How Long Have the Menendez Brothers Been in Jail for Killing Their Parents?

On Aug. 21, 2025, a parole board in California denied parole to Erik Menendez, the man convicted of murdering his parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Erik and his older brother Lyle Menendez were both convicted of the murders, and Lyle's parole hearing was scheduled for Aug. 22.

Erik was just 18 and Lyle just 21 when they shot their parents to death inside their Beverly Hills home. The brothers claimed during their trials that they'd been molested by their dad and that their mother knew about it.

They had two trials, and the first ended in a hung jury. In the second trial, the judge limited testimony about the sexual assaults the boys endured, and they were convicted of the murders. Both boys were sentenced to life in prison without parole, per ABC7 News.

After additional evidence was discovered that allegedly proved the boys had been molested repeatedly by Jose, they were resentenced to 50 years to life with the possibility of parole due to their ages when the crimes occurred.

Both Erik and Lyle have been in jail since 1990. Lyle was arrested first for the murders, which occurred on Aug. 20, 1989. According to NBC News, Lyle was arrested on March 8, 1990, and Erik, who was out of the country for a tennis match, was arrested days later. Prosecutors accused the brothers of going on a spending spree after their parents' deaths and claimed greed was the motivation for the gruesome killings. The two brothers used shotguns they'd bought in San Diego to kill Jose and Kitty.

During the first trial, Erik revealed that he was still being abused by Jose before the killings, and Lyle testified that Jose had sexually abused him when he was 6 until he was 8. After Lyle learned that his father was still sexually abusing his brother, he confronted Jose and threatened to expose him. Jose allegedly threatened the two boys, prompting them to kill out of fear. The first trial ended in a hung jury because they couldn't agree on murder, manslaughter, or self-defense.

According to NPR, a letter Erik had written to his cousin, Andy Cano, in 1988. The letter gave details about the sexual abuse and corroborated the boys' story, which prosecutors hadn't believed. The letter came to light in 2015, and evidence that Jose — who was a record executive at RCA Records — had molested a member of Menudo was also revealed in the documentary, Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.

Roy Rossello said that Jose drugged and raped him in the 1980s.

The sensationalized 2024 Ryan Murphy series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, also garnered public empathy for the brothers and their traumatic upbringing. The Los Angeles District Attorney in 2024, George Gascón, recommended the brothers be resentenced due to the new evidence. However, the new DA, Nathan Hochman, tried to block the brothers from being resentenced.

Several family members support the Menendez brothers being released. As of this writing, Lyle's parole hearing is pending, and Erik will be eligible for parole again in three years.