Men's Dept.
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Lyle Menendez Reveals New Details About the Night He Killed His Parents and Married Life in Prison
After decades of silence, the Menendez Brothers are back in the spotlight.
By Kate Storey
Following the media circus surrounding the Menendez brothers' murder trials (the first in 1993-1994 and the second, following a deadlocked jury, in 1995-1996), Erik and Lyle have remained silent. They were 18 and 21 years old when they shot their parents, Jose, a media executive, and Kitty, a socialite, in their Beverley Hills home in 1989. The case drew national attention as it aired on CourtTV, with details about their brothers' lavish spending—the prosecutor claimed they spent $1 million of their parents' money in the months after the crime. They were convicted in 1996 thanks in no small part to taped confessions that Eric had made to his psychologist.
Today, the brothers are serving their life sentences in separate prisons. In an epsiode of HLN series, "How It Really Happened with Hill Harper," which will air January 27, Lyle is speaking out, revealing new details about the night of the murders. Though the prosecution argued that the brothers killed their parents to get a hefty inheritance, Lyle maintains that he and Erik were abused by their father.
"He was a very successful media executive—there was no way he was going to go through a child molestation trial," Lyle says in a clip from the episode. He goes on to describe the night of the murder, saying, "We fired the instant we entered the room. Once you're in the place, you end up using every shell and firing way more than you need to. I think I would have kept firing until I didn't have anything left to fire."
Lyle Menendez speaks out behind bars about the night his parents were murdered. MORE: Watch Jan. 27, 9PM on @HLNTV https://t.co/rXKO5IfZzV
— Crime & Justice (@CrimeJusticeHLN) January 5, 2017
Lyle also talked to ABC for a separate special,"Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers," airing January 5. He told that network that his bond with his brother is still "really strong," though they haven't seen each other in years. And he described his happy marriage to Rebecca Sneed, whom he wed in 2003 after divorcing former model Anna Erickson in 1996. Erik married Tammi Menendez, a pen pal he corresponded with for years, in 1999.
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Kate Storey Esquire Writer-at-Large Kate Storey is a Writer-at-Large for Esquire covering culture, politics, and style.
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