Site of Menendez brothers’ crime sold

The lavish Beverly Hills mansion where the Menendez brothers fatally shot their parents in 1989 has sold for $17 million, exactly 28 years to the day after the brothers were convicted of the murders.

The seven-bedroom home, complete with a pool, private tennis court and two-story guest house, had been on the market since December, listed at just under $20 million. The seller, telecommunications executive Sam Delug, bought the house in 2001 for $3.7 million.

Details on the buyer were not immediately available. A forensic appraiser estimated that the mansion’s $17-million sale price was about 25% below prevailing market values, Realtor.com reported.

Homes where a publicized murder took place tend to sell at a discount, according to Realtor.com. The Menendez mansion was listed for sale months after the release of a Peacock docuseries, “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” which brought renewed attention to the case.

Erik and Lyle Menendez murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty, with a shotgun on Aug. 20, 1989. There was initial speculation that the mob was responsible for the murders, according to Fox 11, but the brothers admitted to the killings at trial.

The brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time of the murders, claimed they were acting in self defense against their abusive father. Their defense team argued they were guilty only of manslaughter and “did not harbor the mental state needed for first-degree murder.”

Erik and Lyle claimed they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by their father and feared for their lives. Prosecutors pushed the narrative that the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance, citing significant spending sprees by the brothers after the deaths.

The first trial resulted in a hung jury, but the second ended in a first-degree murder conviction in 1996. The brothers remain in prison despite repeatedly appealing their convictions.