Lyle & Erik Menendez’s life in same prison after brothers killed parents over $14m fortune & reunited 22 years later
By Carsen Holaday,
21 days ago
CONVICTED killer brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving life sentences for gunning down their parents in their family home in 1989.
The notorious duo were kept apart for 22 years after they were found guilty of the murders – but were reunited in February 2018 when they were moved to the same prison in California .
Erik Menendez, left, in 2016, and Lyle Menendez, right, in 2018 Erik and Lyle with their parents, Kitty and José Menendez Handout The Beverly Hills mansion where Erik and Lyle Menendez shot their parents to death Alamy Lyle and Erik sit in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during their murder trial in 1990 AP
The public’s attention is on the shocking case over 30 years later as the star-studded series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, created by showrunners Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, is now on Netflix .
The brothers used shotguns they bought days before to shoot their parents, a successful music exec and a former beauty queen, more than 12 times while they were watching TV on August 20, 1989.
The killers, who were 21 and 18 at the time, initially told police that they returned home from the movies to find their parents dead.
While the killings were first investigated as a potential mob hit, Lyle and Erik went on a spending spree with their wealthy parents’ money after the deaths.
Lyle shelled out on a Rolex and a Porsche, while Erik bought a personal tennis coach for $50,000.
The two spent an estimated $700,000 of José’s $14 million fortune on cars, jewelry, and other luxury expenses in the two months after their parents’ deaths.
Investigators eventually turned their attention to the brothers for the murders and they were arrested in 1990.
The brothers confessed to the murders during the trial – but claimed they acted in self-defense after suffering years of abuse from their parents.
At the trial, which was highly publicized and nationally televised by Court TV, prosecutors said that the brothers murdered their parents out of greed for the million-dollar fortune.
In their 1996 re-trial following a mistrial, the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
EMOTIONAL REUNION
After the sentencing, Lyle and Erik were sent to separate prisons in California. Lyle was sent to Mule Creek State Prison in Ione while Erik went to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
In February 2018, Lyle was transferred to the San Diego prison where his brother had been held for the past 22 years.
The pair were housed in different sections of the facility after Lyle first moved to prevent them from interacting, ABC News reported at the time.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez are serving life sentences in prison after being found guilty of shooting their parents to death over 30 years ago.
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are shot to death
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested for the murders
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself in
July 20, 1993 – Highly publicized trial begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial
October 11, 1995 – Second trial begins
March 20, 1996 – Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder
July 2, 1996 – Menendez brothers are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison where Erik is held
April 4, 2018 – Erik and Lyle are reunited
May 2023 – Attorney representing the Menendez brothers files a habeas petition
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story comes out on Netflix
Months later, the brothers were transferred to the same housing facility in the prison – where all of the inmates are allowed to interact with each other.
A family member of the brothers told journalist Robert Rand that the brothers both “burst into tears immediately” upon seeing each other, Rand told ABC News.
Now, the brothers are reportedly allowed to see each other at meal times and in the exercise yard.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for comment.
LIFE IN PRISON
Both of the brothers have been married for years after tying the knot behind bars.
Lyle married Rebecca Sneed , his pen pal and a magazine editor, in 2003.
Before his marriage to Rebecca, Lyle previously got married to former model Anna Eriksson on the day of his sentencing.
Erik married his pen pal Tammi Ruth Saccoman in 1999. She had a daughter from a previous relationship before the two were married.
Former inmates told the New York Post last year that the brothers are housed in Echo Yard, where prisoners reportedly have a relaxed regime.
A group at the prison called Redemption Row California posted on Instagram last year that Erik and Lyle headed an inmate-led group that worked to create art projects.
In May 2023, attorneys for the pair filed for a new trial after new evidence emerged, including a letter from Erik to his cousin revealing his parents’ abuse.
It remains unclear if the brothers will be granted a new trial.
The Menendez brothers on the steps of their Beverly Hills home Getty
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