Erik Menendez has returned to a prison in San Diego following his hospitalization for surgery due to complications from kidney stones.
In an email, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Monday that Menendez returned to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
Stepdaughter Talia Menendez said in an Instagram Story posted over the weekend that Menendez is out of the hospital and “preparing for our upcoming parole hearing,” TMZ reported. Talia Menendez said in a post last month that the surgery was necessary “due to complications with both kidneys having multiple large kidney stones,” she said, adding that he will need a third surgery.
The 54-year-old Menendez’s brief hospital stay came weeks before a high-stakes parole hearing on Aug. 21 and 22 with his brother that could lead to freedom after decades in prison. Erik and his 57-year-old brother Lyle Menendez are serving life prison sentences for their murder convictions in the 1989 shotgun shooting deaths of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at the family’s Beverly Hills mansion.
Although painful, prompt treatment for kidney stones usually helps prevent lasting damage. Stones often form when urine has less water content and minerals form crystals that stick together. Treatment may only require pain medication and drinking water to help pass the stones through the urinary tract. Surgery and other treatments might be needed in some cases, depending on the size, location and type of stone.
Erik Menendez was one of the 15 inmates who graduated from UC Irvine. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18. 2025.
The brothers were made eligible for parole earlier this year after a series of sweeping events that began late last year when then-LA County District Attorney George Gascón said he would support resentencing. Gascón was defeated in the November election by Nathan Hochman, who said his office would not support resentencing.
The brothers were resentenced to 50 years to life after a judge determined they did not pose an unreasonable risk if they were released from custody. A parole hearing in August is scheduled to decide the matter.
Defense attorneys have argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father. Prosecutors claim the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
The brothers’ first trials resulted in hung juries. At the second trial, the judge excluded a substantial amount of evidence, including testimony from several family members who witnessed or heard about the abuse.
The show creator had lunch with Newsom before the show came out, saying he’s making a series about the Menendez brothers.