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  • Lyle Menendez faces parole board a day after his brother Erik was denied release

    After more than 30 years in prison, Erik Menendez was denied parole by a California board that decided he still poses a risk to public safety. Now Lyle, his older brother who was convicted alongside him for the murder of their parents decades ago, will have his own chance to argue for release.The brothers got the chance to face the California Board of Parole after being resentenced in May, from life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.Erik’s parole hearing lasted nearly 10 hours as officials questioned him on his rehabilitation and listened to arguments from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office against his release, as well as pleas from members of his family in favor of it.The board ultimately decided Erik would continue to “pose an unreasonable risk to public safety” if released, listing his teenage criminal history, the brutality of the 1989 killings and “serious violations” of prison rules. He may be eligible for parole again in three years, the board said.Parole Commissioner Robert Barton said while explaining the decision that the seriousness of the past crime is “not a primary reason for this denial. It’s still your behavior in prison.”“One can pose a risk to public safety in many ways, with several types of criminal behavior, including the ones you were guilty of in prison,” he said. He encouraged Erik to use his “great support network” more consistently to avoid more prison violations.While Lyle’s case will be considered on its own merits Friday, his factors of rehabilitation are similar to Erik’s, with the only major differences being Lyle having a slightly lower number of rule violations in prison.But Lyle’s especially brutal actions during his parents’ killings could weigh against him. Lyle, who is several years older than Erik, testified during the 1993 trial that he repeatedly fired the shotgun in close range at both of his parents. On Thursday, Barton said the manner in which the brothers’ mother was killed was “devoid of human compassion.”Lyle also offered differing accounts of his father’s alleged abuse, which prosecutors have pointed to in questioning the validity of the brothers’ claims. At one point he asked his girlfriend to lie and say his father had drugged and raped her, the district attorney’s office has said in legal filings.With Lyle now set to face the parole board, here are some of the key points from Erik’s hearing.Parole board weighed several factorsThe board went over several topics related to Erik Menendez’s parole assessment, but one of the biggest was whether he took responsibility for his crimes.While the brothers admitted to the murders, their motive has remained hotly contested. They say they killed their parents out of fear for their lives after a lifetime of abuse from their father, but Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and his office argue they committed the murders in an attempt to gain their father’s fortune.Erik appeared to briefly waver on his longstanding claim of self-defense in one moment of Thursday’s parole hearing. Barton cited a document written by Erik in which he said he had “no justification” for the killings. Erik reaffirmed the statement Thursday.“Is there any part of this which you believe was self-defense?” Barton asked. Erik replied: No.Despite that exchange, Erik still seemed to double down on he and his brother’s story that they shot their parents out of fear for their lives.Erik gave a window into his teenage mindset at the time of the killings, describing his father as a cruel and domineering figure who, in his words, created an environment in which “running away was inconceivable. Running away meant death.”When pressed repeatedly by Barton as to why he didn’t consider reporting his father to authorities or leaving the house, Erik said “It’s difficult to convey how terrifying my father was.” He later said he felt tied to the house by an “absolute belief that I could not get away,” adding, “maybe it sounds completely irrational and unreasonable today.”In sharing the perspective of his office, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian fixated on disputing the brothers’ motive, despite several admonishments from the parole board against re-litigating the crime. Balian argued that Erik should not be released due to his lack of full and unabated remorse for the murders.“He never accepts anything. He had to create a fake, false self-defense narrative – a narrative he continues pushing today,” Balian said, adding that while he hopes Erik achieves redemption one day, that the day isn’t here.The board also brought up the nine rule violations Erik has had during his imprisonment, which range from physical altercations to drug possession to having banned objects, including a cell phone and a lighter.Since his incarceration, Erik has gained the support of several correction staff members who submitted letters describing him as a “model inmate.” Barton expressed doubt over this characterization, saying it was at odds with the violations he accumulated. Erik responded by telling the board he did not believe he had a chance at release until last year and at that point, his “consequential thinking” kicked in.“I can’t be doing this,” he recalled thinking. “I don’t know how people (who) know they’re going to go to the board in five to 10 years could be doing this.”Relatives expressed support for ErikOver a dozen relatives spoke in support of Erik during Thursday’s hearing, many of them getting tearful as they expressed how they have forgiven him, even with the deep emotional scars the murders left on the family.Some relatives spoke of the long, difficult path to forgiveness.“To say that our family has experienced pain does not quite capture what the last 35 years have been like … It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety. It has led to many of us retreating,” said Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of Erik and Lyle’s mother, Kitty.Others acknowledged the pain caused by Kitty’s purported lack of intervention in the alleged abuse, saying it contributed to the environment of the home. Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, said, “that absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.”The only relative known to oppose the brothers’ release was Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, who died earlier this year.Family members released a statement after Erik’s parole was denied, saying they were disappointed but respected the decision.“But our belief in Erik remains unwavering and we know he will take the Board’s recommendation in stride,” the statement reads. “His remorse, growth, and the positive impact he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he is able to return home soon.”Family members are also expected to speak on Lyle’s behalf during his hearing on Friday, saying in their statement that they “remain cautiously optimistic and hopeful” Lyle will be granted parole.Gov. Newsom is the final arbiter on the brothers’ fateWhile Erik was not granted parole Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately decides if the decisions made about the brothers’ release will stick.Under a 1988 state law, California’s governor holds the unusual power to approve, deny or modify parole board decisions for people convicted of murder and sentenced to an indeterminate term. The parole board’s decision could undergo an internal review for up to 120 days. After that, Newsom has 30 days to affirm or reverse the decision, if he so chooses.CNN reached out to Newsom’s office for comment following Erik’s denied parole. The governor’s office didn’t answer previous CNN inquiries on whether he would intervene in the case.The governor – as a result of two court rulings over the last two decades – has to assess the defendant’s risk to public safety and can consider whether the person demonstrated insight into their crime, said Christopher Hawthorne, a clinical professor of law and director of the Juvenile Innocence & Fair Sentencing Clinic at Loyola Law School.Many of the decisions made by California governors since the law was established favored keeping people in prison as tough-on-crime policies prevailed, Hawthorne said, but Governors Jerry Brown and Newsom have reversed the trend in the last decade, making parole more available.“Every governor is fairly allergic to releasing high-profile defendants,” Hawthorne said, but parole “was something that was not available, essentially, during the (Pete) Wilson, (Gray) Davis or (Arnold) Schwarzenegger administration, with very, very few exceptions.”The three governors served successively from 1991, but starting in 2011, “Jerry Brown’s administration and Gavin Newsom’s administration have done infinitely better,” he said.

