**Trigger Warning: This article discusses sexual abuse **
A court hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez has been set for November 29, where newly discovered evidence will be brought before the district attorney’s office following a petition by the Menendez brothers.
The hearing comes more than 28 years after the Menendez brothers were convicted of murdering their parents, amid renewed focus following the success of Ryan Murphy’s series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menenzes Story on Netflix.
In a press conference on Thursday October 4, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced that new evidence had been discovered, making note of the brothers’ allegations of molestation at the hands of their father, José Menendez.
“We have been given evidence. We have been given a photocopy of a letter that allegedly was sent by one of the brothers to another family member talking about him being the victim of molestation,” Gascón said. “We’ve also got evidence that was provided by the defense, by his lawyers, that one of the members of the Menudo band alleged that he was molested by the father.”
Read on for the latest updates.
Sources Hint At Imminent Resentencing Recommendation
According to an article shared in Vanity Fair, sources close to the Menendez case could be in for some good news.
As stated by the publication, attorney general George Gascón has apparently requested the presence of family and friends at a press conference planned for Wednesday October 16 (US time).
In the conference, the district attorney is expected to announce his recommendation for the brothers to be resentenced.
If Gascón does indeed make the recommendation, then a judge would be appointed to preside over a hearing to determine whether or not the brothers should have their initial sentencing reduced, or maintained as is.
Gascón is yet to make an official statement in relation to the above.
Update: Menendez Lawyer And Family Petition DA
After the news that the district attorney’s office may be inching closer to resentencing the Menendez brothers, members of Erik and Lyle’s family gathered for a press conference in the hopes of convincing Gascón to announce his decision.
Around two dozen family members were joined by supporters of the Menendez brothers, where defence lawyer Mark Geragos called for a revised sentence.
Geragos spoke of the treatment the brother’s received during their trial, stating: ‘If they were the Menendez sisters they wouldn’t be in custody.’
The sentiment was echoed by Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, who described the layers of suffering her family has experienced.
‘Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father,’ says Joan, who has always been an advocate for her nephews, most recently speaking with Vanity Fair about her nephews pain.
‘The truth is, Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who should have protected them—their parents, the system, and society at large.”
A petition to support the brothers’ resentencing and release was also announced, and in addition to the press conference, Kyle and Erik’s relatives placed a full page ad in Wednesday’s LA Times, calling for ‘Justice for Erik and Lyle’.
The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, also provided Gascon with further evidence – a letter Erik wrote to his cousin in which he revealed that he was still being raped by his father.
The letter was written just eight months before the murders.
The attorney general’s office is yet to comment.
Could The Menendez Brothers Get Released?
The new hearing will determine whether or not the evidence submitted is significant enough to retrial the Menendez brothers, however, Gascón was quick to point out that no decision to that effect has been made.
“None of this information has been confirmed,” he said. “We are not at this point ready to say that we either believe or do not believe that information, but we’re here to tell you is that we have a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us and make a determination based on a resentencing side, whether they deserve to be resentenced — even though they were clearly the murderers — because they have been in prison for years and they have paid back their dues to society.”
He continued: “If there was evidence that was not presented to the court at that time, and had that evidence been presented, perhaps a jury would have come to a different conclusion.”
The brothers have already spent nearly 35 years in prison for the murder of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez.
Is There An Appeal For Lyle And Erik?
While the brothers were originally trialled separately, resulting in mistrials, the pair were then tried together which lead to their conviction. At the time, Lyle and Erik were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
A petition to review the case in 1998 and 1999 was declined after both the California Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of California upheld Erik and Lyle’s convictions.
The brothers maintain to this day that they were the victims of a lifetime of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of their father – claims which were not permitted to be presented as evidence during their trial.
In May 2023, Erik and Lyle’s legal team requested a new hearing, following evidence of their father’s alleged molestation of singer Roy Rosselló of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo.
As the dramatised Netflix series gained traction, the streamer went on to release The Menendez Brothers documentary in quick succession. Both stories have garnered a huge swell in discourse around the brothers, with advocates accusing prosecutors of attempting to deny Erik and Lyle’s claims of sexual abuse based on gender.
Gascón responded to these concerns in his statement, where he said unequivocally that “both men and women can be the victims of sexual assault.”
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
