LYLE Menendez has been behind bars for almost 30 years after he and his brother were convicted of murdering their parents – but that hasn’t stopped him from finding love.
The older Menendez brother has been married twice and is now reportedly in a relationship with a British student.
HandoutLyle Menendez and his wife, Rebecca Sneed[/caption]
AP:Associated PressLyle’s first wife Anna Eriksson[/caption]
His second wife, Rebecca Sneed, who knew Lyle for 10 years before they tied the knot in 2003, has spoken out amid rumors of infidelity.
But, Lyle’s first marriage was with former salon receptionist Anna Eriksson.
The brothers’ first trial ended in a mistrial, and Eriksson told People in 1996 that she had sent Lyle a note urging him to hang tough.
She reached out to Lyle after she watched coverage of his first trial on TV.
At the time, she lived in Colorado before moving to Los Angeles.
Lyle and Eriksson’s first face-to-face meeting was at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles before he started calling her regularly.
“He was always concerned about me, asking about my life,” Eriksson recalled.
Lyle and Eriksson married over the phone on July 2, 1996 – the day he and his brother were sentenced over the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Jose and Kitty were found with gunshot wounds in their Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989. Lyle and Erik were 21 and 18 at the time of their parents’ deaths.
Erik was Lyle’s best man while the brother’s defense lawyer Leslie Abramson put the ring on Eriksson’s finger, according to The New York Times.
Author Robert Rand wrote in his book The Menendez Murders that Eriksson called Lyle a guardian angel.
However, California officials didn’t recognize the marriage as legal.
Lyle and Eriksson divorced in 2001 as their marriage came to a close.
But, during that time, Lyle had been getting to know journalist Rebecca Sneed.
Sneed was known to visit Lyle in prison, and the pair exchanged letters.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez have been serving a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole since July 1996.
The brothers were convicted of shooting their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home in August 1989.
Timeline:
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested outside his parents’ Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself in to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
July 20, 1993 – The highly publicized trial of Lyle and Erik begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins.
March 20, 1996 – The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 – Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 – Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik – the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 – The attorney representing Lyle and Erik files a habeas petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024: Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said his office was reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik’s convictions.
October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
October 16, 2024 – Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.
October 24, 2024 – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.
December 11, 2024 – The Menendez brothers are set to go before a judge in a scheduled hearing.
Sneed, then 33, married Lyle, 35, in November 2003 in a ceremony at the Mule Creek State Prison near Sacramento, California.
They had known each other for around 10 years before their nuptials were held.
She visited Lyle in prison, and the pair wrote letters to each other.
Their wedding ceremony was held in front of around a dozen friends and family in a high-security visiting area.
But as Lyle was serving a life sentence, prison laws banned conjugal visits, meaning the couple couldn’t spend lengthy periods of time together.
A ‘STEADY’ MARRIAGE
In 2017, Lyle opened up on the state of their marriage in an interview with People magazine.
He explained that the pair tried to talk on the phone every day and described his marriage as “steady.”
“It’s a counter to the unpredictable, very stressful environment here,” he admitted.
Lyle admitted Sneed has had to put up with a lot, but hailed her courage.
“It would be easier to leave, but I’m profoundly grateful that she doesn’t,” he said.
Rebecca Sneed statement
LYLE Menendez’s wife Rebecca Sneed has blasted claims that he cheated on her after his romance with a British student was exposed. She wrote:
“Guys! This is NOT a cheating scandal.
“Lyle and I have been separated for a while now but remain best friends and family.
“I continue to run his Facebook pages, with input from him, and I am forever committed to the enduring fight for Lyle and Erik’s freedom, as has been so evident over the years.
Please keep this page as the abuse survivor support page Lyle wants it to be.
“I’ll continue to update you all on the progress of the case because I believe we all have the common goal of seeing the guys walk free!
“I will never stop fighting for them. Please continue to join us in this fight!
Source: Facebook
Sneed has stood by her husband for decades in his legal fights.
In October, George Gascón, the Los Angeles District Attorney at the time, confirmed his office was reviewing pieces of evidence – 35 years after they were sentenced.
His team was probing allegations that the brothers had been sexually abused, including a letter Erik penned to his cousin.
Throughout the trials, Erik and Lyle referred to the alleged abuse they faced.
Gascón, who was ousted from his role in November, believed resentencing was the most appropriate option.
He said he believed the brothers had paid their debts to society.
Erik Menendez’s letter to his cousin
A hand written letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin about his dad’s alleged abuse has sparked a review of the case that could set him and his brother free from jail.
Erik’s letter was written in December 1988, eight months before the double murders in August 1989.
The letter reads in full:
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it. He so overweight that I can’t stand to see him.
“I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.
“I need to put it out of my mind. I know what you said before but I’m afraid. You just don’t know dad like I do. He’s crazy!
“He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle.
“Am I a serious whimpus? I don’t know I’ll make it through this. I can handle it, Andy. I need to stop thinking about it.”
But, it has since emerged that Lyle has been in a relationship with Milly Bucksey since the start of the year.
She is a student at the University of Manchester.
Lyle has reportedly been communicating with her on the phone.
Cops seized the first phone, which was recorded in Gascón’s resentencing memo, but he has been using a second device.
Bucksey has traveled from Manchester, England, to see Lyle behind bars, according to Daily Mail reports.
She apparently describes Lyle as her boyfriend.
Sneed has commented on the reports on a Facebook page in Lyle’s name.
“Guys! This is NOT a cheating scandal,” a statement said.
“Lyle and I have been separated for a while now but remain best friends and family.
“I continue to run his Facebook pages, with input from him, and I am forever committed to the enduring fight for Lyle and Erik’s freedom, as has been so evident over the years.”
Sneed vowed to continue fighting for the brothers.
Meanwhile, Talia Menendez, the daughter of Erik’s wife, Tammi, posted a cryptic message on her social media.
“The decisions of one brother shouldn’t overshadow the truth about the other,” she said.
“I’d appreciate it if people would consider my dad for who he is, and not based on the actions of someone else.”
HandoutLyle (left) and Erik (right) with their parents Jose and Kitty[/caption]
The Mega AgencyLyle Menendez grinning in his mugshot[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
