Two sisters are calling for the release of brothers jailed for brutally killing their parents

Two sisters have expressed their support behind the release of the Menendez brothers, who were imprisoned for life after shooting and killing their parents.

In 1996, the two brothers were jailed for life without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of shooting and murdering their parents.

On 20 August, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez were in their home in Beverly Hills, California, when their sons Lyle and Erik entered the room carrying shotguns.

Jose was shot six times, with the fatal shot delivered to the back of his head, while Kitty was shot 10 times in total, during which time Lyle returned to his car to reload his gun and deliver a final shot to the head.

Even though its been 26 years since the Menendez brothers were jailed, in recent times they have gained a wave of support for their release on social media, with people taking to TikTok and Instagram to call for their release.

YouTube/InsideEdition

One of the first to do this were sisters Daisy and Lucy Wickstrum, who became interested in the case during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I can say that I pretty much gave up every pastime I had and a lot of school to research this case," one of the sisters said to Inside Edition, as the sisters ended up watching historical trial footage to learn more.

The other sister said: "Yes this crime happened but there's reasons that it happened."

They're not the only ones arguing that the Menendez brothers ought to be freed, as their case has gained a following among TikTokers who believe that they are the victims of a miscarriage of justice.

Following the shooting of their parents in 1989, the brothers stayed at the home anticipating that the police would respond to the sound of gunshots, and when officers arrived they said they'd discovered their parents dead after returning from watching Batman at the movies.

In the months afterwards the brothers spent extravagant amounts of money, with Lyle buying a cafe and restaurant while Erik hired a tennis coach and went abroad to compete in tournaments in Israel.

They were on the list of police suspects in the shootings of their parents and at one point, officers arranged for a friend of Erik's to wear a wire and ask him about it - but he denied it.

Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

Erik later told his psychologist he and his brother had killed their parents, and his psychologist told his mistress who then told the police.

Lyle was arrested on 8 March, 1990, while Erik turned himself over to the police three days later after returning to the US from Israel.

At their trial, the brothers said they killed their parents out of fear for their lives after suffering abuse from them, claiming their father was a paedophile while alleging that their mother was a violent drug addict who encouraged her husband's behaviour.

They testified that their father had threatened to kill them if they didn't keep the abuse a secret, and at the trial two cousins of Lyle and Erik supported their claims that the parents had been abusive.

The prosecution argued that the killings had been done for financial gain and in 1996, the brothers were found guilty by a jury, they had initially been tried separately but with the juries deadlocked in both cases they were tried together and found guilty.

Spared the death penalty because they had no criminal record or history of violence, the Menendez brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.