    After more than 30 years in prison, Erik Menendez was denied parole by a California board that decided he still poses a risk to public safety. Now Lyle, his older brother who was convicted alongside him for the murder of their parents decades ago, will have his own chance to argue for release.

    The brothers got the chance to face the California Board of Parole after being resentenced in May, from life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

    Erik’s parole hearing lasted nearly 10 hours as officials questioned him on his rehabilitation and listened to arguments from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office against his release, as well as pleas from members of his family in favor of it.

    The board ultimately decided Erik would continue to “pose an unreasonable risk to public safety” if released, listing his teenage criminal history, the brutality of the 1989 killings and “serious violations” of prison rules. He may be eligible for parole again in three years, the board said.

    Parole Commissioner Robert Barton said while explaining the decision that the seriousness of the past crime is “not a primary reason for this denial. It’s still your behavior in prison.”

    “One can pose a risk to public safety in many ways, with several types of criminal behavior, including the ones you were guilty of in prison,” he said. He encouraged Erik to use his “great support network” more consistently to avoid more prison violations.

    While Lyle’s case will be considered on its own merits Friday, his factors of rehabilitation are similar to Erik’s, with the only major differences being Lyle having a slightly lower number of rule violations in prison.

    But Lyle’s especially brutal actions during his parents’ killings could weigh against him. Lyle, who is several years older than Erik, testified during the 1993 trial that he repeatedly fired the shotgun in close range at both of his parents. On Thursday, Barton said the manner in which the brothers’ mother was killed was “devoid of human compassion.”

    Lyle also offered differing accounts of his father’s alleged abuse, which prosecutors have pointed to in questioning the validity of the brothers’ claims. At one point he asked his girlfriend to lie and say his father had drugged and raped her, the district attorney’s office has said in legal filings.

    With Lyle now set to face the parole board, here are some of the key points from Erik’s hearing.

    Parole board weighed several factors

    The board went over several topics related to Erik Menendez’s parole assessment, but one of the biggest was whether he took responsibility for his crimes.

    While the brothers admitted to the murders, their motive has remained hotly contested. They say they killed their parents out of fear for their lives after a lifetime of abuse from their father, but Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and his office argue they committed the murders in an attempt to gain their father’s fortune.

