Where are the Menendez brothers now? A look at their life in prison

For the Menendez brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, August 20, 2024 was a grim anniversary: ​​35 years after the murder of their parents José and Kitty Menendez.

While José, an entertainment executive, and Kitty, a former teacher, were watching television in their Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik shot them at point blank range with shotguns – and then called 911 themselves, saying they had returned home from a night on the town and found their parents' bodies. The case became intriguing almost immediately, and initial investigations suggested the Mafia were possible suspects.

But notes from the brothers' therapist, a bullet casing and a script pointed to Lyle and Erik, who prosecutors said were privileged, spoiled and out to cash in on their father's $14 million fortune. Lyle and Erik had three separate trials claiming that José was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive and that Kitty was a drug and alcohol addict, physically abusive and an enabler of José.

In March 1996, the brothers were both sentenced to life in prison for two counts of first-degree murder. They are currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

In 2023, however, Lyle and Erik's lawyers filed a motion to overturn the brothers' convictions in light of new evidence – a letter Erik wrote eight months before the murders and Roy Rosselló's allegations that he was drugged and raped by José in the 1980s.

The case and conviction of Lyle and Erik have been the subject of several television projects over the years, from A&E's The Menendez murders: Erik tells all in 2017 to Peacock's Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boys in 2023. Her terrifying true story is also the subject of Ryan Murphy's new Netflix show Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.

“Looking back at the trials, Erik, I and our family thought we were going into a manslaughter case with a prosecutor who understood the traumatic impact of sexual violence on a person,” Lyle reflected in the 2024 Fox Nation documentary series The Menendez brothers: victims or villains. “And in the end we got the same sentence as a serial killer.”

From their time in prison to their marriages, here's everything you need to know about the Menendez brothers and where they are now.

Where are the Menendez brothers now?

For more than 20 years, Lyle and Erik were incarcerated separately, Lyle at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, and Erik about 500 miles away at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County. The brothers didn't speak for years, but communicated in letters (and played chess by mail). In February 2018, Lyle was moved to a different housing unit at the Richard J. Donovan – and in April of that year, Erik moved into the same unit as Lyle.

When the Menendez brothers were reunited, they burst into tears and Lyle whispered: “Finally,” he told DailyMailTV. “It was just a remarkable moment,” he added. “It was just something I wasn't sure was ever going to happen.”

In 1999, Erik married his long-time pen pal Tammi Ruth Saccoman, with whom he has his stepdaughter Talia. Tammi wrote a book, They said we would never make it: My life with Erik Menendezabout their relationship and experiences. Erik also began painting – and even gave a portrait to comedian Kathy Griffin – and, together with other inmates, made attempts to reform the prison.

“The arrest was a huge relief. My life was over and I was happy,” Erik told PEOPLE in 2005, adding that money was never his motivation. “After I was arrested and put in jail, the person I was came back out. I had to find it myself.”

Before his transfer, Lyle was chairman of the inmate government at Mule State Creek Prison and worked in a support group for other inmates who had suffered sexual abuse. From 1996 to 2001, he was married to Anna Eriksson. Two years later, he married Rebecca Sneed, with whom he says he has a healthy relationship.

“I have a very stable, committed marriage that gives me stability and brings me a lot of peace and joy,” Lyle said in 2017. “It counterbalances the unpredictable, very stressful environment here.”

Will the Menendez brothers ever get out of prison?

The Menendez brothers are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, but there have been efforts to overturn their convictions. The brothers' lawyers filed a petition with the court on May 3, 2023, citing Rosselló's allegations against José, which were featured in the Peacock docuseries. Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boys and a recently discovered letter Erik wrote to one of his cousins ​​describing his father's sexual abuse just months before the murders.

“The new evidence not only shows that Jose Menendez was a very violent and brutal man who sexually abused children, but it also suggests that he was actually abusing Erik Menendez as late as 1988,” the filing states, according to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times“Instead, it was manslaughter, not murder. The killings were committed in imperfect self-defense after a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their parents.”

The filing also noted that evidence of the alleged sexual abuse they suffered was not admitted at their second trial. Prosecutors accused the brothers of fabricating the allegations since they were never confirmed. Attorneys for Lyle and Erik requested an evidentiary hearing or to have the brothers' convictions and sentences overturned.

What new evidence has been discovered regarding the Menendez brothers?

In April 2023, Rosselló, a former member of a popular Puerto Rican boy band called Menudo, seemingly confirmed Lyle and Erik's stories of abuse when he went public with his own story about José.

He claimed that the Hollywood executive drugged and raped him when he was a teenager.

“I know what he did to me in his house,” Rosselló said in Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boys“This is the pedophile,” he added, referring to a photo of José.

In addition to Rosselló's testimony, the brothers' lawyers also presented a never-before-seen letter from Erik from 1988. It was discovered by José's sister, Marta Cano, and was addressed to her deceased son, Andy.

“I tried to avoid Dad. It still happens, Andy, but it's worse for me now,” the letter said. “I can't explain it. He [sic] so overweight that 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 awake thinking he might come in. I have to put it out of my mind.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has yet to decide whether to retry Lyle and Erik's case based on the new evidence.

What have the Menendez brothers said about their crimes and their imprisonment?

Erik gave his first in-depth interview for the A&E documentary series in 2017 The Menendez murders: Erik tells allHe recounted in detail his encounters with his abusive father, including an “overwhelming memory” of José banging on his bedroom door.

“He let me massage him and have oral sex with him. He described to me in detail how he would kill me if I ran away,” Erik remembers.

The younger Menendez brother also expressed regret over the murders, saying, “I wanted to go back in time. I wanted to undo everything Lyle and I did.”

That same year, Lyle spoke to PEOPLE and admitted that he still “carries guilt” over the murder of his parents.

“This tragedy will always remain the most astonishing and regrettable thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” he said. “You can't escape the memories and I stopped trying a long time ago.”

During their three decades in prison, the Menendez brothers have tried to be “productive” people. In June 2024, Lyle graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor's degree in sociology along with 23 of his fellow inmates and is currently pursuing a master's degree in urban planning.

“I just decided that even though I'm in prison with no hope of freedom, I still have a chance to be proud of what I do with my day,” Lyle told a crowd at CrimeCon 2024 Nashville by phone. “Education seemed like an obvious answer to that question.”