LOS ANGELES – A California parole board denied release Friday to Joseph “Lyle” Menendez, 57, more than three decades after he and his brother Erik murdered their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.
The decision came one day after Erik Menendez, 54, was also ordered to remain in prison, dealing a significant blow to a high-profile campaign for the brothers’ freedom that has gained momentum in recent years.
“Joseph (Lyle) Menendez was denied parole for three years at his initial suitability hearing today,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced in a brief statement.
The Menendez brothers shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, with shotguns in August 1989. Prosecutors argued the murders were motivated by greed, as the brothers sought to inherit the family’s substantial fortune.
Erik Menendez fired five shots at his father, including shots to the kneecaps, while Kitty Menendez died from a shotgun blast as she attempted to crawl away from her attackers.
Initially, the brothers blamed the killings on a mafia hit and changed their story multiple times before Erik, then 18, confessed to his therapist. The pair later claimed they acted in self-defense after suffering years of emotional and sexual abuse from their father.
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Friday’s 11-hour hearing was closed to the public and conducted separately from Erik’s hearing on Thursday. Both brothers appeared via video link from the San Diego prison where they are currently incarcerated.
Panel members, whose identities were not released by CDCR, questioned the brothers about their behavior and attitudes regarding the murders.
The parole hearings became possible after a judge earlier this year resentenced the men, reducing their original life sentences without parole to 50 years to life, making them eligible for release consideration.
The brothers’ case has experienced renewed attention following Netflix’s popular series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” The show, along with various documentaries, has reignited public interest in the case and its disturbing details.
A campaign for their freedom has gained celebrity support, including from Kim Kardashian, and has been bolstered by changing social attitudes toward sexual abuse and greater awareness of its long-term effects.
The nationally televised trial in the 1990s captivated audiences with testimony about the brothers’ privileged lifestyle and allegations of abuse, becoming a landmark case in American criminal justice.
The brothers’ next opportunity for parole will not come for another three years, continuing their decades-long incarceration for one of the most notorious family murders in American history.
