How old are the Menendez Brothers now? Current ages explored

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the case of the modern-day Menendez brothers, who were found guilty of committing the crime of murdering their parents back in the late 1980s. It baits in the gruesome details of the murder and the extraordinary trial that captured the nation's attention during the 1990s.

With the performances of Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez, the case returns to its chilling moments, along with dramatic revelations and family relations, as portrayed during the trial. The elder of two Menendez brothers, Lyle Menendez is now 56 years old, while his younger brother Erik is 53 years old.

Shot multiple times close up in the family's mansion in Beverly Hills in August 1989, the perpetrators were 21-year-old Lyle and 18-year-old Erik. Many were shocked by this crime. They could avoid suspicion at first, but the deeper investigations showed evidence of their lavish spending, and they were arrested and later convicted of the murders.

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How did the Menedez brothers kill their parents?

On August 20, 1989, at night, Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, several times at their luxurious Beverly Hills home. Kitty was shot ten times and José six times including a fatal shot to the back of the head.

The brothers tried to create an alibi after committing the murders by going to see the movie Batman. Upon returning home, they called 911, with Erik tearfully claiming someone killed their parents. Initially, the police did not suspect the brothers: they would not test them for gunshot residue nor would they properly question their alibis.

Instead, interrogators probed all other possible motives-including a mob connection. Not until the brothers started spending their inheritance and they were said to burn through $700,000 in six months. Also, the new information from a psychologist finally made the brothers get arrested.

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What happened during the Menendez brothers' trial?

One of the most sensationalized legal cases of the 1990s, and many cases study it. The brothers were tried by several juries between 1993 and 1996 and had their case ended in a mistrial under heavy media attention.

The prosecution stigmatized the brothers as cold-blooded killers who, to inherit the grand fortune left by their parents, had "plotted" to kill their parents. On the other hand, the defense portrayed the alleged abuses suffered by the brothers as self-defense on the day of the killings.

In March 1996, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Ever since then, the brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment without any chance of parole. Ever since then, allegations of abuse by Lyle and Erik have been a subject matter under dispute. Over the years, the brothers had filed several appeals, and none of those appeals came out successful.

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Where are the Menendez brothers now?

As of September 2024, Lyle and Erik Menendez are still being held at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Both Menendez brothers spent over two decades in separate prisons: Lyle behind the walls of Mule Creek State Prison and Erik in Pleasant Valley Prison.

They were only reunited in the same facility in April 2018 after nearly 22 years. Their emotional reunion was highlighted when reports said that they hugged silently the moment they saw each other for the first time after 1996.

The Menendez brothers are staying in prison, serving out their life sentences without hope of parole. In 2023, they submitted a new appeal based on testimony from Roy Rosselló. He is a former member of the band Menudo and a friend of the Menendez brothers, who testified that he had also been a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of José Menendez. Yet the brothers are not free, with no prospects in their sight for release at present.

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Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently streaming on Netflix.