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LA DA to announce decision on Menendez brothers resentencing Thursday

Lyle and Erik Menendez are each serving two life sentences without parole.

Menendez brothers wait to learn fate about possible resentencing
The decision on resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents is imminent, as the Los Angeles district attorney said he plans to announce his decision by the end of this week.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said he will announce his decision on Thursday regarding the potential resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are each serving two consecutive life prison terms without parole.

Gascón is holding a news conference at 1:30 p.m. local time.

Watch "Menendez Brothers: Monsters or Victims?" from "IMPACT by Nightline," streaming now only on Hulu. (Disney is the parent company of Hulu and ABC News).

If Gascón recommends resentencing -- in the wake of pressure from the brothers' relatives, attorneys and supporters in the public -- his decision will then go to a judge to decide whether Lyle and Erik Menendez will be released from prison, receive a lesser sentence or get a new trial.

Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades that the brothers already served and their behavior in prison. The brothers' attorney, Mark Geragos, called them model prisoners who worked tirelessly to reform themselves with no expectation they'd be 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
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 began on Aug. 20, 1989, when Lyle and Erik Menendez fatally 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 days earlier.

Prosecutors alleged the brothers killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.

The defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.

Erik Menendez, left, and is brother Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home on Nov. 30, 1989.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, FILE

 

Their first trials -- which captured the nation's attention with cameras in the courtroom -- ended in mistrials.

In 1996, at the end of a second trial -- in which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence -- the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony in his and brother Erik's retrial for the shotgun slayings of their parents, Oct. 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, Nov. 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 a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.

Erik Menendez's cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez's letter -- which would have corroborated the cousin's testimony -- wasn't unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.

Erik Menendez with his attorney Leslie Abramson and his brother Lyle Menendez for their trial in Los Angeles, March 9, 1994. Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE
Erik Menendez with his attorney Leslie Abramson and his brother Lyle Menendez for their trial in Los Angeles, March 9, 1994.
Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE
 

Nearly two dozen of the brothers' relatives united at a news conference last week to push for their resentencing.

"Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father," Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, said. "As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered."

"It's time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their 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, Oct. 16, 2024. KABC
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, Oct. 16, 2024.
KABC
 

Behind bars, the siblings "sought to better themselves and serve as a support and inspiration for survivors all over the world," added Jose Menendez's niece, Anamaria Baralt. "Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose."

The brothers "deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them," Baralt said.

Despite the massive show of support, one relative -- the brothers' uncle, Milton Andersen -- is adamant about keeping them behind bars. He said in a statement he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.

Author: Emily Shapiro

Source: ABC GMA

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