Rosie O'Donnell known as for Lyle and Erik Menendez to be free of jail following their newest parole denial.
The previous View cohost shared a message in help of the convicted murderers by way of Instagram on Saturday, August 23, after the Menendez brothers misplaced a bid to be paroled for the 1989 killings of their mother and father José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.
“Free the Menendez brothers,” O'Donnell, 63, wrote.
Erik and Lyle had been each denied parole in separate hearings final week. Whereas they had been convicted on two counts of first-degree homicide in 1996, they've at all times maintained that they acted in self-defense due to bodily, emotional and sexual abuse from their mother and father.
O'Donnell bonded with Lyle after he wrote her a letter of thanks within the Nineteen Nineties for defending the siblings throughout an look on Larry King Reside. The 2 began talking on the cellphone in 2022 after they had been related by Lyle's spouse, Rebecca Sneed.
Chatting with Selection, O'Donnell recounted the emotional expertise of touring to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego to fulfill each brothers in particular person for the primary time in 2023.
“I noticed Lyle and gave him a hug,” she recalled. “Then Erik came visiting to me, hugged me, and whispered in my ear, ‘Thanks for loving my brother.' It was very, very shifting to me.”
The Daytime Emmy Award winner grew so near Lyle that she credited him with serving to her really feel “protected sufficient to belief and be susceptible and love a straight man” for the primary time in her life.
Erik Menendez and his brother Lyle Menendez in March 1994. Ted Soqui/Sygma by way of Getty Photos
In the meantime, Erik's daughter, Talia Menendez, beforehand hit out on the Menendez brothers' movie star supporters for not reacting extra vocally to the parole denial.
“The place are the celebrities that had been ‘advocating' for them???? It's been WAY TOO QUIET,” she wrote by way of Instagram on Thursday, August 23.
Talia singled out Cooper Koch, who performed Erik within the Netflix true-crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, as the one movie star who'd checked on the household since their authorized setback.
“The one one which I can say has been checking in on my household is Cooper and we completely adore him,” she claimed. “To those that went to the jail with none background checks to movie their present however are staying quiet now. You despise [sic] me past measure. Simply say your views are down and hold it PUSHING.”
Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez have constructed a big group of supporters after their notorious homicide trial — and among the individuals of their nook embody high-profile celebrities. Erik and Lyle had been initially arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree homicide after their mother and father, José and Kitty Menéndez, had been discovered lifeless of their […]
Talia's mom, Tammi Saccoman-Menendez and the brothers' lawyer Mark Geragos each outright condemned the parole board's choice, whereas a household assertion launched on Thursday was extra measured.
“Whereas we respect the choice, right this moment's consequence was after all disappointing and never what we hoped for,” the Menendez household stated in an announcement. “However our perception in Erik stays unwavering and we all know he'll take the Board's suggestion in stride. His regret, progress, and the optimistic influence he's had on others converse for themselves. We'll proceed to face by him and maintain to the hope he is ready to return residence quickly.”
Us Weekly has reached out to California Board of Parole Hearings and the California Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for remark.
Previous to final week's parole hearings, Los Angeles County District Lawyer Nathan Hochman rejected requires Erik and Lyle to be freed.
“The Menendez brothers have by no means absolutely accepted duty for the horrific murders of their mother and father, as a substitute persevering with to advertise a false narrative of self-defense that was rejected by the jury many years in the past,” he stated in an announcement on Wednesday. “Now we have persistently opposed their launch as a result of they haven't demonstrated full perception into their crimes or proven that they've been absolutely rehabilitated, and due to this fact proceed to pose a threat to society.”
In the event you or somebody has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
