As of October 2026, Erik and Lyle Menendez are still in prison. Both brothers are held at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County, where they are serving sentences of 50 years to life for the August 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Neither brother has been released, and their next parole suitability hearings are tentatively set for February 23, 2027 (Lyle) and February 24, 2027 (Erik), according to NBC Los Angeles.
The short version:
- Where they are: Both brothers are at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, a California state prison near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego County.
- Current sentence: 50 years to life each, after a Los Angeles judge reduced their original life without parole sentences on May 13, 2025.
- Parole history: Both were denied parole for three years in August 2025, with commissioners pointing to prison rule violations such as smuggled cellphone use.
- Next step: The parole board granted earlier hearings in September 2026. The current tentative dates are February 23 and 24, 2027, instead of August 2028.
- Other legal routes: A judge rejected their bid for a new trial in September 2025. Their clemency requests to Gov. Gavin Newsom were reported as still pending, and we found no public clemency decision as of early October 2026.
- Ages: Lyle is 58 and Erik is 55, according to September 2026 reporting.
Are the Menendez Brothers Still in Prison in 2026?
Yes. Erik and Lyle Menendez remain in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as of October 2026. Recent reporting from ABC7 Los Angeles on September 22, 2026, confirmed that both men will join their next hearings from their prison in San Diego County.
The reason so many people search this question is that the case has changed more in the last two years than in the previous three decades. In 2024, the brothers were serving life without parole with no realistic path out. By mid 2025, they had been resentenced, had faced the parole board, and had been turned down. In 2026, they won the right to go back before the board much sooner than expected.
Key point: A parole hearing date is not a release date. The brothers can only leave prison if a parole panel finds them suitable and that decision survives the review period and the governor’s review.
If you want to confirm custody status yourself, the official CDCR inmate locator is the primary source for anyone held in a California state prison. Search results there update when a person’s custody status legally changes, which makes it more reliable than social media posts claiming a release has already happened.
Where Are Erik and Lyle Menendez Being Held?
Both brothers are at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, as reported by NBC Los Angeles and the Associated Press. The prison sits in the Otay Mesa area, close to the border with Tijuana.
For most of their sentences, the brothers were kept apart. Each served time in several other California prisons before landing in San Diego. According to KPBS, Erik had been at Donovan since 2013. Lyle was transferred there from Mule Creek State Prison in February 2018 but was first assigned to a separate unit.
In April 2018, CDCR moved Erik into Lyle’s housing section. That transfer gave the brothers their first chance at a face-to-face reunion in more than two decades. Since then, they have been able to share meals, recreation time, and programming.
During his 2025 parole hearing, Erik described how the brothers have been “serious accountability partners” for each other since reuniting, while also learning to keep healthy boundaries, according to the AP.
What Did the Menendez Brothers Do? The 1989 Murders Explained
On the night of August 20, 1989, Jose Menendez, 45, and Kitty Menendez, 47, were shot to death with shotguns in the den of the family’s Beverly Hills mansion while they were watching television. Their sons, Lyle and Erik, were 21 and 18 at the time, according to KPBS.
Lyle was the one who called 911. The AP reports that the brothers initially suggested the killings were tied to the Mafia or to their father’s business dealings. In the months that followed, prosecutors highlighted the brothers’ heavy spending as evidence of a financial motive.
The brothers have never disputed that they killed their parents. What has always been contested is why. The defense argued they acted out of fear after years of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse by their father, and that their mother knew. Prosecutors argued the killings were planned and driven by a multimillion dollar inheritance.
Why there were two trials
The brothers were first tried separately, with each having his own jury. In 1994, both juries deadlocked, and mistrials were declared, according to the AP.
They were retried together in 1996. In that second trial, the judge barred much of the abuse evidence the first juries had heard, as ABC News has reported. Both brothers were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1996. In July 1996, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Why Did the Menendez Brothers Get Resentenced?
The case reopened in a serious way in 2024. Netflix released the scripted drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on September 19, 2024, followed by the documentary The Menendez Brothers, directed by Alejandro Hartmann, which Variety covered on its release on October 7, 2024. The documentary included audio interviews with both brothers from prison. If you are interested in how the Monster franchise treats real cases, our breakdown of what is true in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story looks at the same question for the newest season.
In October 2024, then Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said his office would ask a court to resentence the brothers, according to the AP timeline. Gascón lost his reelection bid that November. His successor, Nathan Hochman, opposed resentencing.
On May 13, 2025, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced both sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 when the killings happened, California’s youthful offender law made them immediately eligible for parole consideration, the AP reported.
The AP noted that Jesic was especially moved by a letter from a prison official who supported resentencing, something that official said he had never done for any other incarcerated person in a 25 year career. The Los Angeles Times reported that both brothers addressed the court that day.
