Judge considers releasing Menendez brothers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge will decide Monday whether new evidence warrants a reexamination of the convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez in the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home more than thirty years ago.

The brothers were found guilty of the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez and sentenced to life in prison without parole. While their lawyers claimed during the trial that they had been sexually abused through their father, prosecutors denied this and accused them of killing their parents for money. In the years that followed, they repeatedly appealed their convictions without success.

Now, at 53 and 56, Erik and Lyle Menendez are making a new one offer for freedom. Their lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition — a request for a court to investigate whether someone is lawfully detained — in May 2023, asking a judge to consider new evidence of their father’s sexual abuse. “Newly discovered evidence directly supports the defense presented at trial,” the petition said.

The recent releases of the Netflix drama “ Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez story ” and the documentary “The Menendez Brothers” released in 2024 renewed public attention to their plight. The public will have the opportunity to win a seat in the courtroom and catch a glimpse of the brothers, who will appear virtually.

Rose Castillo, a 28-year-old true crime enthusiast, arrived from Miami five minutes late to enter the lottery to attend the hearing, but caught a glimpse of the brothers’ relatives before they entered the courthouse.

“That was crazy,” Castillo said.

A bailiff told people to stop taking photos of the family members as they waited in the hallway with media and onlookers for the hearing to begin.

Prosecutors recommended to punish again for the brothers last month, saying they have worked for redemption and rehabilitation and demonstrated good behavior inside the prison.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón held a press conference less than two weeks before Election Day, calling for new sentences of 50 years to life. This would make them immediately eligible for parole, as they were under 26 years old when they killed their parents.

The brothers’ extended family has said 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 in prison.

Not all members of the Menendez family are in favor of recidivism. Lawyers for Milton Andersen, the 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, filed a legal brief asking the court to uphold the brothers’ original sentence. “They shot their mother Kitty while she was reloading to ensure her death,” Andersen’s attorneys said in a statement Thursday. “The evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury’s verdict was fair, and the sentence fits the heinous crime.”

Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic will consider the resentencing request December 11but on Monday he will first address the abuse evidence presented in the habeas petition. Instant freedom is a possible outcome; the judge can also rule on the merits of the evidence. And if the brothers don’t get relief in court, they can hope that California’s governor will grant them clemency.

The new evidence includes a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his uncle Andy Cano in 1988, describing the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. The brothers asked their lawyers about it after it was mentioned in a 2015 Barbara Walters television special. The lawyers were unaware of the letter and realized it had not been introduced at their trial, making it essentially new evidence that they say supports the accusations that Erik was sexually abused by his father.

Even more new evidence emerged when Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin American pop group Menudo, recently came forward to say he was drugged and raped as a teenager in the 1980s by Jose Menendez, the boys’ father. Menudo was signed to RCA Records, where Jose Menendez was Chief Operating Officer.

Rossello spoke about his abuse in the Peacock docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” and provided a signed statement to the brothers’ attorneys.

Had these two pieces of evidence been available at the brothers’ trial, prosecutors would not have been able to argue that there was no confirmation of sexual abuse, or that their father Jose Menendez was not the “kind of man who” would abuse children. the petition argues.

While clemency for the brothers could be another path to freedom, California Governor Gavin Newsom says said last week that he will not decide until the new Los Angeles district attorney, Nathan Hochman, has reviewed the case. Hochman, a Republican-turned-independent who unseated progressive Gascón on December 2, has said he wants to review the evidence carefully before making any decision.