Menendez brothers should be resentenced with probation, LA DA says

Erik and Lyle Menendez – two brothers convicted of murdering their parents in a case that shocked America more than three decades ago – should be resentenced by a judge and released on probation, the Los Angeles County district attorney is recommending.

The murders of Kitty and Jose Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989 have haunted the United States for years and recently inspired a popular Netflix series.

The case focused on Erik and Lyle Menendez’s motive in the murders, in which their parents were shot 13 times while they watched television.

George Gascón, L.A. County’s top prosecutor, announced Thursday that new evidence in the case warrants a review of their life sentences.

Erik Menendez, 53, and Lyle Menendez, 56, are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole in California.

There is still a long way to go before the brothers may be released.

A judge will have the final say on whether the brothers should be resentenced, and a parole board would have to consider whether they should be released from prison after serving more than 30 years.

The couple and members of the Menendez family received no advance notice of Mr. Gascón’s decision.

“I believe that the brothers were subjected to enormous disruption and harassment in their home,” Mr. Gascón said.

He added that while there was no excuse for murder, “I believe they have paid their debt to society.”

During their criminal trials in the 1990s, prosecutors portrayed the brothers as rich kids who systematically planned the murders to get their parents’ fortune.

But their defense attorneys argued that the brothers were victims of years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and had only acted in self-defense.

The announcement by Mr. Gascón, who faces a tough re-election fight, follows new evidence in the case involving allegations of sexual abuse.

One new piece of evidence was a letter from Erik Menendez to another family member, apparently dated 1988, detailing alleged abuse by his father, Jose.

The other evidence came from a then-underage member of the 1980s Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. The band member claimed that Jose Menendez, then working as an executive at the record company RCA, drugged and raped him during a visit to Menendez’s home.

The case began on August 20, 1989, when the brothers – then ages 18 and 21 – called police and reported finding their parents’ bodies upon their return.

Mr. Gascón said his office plans to submit a resentencing recommendation to the court on Friday. It will contain details and evidence supporting a lesser sentence.

A hearing is being scheduled that officials hope to schedule in the next 30 to 45 days. A judge will take a stand and hear the arguments for their release. The brothers could also be there.

The hearing is likely to be contentious. Mr. Gascón noted that this case has divided his office and his staff may argue against him in court. At least one member of the Menendez family, Kitty Menendez’s brother, Milton Andersen, has also sharply criticized the district attorney play politics with a case when he had “already endured the unimaginable loss of his sister.”

He said the recommendation, if approved by a judge, allows for the possibility of parole, based both on California law and the brothers’ ages at the time of the crimes. A parole board would have to review the brothers’ case and rehabilitation — and if the board approves their release, California Gov. Gavin Newsom could still deny them.

A hearing on the case is scheduled for Nov. 26, but prosecutors hope to schedule a new hearing to discuss the resentencing recommendation.

The Menendez brothers filed a motion in May 2023 detailing the new evidence in their case and asking that their convictions be overturned. Mr. Gascón said his office had been reviewing the case for more than a year, but he said he made the decision on Thursday, just an hour before he held a widely watched news conference on the landmark case.

The decision was announced 12 days before election day, when Mr. Gascón faces a difficult re-election and is trailing by 30 points in some polls. He denied that his announcement was political and said it would be a long time coming.

Neama Rahmani, a criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, told BBC News he had never seen anything like this in his career.

“It’s really the perfect storm of PR and politics,” he said, referring to the recent attention of celebritiesA Netflix drama series about the case and an “embattled” district attorney vying to stay in office. “You will never see a case like this again. It’s a unicorn.”

Kim Kardashian thanked Mr. Gascón on her Instagram Story on Thursday for “righting a significant wrong.” She said the case “shows the importance of questioning decisions and searching for the truth.”

Jose and Kitty Menendez were found dead in their Beverly Hills mansion after being shot multiple times in August 1989.

Her sons Erik and Lyle called police and told authorities they came home to find their parents dead.

The authorities initially didn’t suspect the brothers. The couple was shot 13 times with two shotguns. The brutality of the crime led authorities to believe it may have been a mob attack.

But the brothers began to test their behavior – spending their money on lavish spending sprees – including buying Rolex watches – as well as gambling and partying.

A confession to their psychologist was their downfall. The doctor’s girlfriend recorded the recording and reported it to authorities.

In March 1990 the brothers were charged by police. They went to trial in 1993 and the brothers admitted the murders but argued they had acted in self-defense and feared their parents would kill them first.

They described years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse – particularly at the hands of their father Jose, who later became a film executive in Hollywood.

Lyle and Erik said they confronted their parents about the sexual abuse, that there was conflict in their household and that they believed their parents were planning to kill them.

Family members testified about the abuse they witnessed – but none said they had seen sexual abuse firsthand.

Prosecutors argued her motive was money – namely her parents’ $14 million (£10.8 million) fortune. They explained their methodical planning, purchasing two shotguns days before the murders and their spending spree afterward. They portrayed the brothers as spoiled sons who thought they could get away with anything.

Their first trial ended in a mistrial, but a second in 1995 resulted in them being convicted of first-degree murder.