Lyle Menendez, one of the two brothers convicted of murdering their wealthy parents in Beverly Hills more than three decades ago, has been denied parole by a California state panel.The 57-year-old, who uses his middle name Joseph, appeared by video from a San Diego prison on Friday for his first parole hearing since being resentenced earlier this year. After an 11-hour closed-door session, commissioners decided he must remain behind bars for at least three more years, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “Joseph (Lyle) Menendez was denied parole for three years at his initial suitability hearing today,” the department said in a statement, as cited by news agency AFP.The ruling follows Thursday’s decision in the case of his younger brother, Erik, 54, whose parole was also rejected. The siblings, convicted in 1996 of killing Jose and Kitty Menendez with shotguns in 1989, were originally sentenced to life without parole. A Los Angeles judge reduced those terms in May to 50 years to life, making them eligible for release as they were under 26 at the time of the crime, as per news agency AP.The Menendez case first shocked America in 1989, when Lyle, then 21, and Erik, 18, killed their parents inside their Beverly Hills mansion. They initially told investigators it was linked to their father’s business or the Mafia, but two months later Erik confessed to a psychologist that he and his brother were responsible. The brothers were arrested in 1990 and later charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors said the motive was greed, while the defence argued they acted after years of sexual and emotional abuse, as per AP.Their first trials in the early 1990s ended with hung juries, but in 1995 they were convicted of murder, along with lying in wait and special circumstances allegations. They were sentenced the following year to life without parole. For decades, appeals were denied by state and federal courts.While in prison, the brothers engaged in education, led self-help classes, and even launched a prison beautification project inspired by Norway’s rehabilitation model, according to AP. Their case has also drawn renewed public attention through true-crime shows, including Netflix’s nine-episode series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.As per The New York Times, Friday’s hearing was Lyle’s first chance at release, though parole boards rarely grant freedom at an initial review. Both brothers will be eligible for new hearings in three years but could also pursue clemency from California Governor Gavin Newsom or continue legal challenges.According to AP, the parole board weighs whether inmates pose an “unreasonable risk of danger to society” if freed, considering their criminal history, motivation, remorse, behaviour in prison and reentry plans. Nearly all of the Menendez family members have backed their release; their uncle Milton Andersen, one of the few who opposed it, died earlier this year.Though formally denied parole for three years, the brothers may be reviewed sooner, with administrative reconsideration possible within a year and another hearing in as little as 18 months. They also still have a pending habeas corpus petition, filed in May 2023, that seeks to reopen their convictions based on new evidence supporting their claims of sexual abuse by their father.
