Lyle and Erik Menendez are one step closer to freedom.
LA District Attorney George Gascón announced at a press conference Thursday that he’s looking into new evidence that has come to light about the Menendez brothers, who were convicted of their parents’ 1989 murders and sentenced to life in prison.
Gascón said his office is reviewing new evidence and determining whether it merits reconsideration of resentencing the Menendez brothers. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 29.
A Habeas petition can be filed when a convicted felon requests a review of new evidence or when prosecutors can review whether a convict has been rehabilitated.
Lyle and Erik Menendez want their case re-examined under both circumstances. The brothers filed a petition for Habeas in May 2023.
The new evidence includes a letter Erik Menendez sent his cousin, Andy Cano, eight months before the murders that his attorneys say prove he was sexually abused by his father. The defense also alleged rape allegations by ex-Menudo member Roy Rosselló, who revealed details of the alleged rape and sexual abuse by Jose Menendez in a Peacock docuseries, Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.
They argue that if this evidence had been presented to the jury the first time around, the outcome would not have been the same.
This news comes on the heels of the success of Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” which sparked renewed interest in the trial.
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Jose and Kitty Menendez were gunned down in their Beverly Hills home on Aug. 20, 1989. Their brutal deaths sent shockwaves around the world.
Lyle and Erik’s first trial ended in a hung jury, but they were found guilty the second time they were tried. To this day, Calif. v. Menendez remains one of the most high-profile cases in Los Angeles.
Lyle and Erik, who were 21 and 18 years old at the time of the killings, contend that they killed their parents after years of sexual assault. Prosecutors, however, argued that they were motivated by money — Jose was a record company executive worth millions.
If a retrial or resentencing were to be granted, one possibility is: If their convictions were to be downgraded from murder to manslaughter, Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are now 56 and 53 years old, could potentially be released due to time served. The brothers have been locked up for over 35 years.
The brothers have repeatedly appealed their convictions over the decades, but have not yet succeeded.
Aside from the Netflix special, the case has stirred a movement among people who weren’t even born yet when the murders occurred demanding Lyle and Erik Menendez be set free. They say the system did wrong by the brothers. The group refers to itself as “Menendez Defenders and Guardians,” and they’ve been vocal on TikTok and other social media.
Surviving relatives of the Menendez brothers have publicly supported their release.
This story was originally published by Katie McLaughlin at Court TV.
