Getty Images (2) Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez could be released on parole in their murder case - but what do their lives currently look like in prison? The brothers were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents - José and Kitty - were found shot to death in their home. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at the time of the murders and after two trials, they were sentenced to life without parole. Lyle and Erik have maintained that their mother and father were physically, emotionally and sexually abusive ahead of their deaths.