The 1989 shotgun slayings of Jose and Kitty Menendez inside their Beverly Hills mansion didn't just shock the neighbors. It basically redefined how we consume true crime. Decades later, with the massive resurgence of interest thanks to Netflix and a potential move toward resentencing, the same question keeps popping up in group chats and search bars: what age did the Menendez brothers go to jail?
People get the numbers mixed up because there’s a massive gap between when they were arrested and when they were actually sent to state prison for life.
They weren't kids, but they weren't fully grown men either. Lyle was the "older" one, a college student with a hairpiece he was desperately hiding. Erik was the "sensitive" younger brother, a competitive tennis player. When the handcuffs finally clicked shut in 1990, their lives as wealthy socialites ended instantly. They traded Armani suits for orange jumpsuits before they even reached their mid-twenties.
The Arrest: What Age Did the Menendez Brothers Go to Jail Initially?
It wasn't like the movies where the police swarm the house five minutes after the crime. Far from it. The brothers spent months burning through their parents' inheritance on Rolex watches, Porsches, and high-end clothing. This spending spree is exactly what put the bulls-eye on their backs.
Lyle Menendez was arrested first. It happened on March 8, 1990. He was 22 years old.
Erik was actually in Israel for a tennis tournament when the cops picked up his brother. He flew back to Miami and eventually surrendered to authorities at LAX three days later. Erik was only 19 years old.
Think about that for a second. At 19, most of us are worried about midterms or who’s going to the party on Friday night. Erik was facing a double murder charge that carried the death penalty. They were held at the Los Angeles County Jail without bail. This is a crucial distinction: they were "in jail" starting in March 1990, but they wouldn't be "in prison" for a very long time. The legal system moved like molasses.
The Gap Between Jail and Prison
You have to remember that the first trial didn't even start until 1993. That’s three years of sitting in a cell just waiting for a chance to speak. By the time that first trial ended in a hung jury—meaning the jurors couldn't agree on whether it was murder or manslaughter—the brothers had already aged significantly behind bars.
👉 See also: Charlie Charlie Are You Here: Why the Viral Demon Myth Still Creeps Us Out
By the time the second, much more restrictive trial wrapped up in 1996, they were different people.
The jury in the second trial found them guilty of first-degree murder on March 20, 1996. When they were finally sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and moved to the state prison system, the ages looked like this:
- Lyle Menendez was 28 years old.
- Erik Menendez was 25 years old.
They spent their entire early twenties—the years most people use to find themselves, graduate college, or start careers—inside the Los Angeles County Jail system. When people ask what age did the Menendez brothers go to jail, they are often surprised to realize they spent six years in local custody before ever being "sentenced."
Why the Age of the Brothers Matters Today
The reason their ages at the time of the crime (21 and 18) and their ages at the time of arrest are such a big deal right now involves a specific legal concept: youthful offender laws.
In California, there has been a massive shift in how the justice system views the "developing brain." Research shows that the human brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex which handles impulse control and decision-making, isn't fully cooked until age 25.
Back in the 90s, nobody cared.
The prosecution painted them as greedy monsters. They were "men" in the eyes of the law. But today, defense attorneys and even some prosecutors are looking back and saying, "Hey, Erik was barely a legal adult." If the crimes happened today, their age would likely lead to a very different sentencing outcome, or at least a chance at parole after 25 years.
✨ Don't miss: Cast of Troubled Youth Television Show: Where They Are in 2026
Life Behind Bars: The 30-Year Stretch
Since 1996, the brothers have been moved around quite a bit. For a long time, they were actually separated, which many experts believe was a deliberate move by the Department of Corrections to break their bond. Lyle was at Mule Creek State Prison; Erik was at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
It wasn't until 2018 that they were finally reunited.
Imagine not seeing your only sibling for twenty years. When they finally saw each other in the same housing unit at the Donovan facility in San Diego, reports say they burst into tears and hugged immediately.
Today, Lyle is 56 and Erik is 54.
They have spent more than half of their lives incarcerated. In prison, they haven't just been sitting around. Lyle has worked on government committees within the prison to improve inmate conditions. Erik has worked with terminally ill inmates and those with physical disabilities. They've both married while incarcerated, despite the fact that California did not allow conjugal visits for those serving life sentences without parole for a long time.
New Evidence and the Path to Freedom
The reason the question of what age did the Menendez brothers go to jail is trending again isn't just because of a TV show. It's because of a letter.
In 2023, a letter Erik allegedly wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, surfaced. The letter was dated several months before the killings. In it, Erik describes the ongoing sexual abuse he was suffering at the hands of his father. This is vital because it corroborates the defense's original claim—that the brothers didn't kill for money, but out of "imperfect self-defense" because they feared their father was going to kill them to keep the abuse a secret.
🔗 Read more: Cast of Buddy 2024: What Most People Get Wrong
Additionally, Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, came forward recently alleging that he, too, was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez when he was a teenager.
This "new evidence" is the basis for a habeas corpus petition. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón has publicly stated his office is reviewing the case. There is a real possibility that their convictions could be vacated or their sentences reduced to "time served."
What happens if they are released?
If the brothers are released in 2025 or 2026, they will be entering a world that looks nothing like the one they left in 1990. When they went to jail, the internet was a niche tool for academics. Cell phones were the size of bricks. Social media didn't exist.
They went into a cell as young men in their early twenties and would be stepping out as grandfathers-aged citizens.
Actionable Insights for Following the Case
If you are tracking the Menendez case and the potential for their release, keep these points in mind to cut through the sensationalism:
- Focus on the Habeas Petition: The current legal battle isn't a "new trial" yet. It's a request for the court to look at evidence that wasn't available or allowed in 1996.
- Differentiate the Trials: The first trial (1993) allowed testimony about the abuse. The second trial (1996) largely stripped that away. This is why the second verdict was so different.
- Watch the DA's Office: The decision to support a resentencing rests largely with the Los Angeles District Attorney. Public pressure and the "youthful offender" labels are the primary drivers here.
- Understand "Time Served": If the court decides the brothers should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder, the maximum sentence would have been around 11 years per count. Since they have served 34 years, they would be eligible for immediate release.
The Menendez case remains a polarizing Rorschach test for the American public. To some, they are cold-blooded killers who got what they deserved. To others, they are victims of horrific abuse who were failed by a 90s legal system that didn't understand trauma. Regardless of where you stand, the fact remains that the age they went to jail—22 and 19—marked the end of one of the most controversial chapters in California legal history.
The next few months will determine if they get to spend their 60s as free men or if they will die behind the same walls that have held them since their youth.