It might be the Menendez brothers’ final Christmas inside with a resentencing coming up in the New Year.
Known as the ‘trust fund brat brothers’ after murdering their parents before going on a half-a-million-pound shopping spree in 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez were locked up for good in 1996 and told they had no chance of parole. The pair have never denied ending the lives of their dad, José, and mum, Kitty, in their Hollywood mansion, in a crime scene so horrific that the Beverly Hills medical examiner said it was the first he’d ever walked into where he needed an umbrella.
However the siblings have always claimed to have gunned them down in self-defence following years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Tireless appeals over the years have been fruitless for the siblings until recently when bombshell evidence came to light that could be about to change their fate. Last month Lyle and Erik, who have spent 34 years behind bars, appeared in court for the first time in 28 years after prosecutors asserted they should be resentenced, given that they had been “subjected to a tremendous amount of dysfunction in the home, and molestation”.
George Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, recommended that the two men be resentenced – a step that is expected to lead to their release. Though the hearing has been postponed until the end of January, meaning they’ll be spending another Christmas behind bars. So, what does it look like for the pair? The Menendez brothers are housed at the same prison, Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, in San Diego, California. Erik, 53, has been there since 2013 and was joined by Lyle, 56, in 2018.
The facility reportedly has a ‘soft touch’ approach, according to MailOnline, offering yoga, art lessons, guide dog training, and college education programs. The prison is also home to an experimental ‘Echo Yard’ – a unit that operates outside of ‘normal prison rules’, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported six years ago.
It sees sex offenders housed with other inmates, while gangs are banned on the integrated unit. Convicted murderer and rapper Anerae Brown, who entered Echo Yard in 2017, said it was ‘as close as you get to a field trip to Disneyland in here’. Erik and Lyle are said to have been a part of the unit, which allows convicts to earn Rehabilitative Achievement Credits (RAC), since 2018.
By doing courses in a bid to correct their past behaviour, inmates can earn a 10-day reduction in their sentence for every 52 hours of program participation – up to 40 days annually. According to In Touch, who claim to have seen the Christmas Day menu at the facility, inmates at the prison will be served chicken breast, fresh mashed potatoes with a green salad. Side options include sweet corn, cranberry sauce and buttermilk biscuits, while cherry pie is listed for dessert.
TMZ reports that inmates will have the opportunity to receive visitors in a designated area, with Erik most likely seeing his loyal wife Tammi Ruth Saccoman. The couple tied the knot in 1999 in the visiting room of Sacramento’s Folsom Prison, where they had to make do with a Twinkie instead of a tiered wedding cake.
Loyal Tammi has been vocal when it comes to supporting her caged hubby, who she first connected with as a pen pal. The now-couple began writing letters back and forth in 1993, but things started to take a more “serious tone” in 1996 after Tammi learned that her then-husband had been abusing a loved one. In another interview with People, Tammi opened up about how her husband died by suicide just two days after turning himself into the police, leaving her to care for their nine-month-old as a single parent. She said: “I reached out to Erik. He comforted me; our letters started taking on a more serious tone.”
Erik has also previously spoken of the happiness that Tammi has brought to his otherwise constricted life. Speaking with People in 2005, Erik shared: “Tammi’s love was a major step in my choosing life. Having someone who loves you unconditionally, who you can be completely open with, is good for anybody — to know that this person loves me as I am.”
Lyle could also be due a visit from his new alleged fling – 21-year-old British uni student, Milly Bucksey, who he connected with via a Facebook group set up in his name by his wife Rebecca Sneed, 55. Lyle initially chatted with Milly, of Altrincham, Manchester, under an alias but eventually divulged his true identity.
Things now appear to have gotten serious, with University of Manchester student Milly reportedly even flying out to Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, to visit Lyle. An insider told the Daily Mail: “Lyle adores Milly. And she refers to him as her boyfriend even though he’s married.” Shortly after Lyle’s connection to Milly was revealed, his wife Rebecca revealed she and Lyle have been “separated for awhile [sic] now” while vowing that she would “never stop fighting for him”.
Former prison governor in the UK, Vanessa Frake, told the Mirror that there are several elements of Christmas that are incorporated into prison life – and a few absolute no-goes when it comes to the festive season. “Prisoners and staff just wanted to make the best of it and each prison has their way of getting through it,” says Vanessa. “This might be pool competitions or playing cards. Staff do try and make an effort and they should be commended for that.” Church services run just like they do on the outside while staff on the wings usually help prisoners get out of their cells for a bit longer.
Now, 30 years on, it’s hoped a new hearing of the Menendez brothers’ sentencing will finally get to consider the abuse claims. Their lawyers launched a habeas corpus action challenging the legality of their imprisonment. It has the support of more than two dozen Menendez family members who say the two have served enough time. It’s been backed by new evidence unveiled by journalist Robert Rand, who covered the murders at the time. This includes a letter said to be from 17-year-old Erik to his cousin, Andy Cano, 15. Andy died from an accidental overdose in 2003. But in 2018 his mother invited Robert to look through his possessions and see if there was anything to help to the brothers.
The letter he found reads: “I’ve been trying to avoid Dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. I’m afraid. He’s crazy. He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone.” Robert also spoke to Roy Rossello, a member of 80s Latino boyband Menudo, for a 2023 documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. In it Rossello claimed Jose abused him. The habeas corpus petition, including Rosello’s affidavit about alleged abuse, was launched a day after the film aired.
The new details are included in an updated version of Robert’s 2018 book The Menendez Murders. He says: “The boys should have been convicted of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder. They would have still served time but would be out now. But they spoke about abuse at a time when it was taboo. It was before the Catholic Church abuse scandal.”