Lyle Menendez has been denied parole decades after he and his brother were convicted of the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in Beverly Hills.
The 57-year-old appeared via video conference from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego for his parole hearing on Friday, Aug. 22.
“While we are of course disappointed by today’s decision as well, we are not discouraged,” the Menendez family said in a statement. “The process for parole is exceptionally rigorous, but we are incredibly proud of how Erik and Lyle showed up — with honesty, accountability, and integrity.”
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“This is not the end of the road. Both will go before the Board again, and their habeas petition remains under review. In the meantime, we know they will take time to reflect on the Board’s recommendations and will continue to lead, mentor, and build programs that support rehabilitation and hope for others,” the statement added. “We know they are good men who have done the work to rehabilitate and are remorseful. We love them unconditionally and will continue to stand by them on the journey ahead.”
The decision comes just one day after Lyle’s younger brother, Erik Menendez, 54, was denied parole. Parole Commissioner Robert Barton said Erik has not been a “model prisoner” and described the brothers’ killings as “devoid of human compassion,” according to The New York Times.
Lyle and Erik have spent more than three decades in prison after their 1996 convictions for the murder of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in August 1989 at their $5 million Beverly Hills home.
The brothers have long claimed they acted in self-defense, alleging that José had sexually abused them for years with Kitty’s knowledge and had threatened to kill them if they revealed the abuse. Prosecutors, however, argued that the motive was greed, pointing to the brothers’ lavish spending spree following the killings.
Originally sentenced to life in prison without parole, the brothers were resentenced to 50 years to life in May, making them eligible for parole because they were under 26 at the time of the murders—Lyle was 21 and Erik 18.
