The LA District Attorney is recommending that charges be filed
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The LA District Attorney is recommending that charges be filed

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A jury found the brothers guilty in 1996 of killing Jose and Kitty Menendez after their highly publicized first trial ended in a mistrial.

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Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday that he is recommending resentment of Erik and Lyle Menendezbrothers serving life sentences without parole for the murders of their parents in a case that first captured the nation’s attention 35 years ago.

Gascón told reporters that he will submit his recommendation in court on Friday, calling for the possibility of parole to be put back on the table. The penalty for two murders is 50 years to life in prison, but because the brothers were under 26 at the time of the crime, Gascón said they would be eligible for parole immediately under California law.

“I think they have paid their debt to society,” he said.

Gascón considered new evidence in the case and has met with family members who have pleaded for the brothers’ release. The relatives say the new evidence shows the abuse the brothers suffered at the hands of their father, wealthy music executive Jose Menendez.

A jury found the brothers guilty in 1996 of killing Jose and Kitty Menendez after their highly publicized and televised first trial ended in a mistrial.

Erik Menendez was 18 and Lyle 21 at the time of the murders in 1989. Their lawyers claimed they acted in self-defense and said they were sexually abused by both parents. The brothers had confronted their parents, believing their parents might kill them to prevent them from going public with the abuse, defense lawyers argued.

Prosecutors at the time dismissed the abuse claims as untrue, saying the brothers were seeking their parents’ fortune, which was then valued at about $15 million. A spending spree undertaken by the brothers between the murders and their arrest helped fuel public skepticism about their plight.

The brothers’ attorneys and the coalition of family members have said the judge overseeing the second trial excluded significant evidence of the abuse the Menendez brothers suffered.

At the news conference Thursday, some family members expressed gratitude for the district attorney’s decision after years of demanding the release of the brothers.

“This step gives us all hope that the truth will finally be heard and that Lyle and Erik can begin to heal from the trauma of their past,” said Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez.

Thursday’s decision comes after fierce internal debate in the district attorney’s office, Gascón said, with some arguing for the brothers’ immediate release and others pushing for them to remain in prison for life.

“I have to tell you unequivocally that we do not have a universal agreement,” Gascón told reporters, adding that some people from his office may go to court to oppose the decision.

The brothers committed “horrible acts,” Gascón said, adding that he also believes they “were exposed to a tremendous amount of domestic dysfunction and molestation.”

The terms of a plea recommendation are focused on whether the person has been rehabilitated and can be safely released into the community, Gascón said. He added that the Menendez brothers worked to develop themselves while supporting others in prison despite years without hope of release.

Gascón said he previously planned to announce his decision in a court hearing in November. Still, a new documentary had renewed interest in the case, causing a storm of public investigations for which, according to Gascón, the district attorney’s office did not have the resources.

Earlier this month, Netflix released an almost two-hour long documentary entitled: “The Menendez Brothers”, which includes interviews with Erik and Lyle Menendez. Prior to release, Kim Kardashian wrote an essay published in NBC News calling for the brothers’ life sentences to be “reconsidered”.

The decision also comes as Gascón seeks re-election in a challenging race, trailing his opponent by more than 20 points in a last poll. The district attorney rejected claims that his announcement was motivated by his campaign, noting that more than 300 people have been charged since he took office, including 28 murders. Four people have been reinstated, he says.

“There is nothing political about this,” Gascón said at the news conference.

Earlier this week, Gascón announced that a hearing on the parole and release of two other convicted killers, Charlotte Pleytez and Lombardo Palacios, will take place on November 1. Each spent more than 17 years in prison for a 2007 East Hollywood murder that his office’s conviction integrity unit determined they did not commit.

“We must constantly reassess questionable past convictions in the interest of justice,” Gascón said in a statement announcing that hearing. “In doing so, we recognize that the system has failed at times, and when it does, the consequences are life-changing.”

Menendez brothers case: The family is making a fervent appeal amid new evidence

In the Menendez case, intense interest lingered long after the conviction. The case has since received renewed attention amid several new documentaries and buzz surrounding the new evidence, which includes a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin, Andy Cano, several months before the murders. Excerpts were included in the 2023 petition filed by the brothers’ attorneys.

“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It still happens Andy but it’s worse for me now,” according to an excerpt. “I never know when it’s going to happen and it drives me crazy. Every night I lay awake thinking he might come in.”

Later the letter reads: “I know what you said earlier but I’m scared. You just don’t know dad like I do. He’s crazy! He’s warned me a hundred times not to tell anyone.”

Investigators are also looking into allegations by a member of the 1980s pop band Menudo that he was abused by Jose Menendez.

Those allegations were made public last year in the Peacock documentary series “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.”

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