Erik Menendez has been diagnosed with a “serious medical condition,” his attorney said Tuesday.
Erik, 54, and his brother Lyle, 57, are currently in prison for the 1989 shotgun murder of their parents, Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez and Jose Menendez after being sentenced to life in prison without parole. The brothers are currently awaiting an August parole board hearing to determine if they will be released from prison after being resentenced in May.
The specifics of Erik’s condition have not been disclosed, though TMZ later reported he is suffering from kidney stones. His attorney, Mark Geragos, called for Erik’s immediate release from prison due to his illness.
“Erik is having a serious medical condition right now,” Geragos told TMZ.
“I just think he should be parole furloughed, I think is the proper term, and he could be medically furloughed in advance of the hearing so that he can work with the parole attorney and get up to speed and be ready and do it and give it his best shot. I think that it’s the only fair and equitable thing to do,” he said.
Geragos did confirm that Erik has been receiving treatment at the the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.
The Independent has reached out to Geragos for more information.
Erik and Lyle are currently one month away from their hearing scheduled for August 21 and 22, where, after 35 years in prison, a California parole board will decide if the two brothers are fit to be released.
In May 2025, the two had their prison sentences reduced from life without parole to 50 years to life, which will make them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings.
Both brothers gave statements to the court prior to the ruling. “I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification,” Lyle said. “The impact of my violent actions on my family … is unfathomable.”
He added: “I committed an atrocious act against two people who had the right to live, my mom and dad,” he said. “Today, 35 years later, I am deeply ashamed of who I was.”
He told the court that if released, he plans to work with the incarcerated community.
Erik said he took “full responsibility” for the killings and expressed his “profound sorrow” at his actions.
“I fired all five rounds at my parents and went back to reload,” he said. “I lied to police. I lied to my family. I’m truly sorry.”
Defense attorneys argued during the 1996 trial that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, but prosecutors argued that they killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
The case has captured the public’s attention for decades — and the Netflix drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and recent documentary The Menendez Brothers recently brought new attention to the case.
Last year, former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón opened the door to possible freedom for the brothers by asking a judge to reduce their sentences. But the newly elected district attorney, Nathan Hochman, had opposed the brothers’ resentencing, saying he did not believe they had taken responsibility for the murders.
