Prosecutors recommend resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez in 1989 killings of their parents

UPDATE | Oct. 24, 2024, 3:35 PM CST |

Los Angeles — Prosecutors will recommend Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.

An official with knowledge of the decision who was not authorized to speak on the record ahead of a planned press conference confirmed that Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will recommend resentencing for the brothers.

They were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors must now seek court approval.

Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez. The brothers said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s longtime sexual molestation of Erik Menendez.

The brothers’ extended family has pleaded for their release, saying they deserve to be free after decades behind bars. Several family members have said that in today’s world — which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse — the brothers would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.

The Menendez brothers were tried twice for their parents’ murders, with the first trial ending in a hung jury.

Prosecutors at the time contended that there was no evidence of molestation, and many details in their story of sexual abuse were not permitted in the second trial. The district attorney’s office also said back then that the brothers were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

Los Angeles — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is expected to announce his decision Thursday afternoon on whether to recommend resentencing in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents more than three decades ago.

Gascón previously said he is reviewing the case and expects to make the decision by the end of October, but on Tuesday, he told CNN’s Jake Tapper he planned to do so by the end of the week.

Gascón plans to make his announcement at a news conference at 1:30 p.m. PT in Los Angeles, his office said.

A judge will ultimately decide on the brothers’ case, and a hearing on the matter has been scheduled for November 26.

The hearing stems from a defense petition citing what the Menendez brothers’ attorneys argue is new evidence, as well as a California law on resentencing in which the court can take into consideration sentences in comparable cases. The judge can also consider whether the defendants were victims of psychological or physical abuse, whether they are rehabilitated and whether they are a danger to society.

The reexamination of the case comes more than 35 years after the fatal shooting of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home. Their sons, Lyle and Erik, who were 21 and 18 at the time, were arrested less than a year later, in 1990, and accused of first-degree murder.

At their high-profile trials decades ago – one of the first cases to be televised – the brothers did not deny killing their parents, but argued they should not be convicted because they acted in self-defense after enduring a lifetime of abuse by their father.

A first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on the charges. In their second trial, much of the defense evidence about sexual abuse was excluded. The brothers were found guilty in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison.

Last year, attorneys for the Menendez brothers filed a habeas corpus petition asking the court to reconsider the conviction and sentence in light of new evidence, including a sworn statement by former Menudo boy band member Roy Rosselló, who alleged Jose Menendez sexually assaulted him in the 1980s. The attorneys also said a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin months before the killings alludes to the abuse he endured.

The defense is asking the court to either vacate the brothers’ conviction and sentence, or permit discovery and an evidentiary hearing during which they can provide proof, according to CNN. 

The brothers’ story has taken on new interest following the September release of the Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Netflix also released a documentary on the Menendez case this month featuring both men discussing what led to the killings.

Gascón, who is campaigning for reelection on a platform that includes sentencing reform, told CNN this month times have changed regarding how the public and the courts treat victims of sexual abuse.

“There is no question that a jury today would look at this case probably very differently than a jury did 35 years ago,” he said.

Last week, the brothers’ relatives made impassioned pleas for their release.

Joan VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister, said the actions of the brothers were “the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father.”

“They were just children. Children who could have been protected and were instead brutalized in the most horrific ways,” she said.

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