In the summer of 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez burst into the den of their family’s Beverly Hills home armed with shotguns and opened fire, killing their mother and father.
After the brothers were charged in the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez, they said they gunned down their parents in self-defense after years of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of their father — an allegation disputed by prosecutors, who argued the claims were false and the siblings were motivated by financial gain.
Their televised trial, which captured the brothers recounting the alleged abuse in grim and graphic detail, ended when the jury could not reach a verdict. After a second trial, the siblings were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
In October, Los Angeles County’s former top prosecutor, George Gascón, said the brothers had been model prisoners and recommended that they be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison. Six months later, after a series of delays and opposition from the county's new district attorney, a judge approved Gascón's recommendation.
That decision makes the brothers eligible for parole immediately.
The brothers are also pursuing their freedom on two other paths — a petition that seeks to overturn their convictions and an application for clemency with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Those efforts are ongoing.
Here are key dates in the case:
Aug. 20, 1989: A grisly murder in Beverly Hills
Kitty and Jose were shot to death in their den. In a frantic 911 call that night, Lyle reported that someone had killed his parents.
The brothers initially told authorities that the killings could have been linked to their father’s work — he was a wealthy executive at an entertainment company whose founder had ties to the pornography industry — but authorities found no evidence to support the claim and focused on the brothers.
In the days after the double murder, investigators discovered that the brothers had been spending lavishly and, believing they could be disinherited from the family’s multimillion-dollar estate, sought out their father’s will.
March 8, 1990: The brothers are arrested
Beverly Hills Police announced Lyle’s arrest. Erik, who was in Israel for a tennis tournament, was in custody days later.
When their trial began three years later, the brothers relied on a legal doctrine known as “imperfect self-defense” and testified that their father had sexually abused them for years. Lyle said he’d been molested from the ages of 6 to 8; Erik said it was going on at the time of the killings.
The siblings fatally shot their parents, they testified, after Lyle confronted Jose about his brother’s abuse. When Lyle threatened to expose his father, he testified, Jose appeared to threaten him and his brother.
Prosecutors alleged that the sex abuse claims were false and identified money as the motive in the killings.
March 20, 1996: Convicted of first-degree murder
A mistrial was declared after separate juries for the brothers could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether they should be convicted of murder, as prosecutors sought, or manslaughter, if they believed the defense.
During a retrial that began the following year, the brothers were not allowed to invoke imperfect self-defense after a ruling from the state’s high court. And after prosecutors discovered that Lyle had asked a friend and an ex-girlfriend to make false claims for the defense, he did not testify at the retrial.
They were convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Oct. 24, 2024: A chance for release
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he would seek to have the brothers resentenced to 50 years to life, a term that would make them immediately eligible for parole.
The prosecutor said that while their crimes were brutal and premeditated, the brothers had been “exceptional” inmates who helped others behind bars, remained out of trouble and took college courses.
Gascón was ousted from office weeks after his announcement. His successor, Nathan Hochman, spent months reviewing the case and announced in March that he opposed resentencing because the brothers had not taken full responsibility for their crimes.
Hochman released a list of 16 "unacknowledged lies" that he said the brothers had continued to tell about the murders, including their assertion that the killings were done in self-defense. Hochman later pointed to a recent psychological evaluation that found the brothers were at "moderate" risk of committing violence if released from prison.
May 13: A judge rules for the brothers
Despite that opposition — and Hochman's failed attempts to withdraw from Gascón's recommendation — a judge ruled in May that the brothers did not pose an "unreasonable risk" and resentenced them to 50 years to life.
California's parole board will decide during a pair of hearings in August whether the men are suitable for release.
Separately, in May 2023 the brothers filed a petition challenging their convictions after the release of Peacock’s “Menudo + Menendez: Boys Betrayed,” which included a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band accusing Jose Menendez of raping him. (Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)
At the time, Jose Menendez was an executive with RCA Records, which had a multi-album contract with the band.
The band member, Roy Rossello, submitted an affidavit in the brother's petition alleging that their father raped him before and after a show in New York City when he was 13.
Also included in the petition is a photocopied letter that Erik said he wrote to a cousin months before the murders.
The letter appears to show Erik telling the cousin about the abuse and saying that it’s getting worse.
Hochman has said he opposes the petition because it does not meet the standard required for a judge to order a new trial.
Aug. 21, 2025: Parole denied for Erik Menendez
A parole board panel denied parole for Erik Menendez after a 10-hour hearing. The denial is for three years, but he Menendez could petition to get before the board sooner.
“We certainly did not give this case short shrift. We probably spent four times more than we do on our usual average here," Parole Commissioner Robert Barton said.
“This is a tragic case. I agree that not only two, but four people, were lost in this family," he said.
While family members spoke for the brothers' release, and Barton said that he was impressed with the support, he said that the panel could still deny parole for Erik Menendez.
“Two things can be true," Barton said. "They can love and forgive you and you can still be found unsuitable for parole.”
Aug. 22, 2025: Lyle Menendez denied parole
Lyle Menendez was denied parole by the parole board, in a decision announced after a delay and a day after Erik Menendez was also denied parole.
Like his brother, the denial is for a minimum of three years. There was a delay in the announcement of a decision after some news outlets obtained audio of Erik Menendez's parole hearing the day before, on Aug. 21.
Family members of the brothers gave statements of support at the hearings seeking that they be released on parole.
Parole Commissioner Julie Garland, presiding over the hearing, said that the “the panel has found today that there are still signs” that Lyle Menendez poses a threat to the public if released.
Like in the board’s explanation of its decision on Erik Menendez, violations of prison rules played a role.
“We find your remorse is genuine. In many ways, you look like you’ve been a model inmate. You have been a model inmate in many ways who has demonstrated the potential for change,” Garland said.
“But despite all those outward positives, we see ... you still struggle with anti-social personality traits like deception, minimization and rule breaking that lie beneath that positive surface,” she said.
Family members of the Menendez brothers said they were disappointed by the denials but expressed optimism. The family said that Lyle and Erik Menendez will reflect on the recommendations of the parole board.
While the attempts at parole were denied, the brothers have also pursued another avenue in a bid for freedom.
They have sought clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. That process is ongoing.