Erik Menendez denied shot at freedom by California parole board. How we got here

A California state board Thursday denied parole for Erik Menendez, who has been in prison for more than three decades for the 1989 shotgun slayings of his parents in their Beverly Hills home.

The decision was a devastating blow to Menendez, 54, who along with supporters has mounted a campaign for freedom for himself and his brother Lyle over the past couple of years.

After a day-long hearing, a two-member commission from the Board of Prison Terms found Menendez, who has been incarcerated for nearly 35 years, unsuitable for release.

His next opportunity for parole will be in three years.

Commissioner Robert Barton said he and a fellow board member gave the matter significant consideration — "We probably spent four times more than we do on our usual average here" — before reaching their conclusion.

“I believe in redemption or I wouldn’t be doing this job … but based on the legal standards we find that you continue to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety,” Barton said.

While explaining the reasons behind the denial, Barton talked about the murders, and said the fatal shooting of the Menendez's mother showed him to be "devoid of human compassion" at the time. The commissioner also noted some of Menendez's other actions later, including serious violations of prison rules — like getting caught with a cellphone.

“While we give great weight to youth offender factors, your continued willingness to commit crimes and violate prison rules," weighed against Menendez, Barton said.

A reporter who was given access to the hearing said Menendez listened intently to Barton's words, and nodded repeatedly, but appeared visibly hurt by the decision.

Members of the Menendez family, who had supported the brothers' quest for parole, issued a statement late Thursday, saying they respected the decision, but were disappointed. They said their belief in Erik Menendez "remains unwavering."

“His remorse, growth, and the positive impact he’s had on others speak for themselves," the statement added. "We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he is able to return home soon."

A separate parole hearing for older brother Lyle Menendez, 57, is set for Friday.

"Tomorrow, we turn our attention to Lyle’s hearing," the family said in the statement. "And while it is undoubtedly difficult, we remain cautiously optimistic and hopeful that the commissioner will see in Lyle what so many others have: a man who has taken responsibility, transformed his life, and is ready to come home.”

Background on the case

The decision follows a years-long effort to free Erik and Lyle Menendez. After two high-profile trials, the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the August 1989 shotgun deaths of Jose and Kitty Menendez.

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

After their arrests, the brothers maintained the killings were motivated by years of sexual abuse by their father, a wealthy businessman and former music executive.

Prosecutors argued the brothers' motivation was greed because they stood to inherit their father’s multi-million dollar estate.

A combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez (left) and Lyle Menendez, now in their 50s.

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The case had drawn new attention in recent years because of a combination of factors, including recent documentaries and dramas that focused on the story and efforts by the Menendez family to see them released.

A key turning point came in May, when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life in prison, giving them a chance at parole.

He said they didn’t pose an unreasonable risk to society.

Testimony about the murders

On Thursday, Erik Menendez appeared from Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego for his hearing. The two parole commissioners appeared over a video conference, as did Menendez's lawyer Heidi Rummel, prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and members of the Menendez family.

Erik Menendez described the abject fear he felt toward his father, whom he said sexually abused him, and how his father demanded secrecy.

Barton, one of the commissioners, noted that Menendez was 18 at the time of the murders and could have left home and gone to family members who would have taken him in.

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

Barton cited a document in which Erik Menendez wrote he had “no justification” for the killings.

“Is there any part of this which you believe was self defense?” Barton asked.

Menendez said, “No.”

At the same time, Menendez said he said he and his brother’s lives “were in extreme danger immediately" once they confronted their father about the alleged abuse days before the murders.

Erik Menendez, left, and his brother, Lyle, sit in a Beverly Hills courtroom in 1992.

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Speaking about the night of the shootings, Menendez said: “Lyle came to the top of the stairs after my dad ordered me to my room and said he was coming up… my focus was dad’s coming to my room. I can’t let him come to my room."

He said he believed his father was going to come to his room and rape him that night.

"That was going to happen," he said. "One way or another. If he was alive, that was going to happen.”

“Why kill Mom?” Barton asked.

“When mom told me … that she had known all of those years [about the sexual abuse], it was the most devastating moment in my entire life," Menendez said. "It changed everything for me. I had been protecting her by not telling her.

“Step by step, my mom had shown she was united with my dad.”

Menendez was then asked about reloading his shotgun and shooting his mother.

“I wish to God I did not do that,” he said.

