EXCLUSIVE Erik Menendez's wife on tenterhooks as she breaks cover for the first time since learning killer husband's future rests with parole board

The wife of double murderer Erik Menendez has told DailyMail.com she is 'delighted' her man is now eligible for parole, following a bombshell resentencing hearing.
Speaking for the first time since Erik and his older brother Lyle got the good news, Tammi Menendez said the 54-year-old is planning to do a big interview about his time in prison on his release – but warned that his freedom is still not guaranteed.
'Yes, of course I'm delighted,' said blonde Tammi, who celebrates the 26th anniversary of her marriage to Erik on Thursday.
'We [the family] don't want to do much media now because we don't want to influence anything or for it to go wrong.
'Right now, we still don't know what's going to happen, if he's going to get out or if his brother is going to get out. It's still up in the air.'
Tammi, 62, who began writing to her incarcerated future husband in 1993, married Erik in a brief ceremony inside the Folsom State Prison in Northern Californi a in 1999. They celebrated their nuptials with a Twinkie.
Erik, along with brother Lyle, 57, was subsequently moved to the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Tammi now lives in Henderson, Nevada, where she runs a dog grooming salon named Snooty La Rue.
The devoted wife is now hoping for life with Erik on the outside although that will not happen until a few days before Christmas at the very earliest.
Tammi, who explained that the family has chosen to remain private due to the impending outcome of her husband's case, lives in Nevada, where she runs a dog grooming salon called Snooty La Rue.
May's re-sentencing decision – vigorously opposed by LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman – saw Erik's original sentence of life without parole reduced to 50 years to life with the possibility of parole.
As a result, the brothers will now have to convince the California Parole Board that they are reformed men during hearings on August 21 and 22.
If parole is granted, the brothers would then be released after a 120-day grace period – during which the decision can be vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom – meaning the earliest possible date they could get their freedom would be December 20.
But parole is not guaranteed after a risk assessment conducted ahead of the resentencing hearing concluded the pair pose a 'moderate' risk to the public if released.
On top of that, both have had disciplinary issues during their stay in prison with Erik allegedly caught trading drugs and helping fellow inmates commit tax fraud.
Meanwhile, Lyle – who was found to be 'narcissistic' during the risk assessment – has repeatedly been caught with contraband cellphones, most recently in January.
Last year, the Daily Mail revealed he had been using the banned gadgets to conduct an illicit fling with a British student named Milly Bucksey, 21, who traveled from her home in Manchester, UK, to visit him in prison last September.
The much-younger blonde was seen perched on Lyle's lap in photos exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail, as well as wrapped in his arms in front of one of the distinctive murals in the Donovan prison yard.
Days later, Lyle's second wife Rebecca Sneed, 55 – who had relocated from her home in Sacramento to Imperial Beach to be closer to him – announced the pair had separated.
Another obstacle to the brothers' release had been what Hochman described as a lack of remorse on their part – but that all changed during last month's resentencing hearing when the brothers apologized to their family for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty.
Erik said: 'I committed an atrocious act. My actions were criminal, selfish and cowardly.... No excuse.'
Meanwhile, his brother Lyle told Judge Michael Jesic: 'I killed my mom and dad. I give no excuses.'
The brothers had previously claimed they suffered years of sexual abuse at the hands of Jose and killed him and their mother in self-defense – an argument their legal team was using to pursue a clemency appeal with Newsom when the sentences were overturned.
That appeal has since been shelved due to the parole decision, with Newsom turning the decision over to the parole board.

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