Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez's Wives: What to Know About the Women the Brothers Married in Prison

Love knows no bounds, but in some cases it does know bars.

Lyle Menendez, 56, and his brother Erik Menendez, 53, have been locked up since March 1990, when they were first arrested for the Aug. 20, 1989, murders of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez. 

And since each was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 1996 at the end of their second trial, they've been serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. 

But it was their first trial in 1993, which put Court TV on the map and triggered a four-ring media circus, that turned Lyle and Erik into full-blown celebrities. Mostly they were deemed villains, but also tragic figures. And, once the defense alleged that the siblings had been sexually abused by their father, some saw them as victims, too.

And in a not uncommon turn of events when it comes to criminal defendants, including convicted murderers, they became objects of desire to more than a few women on the outside.

A new generation crushing on them over TikTok are out of luck, though: While California law doesn't allow conjugal visits for prisoners serving life sentences, both brothers have been married for more than two decades.

Erik tied the knot with Tammi Saccoman in 1999 and Lyle swapped vows with his second wife, Rebecca Sneed, in 2003.

While both women lead private lives, notorious spouses aside, Tammi has lately been relaying statements from her husband through X since the premiere of Ryan Murphy's Netflix series about the case, Monsters: The Menendez Brothers. (In a nutshell: Erik thinks it's trash. Murphy's response: "The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers.")

The 35-year-old case is back in the headlines—and not least because Lyle and Erik have always had their champions who believe they acted in self-defense, including numerous family members who held a press conference Oct. 16 to call for the siblings' release from prison.

Attorneys for the brothers filed a habeas corpus petition in 2023 requesting that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office open an evidentiary hearing or vacate the convictions and sentences in the wake of alleged new evidence coming to light, including a letter purportedly written by Erik in 1988 in which he mentions being abused.

After the family presser, L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón said his office is reviewing the Menendez case, telling NBC News, "I think that there is a certain level of evidence that points out that there were a lot of problems in the household."

Later that evening, Tammi posted on X, "Erik feels deeply grateful and profoundly humbled by the overwhelming outpouring of love and support from his family today. Their belief in him and encouragement, care, and understanding mean more to him than words can express."

While the proverbial jury is still out, get to know the women who married Erik and Lyle after they were convicted of murder:

Lyle Menendez, then 28, married model and salon receptionist Anna Eriksson on July 2, 1996, the day he and brother Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 double murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.

Anna started writing to Lyle in 1993 during his first trial, which ended in a mistrial, and then moved to California to be near him the following year. She became a reliable presence at the months-long retrial that began in 1995 and resulted in convictions in March 1996, according to the Los Angeles Times.

They couldn't take their vows in person, however, Lyle instead taking the plunge over speaker phone, the groom in custody and the bride in the office of defense attorney Leslie Abramson.

He seemingly hoped to be able to wed Anna in person, once he knew where he'd end up.

"We do have a marriage proceeding," California Correctional Institution spokesman Lt. Jack Pitko told the LA Times in September 1996 once Lyle and Erik had been ordered to separate prisons. "There's a waiting list...But I don't see why he shouldn't be able to get married if he follows all the rules."

Anna filed for divorce in 2001 after, according to multiple reports from the time, she allegedly found out Lyle was exchanging letters with other women.

Lyle didn't rush into anything when he married journalist Rebecca Sneed, reportedly 33 at the time, in November 2003: He had known her for 10 years, first through letters and eventually from in-person visits, a prison spokesperson told the Associated Press in confirming the nuptials.

The ceremony took place at Mule Creek State Prison near Sacramento, where Lyle resided until he was reunited with Erik in 2018 at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in southern San Diego County.

"Our interaction tends to be very free of distractions and we probably have more intimate conversations than most married spouses do, who are distracted by life's events," Lyle told People in 2017. At the time, Rebecca was living in Sacramento and was said to visit weekly.

"We try and talk on the phone every day, sometimes several times a day," Lyle added. "I have a very steady, involved marriage and that helps sustain me and brings a lot of peace and joy. It's a counter to the unpredictable, very stressful environment here."

Rebecca "put up with a lot," he acknowledged. "But she has the courage to deal with the obstacles. It would be easier to leave, but I'm profoundly grateful that she doesn't."

Erik's wife Tammi Menendez, now 62, was married to Chuck Saccoman when she first spied the younger Menendez brother on TV in 1993 and felt a special place in her heart for the 22-year-old murder defendant.

As she later told People, she informed her husband she was going to write to Erik and Chuck gave her his blessing.

"I saw Tammi's letter and I felt something. I received thousands of letters, but I set this one aside. I got a feeling," Erik told the publication. "And I wrote her back. Tammi and I continued to correspond. I enjoyed writing to her. It was a slow friendship. It was special to me because it was not associated with the trial and the media. Tammi was someone not in the craziness."

However, as Tammi detailed in her 2005 book They Said We'd Never Make It: My Life With Erik Menendez, she doubted the brothers' abuse defense at first. (And she told MSNBC that Erik mentioned having a girlfriend of several years early on.)

But in 1996, as Tammi has detailed in her book and interviews, she found out that Chuck had abused her teenage daughter from a previous relationship. (They also shared a then-9-month-old daughter.)

Chuck turned himself into police and died by suicide two days later, according to People.

After Chuck died, "I reached out to Erik," she told the publication in 2005. "He comforted me. Our letters started taking on a more serious tone."

Tammi admitted she was "really nervous" when she finally met Erik in person at Folsom State Prison in August 1997.

"Erik had no idea what I looked like; I'd only sent him a tiny, 1-by-1 picture," she explained. "But when he walked into the room, he was so full of life, he hopped down the stairs. It was like I was meeting an old friend."

They married in 1999, a Twinkie serving as their wedding cake. 

And they've been together ever since, though Tammi has acknowledged that the lack of conjugal visits can be tough.

"A kiss when you come in, a kiss when you leave," she described the routine on MSNBC in December 2005. 'You can hold hands and that part of it is very difficult, and people don't understand."

Erik said he tried not to think about what was then the likelihood that he would never get out of prison.

“Tammi is what gets me through," he told People in 2005. "I can't think about the sentence. When I do, I do it with a great sadness and a primal fear. I break into a cold sweat. It's so frightening I just haven't come to terms with it."

But on a more optimistic note, Tammi had also taught him "how to be a good husband," Erik said. "There is no makeup sex, only a 15-minute phone call, so you really have to try to make things work."

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