CONVICTED killer Erik Menendez is set to remain behind bars after his bid for parole failed – more than 30 years after he and his brother Lyle murdered their parents. 

Menendez, 54, was scolded during the hearing and was told he hadn’t been a model prisoner. 

He and Lyle were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 – around seven years after their parents Kitty and Jose were killed at their plush California home. 

Erik, who was 18 when he killed his parents, had his hearing on Thursday and Lyle will be in front of parole commissioners today. 

The session lasted a mammoth 10 hours. Commissioners examined Erik’s behavior and criminal record before coming to a judgement.

The Menendez case has captivated public attention and divided Americans.

Supporters of the brothers believe the duo have served enough time behind bars, while critics have been left appalled due to the violent nature of the killings. 

The brothers said they murdered their parents in self-defense but this theory was rejected by jurors.

Parole Commissioner Robert Barton delivered a blistering verdict to Erik. 

“Contrary to your supporters’ beliefs, you have not been a model prisoner, and frankly we find that a little disturbing,” he said.

Erik has been accused of drug smuggling and using computers inappropriately between 1997 and 2011.

He has also been caught up in violent incidents, according to Barton.

The official appeared to hint that the board may have delivered a different verdict had Erik not carried out the offenses while in prison. 

Barton warned that Erik would pose an “unreasonable risk” to the safety of others if released.

During the hearing, Erik made admissions to the board. 

“I was not raised with a moral foundation,” he said.

I was raised to lie, to cheat, to steal, steal in the sense, an abstract way. 

Timeline of the Menendez brothers case

Erik and Lyle Menendez’s case dates back more than three decades since their parents were found shot to death at their Beverly Hills mansion.

Below is a timeline of the brothers’ case, starting at the gruesome crime scene:

August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.

March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested outside his parents’ Beverly Hills mansion.

March 11, 1990 – Erik surrenders to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.

December 1992 – Murder charges against the brothers are officially filed.

July 20, 1993 – The murder trial, highly publicized on Court TV, begins in Los Angeles with Erik and Lyle each having a separate jury.

January 28, 1994 – The first trial ends with two deadlocked juries.

October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins with one jury.

March 20, 1996 – The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

July 2, 1996 – Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.

February 22, 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.

April 4, 2018 – Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik – the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.

May 2023 – Lyle and Erik’s attorney files a habeas corpus petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez in a Peacock docuseries.

September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.

October 3, 2024 – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón says his office is reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik’s convictions.

October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.

October 16, 2024 – Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.

October 24, 2024 – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.

November 25, 2024 – The Menendez brothers appear in court for a status hearing to learn their resentencing hearing is pushed back from December 11 to allow new DA Nathan Hochman more time to review the case.

January 30-31, 2025 – Erik and Lyle’s resentencing hearing was initially set but had to be rescheduled due to the California wildfires.

February 21, 2025 – Hochman officially opposes a new trial for the brothers.

February 26, 2025 – California Governor Gavin Newsom orders the parole board to conduct a “comprehensive risk assessment” of the Menendez brothers.

March 10, 2025 – Hochman asks the court to withdraw Gascón’s resentencing motion

April 11, 2025 – Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic denies Hochman’s motion and allows the resentencing process to continue

April 17-18, 2025 – Brothers are scheduled to go before the judge at their resentencing hearings

May 13, 2025 – Menendez brothers sentences reduced to 50 years to life in prison.

August 21, 2025: Erik Menendez denied parole after mammoth 10-hour hearing.

“When I was playing tennis my father would make sure that I cheated at certain times if he told me to.”

Barton said Erik showed a “lack of empathy” in the killing of his mother.

Erik also opened up on the claims that he was abused by his dad.

He revealed he bought guns to protect himself. 

“I was never going to let my dad come in my room and do that again,” he said.

“It’s difficult to convey how terrifying my father was.”

Erik wrote a note to his cousin Andy Cano documenting the alleged abuse that took place.

And, he opened up about how he and Lyle were told not to talk about anything that may have been traumatic.

FAMILY RESPONDS

Erik’s family have broken their silence after parole was denied.

They described the outcome as “disappointing” although they respected the decision made by commissioners.

Erik’s stepdaughter, Talia, condemned the decision made by the parole board.

“How is my dad a threat to society?” she posted on her Instagram Stories.

“A 3 year denial? Hell is about to break loose.”

Erik could face another parole hearing in three years. 

But, California governor Gavin Newsom can pardon him. 

Newsom said he would assess the outcome of each parole case “carefully.”

Hours before the hearing, Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, scolded the brothers.

He claimed the pair hadn’t taken full responsibility for the killings.

Hochman rubbished the theory that the brothers killed their parents in an act of self-defense.

“We have consistently opposed their release because they have not demonstrated full insight into their crimes or shown that they have been fully rehabilitated, and therefore continue to pose a risk to society,” he said.

The brothers first stood trial in 1994, but it was ruled a mistrial. 

Their second trial began in July 1995 with one jury.

Erik and Lyle each had a jury when they were tried for the first time.

They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July 1996.

They were kept apart until 2018 when Lyle was moved to the facility Erik is being housed.

In May, the brothers had their sentences reduced to 50 years to life in prison.