Lyle Menendez was denied parole Friday, one day after his younger brother Erik’s request for release was also rejected.
Both men are serving life sentences for the 1989 killings of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, at the family’s Beverly Hills home.
A two-member parole board panel cited rule violations, including the use of mobile phones in prison, in its decision to deny Lyle Menendez parole for three years.
Commissioners said the 57-year-old continues to display “anti-social personality traits like deception, minimisation and rule-breaking that lie beneath that positive surface.”
Commissioner Julie Garland told Menendez the board found his remorse credible and acknowledged his record of positive programming in prison. But she emphasized that parole required rule compliance regardless of incentives. “Citizens are expected to follow the rules whether or not there is some incentive to do so,” Garland said.
The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 after two separate juries convicted them of murdering their parents on August 20, 1989.
Prosecutors argued they acted out of greed to secure an inheritance, while the defense maintained the brothers killed in self-defense after years of sexual and physical abuse.
A judge earlier this year reduced their sentences, making them eligible for parole for the first time. The hearings this week represented the closest the brothers have come to possible release in nearly 30 years.
During Friday’s hearing, Lyle Menendez described physical abuse by his father and alleged sexual abuse by both parents. He grew emotional when discussing his mother, saying her death caused him greater remorse. “I loved her and couldn’t imagine harming her in any way,” he said.
Menendez admitted to buying the weapons used in the killings but denied planning the crime in advance. Commissioners pressed him on what they described as deception and manipulation after the murders, including attempts to conceal evidence and destroy his father’s will.
Defence attorney Heidi Rummel argued the panel placed too much focus on the original crime and rule violations, and not enough on Menendez’s accomplishments in prison. She noted he has avoided violence behind bars, started mentorship programs, and maintained sobriety.
More than a dozen relatives attended the hearing via videoconference, though few spoke publicly. One aunt voiced her support: “I want my nephew to hear how much I love him, and believe in him.”
The panel acknowledged Menendez has been assessed as “very low risk” for violence if released.
Still, commissioners determined his continued use of contraband phones, most recently in March 2025, undermined his rehabilitation claims.
Menendez said he turned to phones to protect his privacy, alleging correctional officers were selling details of his communications with his wife.
The Menendez brothers are pursuing a separate habeas corpus petition seeking review of their convictions based on new evidence they say supports their abuse allegations.
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