EXCLUSIVE: The Key That May Unlock Menendez Brothers As They Keep Waging War To Be Set Free
Key evidence may finally see the Menendez brothers freed.
June 2 2025, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Convicted killers Lyle and Erik Menendez have been resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, making them eligible for parole – and potential freedom – after serving more than three decades for the notorious 1989 shotgun murder of their parents inside their lavish Beverly Hills home.
"I'm not suggesting they should be released," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said of their parole bid, RadarOnline.com can reveal. "That's not for me to decide."
The brothers have become pop culture figures as the subject of books and movies and have had a recent groundswell of support from celebrities – including Rosie O’Donnell and Kim Kardashian – calling for their release.
They were also the subject of a recent documentary detailing how they were brutally raped by their father, Jose.
Freedom Fight
Kim Kardashian and Rosie O'Donnell are among the stars backing Erik and Lyle Menendez, center.
During their 1994 trial, Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, testified they were systematically sexually assaulted as teens by their record executive father – and in a petition filed last year – their attorney Cliff Gardner said he has irrefutable proof to support that claim.
"Erik and Lyle honestly believed they had to take action to save their lives," the attorney insisted. "That means they are culpable for manslaughter – not murder. And if that's the case, they should be released based on the time they’ve already served."
While relatives and an ex-inmate testified about the brothers' reform and good deeds behind bars, Deputy DA Habib Balian called their sexual abuse and self-defense claim "absurd."
An attorney claims the Menendez brothers acted in desperation after years of abuse.
The bombshell ruling comes just days after singer Roy Rosselló, 55, a former member of the popular Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, hit former manager Edgardo Díaz Meléndez with a sexual abuse lawsuit claiming he allowed him to be repeatedly raped by the brothers' allegedly predator dad.
"While negotiating the deal, Díaz brought Rosselló to Jose Menendez’s home in New Jersey," states the lawsuit filed in New York federal court.
"While in the home, Rosselló was brought upstairs and raped by Jose Menendez. Later, after the RCA-sponsored performance at Radio City Music Hall... Jose Menendez drugged and violently raped Rosselló in a New York City hotel room."
New rape allegations from Roy Rosselló against Jose Menendez are intensifying the spotlight on the brothers' case.
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The lawsuit alleges Jose was so "infatuated" with the boys, he traveled with the band and "violently raped" Rosselló during a tour of Brazil while "Díaz watched the rape occur," the lawsuit claims.
Díaz has consistently denied all abuse allegations despite being accused by other members of the group.
A parole hearing determining whether the infamous Menendez brothers will go free is scheduled for June 13.
