Following the striking Tuesday announcement that convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez have been resentenced to 50 years to life with a chance of parole, their future remains uncertain.
The brothers, who confessed to killing their parents, Mary “Kitty” and Jose Menendez, during a brutal 1989 shotgun slaying in their Beverly Hills residence, asserted that their actions were in self-defense due to enduring years of physical and sexual abuse from their parents up until Tuesday’s resentencing session.
Below is a timeline of how we’ve reached this point in their resentencing bid, and what could happen next:
Erik Menendez, left, and is brother Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home. They were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996. (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Erik then spoke.
“I have profound sorrow for the tragedy I created,” he said. “I took the lives of my mom and dad. My actions were criminal, cruel, and cowardly. I have no excuse or justification for what I did and I was the one who convinced Lyle we couldn’t escape.”
“I fired all five rounds at my parents and went back to reload. I lied to police. I lied to my family. I’m truly sorry,” he said. “This crime should have never happened. I know my parents should be alive and aren’t because of me.”
Newsom’s June 13 parole board hearings are planned to go on as scheduled, and the board will have the opportunity to free the brothers.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Erik and Lyle Menendez “will likely be freed in a matter of months,” adding that he does not expect “the parole board or Governor Newsom” to block their release.
Clemency from Newsom is also still a possibility.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz, Audrey Conklin, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
