Erik Menendez’s Wife Says He Plays Secret Santa for Prison Roommates

Erik Menendez s Wife Tammi Reveals He Has Played Secret Santa for His Prison Roommate the Last 5 Years
Tammi Menedez and Erik Menendez. Courtesy of Tammi Menendez/Instagram

More details about Erik Menéndez‘s life behind bars have been revealed — starting with how he celebrates the holidays with his roommates.

Erik’s wife, Tammi Menéndez, took to X earlier this month to address an article that claimed the inmates at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility created Halloween candy bowls. Tammi, 62, denied the report before sharing how Erik, 53, has honored the Christmas season while behind bars.

“What is true is that Erik has played Secret Santa for his roommates for the past five years!” she wrote before adding in a separate post, “Let’s not allow him to spend another birthday, Thanksgiving or Christmas behind bars. It’s time for someone to step up and do what’s right!”

Tammi has been outspoken about Erik and brother Lyle Menéndez‘s attempts to appeal their life sentence. The siblings were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents, Kitty and José Menéndez, were found sH๏τ in their home.

Erik and Lyle, 56, admitted to killing their parents following years of alleged physical, emotional and Sєxual abuse. They were ultimately found guilty of and sentenced to life without parole in 1996 after two high-profile trials. While their prior attempts to appeal the decision were denied, recent high-profile TV projects, such as Monsters and The Menéndez Brothers, offered Erik and Lyle a chance at freedom.

In October, the Los Angeles District Attorney recommended that a judge resentence Erik and Lyle to 50 years, which could make them eligible for parole and prison release.

“I won’t speak to whether [Erik and Lyle] have a plan [after their potential prison release]. I just think that in order to get through each day, you’ve got to just ground yourself,” their attorney Mark Geragos exclusively told Us Weekly at a press conference that same month. “It’s a long road from life without [parole] for almost 17 years to being hopeful.”

While serving out his sentence, Erik got married to Tammi in 1999. The couple met when she started writing letters to him in prison and Tammi has remained by Erik’s side amid his incarceration.

“Tammi is what gets me through,” Erik explained to 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.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

He continued: “Tammi’s love was a major step in my choosing life. Having someone who loves you unconditionally, who you can be completely open with, is good for anybody — to know that this person loves me as I am.”

Lyle, meanwhile, found love with Rebecca Sneed, and they got married in 2003 after corresponding via letters for nearly a decade.

“People are judgmental, and she has to put up with a lot,” Lyle shared with People in 2017 about how he felt “guilty” for what his wife has endured because of their marriage. “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.”

Related Posts

Jason Kelce Isn’t ‘Trying to be Mean’ After Ignoring Screaming Heckler

Jason Kelce Isn’t ‘Trying to be Mean’ After Ignoring Screaming Heckler

Jason Kelce APEX / MEGA Jason Kelce was heckled for apparently refusing to sign fan autographs. As Kelce, 37, left the Jimmy Kimmel Live! studio in Hollywood…

Victoria Beckham kisses her lookalike sister Louise on the cheek as she rings in her birthday with a cake

Victoria Beckham kisses her lookalike sister Louise on the cheek as she rings in her birthday with a cake

Victoria Beckham kissed her lookalike sister Louise on the cheek as she rang in her birthday on Thursday.  The fashion designer, 50, her mother, Jackie, and her…

Watch I’m A Celebrity’s Dean and Danny scream in agony as they’re ELECTROCUTED in chaotic first look at Trial – leaving Ant and Dec in sтιтches

Watch I’m A Celebrity’s Dean and Danny scream in agony as they’re ELECTROCUTED in chaotic first look at Trial – leaving Ant and Dec in sтιтches

REVEREND RICHARD COLES I’m A Celebrity’s Dean McCullough and Danny Jones are in for a shock on Friday night’s show as they take part in a chaotic…

Wicked fan reviews: Emotional viewers left in tears after moving scene in Ariana Grande movie: ‘I was SOBBING!’

Wicked fan reviews: Emotional viewers left in tears after moving scene in Ariana Grande movie: ‘I was SOBBING!’

Wicked has finally flown into cinemas with fans describing the much-anticipated first instalment as ‘incredible’ and called for Oscar nods for stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The movie…

Beloved BBC soap star announces retirement from acting after a ‘really tough’ three years – and is flooded with support from fans

Beloved BBC soap star announces retirement from acting after a ‘really tough’ three years – and is flooded with support from fans

Holby City star Rosie Marcel revealed that she has officially retired from acting after a ‘really tough’ three years.  The actress, 47, who is best known for…

Wicked Part Two release date is revealed as fans say they will ‘never be the same’ after watching the emotional blockbuster

Wicked Part Two release date is revealed as fans say they will ‘never be the same’ after watching the emotional blockbuster

The release date for Wicked Part Two has been revealed as November 21, 2025. The sequel to the blockbuster film will come out one day less than…