Why was Lyle Menendez denied bail hours after brother Erik? California parole board reveals reason

Lyle Menendez, the elder of the infamous brothers who were imprisoned for killing their parents in 1989 in Los Angeles, has been refused parole. Erik Menendez (L) on August 21, 2025 and Lyle Menendez (R) on August 22, 2025 appeared before the parole board via teleconference at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California. (AFP) In 1996, the 57- and 54-year-old brothers were found guilty of killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills residence and were given life terms without the possibility of release. Netflix’s publication of a documentary and miniseries last year brought the case back into the public eye. Lyle was filing his first request for release after a judge’s decision to shorten Lyle’s and his brother’s sentences, making them entitled to parole. This comes one day after a group of California commissioners rejected parole to his brother Erik Menendez. A panel of two commissioners reached the same decision on Friday, recommending that Lyle be held for three years before he can reapply for parole. The brothers were originally given a life sentence without the possibility of parole, but in May, after Netflix publicized their tale in its Monsters anthology, the penalty was modified to 50 years to life in prison. There had been growing support for the brothers’ release after the resentencing hearing in May, but the latest parole hearings have shattered this momentum. Also Read: What did John Bolton do? Here’s why FBI raided him and all about his anti-Trump book ‘The Room Where It Happened’ Why was Lyle Menendez denied bail?Julie Garland, the commissioner of the California Board of Parole Hearings, has now disclosed that Lyle’s repeated violations of the law and “anti-social personality traits” were the reasons for his denial of parole. “The panel has found today that there are still signs that Lyle poses a risk to the public,” Commissioner Garland stated in a statement. “We discover that your regret is sincere. It appears that you have been a model prisoner in many respects. In many respects, you are an example of an inmate who has shown the capacity for transformation,” she added. Garland told Lyle that this wasn’t “the end” of his dreams for freedom, stressing that “It’s a way for you to spend some time to demonstrate, to practice what you preach about who you are, who you want to be.” Speaking at the hearing, Lyle acknowledged that August 20th was “a crushing day for so many in my family” as it was the death anniversary of his parents, LADbible reported.