A shocking revelation has surfaced regarding LYLE Menendez’s romantic involvement with a British university student, potentially impacting the California governor’s impending decision on whether to grant clemency to the infamous Menendez brothers, who have served 35 years in prison.
Governor Gavin Newsom is under pressure to consider releasing Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were found guilty of the brutal murders of their parents in 1989 using a shotgun.
Over time, there has been a growing movement advocating for the brothers’ release from incarceration following their well-known murder trials. During these trials, the Menendez siblings claimed they resorted to killing Kitty and Jose Menendez in self-defense, citing years of relentless mistreatment.
But now the duo faces backlash after last week’s revelation of Lyle’s salacious romance with one of his supporters, 21-year-old Milly Bucksey — despite being married to Rebecca Sneed since 2003.
Sneed attempted to quell the public outcry by sharing on Facebook that Lyle, 56, wasn’t unfaithful because the longtime couple had been separated for months, but it didn’t stop social media users from slamming Lyle as a cheater.
The backlash, along with the fact that Lyle got in trouble at the state prison where he’s housed for having a contraband cell phone to contact Bucksey, could affect Newsom’s decision, according to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani.
Rahmani, a legal expert and president of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun about Newsom’s position of authority in the brothers’ futures and how their reputations could affect his next moves.
“Governor Gavin Newsom may be the ultimate decision-maker here,” Rahmani said.
“He can obviously pardon them or commute their sentence.”
Newsom’s clemency decision is just one possible pathway to freedom for the brothers as incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón called for their resentencing at a hearing last month.
He recommended the convicted killers be sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, which would make them immediately eligible for parole.
“But even if their sentence is reduced to 50 to life, they still have to appear before the parole board, and Governor Newsom can decide whether to grant it or not,” Rahmani explained.
The lawyer went on to say the people’s opinion of Erik and Lyle will weigh in on Newsom’s decision because he’s a public servant.
“Not to say the governor is going to make decisions for purely political reasons, but he is an elected official as is the new district attorney, Nathan Hochman,” Rahmani said.
“And public opinion does matter so certainly [the reported affair] does cut against the argument that [Lyle] is a model inmate.
“I don’t think the cheating scandal is going to be dispositive, but it’s certainly not helpful.”
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s case dates back more than three decades since their parents were found shot to death at their Beverly Hills mansion.
Below is a timeline of the brothers’ case, starting at the gruesome crime scene:
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 surrenders to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
December 1992 – Murder charges against the brothers are officially filed.
July 20, 1993 – The murder trial, highly publicized on Court TV, begins in Los Angeles with Erik and Lyle each having a separate jury.
January 28, 1994 – The first trial ends with two deadlocked juries.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins with one jury.
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 22, 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 – Lyle and Erik’s attorney files a habeas corpus petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez in a Peacock docuseries.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024 – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón says his office is 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.
November 25, 2024 – The Menendez brothers appear in court for a status hearing to learn their resentencing hearing is pushed back from December 11 to allow new DA Nathan Hochman more time to review the case.
January 30-31, 2025 – Erik and Lyle are set to go before a judge in a scheduled hearing.
Rahmani said popularity has affected cases like this before.
“There have been a lot of cases in California where an individual has been granted parole or recommended parole, and there’s been a public outcry and the governor has stepped in and said no,” Rahmani said.
“I’m not saying necessarily that’s what’s going to happen here, but Gavin Newsom has said that he wants to wait until the new district attorney makes a decision on the case.
“So he’s not ready to step in right now and release the brothers. So that just shows that maybe it’s not politically ripe yet for their release.”
POLITICAL CHESSBOARD
Newsom announced last week he’s waiting to make a move until Hochman, the new DA-elect, states his opinion on the case, which sparked Erik’s wife, Tammi Saccoman, to slam the governor for “political maneuvering.”
Hochman, a Republican-turned-Independent, is taking office on December 2, unseating Gascón.
Gascón announced his recommendation to resentence the brothers just weeks before Election Day, saying they’ve served enough time in prison for their crimes.
Dozens of Erik and Lyle’s family members have shown their support for their release, even penning a letter urging prosecutors to free them from prison and holding a press conference demanding the case be reviewed for resentencing last month.
However, Hochman publicly slammed Gascón’s move as a “political ploy.”
NEW EVIDENCE
The new DA said he has a pile of evidence to go through before he decides if he agrees with Gascón’s support of Erik and Lyle’s freedom.
“It’s tough to know what Nathan Hochman is going to do. He’s really played his cards close to the chest,” Rahmani said.
Some of the evidence expected to be reviewed by Hochman was newly submitted by Mark Geragos, the attorney representing the brothers, in a habeas corpus petition in May 2023.
The findings include a bombshell letter written by Erik to his cousin in 1988, months before the murders, describing alleged sexual abuse by his dad.
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.”
More new evidence also emerged when Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, came forward with an account of allegedly being drugged and raped by Jose when he was a teen in the 1980s.
The habeas corpus petition asks the judge to reconsider the brothers’ convictions, stating the two pieces of evidence would have changed the outcome of their murder trials.
Rahmani said the petition is an “uphill battle” as habeas relief is rarely granted.
The resentencing hearing was originally supposed to take place on December 11.
However, Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said at a status hearing on Monday that he needed more time to review the 17 boxes of documents on the case.
To give himself and Hochman more time to review the case, Jesic delayed the resentencing hearing until January 30.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
