Where Are the Menendez Brothers Now? A Look at Erik and Lyle's Lives in Prison — and the New Evidence That Could Get Them Out

Mar. 15, 2025

Erik Menendez in 2016 and Lyle Menendez in 2018.Photo:California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/AP

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/AP

TheMenendez brothers,LyleandErik Menendez, marked a dark anniversary on Aug. 20, 2024 — 35 years since they murdered their parents, José and Kitty Menendez.

But the notes from the brothers' therapist, a shotgun casing and a screenplay pointed to Lyle and Erik, whom prosecutors claimed were privileged, spoiled and eager to cash in on their father’s $14 million fortune. Lyle and Erik were tried twice, during which they alleged that José was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive and that Kitty was addicted to drugs and alcohol, physically abusive and an enabler of José.

In March 1996, the brothers were each convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. They are now incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

Lyle and Erik’s case and conviction have been the subject of several television projects over the years, from A&E’sThe Menendez Murders: Erik Tells Allin 2017 to Peacock’sMenendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayedin 2023. Their chilling true story is also the subject of Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix showMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyand the streaming service’s documentaryThe Menendez Brothers.

“Looking back on the trials,Erik and I and our family thought we were going into a manslaughter casewith a district attorney that understood the traumatic impact that sexual violence creates in a person,” Lyle reflected in the 2024 Fox Nation docuseriesMenendez Brothers: Victims or Villains.“And we ended up with the same sentence as a serial killer.”

From their time spent in prison to their marriages, here’s everything to know about the Menendez brothers and where they are now.

Where are the Menendez brothers now?

Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez in court in 1990.Nick Ut/AP

For more than 20 years, Lyle and Erik were imprisoned separately, with Lyle in Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, Calif., and Erik about 500 miles away at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County. The brothers didn’t speak for years, though they communicated in letters (and played chess through the mail).

“Our start to prison life was tremendously painful.My brother actually went on a hunger striketo try to keep us together,” Lyle toldBarbara Waltersin a 1996 interview.

In February 2018, Lyle was transferred to another housing unit at Richard J. Donovan — and in April of that same year, Erik moved into the same unit as Lyle.

In 1999, Erikmarried his longtime pen pal, Tammi Ruth Saccoman, with whom he shares his stepdaughter, Talia.Tammi wrote a book,They Said We’d Never Make It: My Life with Erik Menendez, about their relationship and experiences. Erik also took up painting — and evengifted a portraitto comedianKathy Griffin— and, with other inmates, made attempts at prison reform.

Lyle served as president of inmate government at Mule State Creek Prison before being transferred and hasworked in a support groupfor other prisoners who endured sexual abuse. From 1996 to 2001, he was married to Anna Eriksson. Two years later,he married Rebecca Sneed.

In November 2024, Sneed shared in aFacebookpost that she and Lyle had separated.

“This is NOT a cheating scandal,” she wrote. “Lyle and I have beenseparated for a while nowbut remain best friends and family. I continue to run his Facebook pages, with input from him, and I am forever committed to the enduring fight for Lyle and Erik’s freedom, as has been so evident over the years.”

Will the Menendez brothers ever get out of prison?

Erik and Lyle Menendez in Los Angeles.Kim Kulish/Sygma/Getty

Kim Kulish/Sygma/Getty

The Menendez brothers are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, but there have been efforts to overturn their convictions. Attorneys for the brothers filed a petition with the court on May 3, 2023, citing Rosselló’s allegations against José featured in the Peacock docuseriesMenendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayedas well as a newly discovered letter Erik wrote to one of his cousins describing his father’s sexual abuse just months before the murders.

The filing also pointed out that in their second trial, evidence of the alleged sexual abuse they endured was excluded, with prosecutors accusing the brothers of fabricating the claims because they were never corroborated. Lyle and Erik’s attorneys requested an evidentiary hearing or to vacate the brothers' convictions and sentences.

In September 2024, Kim Kardashianvisited the Menendez brothers in prison. She later wrote an essay forNBC Newsexpressing her support for Lyle and Erik’s release, stating that they did not receive a fair trial.

“Back then, there were limited resources for victims of sexual abuse, particularly for boys,” she wrote. “Can anyone honestly deny that the justice system would have treated the Menendezsistersmore leniently? I have spent time with Lyle and Erik;they are not monsters.”

Kardashian added: “The killings are not excusable. I want to make that clear. Nor is their behavior before, during or after the crime. But we should not deny who they are today in their 50s. We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved."

What new evidence was discovered relating to the Menendez brothers?

Erik and Lyle Menendez on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November 1989.Ronald L. Soble / Los Angeles Times via Getty

Ronald L. Soble / Los Angeles Times via Getty

In April 2023, Rosselló, a former member of a popular Puerto Rican boy band called Menudo, seemingly corroborated Lyle and Erik’s stories of abuse when he came forward with his own story about José.

He alleged that the Hollywood executivedrugged and raped him as a teen.

“I know what he did to me in his house,” Rosselló said inMenendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. “That’s the pedophile,” he added, referring to a photo of José.

“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening Andy, but it’s worse for me now,” the letter read. “I can’t explain it. He [sic] so overweight that I can’t stand to see him. I never know. When it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night, I stay up thinking he might come in. I need to put it out of my mind.”

In October 2024, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended that the Menendez brothers be resentenced. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge will now determine if Lyle and Erik will remain in prison, be granted a new trial or have their sentences reduced.

Los Angeles-based defense attorney Neama Rahmani told PEOPLE that the judge will likely “rubber stamp it” and thebrothers will be releasedin a matter of days.

What have the Menendez brothers said about their crimes and incarceration?

LYLE and ERIK MENENDEZ trial.Ted Soqui/Sygma/Getty

Erik gave his first comprehensive interview in 2017 for A&E’s docuseriesThe Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All. He shared explicit details about encounters with his abusive father, including one “overwhelming memory” of José pounding on his bedroom door.

“He would have me massage him, and he would have me perform oral sex on him. He would graphically describe to me how he would kill me if I ran away,” Erik recalled.

The younger Menendez brother also expressed regret for the murders, saying, “I wanted to go back in time.I wanted to take everything backthat Lyle and I did.”

That same year, Lyle spoke with PEOPLE. He also admitted to still “carrying the guilt” over his parents' slayings.

“This tragedy will always be the most astounding and regrettable thing that has ever happened in my life,” he said. “You can’t escape the memoriesand I long ago stopped trying.”

While incarcerated for the past three decades, the Menendez brothers have tried to be “productive” people. In June 2024, Lyle earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology at UC Irvine along with 23 of his fellow inmates, and he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in urban planning.

“I just decided even though I’m incarcerated and thereisn’t hope of freedom, I still have a chance to feel proud of what I’m doing with my day,” Lyle said over the phone to a crowd at CrimeCon 2024 Nashville. “Education seemed like an obvious answer to that question.”

source: people.com