Menendez brother who gunned down his parents shocks crime sleuths when he calls into CrimeCon 2024 from prison

Lyle Menendez stunned guests when he called in crime Congress from the California prison where he and his brother are serving life without parole for the 1989 murder of their parents.

Menendez, now 56, spoke of his dreams of freedom after 24 family members signed a petition demanding they be resentenced.

He and younger brother Erik were jailed in 1996 for the first-degree murder of Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez who died in a hail of gunfire in their Beverly Hills mansion.

But evidence that their sons had been sexually and physically abused for years by their father, who served as a records manager, was ruled inadmissible.

“I just want to express my gratitude to so many, a tremendous number of people around the world and across the country who have written to my brother and me,” Lyle Mendez said over the loudspeaker.

“And just express gratitude for their support, their belief that we should be given a second chance.”

The siblings fatally shot their mother Kitty, a socialite, and father Jose Menendez, a wealthy record company executive. The family is seen above in an undated photo

The Menendez brothers, who are serving life sentences for the 1989 murder of their parents, claim the media portrayed them as criminals rather than victims of abuse. Lyle, left, and Erik, right, are depicted in mugshots from 2023

Lyle, a then 22-year-old Princeton student, and Erik, a then 19-year-old professional tennis player, walked into the study of their $5 million Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989 and shot Jose point-blank in the back. of the head.

They then pointed the gun at their mother as she tried to run from the room. In total, they shot Jose five times and Kitty nine times.

Prosecutors believed that Lyle and Erik killed their parents because they wanted unfettered access to their $14 million estate. Both bought Rolex watches, apartments, sports cars and expensive other items in the months after the murders.

The brothers were given two trials – the first had a hung jury and was ultimately ruled a mistrial, but when they were retried together in 1996 they were found guilty.

They lost an appeal of their convictions in 2005 and are both currently serving their sentences at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County.

“Every day counts and life kind of asks you a question: what are you going to do with your life,” Lyle said. “And I just decided that even though I’m in prison and there’s no hope of freedom, I still have the opportunity to be a productive person and take pride in what I do with my day.”

Lyle’s attorney Mark Geragos took his client’s call during a panel event with NewsNation’s Laura Ingle at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville on Sunday.

Lyle’s attorney Mark Geragos took his client’s call during a panel event with NewsNation’s Laura Ingle at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville on Sunday

Erik Menendez, left, and his brother Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home

Erik, right, and Lyle Menendez, left, are seen during their 1990 murder trial

The brothers initially blamed the murders on the mafia, but later claimed they shot their parents in self-defense after years of terrible sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of their father, Jose.

Chilling crime scene photos showing the blood-soaked couch where Jose Menendez was shot five times by his own sons were at the center of the prosecution

The older brother just completed his bachelor’s degree in sociology and said he would like to return to prison when he is released.

“I’ve had these conversations with corrections officials who are making sure former inmates can return to prisons to do good work,” he explained.

“And they are certainly open to and eager for me to continue working on this idea of ​​transforming prison sites to create environments and communities that produce better neighbors.”

An automated voice interrupted the call to remind him it was being recorded, because he has set up therapy groups with fellow inmates and hopes to help other survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

“I’ve had conversations with Rosie O’Donnell about setting up a foundation where we would go and try to talk to the forums in those groups and help in that area,” he added.

‘It’s an area I spend a lot of time in.

‘As you probably know, many prisoners have had difficult childhoods and come from difficult circumstances, so I have formed groups where they can talk about this with more confidence.

“So I’ll probably continue with those two things. That would be exciting.’

During their trial, the brothers did not deny the murders, but alleged them they acted in self-defense, namely out of fear that their father would kill them for threatening to make the abuse public.

Arguments from their defense team described that the couple “did not harbor the mental state necessary for first-degree murder and were therefore guilty of manslaughter.”

The brothers’ case got a boost last year when Roy Rossello, a former singer of boy band Menudo, alleged that their father raped him at age 13.

Menendez’s attorneys also submitted a recently unearthed letter that Erik sent to his cousin Andy Cano about eight months before the murders.

“I tried to avoid daddy,” the hand-scribbled message read.

“It still happens, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can not explain. He’s so fat I can’t bear 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 get it out of my mind.

“I know what you said before, but I’m scared. You just don’t know Dad like I do. He is crazy. He warned me a hundred times not to tell anyone, especially Lyle.”

Their cousin testified that when Erik was 13, he came to him and told him that his father Jose was touching and “massaging” his genitals, asking if that was normal.

Another cousin of theirs, named Diane Vander Molen, also said that Lyle talked to her about the abuse when he was eight years old, and that she went to his mother about his confession, but was told he was lying.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for first-degree murder

The house is depicted in this evidence photo used during the trial

The Beverly Hills mansion where the Menendez brothers gruesomely murdered their parents has been sold for $17 million, exactly 28 years after their conviction

Last month the Mediterranean style villa where the murders occurred, with the exclusive zip code 90210, was sold by its current owners for $17 million – $3 million less than the asking price.

This sale was concluded exactly 28 years after the brothers’ conviction.

“Virtually the entire family on both sides signed a letter as victims asking for these two gentlemen to be punished again,” Geragos told the convention.

“I have always believed that if these mugshots were of the Menedez sisters, they would not be in custody right now.

“There has been a big change in the thirty years since then.”