LOS ANGELES (AP) — On Monday, a judge will determine if fresh evidence calls for a reconsideration of Erik and Lyle Menende’s convictions for the shotgun killings of their parents in their Beverly Hills home over 30 years ago.
In 1989, the brothers were convicted of killing Jose and Kitty Menendez and given a life sentence without the possibility of release. Prosecutors rejected that and accused them of killing their parents for financial gain, but their defense lawyers claimed during the trial that their father had sexually abused them. They unsuccessfully contested their convictions several times in the next years.
Erik and Kyle Menendezare are now submitting a fresh push for freedom at the ages of 53 and 56. In May 2023, their attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition, requesting a judge to take into account fresh evidence of their father’s sexual assault and to investigate if someone is being held unlawfully. The petition stated that the defense put up at trial is directly supported by recently found material.
Their predicament received increased public attention in 2024 with the release of the documentary The Menendez Brothers and the Netflix drama Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The brothers will be appearing virtually, and members of the public will have the chance to win a seat in the courtroom to see them.
Last month, prosecutors suggested resentencing for the brothers, citing their efforts at rehabilitation and redemption as well as their good behavior while incarcerated.
Less than two weeks before Election Day, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gasc conducted a press conference in which he requested fresh penalties ranging from 50 years to life. Since they were under 26 when they killed their parents, they might be eligible for parole right away.
Judge Michael Jesic of the Superior Court will first hear the abuse evidence presented in the habeas petition on Monday before considering the resentencing request on December 11. One outcome could be immediate release; the judge may also consider the strength of the evidence. The brothers can also hope that the governor of California will award them clemency if they are not granted relief in court.
Erik Menendez’s 1988 letter to his uncle Andy Cano detailing the sexual abuse he had suffered at the hands of his father is one of the new pieces of evidence. After hearing about it in a 2015 Barbara Walters television show, the brothers questioned their attorneys about it. Since the lawyers were unaware of the letter and discovered it had not been shown during their trials, they claim it is essentially new evidence supporting claims Erik’s father sexually molested him.
When Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, recently came out to claim that the boy’s father, Jose Menendez, had drugged and raped him when he was a teenager in the 1980s, more fresh evidence surfaced. Jose Menendez was the chief operating officer of RCA Records, where Menudo was signed.
In the Peacock documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, Rossello discussed his mistreatment and gave the brothers’ attorneys a signed statement.
According to the petition, prosecutors would not have been able to claim that there was no proof of sexual abuse or that their father, Jose Menendez, was not the type of man who would mistreat children if these two pieces of evidence had been presented during the brothers’ trial.
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated last week that he will not make a decision until incoming Los Angeles district attorney Nathan Hochman has had a chance to study the case, even though clemency may be another route to the brothers’ liberation. Before making any choices, Hochman, a Republican who switched to independence and defeated the progressive Gasc on December 2, has stated that he wants to thoroughly review the available data.
The Associated Press, 2024. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. It is prohibited to publish, broadcast, rewrite, or redistribute this content without authorization.
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