Erik and Lyle MenéndezThe murder case returned to the spotlight Ryan Murphys Monsters – And now there is the possibility of reducing your life without phrases of probation.
The parents of the Menéndez brothers, José and Kitty MenéndezThey found themselves dead in their house in Beverly Hills in 1989. After Lyle called police, they discovered that José was shot six times and Kitty was fired ten times. Lyle and Erik were not initially interested, but they were arrested a year later after their therapist registered sessions where they confessed the murders.
During their high -level judgment, the brothers accused their parents, José and Kitty, of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse, Erik and Lyle were guilty of first -degree murder and sentenced to life without probation in 1996.
Episodes of Law & Order, Bel-Air Fresh Prince and The sopranos mentioned the case in the 90’s. The Menéndez brothers were also referred to several times To the drama of fx The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story In 2016, which produced Murphy Executive. (Besides MonstersMurphy also participates in the American Story franchise.)
The 35th anniversary of José and Kitty’s Deaths, NBC launched an eight -episodes special in 2017 Law and Order: True Crime – The Menéndez Murders. Murphy took the case of season 2 of Monstershe starred in Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch Like Lyle and Erik, respectively. After the limited series headlines, the support of the Menéndez brothers reappeared in the midst of their attempts to resign.
The Los Angeles district prosecutor’s office recommended in October 2024 that Erik and Lyle’s ruling was reduced due to new evidence that his father allegedly bothered them. Formerly Nathan Hochman It took a month later, however, the recommendation was left in the air.
Continue to move -you for a breakdown of your appeal efforts over the years:
What were the original phrases of Erik and Lyle?

Lyle and Erik were arrested in 1990 by two first -degree murders each. Three years later, the brothers were tried separately, as they claimed that years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse caused their mother and father to shoot.
The case ended in a Mistial after the jury could not reach a unanimous decision. A recovery began in 1995, but most of the tests surrounding abuse could not be used as a defense. Erik and Lyle – who were now trying together – were Finally declared guilty of first degree murder. The jurors deliberated between life without probation or death sentence before choosing the first in 1996.
After staying initially in the same prison, Erik and Lyle were transferred after their sentence. Lyle was taken to Mule Creek State Prison while Erik moved from Folsom State Prison to Pleasant Valley State Prison.
They met in 2018 when they moved to the same housing unit at Richard J. Donovan’s correctional facility. This was their first meeting since they began to fulfill their sentences almost two decades earlier.
How many appeal attempts have occurred?

The California Appeal Court confirmed the murder sentences to Lyle and Erik in 1998, and the Supreme Court of California refused to review the later case that same year. The two brothers Menendez presented requests from Habeas Corpus to the Supreme Court of California in 1999, which were denied. They filed the same requests to the United States District Court and was denied in 2003.
The Erik and Lyle defense team decided to call on the United States Appeal Court of the Ninth Circuit, which was another refusal in 2005.
What inspired the most recent recovery request?

By 2023 Peacock launched a docuseries titled Menéndez + what: boys bettingwhere singer Roy Roussillon He claimed that he was drugged and raped when he was a teenager of Erik and Lyle’s father, José. The allegations of the former member of the Menudo band were included in a petition filed in the Los Angeles County Supreme Court.
The court documents requested a recovery while citing new evidence in the case as Roussillon’s allegations against José and a recently discovered letter that Erik wrote to his cousin. Andy Cano describe The alleged sexual abuse of his father Months before murders.
“No one had looked at the effects (the cousin) until 2015, and it was when it was found, ten years after our last resort,” was Erik and Lyle’s post-condemna lawyer. Mark Geragos said in a statement to People In September 2024, “we are saying that the second trial did not mean constitutional protections for a number of reasons. And a habeas (request from Corpus) has new tests. It requires new evidence because this case had been basically dying for about 17 years.”
Geragos broken down the Three potential results of the application.
“The judge may deny it, the judge may order the DA to respond or the judge can do what he did, which was an order for the DA to respond informally, which they have taken very seriously for the last 15 months because we have presented them,” he continued. “(We provided statements of 24 family members who have called for them to suffer, have submitted several documents and evidence to take a look and consider them while making a decision.”
What is the current update of the recovery request?

Erik (L) and Lyle (R) Menendez
Kim Kulish/AFP through Getty ImagesA spokesman for the Los Angeles District District Prosecutor’s Office published a statement on how the office “investigates the claims filed in the request.”
“The matter is pending an informal response, which is currently expected on September 26, 2024,” said district prosecution. People.
That same month, Netflix announced that Lyle and Erik were interviewed for The Menéndez brothers Documentary. The special, to be published in October 2024, includes pictures of conversations with the jury Betty OldfieldKitty’s sister Joan Vander Mollen and the prosecutor Pamela Bozanich.
“Everyone wonders why we killed our parents,” Lyle told the trailer through an audio interview in the prison. “Maybe now people can understand the truth.”
Erik added: “What happened that night is well known, but it has not been explained so much. … Therefore, we were not those who told the story of our lives. Two children do not commit this crime for money.”
Erik and Lyle received a new audience for their case a month after the Los Angeles district prosecutor’s office quoted new evidence that their father allegedly disturbed them. The Los Angeles district prosecutor’s office recommended in October 2024 the Erik and Lyle sentences were reduced.
Hochman toured this, although when he became the following district lawyer. In March 2025, Hochman’s office withdrew his request to reduce sentences based on the siblings that they had not shown a complete view of their crimes.




