Erik and Tammi
Getty Images/MegaErik MenéndezThe lifelong sentence in prison did not stop him from finding love with the woman Tammi.
Erik and his brother, Lyle menendezThey were arrested in 1990 on two allegations of first-degree murder after their parents-José and Kitty found death in their home in August 1989. Two trials found that Erik and Lyle be convicted in unconditional life. Both have claimed that their mother and father were physically, emotionally and sexually abusive.
After the trial, Erik’s sexual orientation became a topic of conversation.
“No (I’m not gay). The prosecutor brought him because I was sexually abused and he felt in his opinion that if I was sodomized by my father I should have tasted it and therefore I should be gay, “Erik said with it all with all Barbara Walters From 1996. ”And people who are gay there should be sexually harassed or would not be. It was worrying to hear, but I’m not gay. But many gay people write and feel connected to me. “
Ted Soquei/Sygma through Getty Images Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez found partners as they suffered their individual life sentences after a high profile murder case. The Menéndez brothers were arrested in 1990 on two allegations of first-degree murder after their parents-José and Kitty found death in their home. Two (…)
Tammi first arrived in Erik via the 1993 post when he was in prison, but was not yet sentenced. At the time, she was still married Saccoman chuck. Her relationship with Erik returned after the death of SacComan in 1996 which led to a year in prison at a 1999 wedding ceremony. Tammi was later asked if she was originally “troubled” by Erik being responsible for the death of parents his.
“I know his soul and know what happened that night,” she told NBC News In 2005. ”And I understand. I believe that within all they decide in certain circumstances, you will know, be able to kill someone. I mean, I believe Erik is a very good person. “
That same year, Tammi explained why she was not disturbed by the lack of marital visits. (Prisons in California allow marital visits, but prisoners serving lifeless sentences are forbidden by such privileges. The law was changed in 2016, but since Erik and Lyle committed a violent offense against a family member, they still have no right to the family visits.)
“Not having sex in my life is difficult, but it’s not a problem for me. I have to be physically detached, and I’m emotionally connected to Erik, ”she explained People In 2005 while Erik added in a special interview with the exit, “is not the sex you look for, but the emotional connection. There is no makeup of makeup, just a 15-minute call, so you really have to try to do things work. ”
Erik’s brother, Lyle, also found him while he was a prisoner. After his arrest, Lyle met Anna Eriksson Through the correspondence of the post and they exchanged promises in 1996 in a marriage attended by his lawyer Leslie Abramson and his aunt Martha Menéndez. Lyle and Anna called him rest in 2001 and he is married to Rebecca sneed Since 2003.
Menéndez’s two sisters now have a chance to reunite with their wives after Los Angeles District lawyer recommended in October 2024 that a judge accepts Erik and Lyle in 50 years.
Continue to move to restore the relationship of Erik and Tammi:
1993
Before Eric was sentenced in his high profile murder case, he was linked to Tammi when she wrote a letter in prison. Tammi was still married to Chuck at the time and was living with her and her teenage daughter from a preliminary relationship when she began to pursue the Menénis trial.
“I told (Chuck) that I would write to Erik,” Remember Tammi People In 2005. ”He said to move forward. I really didn’t know if Eric would write again. “
As for Erik, he told the exit that fate made him open the letter of Tammi, adding, “I saw Tammi’s letter and felt something. I got thousands of letters, but I set aside this. I have a feeling. And I I wrote again. Madness. “
1996
Three years in her correspondence with Erik, Tammi revealed that Chuck allegedly began raping her teenage daughter when she was 15 years old. Chuck, who shared a 9 -month -old girl Talia with Tammi, returned to the police and died suicide two days later.
“I arrived at Erik. He comforted me, ”Tammi said People. “Our letters began to get a more serious tone.”
1997
Erik and Tammi met in person after he was convicted of first instance murder. Tammi remembered that he was “really nervous” to visit Erik in prison.
“I would send them only a small look, 1-nda-1 (inch),” she remembered People. “But when he entered the room, he was so full of life, he rejected the stairs. It was as if I were meeting an old friend.”
Erik called his first meeting Tammi the “most beautiful experience” of his life.
1999
Tammi’s original plan was to move to Georgia, but after linking with Erik she found a home much closer to his prison, in Sacramento. She visited her four times a week and in 1998 Erik proposed to Tammi when she was 27 and she was 36 years old. The duo then had a prison marriage to a twinkie that served as their wedding cake.
The transfer of Erik’s prison from FolSom prison to Pleasant Valley State Prison made Tammi and Talia had to drive 150 miles every week to visit.
“Whenever a parent would say to me,” No, my daughter couldn’t stay in your home, “I would ask myself if the basic reason was erik,” accepted to people while referring to her younger child who considers her father Erik. “There is always that question in my mind.”
Lyle and Erik Menéndez are sharing their side of the story-for crime, their current consequences and life in prison-more than three decades after their high profile murder issue resulted in a life sentence. Menéndez brothers, who began broadcasting Monday, October 7, on Netflix, contains audio from Lyle interviews, 56, (…)
2005
During an interview with MsnbcTammi opened about how her relationship with Erik Evoloi said, saying: “We got close to the letters and then you know that the relationship went ahead when I met her. But it was the correspondence that he became a friend of mine really Good and realized what I was going through and I realized what was going through. “
She continued. “And then after I met him things became increasingly intense, so you know through the letters and your limitation on writing letters.”
Erik also reflected in his relationship with his wife, despite unconventional obstacles between them.
“Tammi is what goes through me. I can’t think about the sentence. When I do it, I do it with a lot of sadness and a primary fear. I burst into a cold sweat. It is so scary that I just disagreed with him, ”he said People In 2005. ”Love of Tammi was a big step in my life choice. Having someone who loves you unconditionally, with whom you can be completely open is good for anyone – to know that this person loves me as I am. “
2024
Over the years, Tammi offered updates to those who supported Erik and Lyle about their appeal process. Los Angeles District Lawyer George Gascón Recommended in October 2024 that ERIK and Lyle sentences be reduced to 50 years, which can allow them to be released on bail if approved by a judge.
“Yesterday was a difficult and emotional day. I am grateful to Da Gascon for his courage to seek dissatisfaction with Erik, “Tammi wrote through X.” I am disappointed of course he did not go further and act with his belief that Erik and Lyle have served enough time in prison. “
Menéndez and Erik Menéndez.
Tammi Mendendez/Instagram courtesy2025
When I first came to prison, I was not only sentenced to prison. I was sentenced to prison to ever see my brother, never to have hope for freedom, “Erik in an episode of Podcast” 2 angry men “in February 2025.” It was hard for me. I faced a lot of harassment and trauma. It was a dangerous environment. Fortunately, I had the love of a woman who came to my life and brought a little precious girl. “
Despite the challenges he faced, Erik was grateful for the presence of Tammi in his life. “I began to experience paternity and growth and began to heal a lot of the self-use and self-esteem I treated throughout my life,” he continued. When I came to prison, I did not come to prison healed. I came to prison dealing with the traumatic wounds of my past and the tragic crime that resulted. I had to face all the truths and travel through that dark prison place. “
He added: “A large part of my freedom came from understanding that I am actually someone who is capable of being loved and that I deserve love. I’m trying to be a good person. I am trying to be a better person every day and I want to be a person my family can be proud of sure. I want my daughter to be proud of me and my wife to be proud of me and my extended family to be proud of me and my brother to be proud of me. “