    Erik appeared to briefly waver on his longstanding claim of self-defense in one moment of Thursday’s parole hearing. Barton cited a document written by Erik in which he said he had “no justification” for the killings. Erik reaffirmed the statement Thursday.

    “Is there any part of this which you believe was self-defense?” Barton asked. Erik replied: No.

    Despite that exchange, Erik still seemed to double down on he and his brother’s story that they shot their parents out of fear for their lives.

    Erik gave a window into his teenage mindset at the time of the killings, describing his father as a cruel and domineering figure who, in his words, created an environment in which “running away was inconceivable. Running away meant death.”

    When pressed repeatedly by Barton as to why he didn’t consider reporting his father to authorities or leaving the house, Erik said “It’s difficult to convey how terrifying my father was.” He later said he felt tied to the house by an “absolute belief that I could not get away,” adding, “maybe it sounds completely irrational and unreasonable today.”

    In sharing the perspective of his office, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian fixated on disputing the brothers’ motive, despite several admonishments from the parole board against re-litigating the crime. Balian argued that Erik should not be released due to his lack of full and unabated remorse for the murders.

    “He never accepts anything. He had to create a fake, false self-defense narrative – a narrative he continues pushing today,” Balian said, adding that while he hopes Erik achieves redemption one day, that the day isn’t here.

    The board also brought up the nine rule violations Erik has had during his imprisonment, which range from physical altercations to drug possession to having banned objects, including a cell phone and a lighter.

    Since his incarceration, Erik has gained the support of several correction staff members who submitted letters describing him as a “model inmate.” Barton expressed doubt over this characterization, saying it was at odds with the violations he accumulated. Erik responded by telling the board he did not believe he had a chance at release until last year and at that point, his “consequential thinking” kicked in.

    “I can’t be doing this,” he recalled thinking. “I don’t know how people (who) know they’re going to go to the board in five to 10 years could be doing this.”

    Relatives expressed support for Erik

    Over a dozen relatives spoke in support of Erik during Thursday’s hearing, many of them getting tearful as they expressed how they have forgiven him, even with the deep emotional scars the murders left on the family.

    Some relatives spoke of the long, difficult path to forgiveness.

    “To say that our family has experienced pain does not quite capture what the last 35 years have been like … It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety. It has led to many of us retreating,” said Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of Erik and Lyle’s mother, Kitty.

    Others acknowledged the pain caused by Kitty’s purported lack of intervention in the alleged abuse, saying it contributed to the environment of the home. Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, said, “that absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.”

    The only relative known to oppose the brothers’ release was Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, who died earlier this year.

    Family members released a statement after Erik’s parole was denied, saying they were disappointed but respected the decision.

    “But our belief in Erik remains unwavering and we know he will take the Board’s recommendation in stride,” the statement reads. “His remorse, growth, and the positive impact he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he is able to return home soon.”

    Family members are also expected to speak on Lyle’s behalf during his hearing on Friday, saying in their statement that they “remain cautiously optimistic and hopeful” Lyle will be granted parole.

    Gov. Newsom is the final arbiter on the brothers’ fate

    While Erik was not granted parole Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately decides if the decisions made about the brothers’ release will stick.

    Under a 1988 state law, California’s governor holds the unusual power to approve, deny or modify parole board decisions for people convicted of murder and sentenced to an indeterminate term. The parole board’s decision could undergo an internal review for up to 120 days. After that, Newsom has 30 days to affirm or reverse the decision, if he so chooses.

    CNN reached out to Newsom’s office for comment following Erik’s denied parole. The governor’s office didn’t answer previous CNN inquiries on whether he would intervene in the case.

    The governor – as a result of two court rulings over the last two decades – has to assess the defendant’s risk to public safety and can consider whether the person demonstrated insight into their crime, said Christopher Hawthorne, a clinical professor of law and director of the Juvenile Innocence & Fair Sentencing Clinic at Loyola Law School.

    Many of the decisions made by California governors since the law was established favored keeping people in prison as tough-on-crime policies prevailed, Hawthorne said, but Governors Jerry Brown and Newsom have reversed the trend in the last decade, making parole more available.

    “Every governor is fairly allergic to releasing high-profile defendants,” Hawthorne said, but parole “was something that was not available, essentially, during the (Pete) Wilson, (Gray) Davis or (Arnold) Schwarzenegger administration, with very, very few exceptions.”

