Menendez brothers are eligible for parole. What we know about the highly publicized case
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Menendez brothers speaking for first time in decades
TMZ's Executive Producer Harvey Levin joins Good Day to discuss the first interview of the Menendez brothers in decades.
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A Los Angeles judge resentenced the Menendez brothers, making them eligible for parole after serving prison time for the shotgun murders of their parents at their Beverly Hills, California, home in 1989.
Lyle Menendez, 57, and Erik Menendez, 54, were originally sentenced to life without parole in 1996. The brothers admitted to the killings but insisted they did so out of fear that their parents were about to kill them following years of abuse.
The ruling from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic on May 13 came after a day-long re-sentencing hearing in which relatives, a retired judge, and a former fellow inmate testified in support of the brothers. Jesic reduced the brothers' sentences to 50 years to life, a prison term that will make them eligible for parole under California law.
The case gained renewed attention and support after the popular Netflix show, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," and the documentary "The Menendez Brothers." The brothers will remain incarcerated while the state parole board and California Gov. Gavin Newsom decide whether to release them from prison.
Here's what we know about the highly publicized case:
The shotgun killings of Jose and Kitty Menendez and the subsequent trials captured the public's attention. In August 1989, police discovered the wealthy parents dead in their Beverly Hills mansion.
Both Jose and Kitty Menendez were shot multiple times at close range. At the time of the murders, Lyle Menendez was 21 and Erik Menendez was 18.
The brothers initially denied involvement and tried to make the incident look like an organized crime hit. They later admitted to the killings but claimed it was self-defense and that they acted out of fear due to years of physical and sexual abuse by their father, an entertainment industry executive, and their mother.
After a first trial ended in a hung jury in 1994, the brothers were found guilty by a second jury in 1996 of first-degree murder for fatally shooting their parents. At the time, prosecutors had argued that the brothers were seeking their parents' multi-million-dollar fortune and highlighted their lavish spending spree shortly after the murders.
The brothers' case gained momentum in October 2024 when former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced his support for their resentencing so they would be immediately eligible for parole. The announcement came amid the rising popularity of the streaming show and documentary about the brothers.
In May 2023, the brothers' attorney submitted new evidence, which included a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin, alluding to abuse by his father, and an affidavit from former boy band member Roy Rossello claiming Jose Menendez sexually abused him in the 1980s.
Rossello, who was a member of the 1980s Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, also alleged in Peacock's 2023 docuseries, 'Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed," that Jose Menendez drugged and raped him when he was a teenager.
Before he was voted out of office, Gascón said the evidence would be reviewed and considered in his recommendation that the brothers be resentenced. The case faced a setback after Nathan J. Hochman was elected as the new Los Angeles County District Attorney in December, who expressed that he did not support the brothers' resentencing.
Menendez brothers case: Menendez brothers eligible for parole in 1989 murders of parents, paving way for possible release
Several members of the Menendez family supported the brothers' release. The brothers' cousin Anamaria Baralt, 54, a leading advocate for their release, said the two "are universally forgiven" by everyone on both sides of their family.
"They are different men from the boys that they were when they committed these crimes," Baralt testified at the hearing.
Baralt previously told USA TODAY that the two deserve to be freed because they have not only expressed remorse for the killings, but also grown substantially as people during their imprisonment.
"We love them so much we miss them," Baralt said. "There is not a family holiday that there is not just a hole in our hearts and a void in our family."
Prosecutor Habib Balian said the brothers were "not trustworthy" and he did not believe they had found redemption. "We know ... what they are capable of doing," he added.
Now that the judge has lowered the brothers' sentences, the siblings will go before the state's parole board, which will recommend whether they are suitable for release. If the parole board signs off on their resentencing, it will be up to Newsom to accept or reject the recommendation.
On his podcast "This is Gavin Newsom," the governor indicated that he is open to reevaluating the case. Newsom also said he has avoided watching the show or documentary about the case.
"I'm obviously familiar with the Menendez brothers, just through the news over the course of many decades," Newsom said on his podcast. "But not to the degree that many others are because of all of these documentaries and all of the attention they've received. So that won't bias my independent and objective review."
Contributing: Christopher Cann, Michael Loria, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, and Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY; Reuters
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Following the hearings, the board's decision is considered a "proposed decision" and can be reviewed by the board's chief counsel within 120 days. If the board does grant either of the brothers parole, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will have 30 days to either approve or deny the decision. Only then, if Newsom does approve their parole, would the Menendez brothers be released from prison. If the Menendez brothers are denied parole during their hearings, they could attempt to gain freedom in future hearings. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, if an inmate is denied parole, state law requires the board to schedule another hearing three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years in the future. An inmate can submit a petition to advance the next hearing date based on new circumstances or information. In 2024, the board held 3,764 hearings, according to the CDCR. Of those hearings, 69% were denied compared to the 31% who were granted parole. 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