Erik Menendez’s wife was seen out in a rare sighting following renewed hope for his and brother Lyle’s release after decades behind bars.
Tammi Saccoman — whom Erik married in a waiting room at California’s Folsom State Prison in 1999 after exchanging letters for several years — was spotted walking in a Las Vegas parking lot in what appears to be a work uniform, per photos published by The Sun on Friday, Oct. 4.
The new photos were published the day after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he is “keeping an open” mind about Erik and Lyle’s bid for release.
Erik Menendez; Tammi Saccoman in 1999.
Ted Soqui/Sygma/Getty; Chris Morton/Getty
In a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 3, Gascón responded to the filing, stating that he is “not leaning in any direction right now.”
“We have people in the office that are looking at this very carefully, very experienced lawyers that are looking at this,” the D.A. said. “Their recommendation will be presented to me, but the final decision will be mine.”
“We are reviewing the information,” he continued. “But I think it’s also important that we recognize that both men and women can be the victims of sexual assault.”
Gascón also stated that his office has “a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us.” A hearing has been set for Nov. 26.
“If there was evidence that was not presented to the court at that time, and had that evidence been presented, perhaps a jury would have come to a different conclusion,” he added.
In the newly presented petition, Erik and Lyle’s attorneys cited sexual abuse allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, against their father, whom he claims raped him in the 1980s. The brothers’ attorneys also pointed to a newly discovered letter Erik sent to cousin Andy Cano describing his father’s alleged sexual abuse months prior to his killing.
Erik and Lyle Menendez.
Los Angeles Times via Getty
Mark Geragos, the Menendez brothers’ post-conviction attorney, said the pair, who are now both in San Diego’s Donovan State Correctional Facility, are “cautiously optimistic” about the petition’s success.
After Erik and Lyle’s case was brought back into the forefront with Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Erik slammed the show for what he claimed were “horrible and blatant lies,” via a statement Tammi shared on social media.
“I can only believe they were done so on purpose,” Erik said of Monsters. “It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Elsewhere in his statement, Erik criticized the show’s “dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime,” claiming that Murphy “shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and me and disheartening slander.”
Murphy, meanwhile, said the brothers should be “should be sending me flowers,”telling the The Hollywood Reporter, “They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world. There’s sort of an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case.”
