Erik Menendez, along with his brother Lyle, became household names for their parents' alleged murder. They claimed to have been subjected to emotional and sexual abuse by their parents, and also said they feared for their lives when the two were around.
The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder after their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, were shot at point-blank range on August 20, 1989.
Now, Erik has been hospitalized with kidney stones, and the famed parent killer's lawyer has called for an early release ahead of the August parole hearing.
He revealed earlier how his wife made his prison sentence easier. Speaking on TMZ's 2 Angry Men podcast, Erik said, “When I first came to prison, I wasn’t just sentenced to prison; I was sentenced to never see my brother again, to never have a hope for freedom. To fend for myself in a very violent level four, which is considered a maximum-security prison, where I didn’t know anyone. I was very alone, afraid. Prison was hard for me. I faced a lot of bullying and trauma. It was a dangerous environment.”
He noted that his incarceration began to change for the better when he began hearing from his now wife, Tammi, in 1993. The two tied the knot in 1999.
Does Erik Menendez have a child; who is Tammi Saccoman
{{/usCountry}}He noted that his incarceration began to change for the better when he began hearing from his now wife, Tammi, in 1993. The two tied the knot in 1999.
Does Erik Menendez have a child; who is Tammi Saccoman
{{/usCountry}}While Erik and Tammi do not have a child together, his current wife has a daughter, Talia, from a previous relationship.
“Fortunately, I had the love of a woman who came into my life and brought me a little precious daughter. I began to experience fatherhood and growth and begin to heal a lot of the self-hate and self-loathing that I dealt with all of my life,” Erik said.
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Erik met Tammi Saccoman, now Menendez, when he was in jail. They started off writing letters before getting married.
Tammi went on to write a book about her marriage to Erik titled, ‘They Said We’d Never Make It: My Life With Erik Menendez.’ In a 2005 MSNBC interview, she admitted she never expected to fall in love with him.
“You know, I wrote one letter to him and he wrote back, and I went to visit him in prison and our relationship developed,” she said, adding, “And I didn‘t set out to have a relationship with Erik, but it‘s something that happened. And you know, it‘s a very good relationship that I have with him.”
Tammi, however, noted that it was ‘very difficult’ navigating their relationship given Erik was behind bars.
“…in one of his letters that he wrote me he had written and said that he had a girlfriend he had for a couple of years. And I kind of said,’It‘s so sad that he has a girl — he thinks he has a girlfriend,” Tammi shared, speaking of Erik's past relationship to explain she understood where people were coming from they spoke of Tammi and Erik's bond.
She went on to add that she did receive ‘emotional support’ from Erik.
Tammi also spoke about Erik's conviction, and her feelings about the matter.
“It troubles me, but I do know the person that Erik is, and I know his heart, I know his soul, and I do know what happened that night. And I do understand. I believe that within everybody put in certain circumstances, you will, you know, be able to kill somebody. I do believe that Erik is a very good person,” she said.
Meanwhile, an insider told TMZ that if Erik secures a release, he plans to move to Las Vegas to live with Tammi.