The brothers were convicted of the 1989 murders of their parents in their home in Beverly Hills. (Beverly Press/Park Labrea News file photo)

Erik and Lyle Menendez could return before the California Board of Parole Hearings in March 2027, approximately 17 months earlier than previously expected, after the board granted requests to advance their next parole hearings.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation allows incarcerated people who are denied parole to seek an earlier hearing if circumstances change or new information indicates they may be suitable for release. The department has not disclosed what specifically prompted the board to advance the Menendez brothers’ hearings.

The brothers were denied parole in separate hearings in August 2025 after commissioners determined they were not suitable for release. They were initially eligible to appear before the board again in August 2028, although they could receive earlier hearings based on their behavior in prison, the commission determined at the time.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 for the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, which took place in their family’s Beverly Hills home in 1989.

In May 2025, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, opening the door for their first parole hearings that August.

During those hearings, commissioners raised concerns about the brothers’ behavior in prison. The board found that Erik was not rehabilitated in part because he possessed a cellphone, associated with a prison gang and was involved in a tax fraud scheme.

Parole Commissioner Julie Garland said that while Lyle outwardly displayed signs of rehabilitation, he still showed “antisocial personality traits like deception, minimization and rule breaking that lie beneath the positive surface.” Lyle had also possessed an illegal cellphone in prison.

The Menendez family, which has advocated for the brothers’ release, welcomed the decision to advance the hearings.

“For almost 40 years, Erik and Lyle have worked to take responsibility for their actions, confront and heal from the unimaginable abuse and trauma they endured, grow as individuals and dedicate themselves to serving others,” the family said in a statement.

The family cited the brothers’ work helping establish a hospice program and creating Green Space, a prison beautification initiative, as examples of their rehabilitation.

“We are incredibly proud of the men they have become and deeply grateful to the Parole Board for recognizing their efforts and allowing them to advance their parole hearing,” the family said.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s Office, which has opposed the brothers’ release, said its position remains unchanged.

“Our position remains the same whether it’s 2027, 2028 or any year after,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “If the Menendez brothers stop committing violations of the prison’s rules and fully accept responsibility for, and own up to, all the lies they’ve told for over 30 years, including their biggest lie, the self-defense defense, then they may be amenable to being released on parole.”

The brothers have maintained that they killed their parents after years of sexual and physical abuse by their father. Prosecutors have argued that the brothers killed their parents for financial gain.

The March 2027 hearings remain tentative.