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Lyle Menendez denied parole decades after parents' murder in US

Lyle Menendez was denied parole a day after the same decision was rendered against his brother, Erik [file image]
Lyle Menendez was denied parole a day after the same decision was rendered against his brother, Erik [file image]

A US judicial commission has denied parole to Lyle Menendez, a day after his brother Erik was also ordered to stay in prison for the murder of their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion more than three decades ago.

A California panel ordered the 57-year-old to remain behind bars along with his younger sibling, defying a campaign for their freedom waged by family, friends and celebrities including Kim Kardashian.

"Joseph (Lyle) Menendez was denied parole for three years at his initial suitability hearing," read a brief statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

The outcome of Lyle Menendez's hearing is the latest blow to a movement that has swelled in recent years, amplified by Netflix's dramatic series 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story'.

Erik Menendez pictured on the left and his brother Lyle in a 1992 photograph
Lyle Menendez (right) and his brother Erik during a pre-trial hearing in December 1992

The show and myriad documentaries have fixated on the details of the 1989 shotgun murders, and the televised jury trial that captivated audiences with accounts of their upbringings and lifestyles.

Yesterday's hearing came just over 36 years after the deaths of parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, in what prosecutors said was a cynical attempt by their sons to obtain a large family fortune.

An 11-hour hearing

The brothers initially blamed the deaths on a mafia hit, but changed their story several times in the ensuing months.

Erik, then 18, confessed to the murders in a session with his therapist.

The pair ultimately claimed they had acted in self-defence after years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

Los Angeles, CA - November 25:Joan VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, arrives to the Van Nuys Courthouse for Erik and Lyle Menendez hearing on Monday, November 25, 2024. The Menendez brothers were seeking to have their 1989 convictions reexamined in the shotgun murders of their parents in their
Joan Van der Molen, sister of Kitty Menendez, arrives to the Van Nuys Courthouse for Erik and Lyle Menendez's hearing in November 2024

During their decades in prison, changing social mores and greater awareness of sexual abuse helped elevate the men to something approaching cultural icons.

The hearing, which was closed to the public, lasted 11 hours. It was held separately to Thursday's hearing for his brother Erik, 54.

Both brothers appeared by video link from the San Diego prison where they are being held.

The panel members, whose identities were not released by CDCR, quizzed them on their behaviour and attitude towards the murders.

The parole hearings became possible when a judge earlier this year resentenced the men, reducing their original full-life punishment to one of 50 years with the possibility of release.

Accreditation: AFP