Menéndez brothers Erik and Lyle — who were sent to went to separate prisons upon their convictions in 1996 for murdering their parents, José and Mary “Kitty” Menéndez — are celebrating Christmas together for the first time since!
The murderous siblings were reunited in April at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, where they see each other daily and were looking forward to a “special” day, at least by prison standards.
Erik and Lyle gained infamy for the brutal August 1989 shotgun murder of their prosperous Hollywood parents, which they attempted to stage as a mob hit — a ruse cops disproved after several months of investigating.
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Their unsuccessful defense hinged on claims that their parents had subjected them to lives of excruciating sexual and mental abuse, and they were both sent away for life without the possibility of parole.
“It’s definitely going to be a different feeling on Christmas,” Lyle told UK’s Daily Mail, and went on to reveal that he and Erik had been attending services at the prison’s branch of the EastLake Christian Church.
“Christmas,” he said is “generally a difficult time for people in prison, separated from their family and loved ones…. This one, I just couldn’t help but think it’s going to be a little bit less dark.”
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The infamous brothers, who were in the news again in 2017 due to a series of television specials, popped back up in culture again in 2018 when collectors’ recognized the duo in the background of a 1990–91 NBA trading card.
Erik and Lyle appear in background, enjoying front row seats as New York Knicks point guard Mark Jackson passes the ball. Their presence in the image, shot while the newly orphaned boys were living large on their inheritance, led to the card suddenly skyrocketing in value.
“It’s a constant realization that, wow, my brother is here with me and it’s a little different this year,” Lyle told the interviewer. “We’ll see what Christmas is like.”
