NEED TO KNOW
Sources close to the Menendez family tell PEOPLE "they’re preparing for neither of them being released" one day after Erik was denied parole
Lyle is facing a California parole board for the first time on Friday, Aug. 22, more than three decades after he and his brother fatally shot their parents in 1989 at their Beverly Hills home
A parole commissioner cited Erik's infractions behind bars as part of his denial
After a California parole board concluded that Erik Menendez will remain behind bars for at least three more years, the Menendez family is fearing another painful setback as Lyle also faces the parole board.
“Now they’re preparing for neither of them being released," sources close to the family tell PEOPLE. “For Erik, they’re disappointed with the outcome, but believe it was a win since he can be up for parole again in three years.”
Erik was denied parole on Thursday, Aug. 21, more than three decades after he and his brother, Lyle, were convicted of murdering their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in 1989 in their Beverly Hills, Calif., home.
His denial was mainly attributed to his infractions behind bars, which Commissioner Robert Barton said included drugs, a cellphone, and a tax fraud scheme, the The New York Times reported.
"Contrary to your supporters’ beliefs, you have not been a model prisoner, and frankly we find that a little disturbing," Barton said, per the outlet.
The sources tell PEOPLE the family believes the decision "stems from [Erik's] new risk assessment connected to the cell phone violation.”
Now, Lyle awaits a decision as he faces the parole board Friday, Aug. 22. A legal expert recently told PEOPLE that he may face a similar outcome, unless "his parole commissioners are different" and if his behavior behind bars is unlike Erik's.
CDCR/MEGA
Lyle Menendez; Erik Menendez"It would be really, a miscarriage of justice if one brother were paroled and the other were not, because they're so similarly situated," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said.
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In May, a judge ruled that Lyle and Erik would be resentenced from life in prison without parole to 50 years to life in prison. The resentencing made the brothers, who were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996, immediately eligible for parole because they were under 26 at the time of the killings. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18.
Lyle and Erik do not dispute that they killed their parents, but have long contended they were sexually abused by their father, which Kitty was allegedly aware of but did nothing to stop. They also claimed Jose had threatened to kill them if they told anyone about the sexual abuse.
After the murders, prosecutors said the two brothers’ motive was greed and cited their lavish spending spree after the slayings.
In a statement shared after Erik's hearing, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman commended the California Board of Parole Hearing's decision, saying in a statement that it "does justice" for the victims.
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