More than a dozen family members of the Menendez brothers gathered outside the downtown Los Angeles criminal courts building Wednesday and called for the resentencing and early release of the two convicted killers.
The show of support for Lyle and Erik Menendez follows a decision announced earlier this month by L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón to review their murder case. The brothers have long said they were sexually abused by their father.
Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, introduced a coalition called "Justice for Erik and Lyle" and described the brothers as victims of a system that would not hear them and a culture that was not ready to listen.
"They would be mocked," Baralt said. "They would be called cold-blooded killers, left to rot in jail and denied any hope of redemption.
"If Lyle and Erik's case were heard today, with the understanding we now have about abuse and PTSD, there is no doubt in my mind that their sentencing would have been very different."
Joan Andersen VanderMolen, an aunt of the Menendez brothers, said she struggled for years to come to terms with what happened to her sister's family. She called it a nightmare none of the family members could imagine.
"But as details of Lyle and Eric's abuse came to light, it became clear," she continued, "that their actions while tragic were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable [cruelty] of their father."
The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder in the 1989 shooting deaths their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home. The case, which led to two highly publicized trials, has remained in the public consciousness for decades, and has recently drawn attention from a new generation on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Gascón has said new evidence was revealed in a recent Netflix documentary on the brothers, who have been imprisoned for more than 30 years.
Lyle Menendez is now 56 years old. Erik Menendez is now 53.
New evidence
One piece of evidence in question is a letter written by Erik Menendez to a cousin eight months before the murders, and it detailed sexual abuse by Menendez’s father, the district attorney said. The letter was found nine years ago, after the cousin’s death.
It could help provide a basis to reduce the conviction from murder to voluntary manslaughter because it may allow the brothers to claim the killings happened under a legal theory known as imperfect self defense. Under that argument, they would be able to claim they had the honest but unreasonable belief that their actions were necessary to protect themselves.
“None of this information has been confirmed,” Gascón said last month. “We are not at this point ready to say that we either believe or do not believe that information but we are here to tell you that we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what has been presented to us.”
The Netflix documentary recounts the August 1989 killings of Jose and Kitty Menendez, both of whom were hit with multiple shotgun rounds, and details how sexual abuse of boys was not as recognized as sexual abuse of girls at the time of the Menendez trial in the early 1990s.
"If they were the Menendez sisters, they would not be in custody," defense attorney Mark Geragos said Wednesday afternoon at the news conference.
Geragos also said a former member of the 1980s boy band Menudo has signed a declaration stating he was molested by the brother's father, Jose Menendez, who was then-head of RCA records and signed a deal with the band.
An L.A. County Superior Court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 26.
In a statement released after the news conference, the District Attorney's Office said a habeas filing is being handled by the office’s Writs and Appeals Division, which would have to be considered by the court. The case is also being reviewed by the office’s Resentencing Unit.
"We have heard the heartfelt pleas from the Menendez family regarding a review of this case," the statement read. "While we cannot formally comment on any decisions at this time, please know that our office is dedicated to a thorough and fair process and is exploring every avenue available to our office to ensure justice is served."
Background on the case
The case became an international sensation in part because Court TV broadcast live the first trial of the Menendez brothers in 1993. It ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked.
Defense lawyers for the brothers argued that the killings were motivated by years of abuse. But prosecutors raised doubts that the abuse ever happened. They argued instead that the brothers were motivated by greed and money.
Jose Menendez’s estate was worth nearly $15 million at the time of his death.
“They are not the villains they’ve been portrayed as,” said Brian A. Andersen Jr., a nephew of Kitty Menendez, at the Wednesday news conference. “They were boys young and scared and abused by their father in ways no child should ever experience.”
Andersen said the Menendez brothers tried to protect themselves “the only way they knew.”
Prosecutors in the second trial said their motive was greed and money.
Jose Menendez’ estate was worth nearly $15 million at the time of his death.
During a second trial, a judge limited the claims of sexual abuse and barred the brothers from arguing imperfect self defense. Both were convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After speaking with reporters on Wednesday, some of the relatives and their attorneys walked across the street to the Hall of Justice to meet with members of Gascón’s resentencing unit.
Geragos, who represents the Melendez brothers, said they are hoping either for resentencing or for the brothers’ convictions to be overturned. In any case, the family wants them released immediately.
The defense attorney said the brothers have been model prisoners, mentoring other inmates. He noted Lyle Menendez graduated from college behind bars. “So there is an idea of redemption,” he said.
The case has garnered renewed attention in the wake of the release of a Netflix documentary and a true crime drama on the case. And there's a movement on TikTok to free the brothers.
Some people have accused Gascón of taking up the case to gain publicity for himself as he faces a tough reelection bid. The relatives of the Menendez brothers who spoke Wednesday said they wanted to take politics out of their request.
“For us, this is not a political issue,” Baralt said. “This is about truth, justice and healing.”
The District Attorney's Office said it would provide updates about its review of the case as soon as new information becomes available.
