Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving their life sentences in prison together in California today. The Menendez brothers were each married in prison, and they remain married in 2021.
Erik Menendez is 50 now, and Lyle Menendez is 53. The Menendez brothers were at the center of the sensationalized 1989 murder of their parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez. The gruesome murder left them barely recognizable, and the brothers’ claims that they suffered serious sexual abuse at the hands of their father resulted in a hung jury for each of them during their first separately held trials, Biography reported.
Decades later, a new generation is questioning the guilt of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were later convicted and sentenced to life without parole. TikTok users flooded the social media platform with videos, saying they believe the Menendez brothers are innocent. ABC 20/20 is digging into the case with an episode airing at 9 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 2, 2021. The episode includes a new, exclusive interview with Lyle Menendez.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Menendez Brothers Are Incarcerated Together at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego
How TikTok put the Menendez brothers back in the spotlight https://t.co/yvUA7lXOMf pic.twitter.com/PiQLG2BzEo
— New York Post (@nypost) April 2, 2021
The Menendez brothers were separated at different California prisons for decades, but that changed three years ago when the California Department of Corrections agreed to house them together. They are both serving life in prison without the possibility of parole at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, according to the California Department of Corrections inmate search.
Here is Erik Menendez’s prison record:
California Department of CorrectionsErik Menendez’s prison record
The brothers worked for years to be moved to the same facility. On Valentine’s Day in 2018, Lyle Menendez announced through a Facebook page they would be reunited.
He wrote:
As most of you know, my brother and I have been separated for almost 22 years—captured so tragically on Law & Order. We have been working for the past 6 years to get the Corrections Department to place us together. I have requested to be transferred to San Diego to be with Erik. It has been a long torturous ordeal but never did I feel hopeless.
I am very grateful to announce that on Monday the request was finally granted. Erik and I will be reunited in the very near future. We will keep you posted!
I would like to thank the huge number of people across the country who felt strongly that my brother and I should be together and took the time to pray for that result and wish us well.
Both of the Menendez Brothers Were Married in Prison & They Are Still Married Today
TONIGHT: Is social media’s ‘cancel culture’ movement trying to cancel the Menendez brothers’ prison sentences? Now, new interviews, including a new prison interview with Lyle Menendez.
Watch the 20/20 event special tonight at 9|8c on ABC. pic.twitter.com/sdHQk8IHPV
— 20/20 (@ABC2020) April 2, 2021
Both Lyle and Erik Menendez found wives while in prison and remain married in 2021. Lyle Menendez married his first wife, Anna Eriksson, in 1996. They divorced five years later. In 2003, he married Rebecca Sneed and talked to People about their relationship.
“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,” he said. “We try and talk on the phone every day, sometimes several times a day,” he said. “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.”
Erik Menendez also talked to People about his marriage. He has been married to Tammi Menendez since 1999.
“Tammi’s love was a major step in my choosing life,” he said. “Having someone who loves you unconditionally, who you can be completely open with, is good for anybody — to know that this person loves me as I am.”
Lyle Menendez wrote a touching post to his wife on Valentine’s Day 2018.
“I would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentines’ Day. I adore my wife today more than I ever have after so many years together. She has been with me throughout this long journey and will be as we embark on a new one,” he wrote.
A Facebook Page on Behalf of Lyle Menendez Frequently Posts About Child Sexual Abuse & the Page Is Aimed at Survivors
Family and friends monitor a Facebook page on behalf of Lyle Menendez, which has a focus of raising awareness about child sexual abuse. Lyle Menendez does not have Internet access, but sometimes asks loved ones to post on the account.
“The purpose is to provide a safe place for people to talk about their similar experiences and find comfort in others who have suffered in silence in the same way,” Lyle Menendez wrote in a pinned post. “Those of us who have suffered abuse understand the healing power of sharing our experiences. This page’s platform is to oppose all forms of child abuse: physical, sexual, and emotional abuse perpetrated by anyone including but not limited to parents, a teacher, a coach, a priest, and the government. We also oppose all forms of domestic violence, and sexual assault.”
The account also shares news stories loved ones found relevant to the Menendez case, interviews about their case and posts about the effects of sexual abuse.
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