Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said he will announce his decision Thursday on the possible resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are each serving two terms of life in prison without parole.
Gascón held a press conference at 1:30 pm local time.
If Gascón recommends resentencing – due to pressure from relatives, lawyers and supporters in general – the decision will then go to the judge to decide whether Lyle and Erik Menendez will be released from prison, receiving a lower sentence. or request a new trial.
Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades the brothers have served and their behavior in prison. The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called them model prisoners who are working hard to reform themselves with no hope of ever being released.
An Oct. 31, 2016 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP, FILE
The decades-old case dates back to August 20, 1989, when Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, used shotguns they bought the day before.
Prosecutors say the brothers killed their wealthy parents for profit.
The defense said the brothers acted in self-defense after being sexually assaulted by their father.
Erik Menendez, left, and his brother Lyle, outside their Beverly Hills home on November 30, 1989.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, FILE
The first trial – which caught the attention of the state with cameras in the courtroom – ended in a mistrial.
In 1996, at the end of a second trial – where the judge banned much of the evidence of sex abuse – the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony at the retrial of his brother Erik for the shotgun slayings of their parents, October 20, 1995 in Los Angeles.
(Steve Grayson/Pool Photo via AP, FILE
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, November 26, 1990.
Nick Ut/AP, FILE
The sensational case gained new attention this fall with the release of the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”
Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from boy band members Menudo who said they were molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his brother eight months before the murder detailing allegations of abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse in court, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have bolstered his cousin’s testimony — wasn’t discovered until years ago, according to Geragos.
Erik Menendez with his lawyer Leslie Abramson and his brother Lyle Menendez at the trial in Los Angeles, March 9, 1994.
Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE
Nearly two dozen of his brothers united at a press conference last week to push for the resentencing.
“These actions, as tragic as they were, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive their father’s unfathomable cruelty,” said Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen. “As an aunt, I don’t know about the abuse that was done.”
“It’s time to give people the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadows of the past,” she said.
Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, speaks at a press conference in front of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles, October 16, 2024.
KABC
Behind bars, the brothers are “trying to get better and be a support and inspiration to survivors around the world,” added Jose Menendez’s niece, Anamaria Baralt. “Continuous imprisonment serves no purpose of rehabilitation.”
The brothers “deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them,” Baralt said.
Despite the outpouring of support, one brother – the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen – remained in custody. He said there were claims that he believed his nephews were not sexually assaulted and motivated by greed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
