Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez are looking forward to a new hearing in their murder case — but what do their lives currently look like in prison? The brothers were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents — José and Kitty — were found shot to death in their home. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at the time of the murders and after two trials, they were sentenced to life without parole. Lyle and Erik have maintained that their mother and father were physically, emotionally and sexually abusive ahead of their deaths.
While initially remaining in the same prison, Erik and Lyle were transferred after their sentencing . They reunited in 2018 when they were moved into the same housing unit at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
Their case received renewed support in September 2024 after becoming the focus of Ryan Murphy ‘s Monsters series. Despite Erik publicly slamming the scripted show , he met with Cooper Koch , who played him on screen. “They’ve done so much amazing work in prison.
Erik teaches meditation. He teaches speech classes. They’re both incredible people,” Koch told The Hollywood Reporter in September 2024.
“I think back then, people just didn’t believe that sexual abuse between males was something that you could believe and the easier pill to swallow was that they killed their parents for money. But now, after so much time, I think people are more open to understanding that something like that did happen.�.
