Published on: October 24, 2024, 03:14h. 

Last updated on: October 24, 2024, 03:15h.

Erik Menendez has decided to make Las Vegas his new home, according to a report by TMZ.

However, this is contingent upon whether LA County District Attorney George Gascón decides to seek freedom for Erik, 53, and his older brother Lyle. This decision will be announced at a press conference on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Additionally, a judge needs to agree to downgrade their 1990 murder convictions to voluntary manslaughter.

Under California law, the maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter is 11 years, whereas the brothers have already served close to 35 years.

Las Vegas is where Erik’s wife, Tammi, resides. They got married in 1999 after corresponding by mail for six years, even though she was still married to another individual at the time.

Lyle, 56, was previously married to Anna Eriksson in 1996, but they divorced five years later. In 2003, he married his current wife, Rebecca Sneed. It is uncertain where Lyle intends to live next, as reported by TMZ, suggesting he may not have made that decision yet.

The 1990 Murder Case

There is no dispute that Erik and Lyle Menendez confessed to shooting their parents, José and Kitty, to death on Aug. 20, 1989, in their Beverly Hills home. Erik was 18 at the time, while Lyle was 21.

Although their actions were deemed murder in 1990, the situation has become more ambiguous in 2024.

Both brothers revealed that they were sexually abused by their father, a claim supported by various witnesses. In 1990, their only legal path to freedom was proving self-defense, which they were unable to do in two trials. However, changes in societal perspectives on sexual abuse now indicate that it should have been taken into account as a mitigating factor during their sentencing.

The case has gained renewed attention due to the recent Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story,” and protests on TikTok. The younger generation, known as Gen Z, generally believes that justice was not served adequately in this case.

In 1990, the brothers were arrested for two counts of first-degree murder and were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1996. They are currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

Although California prisons permit conjugal visits, prisoners serving life sentences without the chance of parole are excluded. Despite changes in the law in 2016, neither Erik nor Lyle can receive visits from family members due to the violent nature of their offense against family members.