson's slow speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles and ending with his acquittal. However, there was another sensational case that stunned America just a few years prior.
Erik and Lyle Menendez are affluent brothers who, on Aug. 20, 1989, shot and killed their parents in the sprawling Beverly Hills mansion where they all lived. At first it looked as if the brothers were going to get away with it, but an eventual confession led to their arrest and conviction.
Where are the Menendez brothers now? Here's what we know.
(L-R): Lyle Menendez, Kitty Menendez, Jose Menendez, Erik Menendez
Where are the Menendez brothers now?
According to ABC News, in April 2018, Erik and Lyle Menendez were reunited at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, Calif. They are both imprisoned there now, serving life sentences without the option of parole. Despite being in prison since 1996, Erik and Lyle Menendez have been able to lead relatively normal lives, so to speak.
Lyle Menendez has been married twice. He met his first wife, former model Anna Eriksson, after she began writing to him. They married via speaker phone in 1996. Five years later, they divorced when Anna found out Lyle was communicating with another woman. Perhaps that woman was Rebecca Sneed Menendez, whom Lyle married in 2003 and is still married to as of the time of this writing. Soon after they tied the knot, Rebecca became an attorney in order to provide support for Lyle.
Unlike Lyle, Erik has only been married once. Tammi Menendez also corresponded with Erik during his trial and continued to do so after he was convicted. She was married at the time and sadly lost her husband to suicide late in 1993. For the next four years, Erik and Tammi's letter-writing would carry on, finally culminating in an in-person meeting in 1997. By 1998, they were married and remain so to this day.
Erik Menendez and Tammi Menendez
Could the Menendez brothers be released from prison?
The crux of the Menendez brothers defense was an accusation of abuse against their father Jose Menendez. In tearful testimonies, Erik and Lyle recounted harrowing stories of physical and sexual abuse that spanned years. The defense argued that the brothers murdered their parents in self-defense.
In April of 2023, Roy Rosselló (a former member of the Puerto Rican band Menudo) came forward with allegations that Jose Menendez had assaulted him as a teenager. His experience was further detailed in the three-part Peacock series, Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, which premiered on May 2. In the documentary, Rosselló alleges that Jose drugged and raped him when he was visiting the Menendez home at the age of 14.
As of now, all of the Menendez brothers' appeals have not been granted, but a new California law enacted in 2016 could possibly change that. Yahoo News reported the law stated that "those who were convicted of a crime after being forbidden from offering evidence of abuse could appeal. And because the judge at the Menendez brothers’ second trial prevented them from using the abuse allegations as a defense, they were eligible to appeal their case again."
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