Erik Menendez was denied parole on Thursday after appearing before California's Board of Parole Hearings, with a three-year denial that keeps him locked up until at least 2028. His adopted daughter Talia immediately erupted on social media, launching a furious tirade against the parole board and prison system.
"How is my dad a threat to society!!!!!! A 3 year denial???? Hell is about the break loose!!!!!! Wrong move RJ Donovan," she wrote in all caps on Instagram, referring to the San Diego prison where her father is housed. In a flurry of posts, she accused the media of being "money hungry feeding pieces of trash" and alleged her father had been left tied to a hospital bed in agony.
Talia threatened to expose alleged abuses within the correctional system. "Just wait until I expose all the secrets of this messed up prison system!!!!" she warned, claiming prisons profit from keeping inmates incarcerated.
Prison violations cited
Parole Commissioner Robert Barton cited Erik's long record of prison violations as the primary reason for denial, not the original murders. The BBC reports that specific violations included inappropriate behaviour with visitors, smuggling contraband, computer misuse, violent episodes in 1997 and 2011, drug and alcohol use, possession of cellphones, and alleged involvement in a tax fraud scheme with a prison gang in 2013.
"Contrary to your supporters' beliefs, you have not been a model prisoner and frankly we find that a little disturbing," Barton told the 54-year-old during the day-long hearing. Erik's wife Tammi called the ruling a "complete setup" on social media, claiming Barton "had his mind made up to deny Erik from the start."
During the hearing, Erik admitted he made "incredibly callous" choices but insisted he has since developed "a moral guardrail" in prison and earned a degree. "I just want my family to understand that I am so unimaginably sorry for what I have put them through," he said.
Background and family support
Erik and his brother Lyle were 18 and 21 when they killed their parents José and Kitty with shotguns in their Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989. The brothers claimed they acted after years of sexual abuse by their father, but prosecutors argued greed was the motive, pointing to their extravagant spending after the murders.
They were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life without parole. In May 2025, a judge reduced their sentences to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole hearings. The BBC reports that more than a dozen relatives now support the brothers' release, including aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt who has late-stage cancer.
The family is now pinning hopes on Lyle Menendez's parole hearing scheduled for Friday. Talia ended her social media outburst on a defiant note: "Words can't express the devastation I feel but the fight is not over yet. SET THEM FREE!!!!!"
Sources used: "Daily Mail", "BBC", "Independent" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
