What to know about the Menendez brothers' bid for freedom

Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez appear in court for a preliminary hearing held in Beverly Hills, Calif., April 12, 1991. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

LOS ANGELES — The district attorney of Los Angeles says he does not support the resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, brothers who have spent more than 30 years in prison for killing their parents at their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Monday that the brothers have repeatedly lied about why they killed their parents and “fell short” of taking full responsibility for their crimes.

The brothers have argued that they committed the crimes in self-defense after years of abuse by their father.

Here are some things to know about the case:

What happened in the notorious 1989 murder case?

The shotgun killings of Jose and Kitty Menendez took place on Aug. 20, 1989, in their Beverly Hills mansion. Their son Lyle Menendez was the one who called 911, with the brothers initially claiming the killing was Mafia-related or connected to their father’s business dealings.

The brothers went on spending sprees, buying Rolex watches, cars and houses. Two months later, Erik Menendez told his psychologist, Jerome Oziel, that he and his brother killed their parents. They were eventually arrested and charged in their parents’ deaths.

The murder case captured the public’s attention. Coming on the heels of the O.J. Simpson trial, the nation was hungry for true crime TV. The brothers’ first trial was one of the first to be almost entirely televised on Court TV. It spawned documentaries, television specials and dramatizations. The Netflix drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ″ and the documentary “The Menendez Brothers,” released in the fall of 2024, have been credited for bringing new attention to the case.

What happened in court?

Lyle and Erik Menendez’s first trial took place in 1993 with separate juries. Prosecutors argued they killed their parents for financial gain. The brothers’ attorneys never disputed the pair killed their parents, but argued that they acted out of self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse by their father.

Both trials resulted in a hung jury on all three counts for the killing of Jose and Kitty Menendez, and the conspiracy to commit murder. The juries were split over murder and manslaughter convictions.

At the second trial in 1995, the judge excluded a substantial amount of evidence presented in the first trial, including testimony from several family members who witnessed or heard about the abuse. Prosecutors doubled down on their claim that no abuse happened. A single jury convicted both brothers of three counts, including first-degree murder, plus lying in-wait and special circumstance allegations. They were sentenced to life without parole in 1996.

What about the appeals process?

In the years that followed, the brothers repeatedly appealed their convictions. In 1998, they were denied by an appellate court and the California Supreme Court. Their petitions for habeas corpus, a request for a court to examine whether someone is being lawfully detained, were denied by the state Supreme Court.

After exhausting their options in state court, they filed petitions in federal court, which were denied. They then appealed in 2005 to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied them again.

Their attorney said after that appeal failed, they resigned themselves to spending the rest of their lives in prison.

How has new evidence helped the brothers?

In 2015, the brothers heard about a letter written by Erik Menendez to his uncle Andy Cano that was mentioned in a Barbara Walters television special. When they asked their attorneys about it, the attorneys were unaware of the letter and realized it had not been introduced at either trial, making it effectively new evidence.

This letter, attorneys say, corroborates the allegations that Erik was sexually abused by his father.

Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, recently came forward saying he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez, the boys’ father, when he was a teen in the 1980s. Menudo was signed under RCA Records, which Jose Menendez headed at the time.

Rossello spoke about his abuse in the Peacock docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.” He provided a signed declaration to the brothers’ lawyers, the final piece of evidence needed for them to file a new petition for habeas corpus in May 2023 and ask for a reexamination of the case.

What avenues do they have for freedom now?

The brothers have submitted a petition for habeas corpus asking the court to grant them a new trial in light of the new evidence presented.

The court is also considering a motion for resentencing submitted by Hochman’s predecessor, George Gascón, last October. Gascón said his office would recommend the brothers receive a new sentence of 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole immediately because they were under 26 years old at the time of the crimes. If the state parole board granted their release, California Gov. Gavin Newsom then has 150 days to review the parole board’s decision.

Finally, the brothers have asked Newsom to grant them clemency. Newsom has ordered the state parole board to evaluate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public if released.

What does the current LA prosecutor say?

Hochman says he opposes resentencing the Menendez brothers because of their “lack of full insight and lack of complete responsibility for their murders.”

On Monday, his office announced it was withdrawing the resentencing motion submitted by Gascón’s office. Hochman also said in February he does not support the brothers’ habeas corpus petition for a new trial.

Hochman said the brothers failed to “come clean” about lies they told as the case unfolded, including their original claim that they did not kill their parents. He said their repeated argument that they shot their parents in self-defense does not match the facts of the case that show their premeditated steps to plan the killings and make it look like a gang hit.

He also said the brothers did not admit they tried to get friends to commit perjury for them and lied about their mother trying to poison their whole family.

What happens next?

Hochman’s opposition to resentencing considerably reduces the Menendez brothers' chances at freedom, according to Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor of criminal law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

“Frankly it’s the details that are set forth in this lengthy response,” Levenson said, referring to the 88-page document released by his office. “Up to now, it’s pretty much been the defense’s view of the facts for the court’s consumption and the public as well.”

LA’s previous district attorney, Gascón, supported resentencing, pointing to the brothers’ rehabilitation in prison and saying the trial would have been treated differently with today’s understanding of how sexual and physical abuse affects children.

When prosecutors support resentencing, there is “somewhat of a presumption” that the court will do it, Levenson. Without that support, there may even be jurisdictional issues over whether the court can proceed.

The brothers' resentencing hearing is still set for March 20 and 21, presided over by LA County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic.

“Their more likely avenue would be through the governor’s office and clemency,” Levenson said. “That frankly is because Judge Jesic is likely to pay very close attention to all the facts set forth in this opposition.”

Hochman’s position on resentencing does not affect Newsom’s clemency decision or the independent risk assessment that the parole board is currently conducting, the governor said on his podcast Tuesday.

The parole board will be holding its final hearings with both Menendez brothers on June 13, after which the risk assessment report will be submitted to Newsom. The report will also be sent to the judge for his consideration in the resentencing decision.

Newsom said he had not watched any of the recent Netflix shows on the Menendez brothers because he just wants to be “influenced by the facts.”

Jaimie Ding, The Associated Press