TRUE CRIMEErik Menendez Plans to Move Into Wife Tammi's Las Vegas Home If He and Brother Lyle Are Released From Prison
Erik Menendez tied the knot with his wife, Tammi, from behind bars in 1999.
Erik Menendez and his wife, Tammi, might finally live happily ever after if the convicted murderer is released from behind bars.
The 53-year-old — who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 after he and his brother Lyle were found guilty of killing their parents, Jose and Kitty, in 1989 — has been figuring out a game plan on the hopeful chance he is granted freedom nearly 35 years after he was first locked away.
The couple used a Twinkie as their wedding cake.
If let out of jail, Erik will move in with his wife, Tammi, who lives in Las Vegas, Nev., sources with direct knowledge on the situation informed a news publication on Thursday, October 24, ahead of L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón announcing whether he'll recommend the Menendez brother's release.
Erik married Tammi from inside of prison in 1999 after forming a romantic relationship through writing one another letters. The couple used a Twinkie as their wedding cake and have remained happily married ever since — despite never being allowed a conjugal visit in the 25 years since they said "I do."
Erik Menendez was convicted in 1996.
In a recently resurfaced interview from 2005, Tammi admitted she "denied" being in love with Erik for a long time — in part because she was married when she first wrote to the prisoner in 1993, but also because of his infamous criminal record.
"I probably had been visiting him for six months and I kept finding myself wanting to come back," Tammi confessed at the time. "I would think, 'This can’t be good,' but my heart just kept bringing me there. There was no way back."
Tammi Menendez opened up about falling in love with her imprisoned husband during an interview in 2005.
- Erik Menendez's Wife Tammi Eager to Have Her Husband Released From Prison by His 55th Birthday — the Day Before Thanksgiving
- Erik Menendez's Wife Tammi, 62, Spotted on Rare Public Outing Near Las Vegas Home: Photos
- Lyle and Erik Menendez's Mom Kitty 'Knew All Along' About Their Father Jose's Sexual Abuse, Her Sister Reveals: 'She Didn't Protect Them'
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
"The first time I met him he was so full of life. I could sense that I was attracted to him, but we had been writing for so long that we were like best friends," she recalled. "We talked on the phone a lot and had written letters for a long time, years, so when I first met him I felt like I knew him. Then it was reality, when he walked in, I was like, 'There he is. This is real.'"
It is unknown what Lyle plans to do if he's able to walk free — though he has been married to his second wife, Rebecca Sneed, since 2003.
He previously married Anna Eriksson on July 2, 1996, which was the same day Erik and Lyle were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lyle and Anna divorced in 2001 after she discovered he had been exchanging letters with other women.
Erik and Lyle Menendez said they murdered their parents after allegedly being sexually abused by their dad.
Like his younger brother, Lyle, 56, connected with both Anna and Rebecca through writing letters back and forth.
Supporters of the Menendez brothers have pushed for their freedom, as many feel Erik and Lyle shouldn't have to spend life in prison after being victims of their father's since the age of 6.
TMZ spoke to sources about Erik's plans to move in with Tammi if he gets out of prison.
