Family members of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are serving a life sentence without parole for murdering their parents, have made “compassionate pleas” advocating for the brothers’ freedom during a court hearing.
It comes after Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascon announced his recommendation for resentencing of the brothers, who have also received backing from the majority of their family and stars including Kim Kardashian.
Resentencing could mean immediate release from prison for the brothers, but it has to be approved by a judge.
The 1989 murder case has been in the headlines over the last few months after a Netflix drama series and documentary film were released.
The Menendez brothers have never disputed that they fired the fatal shots that killed their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, on August 20 1989 at their Beverly Hills home.
But the pair have always claimed their actions were an act of self-defence, rooted in physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
Joan VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, arrived at the Van Nuys Courthouse West on the eve of her 93rd birthday to give evidence for the brothers’ release, alongside Terry Baralt – the oldest sister of Jose Menendez.
In an emotional statement, Ms VanderMolen told the court that no child should have to endure what the brothers did “at the hands of their father”.
“It breaks my heart that my sister Kitty knew what was happening and did nothing about it,” Ms VanderMolen said.
“I love Erik and Lyle and I want them to come home.”
Ms VanderMolen said she “absolutely” speaks for the entire family, except for her brother Milton Andersen, who has previously refused to support the brothers’ request for freedom.
“He does not know what he is talking about,” Ms VanderMolen said.
Meanwhile Ms Baralt told the court that she was very close to her younger brother Jose and described his wife Kitty as “my best friend”, but had flown to the court hearing to advocate for the Menendez brothers’ release.
“Thirty-five years is a long time, I think it is time for them to go home,” an emotional Ms Baralt told the court.
“We need the kids (back)… I would like to have them back.”
Ms Baralt, 85, said she had not visited the Menendez brothers for some time as she is receiving treatment for cancer, but wanted to give evidence in court for them.
“I would like to hug them and see them, not to go into a jail and see them… These kids were great, I know they are not kids anymore but to me they are, it has been difficult,” she added.
While the brothers could not be seen on a video link, the court was told they could hear the proceedings.
Judge Michael Jesic pushed back the next hearing until January 30, citing that he would not be ready on the scheduled December 11 date because there is a lot of information to sift through.
Defence counsel Mark Geragos confirmed the hearing could “potentially” last longer than one day.
During a press conference outside of the court, Mr Geragos described the hearing as “very moving”.
“It was the first time that Lyle and Erik have been at least remotely in the courtroom in a number of years,” he said.
“It also was quite a moving experience at least from where we sat to listen to Aunt Terry and Joan who are respectively Jose and Kitty’s older sisters, both made compassionate pleas with the judge to send the brothers home.
“Terry testified under oath that she was very close to Jose and practically grew up with him, Joan as well talked about Kitty and all of the good things that they’ve done since they’ve been in there.
“By January 30 or January 31 we are hoping that by the end of that, or some time sooner that we will in fact get the brothers released.”
Prior to the hearing, dozens of members of the public arrived at the courthouse to take part in a lottery for a handful of seats in the courtroom.
The brothers were convicted and sentenced to life without parole in 1996 and are serving time at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
It came after an initial mistrial with a hung jury for both brothers, as prosecutors claimed there was no evidence of any abuse, and the pair had murdered their parents to inherit the family fortune.
Mr Gascon later supported the brothers’ request for clemency from California governor Gavin Newsom, which said all family members except for Milton Andersen – the brother of Kitty Menendez – supported the petition.
Netflix launched drama series Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story by co-creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.
The nine-part series stars Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as the brothers, while Oscar-winner Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny portray parents Jose and Kitty.
At the time, the real Erik Menendez criticised the series, calling it a “dishonest portrayal” of a time when prosecutors “built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused”.
Netflix also released a documentary film titled The Menendez Brothers which featured interviews with the pair.