    The three governors served successively from 1991, but starting in 2011, “Jerry Brown’s administration and Gavin Newsom’s administration have done infinitely better,” he said.

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  • Board denies parole for Erik Menendez despite reduced sentence for his parents’ 1989 murders

    Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989.A panel of California commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning.The two commissioners determined that Menendez should not be freed after an all-day hearing during which they questioned him about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules.The brothers became eligible for parole after a judge reduced their sentences in May from life without parole to 50 years to life.The parole hearings marked the closest they’ve been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents.The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.A judge reduced their sentences in May, and they became immediately eligible for parole.Erik Menendez made his case to two parole commissioners, offering his most detailed account in years of how he was raised, why he made the choices he did, and how he transformed in prison. He noted the hearing fell almost exactly 36 years after he killed his parents — on Aug. 20, 1989.”Today is August 21st. Today is the day that all of my victims learned my parents were dead. So today is the anniversary of their trauma journey,” he said, referring to his family members.The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press.Erik Menendez’s prison recordMenendez, gray-haired and spectacled, sat in front of a computer screen wearing a blue T-shirt over a white long-sleeve shirt in a photo shared by officials.The panel of commissioners scrutinized every rules violation and fight on his lengthy prison record, including allegations that he worked with a prison gang, bought drugs, used cellphones and helped with a tax scam.He told commissioners that since he had no hope of ever getting out then, he prioritized protecting himself over following the rules. Then last fall, LA prosecutors asked a judge to resentence him and his brother — opening the door to parole.”In November of 2024, now the consequences mattered,” Menendez said. “Now the consequences meant I was destroying my life.”A particular sticking point for the commissioners was his use of cellphones.”What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone,” Menendez said.The board also brought up his earliest encounters with the law, when he committed two burglaries in high school.”I was not raised with a moral foundation,” he said. “I was raised to lie, to cheat, to steal in the sense, an abstract way.”The panel asked about details like why he used a fake ID to purchase the guns he and Lyle Menendez used to kill their parents, who acted first and why they killed their mother if their father was the main abuser.Commissioner Robert Barton asked: “You do see that there were other choices at that point?””When I look back at the person I was then and what I believed about the world and my parents, running away was inconceivable,” Menendez said. “Running away meant death.”His transformation behind barsErik Menendez’s parole attorney, Heidi Rummel, emphasized 2013 as the turning point for her client.”He found his faith. He became accountable to his higher power. He found sobriety and made a promise to his mother on her birthday,” Rummel said. “Has he been perfect since 2013? No. But he has been remarkable.”Commissioner Rachel Stern also applauded him for starting a group to take care of older and disabled inmates.Since the brothers reunited, they have been “serious accountability partners” for each other. At the same time, he said he’s become better at setting boundaries with Lyle Menendez, and they tend to do different programming.More than a dozen of their relatives, who have advocated for the brothers’ release for months, delivered emotional statements at Thursday’s hearing via videoconference.”Seeing my crimes through my family’s eyes has been a huge part of my evolution and my growth,” Menendez said. “Just seeing the pain and the suffering. Understanding the magnitude of what I’ve done, the generational impact.”His aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt, who is Jose Menendez’s sister, said she has fully forgiven him. She noted that she is dying from Stage 4 cancer and wishes to welcome him into her home.”Erik carries himself with kindness, integrity and strength that comes from patience and grace,” she said.One relative promised to the parole board that she would house him in Colorado, where he can spend time with his family and enjoying nature.The board brushed off prosecutor’s questionsLA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said ahead of the parole hearings that he opposes parole for the brothers because of their lack of insight, comparing them to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom denied him parole in January 2022 because of his “deficient insight.”During the hearing, LA prosecutor Habib Balian asked Menendez about his and his brothers’ attempts to ask witnesses to lie in court on their behalf, and if the brothers staged the killings as a mafia hit. Commissioners largely dismissed the questions, saying they were not retrying the case.In closing statements, Balian questioned whether Menendez was “truly reformed” or saying what commissioners wanted to hear.”When one continues to diminish their responsibility for a crime and continues to make the same false excuses that they’ve made for 30-plus years, one is still that same dangerous person that they were when they shotgunned their parents,” Balian said.What happens nextLyle Menendez is set to appear over videoconference Friday for his parole hearing from the same prison in San Diego.The case has captured the attention of true crime enthusiasts for decades and spawned documentaries, television specials and dramatizations. The Netflix drama ” Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and a documentary released in 2024 have been credited for bringing new attention to the brothers.Greater recognition of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse has also helped mobilize support for their release. Some supporters have flown to Los Angeles to hold rallies and attend court hearings.

