Lyle Menendez stunned guests when he visited a crime convention from the California prison where he and his brother are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murder of their parents.
Menendez, now 56, spoke of his dreams of freedom after 24 members of his family signed a petition demanding their re-sentencing.
He and his younger brother Erik were jailed in 1996 for the first-degree murder of Jose and Mary ‘Kitty’ Menendez, who died in a hail of gunfire in their Beverly Hills mansion.
But evidence that their sons had been subjected to years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their case manager father was ruled inadmissible.
“I would just like to express my gratitude to so many people around the world and across the country who have written to my brother and I,” Lyle Mendez said via loudspeaker.
“And just express your gratitude for their support, their belief that we should have a second chance.”
The siblings fatally shot their mother Kitty, a socialite, and their father Jose Menendez, a wealthy record company executive. The family is seen above in an undated photo
The Menendez brothers, who are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, say media coverage has portrayed them as criminals rather than victims of abuse. Lyle, left, and Erik, right, are pictured in photos from 2023
Lyle, then a 22-year-old Princeton student, and Erik, then a 19-year-old professional tennis player, entered the den of their $5 million Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989 and shot Jose point-blank in the back. of the head.
They then pointed the gun at their mother as she tried to flee the room. In total, they shot Jose five times and Kitty nine times.
Prosecutors believed Lyle and Erik killed their parents because they wanted unfettered access to their $14 million estate. Both purchased Rolex watches, condos, sports cars and other expensive items in the months after the murders.
The brothers had two trials: the first with a hung jury was ruled a mistrial, but when they were retried together in 1996, they were found guilty.
They lost their conviction appeal in 2005 and are both currently serving their sentences at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center in San Diego County.
“Every day counts and life kind of asks you a question: What are you going to do with your life,” Lyle said. “And I just decided that even though I’m incarcerated and there’s no hope of freedom, I still have a chance to be a productive person and be proud of what I do with my daytime.”
Lyle’s attorney, Mark Geragos, responded to his client’s plea during a panel discussion with Laura Ingle at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville on Sunday.
Lyle’s attorney, Mark Geragos, responded to his client’s plea during a panel with Laura Ingle at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville on Sunday.
Erik Menendez, left, and his brother Lyle, outside their Beverly Hills home
Erik, right, and Lyle Menendez, left, are seen during their 1990 murder trial.
The brothers initially blamed the killings on a mob, but later claimed they shot their parents in self-defense after years of horrific sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of their father, José.
Chilling crime scene photos showing the blood-soaked couch where Jose Menendez was shot five times by his own sons have become central to the prosecution.
The older brother just completed a bachelor’s degree in sociology and said he would like to return to prison if released.
“I have had these discussions with prison officials responsible for allowing formerly incarcerated people to return to prisons to do good work,” he explained.
“And they are completely open and would like me to continue working on this idea of transforming prison yards to create living environments and communities that produce better neighbors.”
An automated voice came into the call to remind him that he was being recorded while he had set up therapy groups with fellow inmates and hoped to help other survivors of sexual abuse in childhood.
“I’ve had discussions with Rosie O’Donnell about starting a foundation where we could go and try to speak to forums for these groups and help in that space,” he added.
“It’s an area I spend a lot of time in.
“As you probably know, many prisoners have had difficult childhoods and come from difficult circumstances, which is why I have formed groups where they can talk about it with more confidence.
“So I’ll probably continue those two things. That would be exciting.
At their trial, the brothers did not deny the murders but claimed they acted in self-defense, including fear that their father would kill them if they threatened to reveal the abuse.
Arguments made by their defense team described both men as “lacking the mental state necessary for first-degree murder and were therefore guilty of involuntary manslaughter.”
The brothers’ case was strengthened last year when Roy Rossello, former lead singer of boy band Menudo, claimed his father raped him when he was 13.
Menendez’s lawyers also filed a newly discovered letter that Erik sent to his cousin Andy Cano about eight months before the murders.
“I tried to avoid Dad,” the hand-scribbled message read.
“It still happens, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can not explain it. He’s so overweight I can’t stand to see him.
“I never know when it’s going to happen and it drives me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. I have to forget about that.
“I know what you said before but I’m scared. You don’t know dad like I do. He is crazy. He warned me a hundred times not to tell anyone, especially Lyle.
Their cousin testified that when Erik was 13, he came to him and told him that his father José was touching and “massaging” his genitals, asking if that was normal.
Another of their cousins, Diane Vander Molen, also said that Lyle told her about the abuse when he was eight years old and that she went to her mother about his confession, but was told that He lied.
The brothers were sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder in 1996.
The house is shown in this evidentiary photo used during the trial.
The Beverly Hills mansion, site of the Menendez brothers’ gruesome murder of their parents, has been sold for $17 million, exactly 28 years after their conviction.
Last month, the Mediterranean-style villa where the murders took place, with the exclusive ZIP code 90210, was sold by its current owners for $17 million, $3 million less than its asking price.
This sale was concluded exactly 28 years to the day after the brothers’ conviction.
“Virtually the entire family on both sides signed a letter as victims asking that these two gentlemen be re-sentenced,” Geragos said at the convention.
“I have always maintained that if these photos were of the Menedez sisters, they would not be in custody right now.
“There has been a sea change in the intervening 30 years.”
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