2nd Son Agrees to Return : Will Fly to L.A. to Face Charges in His Parents’ Murder : Exits Tennis Tournament in Tel Aviv

Erik Menendez, accused with his older brother, Lyle, in the Beverly Hills shotgun slayings of their parents, will return to the United States from Israel “as soon as possible” to surrender to police, a lawyer for his brother said today.

“It’s my understanding that he wants to turn himself in,” said criminal attorney Gerald Chaleff of Santa Monica, who is representing 22-year-old Lyle Menendez.

Chaleff said in a telephone interview that he was informed through individuals close to the brothers that Erik Menendez, 19, would soon fly back to the United States from Israel, where he was participating in a tennis tournament.

The immediate whereabouts of the younger Menendez remained unknown, however, after he left the house of a friend in a Tel Aviv suburb this morning. Unlike his brother, Erik Menendez apparently has not retained an attorney.

Associated Press reported that the friend, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this morning that Erik had departed for Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Beverly Hills police announced on Thursday that Lyle Menendez had been arrested and booked for investigation of his parents’ murder last August in their mansion.

Jose Menendez, 45, chief executive of a Los Angeles-area entertainment firm, and his wife, Kitty, 44, had been struck numerous times with blasts from two .12-gauge shotguns. Investigators said they suspect several million dollars in inheritance was the motive.

Police said that the brothers would be co-defendants in the case.

According to Associated Press, Israeli national police spokeswoman Ruth Schlezinger refused comment on the younger Menendez, who was in Israel playing in a tennis tournament when Beverly Hills police officials announced intentions to arrest him.

At the Israel Tennis Center in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, officials said Erik Menendez had been scheduled to compete Saturday but would not appear as “he had an urgent business at home.”

Erik Menendez’s host in Israel told the Associated Press that he received an early morning phone call at his home from the Tennis Center officials, who asked to speak to Menendez.

“Erik was sleeping upstairs. . . . It was something about him having to go back. He asked me to leave the room and made several phone calls to people in the United States,” the host was reported as saying.

He said Erik Menendez then packed his things and left for the airport in a rented car with his coach. He did not identify the tennis coach.

Erik Menendez told The Times several months ago, after the slaying of his parents, that he had hired a private tennis coach and planned to break into the professional ranks. He was regarded as a talented junior player but a long-shot as a professional.

“There was no plane for the United States, but I found out there was an El Al plane leaving for London,” the host said. “I don’t know where they are now, maybe still in Israel, in the air, in London or somewhere else.”

The host said he was acquainted with Erik Menendez and his brother and had sought to comfort Erik in Israel after his parents’ “terrible accident.”

He said he was unaware of Erik Menendez’s alleged involvement in his parents’ slaying and first heard “there was something with Interpol” about two hours after the young man had left.

Meanwhile, Lyle Menendez was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Beverly Hills Municipal Court. He is being held in the County Jail downtown.

Authorities said they have a strong case against the brothers.