Menendez's conduct in prison

Barton asked about various violations Erik Menendez committed in prison, including engaging in a tax fraud scheme for a prison gang. The commissioner also asked about other violations, including getting into a fight, engaging in alcohol and drug use and possessing a cellphone.

Menendez said he motivated by "tremendous fear" in some instances, and was mostly just trying to cope with being in prison. He emphasized he did not use a cellphone for criminal purposes — only to call people he knew and to watch videos.

Barton said Menendez was asked by prison staff in 2016 about his prior relationship with his brother, and Menendez told staff he and his brother never had any problems. Barton called this a “lie.”

Menendez referenced his older brother “molesting [me] as a kid,” and said he withheld that from corrections staff.

His positive work behind bars was mentioned, too, including his work with a hospice group.

Responding to questions from Deputy Commissioner Rachel Stern, Menendez talked about working with a World War II veteran, taking him to meals and helping with his bedding. He said he saw it as a way to make amends for his father.

Menendez said the experience showed him older adults are often bullied in prison. He said he created a “life care and hospice group” to work against that, and he brought in some of the bullies to participate.

His current role, Menendez said, is to get incarcerated people to work with others who are struggling, including those who are disabled or dealing with life-limiting illnesses.

His attorney, Rummel, argued that Menendez was no longer a threat to society.

“This crime, as the rest of the world seems to understand, was driven by extraordinary trauma, physical abuse, emotional abuse and relentless domination by his parents,” she said. “Mr. Menendez is so far from the person he was when he committed this crime.”

DA's office opposes parole

L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian said he applauded Menendez’s achievements in prison — including news that he'd graduated from UCLA in June — and hoped that one day he’d find “redemption.”

“But the real question is did he learn, in all those classes … the most important lesson of all?" Balian asked. "Does he understand the full severity and depravity of his conduct?”

Balian argued that much of Menendez’s improvement was so that he could have a chance to be released. And he pressed Menendez about why he shot his mother, when the brothers' claimed it was their father they feared.

“I was in a state of terror, of panic, of rage," Menendez responded. "I didn’t parse out in my mind my mother or my father. I ran in because fear was compelling me.”

Comments from the Menendez family

In his closing statement, Menendez he wanted to focus on his family’s healing — not his own.

“I just want my family to understand that I am so unimaginably sorry for what I have put them through from Aug. 20, 1989 until this day, and this hearing,” he said. “I know that they have been here for me and they’re here for me today, but I want them to know that this should be about them. It’s about them and if I ever get the chance at freedom I want the healing to be about them.”

More than a dozen members of the extended family attended the hearing to show their support of a parole recommendation.

Teresita Menendez-Baralt, Jose Menendez’s brother, called her nephew a “sweet, gentle soul” who deserved love. She said she wished she could go back in time to protect him.

“I want to make clear that although I love my brother, I have fully forgiven Erik,” she said while crying.

Tiffani Lucero Pastor — who spoke on behalf of Joan Vandermolen — said the 93-year-old doesn't shy away from the fact that Menendez killed her sister, Kitty, but he deserves a second chance at life.

"She is so proud of how he has worked relentlessly on himself, emotionally, spiritually,” Lucero Pastor said.

Natascha Leonardo — Kitty Menendez’s great-niece — said Erik Menendez would be welcome to live with her family in Colorado if he is released.

“We’re not asking you to release Erik into uncertainty," she said. "We’re asking you to release him into a network of love and support.”

During the hearing, Barton confirmed Erik Menendez is experiencing "chronic" health issues related to Crohn’s Disease. He said the board has reviewed his medical records.

What's next?

After the board made its decision Thursday, District Attorney Nathan Hochman issued a statement praising the commissioners' work.

"The Board correctly determined that Erik Menendez’s actions speak louder than words, and that his conduct in prison and current mentality demonstrates that he still poses an unreasonable risk of danger to the community," the statement read. "Importantly, the Board did not bow to public spectacle or pressure, a restraint that upholds the dignity and integrity of the justice system."

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the decision is subject to review by the Parole Board's chief counsel. The decision will became final unless the the board finds the decision was made based on an error or law or of fact.

The board has up to 120 days after the suitability hearing to conduct a review.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has the right to review the board's decision, has up to 30 days to approve, reject or amend the recommendation.

In a separate bid for freedom, the brothers have asked Newsom to grant them clemency.