With the release of the latest Netflix series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the brothers' whereabouts have become a popular subject among viewers. Lyle and Erik Menendez are still in prison as they were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Lyle and Erik Menendez, commonly known as the Menendez brothers, murdered their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez in 1989. The parents were gunned down by the brothers when the former were sitting in the living room of their Beverly Hills home, as exposed in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The brothers initially got away with the crime as they purchased tickets to a film, claiming they had an alibi. Immediately after the murder, they called 911 and reported that someone shot their parents.
According to Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, at first, the police suspected the murder to be committed by mobs but the brothers' lavish spending after inheriting their father's $14 million fortune and their confession to their therapist, put them under the police's suspicion.
Both, Lyle and Erik Menendez were eventually brought to trial. The brothers first had individual trials which resulted in a mistrial. In their second trial, both were tried together and found guilty. They were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder.
In both trials, the brothers were accused of murdering their parents to claim their father's wealthy inheritance. The brothers claimed that for years they had suffered s*xual, physical, and mental abuse at the hands of their father.
They also claimed their mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol and did nothing to protect them. The brothers stated that after they expressed their intentions to expose their father's crimes, their parents threatened to kill them.
The Menendez brothers case stands out to many as people still find themselves wondering if the brothers were simply murderers out for money or victims of abuse.
How old were the Menendez brothers when they went to jail?
In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents while they were eating ice cream and watching television in their living room. At the time, Erik Menendez was 18 years old and Lyle Menendez was 21 years old.
The brothers went to jail when they were 19 and 22 years old. Seven years after murdering their parents, both brothers were found guilty. At the time, Lyle Menendez was 28 years old and Erik Menendez was 25 years old, as shown in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story: What do the Menendez brothers look like now?
Lyle and Erik Menendez are currently 56 and 53 years old respectively. Both brothers have matured in their appearances in the decades that they have been serving their sentence.
In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story, audiences see the story of how Lyle at the age of 14 faced severe hair loss. To cover up his baldness, Lyle began to wear a toupee. In the series, while Lyle and his mother are in a heated argument, Kitty is seen ripping his toupee off his head and revealing his baldness.
In recent photos that have surfaced of the brothers, while there is not a significant change in Erik's appearance, Lyle, in his photos, is mostly seen bald. In Lyle's recent photos, he was not seen wearing the toupee.
Are the Menendez brothers allowed to see each other?
After their conviction, both brothers were sent to separate prisons where they were not allowed to speak to each other. Lyle Menendez was sent to Mule Creek State Prison and Erik Menendez served time in Folsom State Prison and Pleasant Valley Prison.
According to Robert Rand, a journalist, the brothers were prohibited from speaking to each other but would communicate through letters. He stated that the brothers would play chess by communicating their moves via letters.
In late 2018, both brothers were reunited at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD). They met each other for the first time in over two decades. Rand further stated that the brothers burst into tears as soon as they saw each other. He added,
"They just hugged each other for a few minutes without saying any words to each other. Then the prison officials let them spend an hour together in a room."
Both brothers are now serving their sentence together and spend time with each other in the correctional facility during meals and in the exercise yard, as explored in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Do the Menendez brothers have a possibility of parole?
In both the trials that the brothers had, evidence of alleged abuse by their father was mostly excluded. Per their sentence, both brothers are currently expected to spend the rest of their years in prison without the possibility of parole.
In recent news, their lawyer has begun trying to vacate their sentence and release them from prison. Their defense team has filed a petition and requested another trial due to newfound evidence. The newfound evidence consists of a statement by musician Roy Rossello who claimed that Jose sexually abused him as a teenager.
The new evidence also consists of a letter that Erik Menendez had sent to his cousin months before the murder. In the letter, Erik expressed his fear of his father and how he was being abused.
Since the new evidence could prove that the brothers murdered in self-defense, their defense team has requested an evidentiary hearing to vacate their convictions.
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Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story can be watched on Netflix.
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