    LOS ANGELES —

    Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989.

    A panel of California commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning.

    The two commissioners determined that Menendez should not be freed after an all-day hearing during which they questioned him about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules.

    The brothers became eligible for parole after a judge reduced their sentences in May from life without parole to 50 years to life.

    The parole hearings marked the closest they’ve been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents.

    The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

    A judge reduced their sentences in May, and they became immediately eligible for parole.

    Erik Menendez made his case to two parole commissioners, offering his most detailed account in years of how he was raised, why he made the choices he did, and how he transformed in prison. He noted the hearing fell almost exactly 36 years after he killed his parents — on Aug. 20, 1989.

    “Today is August 21st. Today is the day that all of my victims learned my parents were dead. So today is the anniversary of their trauma journey,” he said, referring to his family members.

    The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press.

    Erik Menendez’s prison record

    Menendez, gray-haired and spectacled, sat in front of a computer screen wearing a blue T-shirt over a white long-sleeve shirt in a photo shared by officials.

    The panel of commissioners scrutinized every rules violation and fight on his lengthy prison record, including allegations that he worked with a prison gang, bought drugs, used cellphones and helped with a tax scam.

    He told commissioners that since he had no hope of ever getting out then, he prioritized protecting himself over following the rules. Then last fall, LA prosecutors asked a judge to resentence him and his brother — opening the door to parole.

    “In November of 2024, now the consequences mattered,” Menendez said. “Now the consequences meant I was destroying my life.”

    A particular sticking point for the commissioners was his use of cellphones.

    “What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone,” Menendez said.

    The board also brought up his earliest encounters with the law, when he committed two burglaries in high school.

    “I was not raised with a moral foundation,” he said. “I was raised to lie, to cheat, to steal in the sense, an abstract way.”

    The panel asked about details like why he used a fake ID to purchase the guns he and Lyle Menendez used to kill their parents, who acted first and why they killed their mother if their father was the main abuser.

    Commissioner Robert Barton asked: “You do see that there were other choices at that point?”

    “When I look back at the person I was then and what I believed about the world and my parents, running away was inconceivable,” Menendez said. “Running away meant death.”

    His transformation behind bars

    Erik Menendez’s parole attorney, Heidi Rummel, emphasized 2013 as the turning point for her client.

    “He found his faith. He became accountable to his higher power. He found sobriety and made a promise to his mother on her birthday,” Rummel said. “Has he been perfect since 2013? No. But he has been remarkable.”

    Commissioner Rachel Stern also applauded him for starting a group to take care of older and disabled inmates.

    Since the brothers reunited, they have been “serious accountability partners” for each other. At the same time, he said he’s become better at setting boundaries with Lyle Menendez, and they tend to do different programming.

    More than a dozen of their relatives, who have advocated for the brothers’ release for months, delivered emotional statements at Thursday’s hearing via videoconference.

    “Seeing my crimes through my family’s eyes has been a huge part of my evolution and my growth,” Menendez said. “Just seeing the pain and the suffering. Understanding the magnitude of what I’ve done, the generational impact.”

    His aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt, who is Jose Menendez’s sister, said she has fully forgiven him. She noted that she is dying from Stage 4 cancer and wishes to welcome him into her home.

    “Erik carries himself with kindness, integrity and strength that comes from patience and grace,” she said.

    One relative promised to the parole board that she would house him in Colorado, where he can spend time with his family and enjoying nature.

    The board brushed off prosecutor’s questions

    LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said ahead of the parole hearings that he opposes parole for the brothers because of their lack of insight, comparing them to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom denied him parole in January 2022 because of his “deficient insight.”

    During the hearing, LA prosecutor Habib Balian asked Menendez about his and his brothers’ attempts to ask witnesses to lie in court on their behalf, and if the brothers staged the killings as a mafia hit. Commissioners largely dismissed the questions, saying they were not retrying the case.

    In closing statements, Balian questioned whether Menendez was “truly reformed” or saying what commissioners wanted to hear.

    “When one continues to diminish their responsibility for a crime and continues to make the same false excuses that they’ve made for 30-plus years, one is still that same dangerous person that they were when they shotgunned their parents,” Balian said.

