Newly unveiled audio from Erik Menendez’s parole hearing has revealed insights into why he killed his parents, leading to uproar from his relatives over the release of these recordings.
Erik, who has been imprisoned for over three decades for the murders of Jose and Kitty, was denied parole. This decision came just one day before his brother Lyle met the same outcome.
Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 when they killed their parents at their plush, sprawling Beverly Hills home in 1989.
The brothers were convicted in 1996 – despite claiming they murdered their parents in self-defense.
Erik opened up about the killings and touched on subjects of why he murdered his mom.
He told the parole board about his upbringing without a moral foundation and spoke of his regret of shooting Kitty.
“I wish to God I did not do that,” he said.
But, the tapes were published during Lyle’s hearing on Friday.
Tiffany Lucero Pastor, a great niece of Kitty, slammed the move to release the audio.
“This is disgusting. This process is damaged and broken,” she said.
Pastor initially thought the details of the parole hearing would be released only in the form of a transcript.
“A transcript is far different from an audio recording,” she said.
Heidi Rummel, Lyle’s parole attorney, bemoaned how the brothers’ bid for freedom had turned into a spectacle.
“We entered these hearings with the hope and expectation of a fair and unbiased process where Mr. Menendez’s side could be expressed, considered, and understood,” she stated.
“And we have a public spectacle and this has exacerbated it twentyfold, and we now have family members who are not going to speak.”
Rummel claimed the brothers dignity had been “undermined.”
“It does not protect them, and we believe it’s a violation of Marsy’s Law,” she blasted.
Marsy’s Law is designed to ensure defendants and victims have equal rights.
The audio had been “erroneously” disclosed, a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson told The Los Angeles Times.
The tapes were released following a public records request by the ABC affiliate KABC-TV.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s case dates back more than three decades since their parents were found shot to death at their Beverly Hills mansion.
Below is a timeline of the brothers’ case, starting at the gruesome crime scene:
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested outside his parents’ Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 – Erik surrenders to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
December 1992 – Murder charges against the brothers are officially filed.
July 20, 1993 – The murder trial, highly publicized on Court TV, begins in Los Angeles with Erik and Lyle each having a separate jury.
January 28, 1994 – The first trial ends with two deadlocked juries.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins with one jury.
March 20, 1996 – The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 – Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 22, 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 – Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik – the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 – An attorney representing Lyle and Erik submitted a habeas corpus appeal following allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican band Menudo, who accused Jose Menendez of sexual abuse in a Peacock docuseries.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024 – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced that his office is examining new evidence regarding the convictions of Lyle and Erik.
October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
October 16, 2024 – Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.
October 24, 2024 – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.
November 25, 2024 – The Menendez brothers made a court appearance for a status update where they were informed that their resentencing hearing, originally scheduled for December 11, has been postponed, granting the new DA, Nathan Hochman, additional time to review the case.
January 30-31, 2025 – Erik and Lyle’s resentencing hearing was initially set but had to be rescheduled due to the California wildfires.
February 21, 2025 – Hochman officially opposes a new trial for the brothers.
February 26, 2025 – California Governor Gavin Newsom orders the parole board to conduct a “comprehensive risk assessment” of the Menendez brothers.
March 10, 2025 – Hochman asks the court to withdraw Gascón’s resentencing motion
April 11, 2025 – Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic denies Hochman’s motion and allows the resentencing process to continue
April 17-18, 2025 – Brothers are scheduled to go before the judge at their resentencing hearings
May 13, 2025 – Menendez brothers sentences reduced to 50 years to life in prison.
August 21, 2025: Erik Menendez denied parole after mammoth 10-hour hearing.
August 22, 2025: Lyle Menendez is denied parole.
During Thursday’s hearing, Erik repeated claims he was sexually abused by music mogul Jose.
And, he spoke how he was scared of his dad.
“It’s difficult to convey how terrifying my father was,” he told the parole board.
Erik had previously written a letter to his cousin Andy Cano documenting the alleged sexual abuse that unfolded.
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad,” one paragraph started.
“It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it.”
Erik was denied parole after officials said he hadn’t been a model prisoner.
He had broken prison rules such as having a cell phone behind bars.
Erik explained why he chose to use the device.
“What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone,” he admitted.
But, Robert Barton, the commissioner, warned that Erik still posed a risk to public safety.
Barton warned Erik could throw a “pity party” or change his behavior.
Erik’s family slammed the decision of the board not to grant him parole.
“This was a complete setup, and Erik never stood a chance!” his wife Tammi claimed.
‘RIGGED’ HEARING
Meanwhile, Mark Geragos, the brothers’ attorney, described the decision as “rigged.”
He labeled the parole hearings a “s**tshow” in a blistering takedown on the 2 Angry Men podcast.
Lyle, 57, was also denied parole.
Julie Garland, the parole commissioner, claimed he had shown traits of being a model inmate but warned he also posed a risk to society if released.
“You still struggle with anti-social personality traits like deception, minimization and rule-breaking that lie beneath that positive surface,” she told Lyle.
The brothers can re-apply for parole within three years.
Or, they could be pardoned by California governor, Gavin Newsom.
But Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told USA Today he thinks that option is less likely.
“I can’t see him sticking his neck out and pardoning the Menendez brothers or commuting their sentences over the parole board’s denial,” he said.
The brothers’ sentences were cut to 50 years to life in prison in May.
They were convicted in 1996 following a trial with one jury.
Their initial trial, which started four years after the murders, saw Erik and Lyle tried separately.
And, both juries delivered deadlocked outcomes.
