Menendez Brothers React After Murder Case Resentencing
The Menendez brothers are one step closer to freedom.
Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez were filled with emotions May 13 after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced their prison sentence from life without parole to 50 years to life for the 1989 murders of their parents José Menendez and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez.
The pair, who allege their motive for the killings was fueled by being sexually abused by their father, are now eligible for parole due to the resentencing.
"I killed my mom and dad," Lyle, 57, told the court shortly after the decision was passed down, per NBC News. "I make no excuses. I take full responsibility."
Breaking down in tears, Lyle went on to admit that "35 years later, I am deeply ashamed of who I was."
"I was scared," he said, noting that he wouldn't have bought the gun he used to fatally shoot his parents if he had sought professional help ahead of time. "But I was also filled with rage."
Should he be paroled and released from prison, Lyle vowed that he would become "part of the solution" and work with those struggling in the incarcerated community. As he put it, "I made a promise I would never use violence to solve a problem."
Likewise, Erik, 54, said he takes "full responsibility" for the killings.
"I did everything I could to get away with the crime," he admitted during the virtual court appearance with his brother, per NBC News. "I am directly responsible for it all."
Recognizing that he "created a crushing sadness" within his extended family, Erik said the murders should've never happened.
"I am sorry for these lies," he added, acknowledging how he and Lyle initially denied all responsibility in the killings. "There is no excuse for my behavior."
A clemency hearing for the brothers has been scheduled for June, according to their attorney Mark Geragos.
"Redemption is possible," the lawyer told reporters outside of courthouse following the resentencing. "The Menendez brothers have done remarkable work and today is a great day."
For more on the brothers and their personal lives, read on.
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Lyle Menendez, then 28, married model and salon receptionist Anna Eriksson on July 2, 1996, the day he and brother Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 double murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Anna started writing to Lyle in 1993 during his first trial, which ended in a mistrial, and then moved to California to be near him the following year. She became a reliable presence at the months-long retrial that began in 1995 and resulted in convictions in March 1996, according to the Los Angeles Times.
They couldn't take their vows in person, however, Lyle instead taking the plunge over speaker phone, the groom in custody and the bride in the office of defense attorney Leslie Abramson.
He seemingly hoped to be able to wed Anna in person, once he knew where he'd end up.
"We do have a marriage proceeding," California Correctional Institution spokesman Lt. Jack Pitko told the LA Times in September 1996 once Lyle and Erik had been ordered to separate prisons. "There's a waiting list...But I don't see why he shouldn't be able to get married if he follows all the rules."
Anna filed for divorce in 2001 after, according to multiple reports from the time, she allegedly found out Lyle was exchanging letters with other women.
Lyle didn't rush into anything when he married journalist Rebecca Sneed, reportedly 33 at the time, in November 2003: He had known her for 10 years, first through letters and eventually from in-person visits, a prison spokesperson told the Associated Press in confirming the nuptials.
The ceremony took place at Mule Creek State Prison near Sacramento, where Lyle resided until he was reunited with Erik in 2018 at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in southern San Diego County.
"Our interaction tends to be very free of distractions and we probably have more intimate conversations than most married spouses do, who are distracted by life's events," Lyle told People in 2017. At the time, Rebecca was living in Sacramento and was said to visit weekly.
"We try and talk on the phone every day, sometimes several times a day," Lyle added. "I have a very steady, involved marriage and that helps sustain me and brings a lot of peace and joy. It's a counter to the unpredictable, very stressful environment here."
Rebecca "put up with a lot," he acknowledged. "But she has the courage to deal with the obstacles. It would be easier to leave, but I'm profoundly grateful that she doesn't."
The bloom has since come off the rose, however: Ahead of a decision on whether Lyle and Erik should be resentenced and possibly set free in the near future, Rebecca confirmed that she and Lyle are separated.
"Lyle and I have been separated for a while now but remain best friends and family," she wrote Nov. 22 on her official Facebook page. "I continue to run his Facebook pages, with input from him, and I am forever committed to the enduring fight for Lyle and Erik’s freedom, as has been so evident over the years."
She added, "I'll continue to update you all on the progress of the case because I believe we all have the common goal of seeing the guys walk free! I will never stop fighting for them."
And because tabloid rumors don't stop outside the prison gates, the post also noted, "This is NOT a cheating scandal."
Erik's wife Tammi Menendez, now 62, was married to Chuck Saccoman when she first spied the younger Menendez brother on TV in 1993 and felt a special place in her heart for the 22-year-old murder defendant.
As she later told People, she informed her husband she was going to write to Erik and Chuck gave her his blessing.
"I saw Tammi's letter and I felt something. I received thousands of letters, but I set this one aside. I got a feeling," Erik told the publication. "And I wrote her back. Tammi and I continued to correspond. I enjoyed writing to her. It was a slow friendship. It was special to me because it was not associated with the trial and the media. Tammi was someone not in the craziness."
However, as Tammi detailed in her 2005 book They Said We'd Never Make It: My Life With Erik Menendez, she doubted the brothers' abuse defense at first. (And she told MSNBC that Erik mentioned having a girlfriend of several years early on.)
But in 1996, as Tammi has detailed in her book and interviews, she found out that Chuck had abused her teenage daughter from a previous relationship. (They also shared a then-9-month-old daughter.)
Chuck turned himself into police and died by suicide two days later, according to People.
After Chuck died, "I reached out to Erik," she told the publication in 2005. "He comforted me. Our letters started taking on a more serious tone."
Tammi admitted she was "really nervous" when she finally met Erik in person at Folsom State Prison in August 1997.
"Erik had no idea what I looked like; I'd only sent him a tiny, 1-by-1 picture," she explained. "But when he walked into the room, he was so full of life, he hopped down the stairs. It was like I was meeting an old friend."
They married in 1999, a Twinkie serving as their wedding cake.
And they've been together ever since, though Tammi has acknowledged that the lack of conjugal visits can be tough.
"A kiss when you come in, a kiss when you leave," she described the routine on MSNBC in December 2005. 'You can hold hands and that part of it is very difficult, and people don't understand."
Erik said he tried not to think about what was then the likelihood that he would never get out of prison.
“Tammi is what gets me through," he told People in 2005. "I can't think about the sentence. When I do, I do it with a great sadness and a primal fear. I break into a cold sweat. It's so frightening I just haven't come to terms with it."
But on a more optimistic note, Tammi had also taught him "how to be a good husband," Erik said. "There is no makeup sex, only a 15-minute phone call, so you really have to try to make things work."
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