One Menendez brother won’t have his wife of 21 years waiting for him should he soon be released from prison.
Lyle Menendez’s longtime partner revealed Thursday they’ve been “separated for a while” but kept the news under wraps as her jailbird hubby and his younger brother have inched closer to possibly walking free decades after murdering their parents.
Rebecca Sneed, 55, indicated she felt the need to make a separation announcement after it emerged last week that Lyle was allegedly busted using a burner phone to have a secret relationship with a British student who is 35 years his junior.
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Sneed emphasized that she and Lyle have no bad blood, adding that they’re still friends. She’s even remained committed to running a Facebook page that feverishly advocates for the release of Lyle and Erik.
“Guys! This is NOT a cheating scandal,” she wrote. “Lyle and I have been separated for a while now but remain best friends and family. I continue to run his Facebook pages, with input from him, and I am forever committed to the enduring fight for Lyle and Erik’s freedom, as has been so evident over the years.”
Sneed, a former magazine editor turned lawyer, married Lyle in 2003—just two years after his first wife behind bars divorced him after he was said to be writing letters to another women. Sneed and Lyle’s relationship was limited to brief kisses and hand holding, but Lyle said in 2017 that they spoke by phone every day.
“I have a very steady, involved marriage and that helps sustain me and brings a lot of peace and joy,” he told People. “It’s a counter to the unpredictable, very stressful environment here.”
Seven years later, it appears Lyle may have replicated that relationship with another, much-younger woman. A report in the Daily Mail revealed last week that Lyle has used a contraband cellphone to chat with Milly Bucksey, a 21-year-old student in England.
“Lyle adores Milly,” an insider told the Mail. “And she refers to him as her boyfriend even though he’s married.”
Lyle reportedly connected with Bucksey—who wasn’t born when he and Erik were sentenced in 1995—inside a Facebook group that’s run by Sneed. The Mail reported that he first used an alias to reach out to her on Facebook, but eventually identified himself as the incarcerated killer.
The tabloid published photos of the blonde Bucksey and Menendez smiling together during a visit to his California prison. One photo showed the student sitting on Lyle’s lap with her hand laid on top of his. Another included a pup, and a third showed Lyle flashing a big smile with his arms draped around his new boo.
The revelation is a shock twist in the Menendez saga that’s been grabbing national headlines since a pair of hit documentaries were released last year. More recently, the pair have been given hope by the Los Angeles district attorney George Gascón—who’s on his way out of office—that they may soon have their sentences commuted and walk free.
Gascón penned a letter in October that called for the men’s release, arguing they’ve served enough time for the shotgun murders of their parents. It made mention of the Menendez brothers’ allegations of sexual abuse from their father, José, and how their mother, Kitty, allegedly did nothing to stop it.
A resentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11, but things aren’t so cut-and-dry for the brothers. They’ll first have to attend a status hearing on Monday—marking their first time back in court in nearly 30 years—to determine if their resentencing should remain on schedule or if it should be delayed until a new DA takes office next year.
It’s unclear if the recent discovery of Lyle’s burner phone and separation will hurt his chances at being granted an early release. It certainly doesn’t appear as though it will help matters, however, as Lyle indicated in personal statement as recently as this month that he and Sneed were still happily together.
“This coming November will be my 20th wedding anniversary,” Lyle wrote in a statement. “Learning to be a husband and a partner from inside a prison has been challenging. It has also changed my life in so many positive ways.”
He continued, “Her unwavering support and belief in me is something I am most grateful for and has played no small part in my journey to be a better person.”
