Erik Menendez has been diagnosed with a “serious medical condition,” his attorney said Tuesday, weeks before the convicted killer is set to appear at a parole hearing with his brother over the murder of their parents more than three decades ago.
A spokesperson for attorney Mark Geragos did not provide details of the condition, and Menendez’s family declined to comment.
Menendez, who is incarcerated at a San Diego prison, was taken to an outside medical facility on July 18, where he remains in fair condition, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
The development was first reported by TMZ.
Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, were resentenced in May to 50 years to life in prison for the shotgun killings of Kitty and José Menendez on Aug. 20, 1989, after a Los Angeles judge found that they did not pose an “unreasonable risk” if released.
The siblings had been serving prison terms of life without the possibility of parole, but the judge’s ruling made them eligible for parole immediately.
Their parole suitability hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20 and 21.
During the May 13 resentencing hearing, Erik described his crimes as “cruel and vicious” and said he was “directly responsible for it all.”
The brothers, who were tried twice in the 1990s, have claimed the murders were done in self-defense after Lyle said that he confronted their father about his alleged abuse of Erik.
Prosecutors attributed the motive to financial gain and described the killings as cold-blooded.
The first trial ended without a unanimous verdict. On March 20, 1996, after a second trial, the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder.
The push for their release — which included support from their family and some high-profile figures — came after the case was examined in recent years in a Peacock documentary and Netflix series. (Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)
Supporters cited the abuse that the brothers said they suffered at the hands of their father and their rehabilitation efforts while incarcerated, which former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón described as “exceptional.”
Gascon’s successor, Nathan Hochman, opposed their resentencing and unsuccessfully sought to keep them incarcerated. He said they failed to come “clean” about a series of unacknowledged lies that he said they told about the murders.