“My actions were criminal, selfish, cruel and cowardly. I have no excuse, no justification for what I did.”
Erik Menendez, at his May 2025 resentencing, via the Los Angeles Times
Lyle also apologized to the relatives who had campaigned for his release, telling them, “I lied to you and forced you into a spotlight of public humiliation you never asked for.”
Why Were the Menendez Brothers Denied Parole in 2025?
Both brothers went before the California Board of Parole Hearings in August 2025, appearing by video from Donovan. Erik’s hearing was on August 21, and Lyle’s was on August 22. Each lasted most of the day, and each ended with a three year denial, the shortest denial period available under California law, according to NBC Los Angeles.
The common thread was conduct in prison, especially contraband cellphones. Commissioners told the brothers that smuggled phones can be used to move drugs, order attacks, and coordinate violence, and that someone had to bring them in, according to the AP’s hearing takeaways.
Erik Menendez’s parole hearing
Commissioner Robert Barton said the main reason for Erik’s denial was not the seriousness of the crime but his behavior behind bars. The AP reported that the panel reviewed allegations that Erik worked with a prison gang, bought drugs, used cellphones, and helped with a tax scheme around 2013.
“Two things can be true. They can love and forgive you, and you can still be found unsuitable for parole.”
Commissioner Robert Barton, via the AP
Erik told the panel that when he had no hope of ever getting out, he prioritized protecting himself over following the rules. He said that changed in November 2024, when resentencing became a real possibility and “the consequences mattered.”
Lyle Menendez’s parole hearing
Lyle had fewer violations, but the panel still flagged two recent cellphone infractions, including one in March 2025. Commissioner Julie Garland said Lyle displayed “anti-social personality traits like deception, minimization and rule-breaking that lie beneath that positive surface,” according to the AP.
Commissioner Patrick Reardon credited Lyle for starting a prison beautification project and mentorship programs. He questioned, however, whether the phone violations undercut those accomplishments. Lyle told the panel, “I would never call myself a model incarcerated person.”
The risk assessment
Before the hearings, Newsom had ordered a comprehensive risk assessment of both brothers as part of their clemency requests. The AP reported that Hochman revealed both had been rated “moderate risk.” The same AP piece cited a 2022 Prison Policy Initiative analysis finding that California prisoners rated moderate risk were granted parole 22% of the time.
What Happened With the Menendez Brothers’ New Trial Bid?
Separate from parole, the brothers had a habeas corpus petition pending since May 2023. It asked for a new trial based on two pieces of evidence the defense said were new: a 1988 letter Erik wrote to his cousin Andy Cano describing abuse, and allegations from former Menudo member Roy Rosselló that Jose Menendez had raped him.
In September 2025, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan denied the petition. According to the Los Angeles Times, Ryan found that the evidence would not have changed the outcome of the trial.
“Neither piece of evidence adds to the allegations of abuse the jury already considered, yet found that the brothers planned, then executed that plan to kill their abusive father and complicit mother.”
Judge William C. Ryan, via the Los Angeles Times
Ryan also wrote that the brothers could not show they were in fear of “imminent peril,” which is central to an imperfect self defense argument. NBC News described the ruling as the end of a long shot legal challenge. District Attorney Hochman praised the decision in a statement from his office.
Important: The denial of the new trial bid does not affect the brothers’ parole eligibility. Their convictions stand, but their 50 years to life sentences still allow for parole.
What About Clemency From Gov. Gavin Newsom?
Clemency is the third path, and it is the least clear. In May 2025, right after the resentencing, Newsom withdrew his request for clemency investigations, and the board converted a planned June 2025 clemency hearing into initial parole hearings, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Times noted that the clemency requests technically remained active.
After the new trial ruling in September 2025, both the Los Angeles Times and NBC News described the clemency requests as still pending. We found no reporting of a clemency grant or denial as of early October 2026, so the realistic near term path runs through the parole board.
Newsom also has a direct role if parole is granted. The Los Angeles Times reported that a 90 day review period would follow any finding of suitability, and the governor could still block release. The AP has pointed to a precedent: in 2022, Newsom reversed a parole grant for Sirhan Sirhan, the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy.
When Is the Menendez Brothers’ Next Parole Hearing?
The brothers’ next hearings are tentatively set for February 23, 2027, for Lyle and February 24, 2027, for Erik, according to NBC Los Angeles and ABC7. Before the board advanced their dates, the brothers would not have been eligible for another hearing until August 2028.
The first reports in early September 2026 said the hearings would likely fall in March 2027. The AP reported that the board granted the brothers’ petitions for earlier hearings on a Friday, and CDCR disclosed the decision on Monday, September 7, 2026. Later reporting narrowed the tentative dates to late February. All of the dates remain tentative.
How did they get an earlier hearing?
