The notorious Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik, who have been behind bars for 34 years for the murder of their parents, could face resentencing after new evidence of sexual abuse by their father emerged, Al Jazeera reports.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced on Thursday that his office will recommend the brothers’ life sentences be rescinded and they be resentenced to 50 years to life. This decision, however, has met with internal opposition within the DA’s office.
Lyle and Erik Menendez, aged 21 and 18 at the time of the 1989 killings, were found guilty of murdering their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. They claimed they acted in self-defense, fearing their parents would kill them to silence allegations of Jose’s sexual abuse of Erik.
The brothers’ initial trial ended in a hung jury. Prosecutors, who argued that there was no evidence of molestation and that the motive for the murders was the family’s fortune, succeeded in securing convictions in the second trial. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
However, the Menendez case has gained renewed attention following the release of the Netflix docuseries “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” The series, combined with new evidence, has prompted a review of the case.
This new evidence includes a letter written by Erik Menendez when he was 13, which his lawyers claim supports the allegations of sexual abuse by his father. Additionally, Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, revealed in a 2023 Peacock film that he was drugged and raped twice by Jose Menendez in the 1980s.
These revelations, along with other evidence presented in a petition filed by the brothers’ lawyer last year, have led to the DA’s recommendation for resentencing.
The new sentencing, if approved, would make the brothers eligible for parole immediately.
