Erik Menendez, one of the brothers serving a 50 years-to-life sentence for the 1989 murders of his parents in Beverly Hills, has returned to state prison in California after being hospitalized last month for kidney problems, according to a family member.
“My dad is out of the hospital and back at the prison, preparing for our upcoming parole hearing,” his stepdaughter Talia Menendez wrote on Instagram stories, TMZ reports.
Menendez was temporarily removed from the San Diego-area Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility last month and hospitalized for about a week for what his attorney called a “serious medical condition.”
The treatment included multiple surgeries to remove kidney stones, TMZ reported at the time.
Menendez, 54, and his brother Lyle, 57, are both serving lengthy sentences for the 1989 killing of their parents José, a prominent record executive, and Kitty Menendez, in a case that has dominated headlines for decades.
In May, the pair’s life sentences were reduced to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole.
They are slated for back-to-back parole hearings on August 21 and 22.
Last month, a judge ordered Los Angeles prosecutors to explain why the original murder convictions should not be re-examined, given new evidence that emerged, that could support the brothers’ claims they killed their parents over alleged persistent sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
The Menendez brothers’ first trials ended in hung juries and the second saw the judge exclude evidence including testimony from family members who said they had witnessed or heard about the alleged abuse.
Earlier this year, California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a “risk assessment” investigation into whether the brothers are fit to re-enter society.
The governor could grant the brothers clemency though he has indicated any decision regarding their sentences would not occur until after their parole hearing.
The Menendez case has been the subject of media interest, books, films and documentaries for years.
Last year, their story was fodder for the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Kim Kardashian visited the brothers in prison that year and has advocated for their release.
