The Menendez Brothers: Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now: The Menéndez Brothers

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at what happened to the Menéndez after their famous trial and where they are today.

What some call the trial of the century began in 1993, when brothers Lyle and Erik Menéndez were charged with the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise. The question wasn’t whether they killed them. That was a known fact and was widely accepted. The question was whether the killings were justified, and what punishment - if any - the brothers would receive. The defense argued that Lyle and Erik killed their parents owing to a lifetime of abuse at the hands of their father. As for Mary Louise, it’s claimed that she was mentally unstable and often encouraged, or at least enabled, José to abuse their children. The prosecution argued that they had financial motives, which was seemingly supported by the large amounts of money that the brothers splashed after the killings. The first trial ended in a deadlocked jury, and the controversial second trial was performed with a few new caveats - the jury could no longer vote on charges of manslaughter, and the brothers’ sexual abuse defense was greatly diminished. The second jury found them guilty of first-degree murder, and they were both sentenced to life in prison.

That’s the story that most people know and remember. But of course, that occurred all the way back in the early ‘90s. So what has happened to the Menéndez brothers, and those involved closely with the trial, since then?

The brothers were separated immediately following the convictions, with Erik spending time in Folsom and Pleasant Valley State, while Lyle was sent to Mule Creek. In 1996, the same year that both were found guilty of murder, Lyle married a woman named Anna Eriksson. Just three years later, Erik also married. His wife was Tammi Saccoman, and the two were officially wed inside the waiting room of Folsom State Prison, with a Twinkie serving as their cake. Erik and Tammi remain married to this day. Lyle divorced Eriksson in 2001 and met a woman named Rebecca Sneed, whom he would marry in 2003. They too are still together.

Just one year after their imprisonment in 1996, defense attorney Leslie Abramson published a book titled “The Defense Is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law,” and she was later hired by Phil Spector to defend him in his famous murder trial. However, she parted ways with Spector before he was found guilty of killing Lana Clarkson. As of October 2024, she is 81 years old and retired.

Of course, a lengthy appeals process followed the brothers’ convictions. 1998 was a big year for the process, as the California Court of Appeal upheld their convictions and the Supreme Court of California declined to hear the case. A number of habeas corpus petitions followed, stretching a number of years between 1999 to 2005. However, every single petition was denied, effectively bringing an end to their legal battle.

That might have been all we heard of the Menéndez brothers, but 2005 was also a big year in their personal lives. That’s when Erik’s wife, Tammi Saccoman, published the book “They Said We’d Never Make It – My Life with Erik Menéndez,” which detailed her controversial and often difficult relationship with the imprisoned man. This included driving herself and their daughter 150 miles every weekend to visit Erik in prison, not to mention the fierce contention that she faced from other family members for marrying a convicted murderer.

Things remained quiet in the Menéndez story until 2009, which is when Dominick Dunne passed away at the age of 83. A famous crime writer, Dunne was paramount in bringing the Menéndez story to the masses, extensively covering their famous trial and penning an account titled “Nightmare on Elm Drive,” which was published in the October 1990 issue of Vanity Fair. He passed away on August 26, 2009 after a brief fight with bladder cancer.

And that was about it for a number of years. It wasn’t until 2018 that the brothers found themselves in the news again, this time for a long-awaited family reunion. It was then that the Menéndez brothers were reunited for the first time in over 20 years, having both been transferred to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility outside of San Diego. It was a deeply emotional moment for the brothers, as they both cried while they embraced.

Three years later, Les Zoeller, the prime detective in the Menéndez case, passed away. The retired police officer suffered a major stroke on July 9 and remained in a coma for just under a month, but he never regained consciousness and tragically died on August 4, 2021. He was 69 years old.

The Menéndez brothers remain in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility to this day, being housed in a unit meant for rehabilitation and education. A major break in the story occurred in April of 2023, when a Puerto Rican pop singer named Roy Rosselló confessed on “Today” that he was sexually assaulted by the family patriarch, José Menéndez. The incident allegedly occurred back in the mid 1980s, when Rosselló was visiting the Menéndez family in New Jersey. This seemingly gives huge credence to the brothers’ claims, not to mention a serious boost to their legal defense. In May of 2023, their attorneys filed new court documents to have the convictions overturned. They point to two key pieces of evidence - the new allegations made by Rosselló, and a letter that was discovered by the brothers’ aunt, Marta Cano, back in 2018. It was written by Erik to his cousin and Cano’s son, Andy. In it, he details the horrific abuse he had been receiving at the hands of his father, writing damning things like, “its worse for me now,” “Every night I stay up thinking he might come in,” and “I don’t know I’ll make it through this.” According to the attorneys, this letter was written before the murders took place and conclusively disproves the prosecution’s claim that José was not violent or abusive. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirms that the case is “under review.”

It’s hard to say just how effective the new pieces of evidence may be. But if they are effective, and if the District Attorney’s office is convinced by what they see, it’s more than possible that the convictions will be overturned and the brothers set free.

It was the trial of the century back in the 1990s, and the Menéndez case has remained in the public spotlight ever since. Many people involved with the story have since passed away, and many more have faded from the public’s view. But not the brothers themselves. With new shows and documentaries, not to mention some tantalizing fresh pieces of evidence, it’s clear that interest in the story remains deeply rooted in the American consciousness. We can only wait and see how it will play out.