Menendez Brothers murder mansion in Beverly Hills sells for $17 million

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The infamous Beverly Hills mansion where the Menendez brothers murdered their parents has been sold for $17 million, exactly 28 years to the day after a jury convicted Erik and Lyle Menendez.

The seven-bedroom, 9,063-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa on Elm Drive had been on the market since Dec. 1 and was listed for $19,999,500 before the $17M sale closed on Wednesday. Details about the buyer were not immediately available.

The mansion was sold by telecommunications executive Sam Delug, who had owned the house since 2001 when he purchased it for $3.7 million. The home was listed for sale months after the Peacock docuseries, "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed," renewed interest in the notorious murder case, according to Realtor.com.

The brothers' parents – Jose and Kitty Menendez – were found shot to death inside their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989. The couple's deaths shocked the world. Investigators said Lyle Menendez had called 911, crying hysterically and telling the operator his parents had been killed.

At first, there was speculation the mob had committed the brutal slayings. But soon a true picture emerged – revealing the real killers were the victim’s two sons, Lyle and Erik Menendez.

The brothers never denied carrying out the killings, but contended they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by their father and feared for their lives. As a result, defense attorneys argued that the brothers "did not harbor the mental state needed for first-degree murder and were therefore guilty of manslaughter."

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Prosecutors, however, said the killings were motivated by greed, pointing to lavish spending sprees by the brothers after the killings and arguing they were guilty of first-degree murder.

The first trial resulted in a hung jury. During the second trial, the brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder of both their parents. Both brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They have repeatedly appealed their convictions to no avail.

The infamous mansion was originally constructed in 1927 before it was redesigned in 1984 by real estate mogul Mark Slotkin. Slotkin, a friend to the Menendez family, testified for the defense in the double murder trial, insisting that soundproofing he had installed in the home cast doubt on a maid’s claims to have overheard screaming family arguments, Realtor.com reported.

Following the murders, the lavish home sat on the market for years, with the Los Angeles Times reporting that lawyers for the slain couple's estate wrote in court filings that "it was widely believed by the home-buying public and the real estate brokers and agents that this house had bad ‘karma,’ and was one to be avoided."

In 2021, a group of TikTok users dubbed the ‘Menendez Defenders and Guardians’ made a push to free the brothers. The young supporters sent letters to Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County DA Geoge Gascón, explaining they've studied the case and believe the justice system got it wrong. Just last year, attorneys for the brothers filed court papers contending that newly surfaced evidence warrants the overturning of the brothers' convictions.

The Menendez brothers remain in prison, where they have been serving their sentences since 1996.