NASHVILLE — A California man who conspired with his brother to brutally murder his parents in their Los Angeles mansion in 1989 made a rare public appearance Sunday calling into a true crime conference from prison, revealing he still wants freedom despite serving a life sentence.
Joseph Menendez, whose middle name is Lyle, and his brother Eric broke into their parents’ Beverly Hills home in 1989 with shotguns.
They took their anger out on their parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez.
They fired so many shells that one of them had to retrieve more shells from the car and go back to fatally wound the mother.
The brothers claimed they feared their father would kill them after they warned them they would expose his sexual and physical abuse.
The two were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole, but are now seeking to have their sentences reduced under a new California law.
In an interview with attorney Mark Geragos at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Menendez’s older brother said he is studying for a master’s degree and working toward reintegrating into society.
Menendez, who has previously shared some of his hopes for life after prison, said more than 20 family members have signed a letter asking the judge to resentence him.
“Well, I’ve been in conversations with correctional officials who are responsible for making sure ex-inmates can return to prison and do good work, and I think they definitely want and would like me to continue to work on this idea of transforming prison grounds to create communities that create living conditions and better neighbors,” he told News Nation’s Laura Ingle on speakerphone in a collect call during a panel discussion at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville.
An automated voice then sounded, warning me that the call was being recorded.
“So I would love to do that, and I probably will. Because I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I’ve been talking to Rosie O’Donnell about us going out and speaking out in forums for those groups and starting a foundation to help in that area,” Menendez added. “That’s an area I spend a lot of time on.”
He said he is now working to form a therapy group with other inmates at the prison.
“You know, a lot of inmates have had difficult childhoods and come from difficult circumstances, so I’ve formed a group where they can feel more confident talking about that,” he said. “So I’ll probably continue with those two things, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Menendez also said he plans to earn a master’s degree in urban planning and hopes to use any commutation of his sentence to reintegrate into society.
Finally, he expressed his gratitude to those who sent letters of support to him and his brother during his 30 years incarcerated.
“I would like to thank so many people around the world and across the country who have helped my family by writing to me and my brother and taking to Facebook where victims can express themselves. I want to thank them for their support and their belief that we should be given another chance.”
The brothers’ lawyers argue that they should have been convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, which would likely have meant they would have been released from prison already.
The brothers are not the only ones to accuse their father of abuse.
Roy Rocero, a former member of the boy band Menudo, alleged last year that he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez, an executive at RCA Records, in the early 1980s.