    What happens next

    Lyle Menendez is set to appear over videoconference Friday for his parole hearing from the same prison in San Diego.

    The case has captured the attention of true crime enthusiasts for decades and spawned documentaries, television specials and dramatizations. The Netflix drama ” Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and a documentary released in 2024 have been credited for bringing new attention to the brothers.

    Greater recognition of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse has also helped mobilize support for their release. Some supporters have flown to Los Angeles to hold rallies and attend court hearings.

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  • Erik Menendez to remain in prison after decision by California Parole Board

    SACRAMENTO — Erik Menendez will not be released, the California Parole Board decided in a highly anticipated and lengthy hearing Thursday, curtailing for now the contentious push by he and his older sibling to be freed after the 1989 killing of their parents in their Beverly Hills home.

    The hearing came after years of legal efforts by Menendez and his brother to be set free despite being convicted of life without the possibility of parole in 1995. Their jury trial, and accounts of an abusive upbringing in the upscale Beverly Hills home, inspired several documentaries and television series that drew renewed attention to their case and allegations of sexual abuse against their father.

    The hearing — the first time Erik Menendez, 54, has faced the Parole Board — offered a never-before-seen glimpse into his life behind bars over more than three decades. A separate hearing for Lyle, 57, is set for Friday.

    The hearing, Erik Menendez noted, was 36 years and a day after his family realized his parents were dead. The killing occurred on Aug. 20, 1989.

    “Today is the day all of my victims learned my parents were dead,” he said. “So today is the anniversary of their trauma journey.”

    After a nearly 10-hour hearing, the board decided to deny parole to Menendez for three years. He could petition for an earlier hearing.

    “This is a tragic case,” Parole Commissioner Robert Barton said after issuing the decision. “I agree that not only two but four people were lost in this family.”

    Relatives, friends and advocates have described the Menendez brothers as “model inmates,” but during the hearing Thursday members of the Parole Board raised concerns about drug and alcohol use, fights with other inmates, instances in which Erik Menendez was found with a contraband cellphone, and allegations that he helped a prison gang in a tax fraud scam in 2013.

    More than a dozen relatives testified in favor of release for Menendez, with many of them saying they had forgiven him and his brother for the killing. Although amazed by the family’s support, Barton said Menendez should not be released on parole.

    “Two things can be true,” Barton said. “They can love and forgive you, and you can still be found unsuitable for parole.”

    In a statement, a spokesperson for relatives of the two siblings said they were disappointed.

    “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering and we know he will take the Board’s recommendation in stride,” the family said in a statement. “His remorse, growth, and the positive impact he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he is able to return home soon.”

    They said they remained “cautiously optimistic” for Lyle Menendez, whose hearing was set for Friday.

    Erik Menendez testified he obtained cellphones despite risking discipline because he didn’t believe there was a chance of him ever being released. He took the gamble, he said, because the “connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone.”

    He associated with a gang, he said, for protection.

    That all changed in 2024, he said, when he realized there was a chance of parole at some point.

    “In November of 2024, now the consequences mattered,” he told the board. “Now the consequences meant I was destroying my life.”

    The crime that put Menendez and his brother in prison began when the siblings drove to San Diego, bought shotguns with cash using someone else’s identification, then returned home and opened fire in the family living room while their parents were watching television.

    Investigators have said the gruesome crime scene looked like the site of a gangland execution. Jose Menendez was shot five times, including once in the back of the head, and evidence showed Kitty Menendez crawled on the floor, wounded, before the brothers reloaded and fired a final, fatal blast.

    The brothers called 911, with Lyle screaming that “someone killed my parents,” according to court records. But while they appeared as grieving orphans, Erik and Lyle also began spending large sums of money in the months after the killings. Lyle bought a Porsche and a restaurant while Erik purchased a Jeep and retained a private tennis instructor with the intentions of turning pro. The two were infamously seen sitting courtside at an NBA game between the murders and their capture.

    Prosecutors argued the brothers killed their parents out of greed to get access to their multimillion-dollar inheritance. Jose was planning to disinherit the brothers because he considered them failures, according to court filings. The brutality of the crimes and the juxtaposition of such violence against the family’s Beverly Hills image turned the case into an international media circus, only rivaled at the time by the O.J. Simpson trial.

