Erik Menendez, wife Tammi’s relationship schedule: Couple visits, more

Erik MenéndezThe imprisonment sentence did not stop him from finding love with his wife Tammi Menéndez.

Eric and his brother, Lyle Menéndez,,,,, Arrested in 1990 on two counts In August 1989, their parents, José and Kitty, were shot dead in their home in the first-degree murder case. Two trials resulted in unparalleled sentences from Erik and Lyle. Both sides insist that their parents are both physically, emotionally and sexually abused.

After the trial, Erik Sexual orientation becomes a topic dialogue.

“No [I am not gay]. The prosecutor raised this because I was sexually harassed and he felt in his own thoughts that if my dad cried, I must like it so I had to be gay. ” Barbara Walters Since 1996. “The gay people there must be sexually harassed, otherwise it wouldn’t. It’s frustrating to hear it, but I’m not gay. But a lot of gay people write and feel connected to me.”

Related: Who did the Menandes marry when they were in prison?

Ted Soqui/Sygma has found partners through Getty Images Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez, while serving sentences following a high-profile murder case. The Menéndez brothers were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder because their parents, José and Kitty, were shot to death at home. two […]

Tammi first contacted Erik via email in 1993 When he was in prison but not yet Sentenced. At that time, she was still married Chuck Saccoman. Her connection to Erik turned after Saccoman’s death in 1996, leading to a 1999 wedding in prison. Tammi was later asked if she was initially “troubled” by Erik’s responsibility for his parents’ death.

“I know his soul, I do know what happened that night,” she told NBC News In 2005. “I do understand. I believe that in some cases, you know, you’re going to be able to kill someone. I mean, I do believe Erik is a good person.”

That same year, Tammi explained why the lack of couple visits did not bother her. (California’s prison permitted Mrs. Visit, but prisoners who are prohibited from taking parole life sentences are prohibited from using this privilege. The law was changed in 2016, but because Erik and Lyle committed violent crimes against family members, they Still not eligible for a family visit)

She explained: “It was difficult not to have sex in my life, but it was not a problem for me. I had to be physically separated and I had an emotional attachment to Eric.” people In another interview with the media in 2005, Erik added “not the sex you seek, but the emotional connection. There is no makeup sex, only 15 minutes of phone calls, so you really have to try to make things work.”

Erik’s brother Lyle also found the incarcerated man. After being arrested, Lyle met Anna Eriksson By email, they exchanged vows in 1996 at a wedding attended by his lawyer. Leslie Abramson With his aunt Marta Menéndez. Lyle and Anna said they quit in 2001 and he is married Rebecca Sneider Since 2003.

Two male siblings have a chance Afterwards reunited with his wife The Los Angeles District Attorney recommended in October 2024 that Judges Erik and Lyle last for 50 years. However, Erik was denied parole at the August 2025 hearing.

Keep scrolling to relive Erik and Tammi’s relationship:

1993

Before Erik was sentenced in his high-profile murder, he contacted Tammi while writing him a letter in prison. Tammi was still married to Chuck at the time and lived with him and her teenage daughter when she began a relationship at the time of Menéndez’s trial.

“I tell [Chuck] I’m going to write to Eric,” Tammy recalls people In 2005. “He said he would go on. I really don’t know if Eric will reply.”

As for Erik, he told the media Fate made him open Tammy’s letteradds: “I saw Tammy’s letters and I felt some. I received thousands of letters, but I put this letter aside. I have a feeling. I wrote her back. Tammy and I continue to correspond. I love writing to her. It’s a slow friendship. It’s special to me. It’s special to me. Because it has nothing to do with the judgment.

1996

She has been with Erik for three years Chuck is found She started raping her teenage daughter at the age of 15. Chuck shares with Tammi a then-9-month-old daughter, Talia, who turned himself into a policeman and died two days later in suicide.

“I got in touch with Erik. He comforted me,” Tammy told people. “Our letters are starting to take a more serious tone.”

1997

Erik and Tammi met in person after being convicted of first-degree murder. Tammy recalls “Really nervous” visiting Eric in prison.

“I’ll give him a little 1 x-1 [inch] Pictures,” she recalled people. “But when he walked into the room he was full of life and he jumped down the stairs. It was like I was meeting an old friend.”

Erik calls his first meeting Tammi the “most beautiful experience” of his life.

1999

Tammi’s initial plan was to move to Georgia, but after establishing a connection with Erik, she discovered a house closer to his prison in Sacramento. She visited him four times a week, and in 1998 Erik proposed to Tammi When he was 27, she was 36. The two then had a wedding with a twinkie on it as their wedding cake.

Erik’s prison transferred from Folsom prison to Pleasant Valley State Prison to Tammi and Talia He has to be driven 150 miles a week to visit him.

“Every time the parents say to me, ‘No, my daughter can’t stay in your house,’ I wonder if the root cause is Erik,” Tammi admits to people, referring to her youngest child, who he thinks Erik is her father’s. “This question always comes in my mind.”

Related: The Menendez brothers’ silence on the murder 30 years later: Revelation

Lyle and Erik Menéndez share their story – about crime, consequences and current prison life – for life imprisonment thirty years after their high-profile murders. The Menéndez brothers started streaming on Netflix on Monday, October 7, including audio interview with Lyle, 56 […]

2005

During an interview MSNBCTammi revealed how her relationship with Erik developed, saying: “We did get very close by letters and then you know the relationship moved forward when I met him. But it was a correspondence for him to become a very good friend of mine and understood what I was going through, I understood what he was going through.”

She continued. “Then, after I met him, things got more and more intense, so you know through letters and the constraints on letter writing.”

Erik also reflects his bond with his wife The unconventional barrier between them.

“Tami is what keeps me through. I can’t imagine it. people In 2005. “Tami’s love is an important step in my choice of life. It’s good for anyone who loves you unconditionally and who you can be completely open to – know that this person loves me like me.”

2024

Over the years, Tammy Updates are provided to supporters Erik and Lyle about their appeal process. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon Recommended In October 2024, Erik and Lyle’s verdicts will be reduced to 50 years, which can allow them to be released on parole if approved by a judge.

Tammy wrote on X: “Yesterday was a difficult and exciting day. I thank DA Gascon for seeking indignation for Erik. I was naturally disappointed that he did not take any further action and, with his own belief, believed that Erik and Lyle had served in prison for enough time.”

2025

When I first went to jail, I was not only sentenced to jail. I was sentenced to never see my brother again and have no hope for freedom again,” Erik in an episode of the February 2025 “2 Angry Men” podcast.

Despite his challenges, Eric thanked Tammy for his presence in his life. He continued: “I started to experience fatherhood and growth, and I began to heal a lot of the self-hate and self-loath I dealt with throughout my life.” “I was not recovered when I went to jail.

He added: “A lot of my freedom comes from understanding that I am actually someone who has the ability to be loved and I deserve to be loved. I strive to be a good person. I am working to be a better person every day and I want to be someone my family can be proud of me and my wife and make me proud of my family and my brother.

2025

After Erik was hospitalized for kidney stones, Tammi wrote on X: “Erik today had a second surgery. This surgery was successful. He will need a third surgery and hopefully will happen soon. Hopefully Erik is stuck in prison in prison. Tonight, he still has a lot of complexity and pain. However, he recovers from pain and pain.