Menendez brothers’ life sentences under review

The new evidence includes a letter written by Erik that his lawyers say corroborates allegations he was sexually abused by his father.

Brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez on trial. Picture: Getty Images

Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine if they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said on Thursday there was no question Erik Menendez, 53, and his 56-year-old brother committed the murders, but his office will be reviewing new evidence and will make a decision on whether a resentencing is warranted in the notorious case that captured national attention.

The new evidence presented in a petition includes a letter written by Erik Menendez that his lawyers say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father.

The brothers have said they killed their parents out of self-defence after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from them. Their lawyers argue that because of society’s changing views on sexual abuse, the brothers today may not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Bryan Freedman, the extended family’s lawyer, said they strongly support the brothers’ release. “She wishes nothing more than for them to be released,” Mr Freedman said of Joan VanderMolen, the brothers’ aunt. The brothers’ lawyers said the family believed from the beginning they should have been charged with manslaughter rather than murder. Manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial that ultimately led to the brothers’ murder conviction, lawyer Mark Geragos said.

Lyle, who was then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in 1989 but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual molestation of Erik.

Prosecutors at the time contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

The case has gained new attention in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming true-crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

In a statement on X posted by his wife, Erik Menendez called the show a “dishonest portrayal” of what happened, which has taken them back to a time when prosecutors “built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experience rape trauma differently from women”.

AP