The earlier dates came through Proposition 9, also called Marsy’s Law, a 2008 measure that changed California’s parole rules. It allows a hearing to be moved up if there is “a change in circumstances or new information indicating the person may be suitable for parole,” as NBC Los Angeles explained.
Incarcerated people can petition for an advanced hearing after their first suitability hearing. The board can also advance a hearing through administrative review, which is available one year after a three year denial for people rated low or moderate risk. Both brothers fit that category. CDCR spokesperson Kyle Buis told the AP that the board conducted “standard administrative reviews” but did not give specific reasons.
What the family and prosecutors are saying
The brothers’ extended family, which includes relatives of both victims, has supported their release for years. In a statement to KABC reported by ABC News, the family said the brothers helped establish a hospice program and launched a beautification project in prison.
“We are incredibly proud of the men they have become and deeply grateful to the Parole Board for recognizing their efforts and allowing them to advance their parole hearing.”
The Menendez family, via NBC Los Angeles
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has said it will argue against release, according to ABC7. Hochman’s position has been consistent: in his September 2025 statement, he said his view on the brothers was “not never, but not yet.”
Could the Menendez Brothers Be Released in 2027?
It is possible, but nothing is guaranteed. The February 2027 hearings are the brothers’ best chance at freedom since their 1996 convictions, and the board’s decision to move the dates up is a meaningful signal. California parole attorney Michael Beckman told the AP that, in theory, an advanced hearing could suggest an inmate has a good chance of being granted parole.
Beckman also offered a caution. “The Menendez are a very high-profile case so that tends to make things harder,” he said. A high profile case draws closer scrutiny at every step, from the panel to the governor’s office.
Here is what would have to happen for either brother to walk out:
- A two commissioner panel would need to find him suitable for parole at his February 2027 hearing.
- That decision would go through the review period that follows a grant.
- Newsom would need to let the decision stand rather than reverse it.
The brothers are also evaluated separately. One could be found suitable while the other is not, although both face very similar questions about their prison records.
Our Take: Why This Case Still Pulls People In
The Menendez case keeps resurfacing because it never fit neatly into one story. A jury found that two young men planned and carried out the killings of their parents. At the same time, a growing number of relatives, advocates, and viewers believe the abuse claims deserve more weight than the 1996 trial gave them. Both of those things can be part of the public conversation without either one canceling the other.
What has shifted is the legal question. The parole board is not retrying the murders. Commissioners made that clear in 2025, when they largely dismissed prosecution questions about the crime and said they were not retrying the case. The panel is asking whether each man is a current risk to the public, and the record they will examine in February 2027 is mostly about how the brothers have behaved in prison, especially since their first hearings.
That focus is also why the cellphone violations mattered so much. To a casual viewer, a contraband phone can seem minor next to decades of programs and mentoring. To a parole panel, it was evidence that the brothers were still willing to break rules when it suited them. Whether they can show a clean and consistent record by early 2027 is likely to shape what happens next.
If you follow other long running cases where a sentence, parole bid, or appeal keeps changing the answer, our roundup of infamous killers and where they are now in 2026 tracks several of them. For another case where parole speculation often runs ahead of the court record, see our explainer on where Jodi Arias is now. And for a case in which claims of abuse inside a family shaped public sympathy for the people involved, our update on where Nicholas Godejohn is now covers the Dee Dee Blanchard murder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Menendez brothers still alive?
Yes. Both brothers are alive as of October 2026. September 2026 reporting from NBC Los Angeles listed Lyle as 58 and Erik as 55, and both are scheduled to appear at parole hearings in February 2027.
Are the Menendez brothers out of prison?
No. Erik and Lyle Menendez remain at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego as of October 2026. Neither has been granted parole, and September 2026 reporting from NBC Los Angeles and ABC7 confirmed that both remain in custody.
Do Erik and Lyle Menendez live together in prison?
They are housed at the same prison and have been in the same housing unit since April 2018, when CDCR moved Erik into Lyle’s section at Donovan. That move allowed them to spend time together at meals and during recreation, according to KPBS.
Why did the Menendez brothers kill their parents?
The brothers have said they acted out of fear after years of sexual abuse by their father, which they say their mother allowed. Prosecutors argued the killings were planned for financial gain. The 1996 jury convicted both of first-degree murder, and a judge in 2025 ruled that the newer abuse evidence would not have changed that result.
What did the Menendez brothers get resentenced to?
On May 13, 2025, Judge Michael Jesic reduced their sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life. Because they were under 26 at the time of the killings, the change made them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law.
Could Gavin Newsom free the Menendez brothers?
Newsom has two possible roles. He could act on the brothers’ clemency requests, which were reported as still pending after September 2025, and he can review any parole grant and reverse it. No clemency decision had been reported as of early October 2026.