    Although mobs of reporters also circled the brothers’ resentencing hearings in Van Nuys this year, Thursday’s parole hearing was a much more solemn and quiet affair. With the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation tightly controlling media access, a Times journalist was the only member of the public allowed to view the hearing on a projector screen in a room inside the agency’s headquarters just outside Sacramento.

    The parole hearing is not meant to relitigate details of the case or the brothers’ roles in the killings, but members of the board questioned Erik Menendez on Thursday on details of the grisly murders, which the brothers and supporters in their family said were committed because they had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

    “In my mind, leaving meant death,” Menendez told the board when asked why he didn’t leave the house or go to the police. “My absolute belief that I could not get away. Maybe it sounds completely irrational and unreasonable today.”

    Menendez said he and his brother purchased the shotguns because they believed that their parents might try to kill them, or that his father would go to his room to rape him.

    “That was going to happen,” he said. “One way or another. If he was alive, that was going to happen.”

    Asked why the two killed their mother as well, Menendez said that the decision was made after learning she was aware of the abuse, and that the siblings saw no daylight between the two.

    “Step by step, my mom had shown she was united with my dad,” he said at the hearing. “On that night I saw them as one person. Had she not been in the room, maybe it would have been different.”

    He said the moment he found out his mother was aware of the alleged abuse was “devastating.”

    “When mom told me … that she had known all of those years. It was the most devastating moment in my entire life,” he said. “It changed everything for me. I had been protecting her by not telling her.”

    Asked whether he believed his mother was also a victim of his father’s abuse, Menendez said, “Definitely.”

    “He was beating her because I failed,” he said.

    After denying parole, Barton pointed to their decision to kill their mother, calling it “devoid of human compassion.”

    “The killing of your mother especially showed a lack of empathy and reason,” Barton said. “I can’t put myself in your place. I don’t know that I’ve ever had rage to that level, ever. But that is still concerning, especially since it seems she was also a victim herself of domestic violence.”

    Menendez was visibly overcome with emotion when discussing details of the murders, although he did not appear to cry.

    After the murders, Menendez said, the spending sprees between he and his brother, including buying a Rolex, were an “incredibly callous act.”

    “I was torn between hatred of myself over what I did and wishing that I could undo it and trying to live out my life, making teenager decisions,” he said.

    Menendez eventually confessed to the killings in discussions with a therapist, and L.A. County sheriff’s deputies found a letter in Lyle Menendez’s jail cell admitting to the murders. After jurors hung in their first trial, Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996.

    L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Habib Balian opposed parole for Erik Menendez during the hearing, arguing he lied to the Parole Board and had minimized his role in the killings during the hearing.

    “When one continues to diminish their responsibility for a crime and continues to make the same false excuses that they’ve made for 30-plus years, one is still that same dangerous person that they were when they shotgunned their parents,” Balian said. “Is he truly reformed, or is he just saying what wants to be heard?”

    Menendez, Balian argued to the board, was still a risk to society and should not be released.

    Interest in the brothers’ case was revived in recent years following a popular Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” The show aired after a Peacock docuseries, “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” uncovered additional evidence of Jose Menendez’s alleged sexual abuse of his children and others, including Roy Rosselló, a member of the boy band Menudo.

    The new evidence was part of the brothers’ most recent legal appeal in the case. More than 20 of the brothers’ relatives formed a coalition pushing for their freedom, arguing they had spent enough time imprisoned for a pair of killings that were motivated by years of horrific abuse.

    Last year, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón petitioned a judge to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez to 50 years to life in prison, making them eligible for parole. After he defeated Gascón in the November election, new Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman quickly moved to oppose the resentencing petition, going as far as to transfer the prosecutors who authored it and asking a judge to disregard Gascón’s filing.

    L.A. County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic denied that request. After finding prosecutors failed to prove the brothers were a danger to the public, Jesic granted the resentencing petition in May, clearing the path for Thursday’s parole hearing.

    Fellow inmates and rehabilitation officials have described the two as “mentors,” spearheading programs and projects for inmates.

    The two have created programs to deal with anger management, meditation and assisting inmates in hospice care and to improve conditions inside prison.

    Lyle Menendez spearheaded a Rehabilitation Through Beautification project at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility to work on upgrades and create green space in the prison, along with painting a 1,000-foot mural. Erik Menendez has worked with other inmates to do the artwork for the project.

    But members of the board questioned Erik Menendez on various incidents, including a fight in 1997.

    Menendez said another inmate hit him first, but admitted that he “acted aggressively” as well. In another fight, Menendez said, he “fought back” in self-defense.

