SAN DIEGO –  Erik Menendez, one of the two brothers convicted in the 1989 shotgun slaying of their parents in Beverly Hills, has been denied parole by a California review board, officials confirmed.

The California Board of Parole Hearings denial of parole marks a significant development in the decades-long case that drew international attention, with the brothers’ televised trial becoming one of the most infamous of the 1990s. Erik, now 54, has spent more than 30 years behind bars.

Along with the illicit cellphone usage, Erik was flagged for possessing and dealing drugs, as well as helping other inmates with tax fraud. Hochman, who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, has been vocal about the brothers’ lack of rehabilitation.

An undated photo of the Menendez family as it appears on screen during a panel at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, June 2.  (Fox News Digital)

In August 1989, Beverly Hills socialites José and Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their home. 

Hochman previously called the murders “mafia-like hits,” remarking on the violent nature of the repeated rounds that were fired at the parents.

The boys, then 18 and 21, were convicted in 1996. 

The defense’s assertion was that the brothers had been driven to violence by years of physical and sexual abuse at their father’s hands. 

Despite the first trial resulting in a hung juror, leading to their eventual conviction in 1996, the public has remained divided on whether the brothers acted in greed or in self-defense.