Lyle Menendez, who became infamous, along with his brother Erik, for the murders of their parents, made a surprise call from prison to criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos during Sunday session at CrimeCon 2024 Nashville.
“I just decided, even though I’m incarcerated, and there isn’t hope of freedom, I still have a chance to be a productive person,” Menendez told Geragos, who put his phone on speaker for a packed audience, during a special session with NewsNation’s senior correspondent, Laura Ingle.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, on August 20, 1989, Lyle and Eric killed their parents, José and Kitty, in the living room of their Beverly Hills home. The victims were both shot with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun while they watched television.
Neighbors reported hearing loud banging that night at around 10 p.m. At around 11:47 p.m., Lyle called 911 and screamed, “Somebody killed my parents!”
The call become one of the most notorious calls made to 911 in history.
On Sunday, Menendez told Geragos that he recently earned a bachelors degree in sociology behind bars, supervised the prison yard redesign, and talked with actress Rosie O’Donnell about creating a foundation for childhood sexual abuse survivors.
“It’s the first time that a university of California has partnered with corrections to have a very small graduating class. I managed to earn my way into it. So, about 23 incarcerated guys will be graduating on June 20,” he said.
Menendez said he also helped with “grass, and trees, outside classroom areas, and walkways,” at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, adding that it was not intended to “make prison more fun, but to create a sense of community so that prisoners could learn to function.”
During their trial, the brothers claimed they shot their parents in self-defense after enduring years of mental, physical, and sexual abuse. Prosecutors alleged that the brothers wanted to take over their parent’s $14 million estate.
Geragos presented a portion of a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin prior to the murders, which corroborated the sexual abuse claims against his father.
Meanwhile, although the brothers are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, Lyle said he remains grateful for the “enormous number of people around the world and around the country who have written my brother and I.”
“We’re humbled by it. We appreciate it.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: An Oct. 31, 2016 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez. The Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion nearly three decades ago, have been reunited in the Southern California prison San Diego’s R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility. The brothers are serving life sentences for fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP)]