    Members of the board also questioned Menendez on multiple incidents in which he was found with contraband, including art supplies, candles, spray cans, and cellphones that Menendez said he would pay about $1,000 to obtain.

    He used some of the art supplies to decorate his cell, he said.

    Menendez said he also gave other inmates access to the phone, because “if it was someone that I trusted or someone that I knew had a phone, I didn’t want to tell him no.”

    He said he used the phones to speak with his wife, watch YouTube videos and pornography.

    “I really became addicted to the phones,” he said.

    During the hearing, Barton said he was concerned about the number of support letters that refer to Menendez as a model inmate, saying it could minimize the impact of cellphones in the prison.

    Menendez said it wasn’t until later that he realized the larger impact that cellphones could have, despite how prevalent they could be in prison.

    “I knew of 50, 60 people that had phones,” he said. “I just justified it by saying if I don’t buy it someone else is going to buy it. The phones were going to be sold, and I longed for that connection.”

    But in January, he said, he had an in-depth talk with a lieutenant and took a criminal thinking class that made him reassess.

    “The damage of using a phone is as corrosive to a prison environment as drugs are,” he said. “In the sense that someone must bring them in, they must be paid for, it corrupts staff … phones can be used to elicit more criminal activity.”

    Members of the board spent a significant amount of time questioning Menendez on the use of contraband phones, and pointed to them as part of their reasoning in denying parole.

    “Your institutional misconduct showed a lack of self-awareness,” Barton said. “You’ve got a great support network. But you didn’t go to them before you committed these murders. And you didn’t go to them, before you used the cellphone.”

    Dmitry Gorin, a former prosecutor, said Menendez’s decision to break the rules while in prison affected his chances at winning release, even though he was young when he was convicted.

    “If you’re not going to comply with the rules in prison, you’re not going to comply out in society — that’s what they’re saying here,” Gorin said. “The big picture here is without serious medical issues or being elderly, I don’t know anyone who killed two people who has been paroled.”

    Nancy Tetreault, an attorney for former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, said that despite public support for parole, Menendez was considered moderate risk in the comprehensive risk assessment. To have a better chance at release, he would have to be considered low risk, she said.

    “That’s very hard to overcome,” she said.

    The two brothers were involved in classes, but also would need to be more involved in rehabilitative programs for a favorable decision, Tetreault said.

    “Yes, they have a lot of classes and things like that that I was reading the classes they’ve put together, like meditation, for insight, that they’re leaving it, but they need to, they need to start programming,” she said.

    Menendez admitted to drinking alcohol and briefly using heroin at one point in prison, which he said he tried because he was “miserable” and feeling hopeless.

    “If I could numb my sadness with alcohol, I was going to do it,” he said. “I was looking to ease that sadness within me.”

    Members of the board also asked Menendez about his connection to a prison gang and a tax fraud scam in 2013, but did not discuss details of the scheme.

    Menendez said part of the reason he associated with members of the gang, known as 25s or Dos Cinco, was fear of his safety.

    “When the 25ers came and asked for help, I thought this was a great opportunity to align myself with them and to survive,” Menendez said, adding that he thought he needed to keep himself safe because he had no hopes of being paroled at the time. “I was in tremendous fear.”

    The gang was in charge of the prison yard, he said, and a member approached him about the scheme, although Menendez said he did not personally control the checks. The gang also supplied him with marijuana, he said.

    Much changed after 2013, Menendez said, and he curbed his use of drugs and alcohol. At one point, members of the gang also believed he had become an informant.

    “I did not like who I was in 2013,” Menendez said. “From 2013 on, I was living for a different purpose. My purpose in life was to be a good person.”

    In Oct. 14, 2023, his mother’s birthday, he committed to stop using drugs, he told the board.

    Deputy Parole Commissioner Rachel Stern asked Menendez about his work with hospice inmates, including a World War II veteran convicted of an unspecified sexual violence crime that Menendez helped with getting his meals and bedding.

    Menendez said he saw his work with the inmate as a way to make amends for his father.

    Menendez apologized to his family during the hearing, noting their support.

    “I just want my family to understand that I am so unimaginably sorry for what I have put them through,” he said. “I know they have been here for me and they’re here for me today, but I want them to know that this should be about them. It’s about them and if I ever get the chance at freedom I want the healing to be about them.”

    James Queally, Salvador Hernandez, Richard Winton

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