Family of Menendez brothers grateful for advance of next parole hearing

The family of Erik and Lyle Menendez expressed gratitude Monday for a decision that tentatively moves up the date of the brothers' second appearance before the California Board of Parole. The next parole hearing for the brothers, who are serving prison sentences for the Aug. 20, 1989 shotgun killings of their parents at the family's Beverly Hills mansion, was tentatively scheduled for March 2027. That's more than a year earlier than expected after both men were denied parole at their first hearing before the parole board last year. Stream Los Angeles News for free, 24/7, wherever you are. WATCH HERE WATCH HERE They brothers, convicted of murder in 1996 after a high-profile trial, had been eligible to apply for a parole suitability hearing in August 2028. The California Board of Parole granted the earlier date due to a provision in Proposition 9, a 2008 law that amended the state Constitution and was meant to provide certain rights to crime victims. Included in the law are two provisions allowing a person's next parole hearing date to be moved up if there is a change in circumstances or new information indicating the person may be suitable for parole. In a statement issued Monday, family members said they were encouraged by the board's decision and highlighted some of the brothers' service during their prison sentences. "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 family said in a Monday statement. Eric and Lyle Menendez will remain behind bars in a San Diego prison as they wait for the next steps. Macy Jenkins reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2025. Erik, 55, and Lyle Menendez, 58, were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the murders. The brothers claim the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father. In May 2025, they were re-sentenced to 50 years to life, automatically making them eligible for parole consideration because they were younger than 26 when the crime occurred. Both are imprisoned at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. At the end of the May 2025 hearing, both brothers were dealt the same fate -- a three-year denial of parole, the the shortest denial length under California law. Under Proposition 9, passed by California voters and known as Marsy's Law, parole denial lengths can be established for 15, 10, 7, 5 or 3 years. Before the law, people serving life terms for murder with the possibility of parole could be denied for one to five years. The law allows for an earlier hearing date "if there is a change in circumstances or new information indicating the person may be suitable for parole." Pursuing an earlier hearing involves a petition process and review. The petition can be filed by the incarcerated person anytime after the first parole suitability hearing. The petition explaining why the hearing date should be moved up is reviewed by a deputy parole commissioner. Marsy's Law also provided the parole board with discretion to advance a person's parole hearing, if circumstances change or new information becomes available. This "administrative review" process focuses on inmates "who have a good possibility of being found suitable for parole." Specifically, anyone who has been denied parole for three years with a low or moderate risk assessment -- both Menendez brothers were assessed as moderate risk -- may be reviewed one year after their hearing. Full Menendez brothers family statement For almost 40 years, Erik and Lyle have worked to take responsibility for their actions, confront and heal from the unimaginable abuse and trauma they endured, grow as individuals, and dedicate themselves to serving others. Through efforts such as helping to establish a hospice program and creating Green Space, they have sought to build an environment that reminds people serving life sentences that their lives still have meaning and that, regardless of their circumstances, they can choose each day to grow, heal, accept accountability, and contribute something of value to the world around them. Erik and Lyle were once sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. We will always be profoundly grateful that they have been resentenced and that our family can now imagine a future in which they are once again part of our everyday lives. Time together is something none of us can take for granted, particularly as the elderly members of our family, including their aunts Joan, Terry, and Marta grow older and face serious health challenges. That makes today's decision especially meaningful and brings us immeasurable joy as we move one step closer to a future with them that once seemed impossible. 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.