After watching all 9 episodes of Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, viewers are all now asking the same questions about the future of the Menendez brothers. And now, thanks to Erik Menendez’s daughter, some of those questions have been answered.
The end of the Netflix series sees Lyle and Erik shipped off to separate prisons after their retrial and sentencing. A final note across the screen tells viewers that they were sentenced to life in prison without parole, but doesn’t disclose anything further than that.
It doesn’t tell viewers about their lives in jail, their marriages or how their family and legal team are still fighting to appeal their sentences.
Erik’s daughter Talia (who is the daughter of Erik’s wife Tammi from a previous marriage) has now shared an update revealing that a decision on their latest “appeal for freedom” will be revealed within 60 days.
Will Lyle and Erik Menendez ever get out of prison?
Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story doesn’t reveal where the brothers are now. Picture: Netflix
What was Lyle and Erik Menendez’s original prison sentence?
As explained in the Netflix series, Lyle and Erik were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of first-degree murder. They’ve both currently spent 34 years in prison.
Due to their “life without parole” sentencing, the brothers are currently set to stay in prison until they die.
Over the years, the brothers have appealed their sentences a handful of times but none have been successful.
However, in the midst of all the renewed interest in their case thanks to the Netflix series (despite its inaccuracies per the Menendez family statements), their latest appeal – which includes new evidence – is about to be decided and it seeks to change their sentence.
The new hearing, which is now set for November 29th 2024, could lead to a retrial or resentencing for the brothers.
Erik Menendez’s daughter Talia has now shared an update regarding the future of her “Earth Dad” and uncle.
Erik Menendez’s daughter explains decision on their latest “appeal for freedom”. Picture: @seterikmemendezfree via Instagram
Are the Menendez brothers getting released?
“Within 60 days we will hear back from the LA County District Attorney office regarding their decision for Erik’s and Lyle’s appeal for freedom filed in May last year,” Talia wrote on Instagram where she advocates for Erik and Lyle’s freedom under the handle @seterikmenendezfree.
“As everyone knows, there was new evidence proving the abuse endured after decades of not being believed and that evidence had been excluded from the retrial.”
She continued: “I’m praying the DA / judge has compassion not only for what my dad and uncle endured but also the fact that all of us family wants them home. Almost 35 years is enough time locked away. They have spent more time incarcerated than alive in the real world. Let that sink in. Set them free!”
The new evidence mentioned by Talia includes a letter written by Erik to his cousin eight months before the murders took place. In the letter, Erik described the abuse he endured from his father.
“Nobody had looked at [the cousin’s personal] effects until 2015, and that’s when it was found, 10 years after our last appeal,” Erik and Lyle’s post-conviction attorney Mark Geragos said in a statement to PEOPLE in September 2024.
Geragos says the Menendez brothers are “cautiously optimistic” about the appeal decision. But according to Los Angeles defense attorney Dmitry Gorin, the chances that they are released from prison are ‘slim’. (Per PEOPLE)
While Ryan Murphy’s series did not continue their story beyond their sentencing, the Menendez brothers will now be able to speak for themselves in a new Netflix docuseries set to be released on October 7th.
The Menendez Brothers will see Lyle and Erik, speaking from jail, revisit the trial and tell their story in their own words.
