Could the Menendez brothers finally regain their freedom? Following the resounding success of Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez as well as the documentary on Netflix, in which they open up, the emergence of decisive evidence could mark the end of their 34 years of incarceration.
On August 20, 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez shot and killed their parents, José and Kitty, in their Beverly Hills home. Arrested in March 1990, the two brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole after two trials which fascinated the United States. Their story is told in Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendeza new salvo in Ryan Murphy's anthology series which was a hit on Netflix. The platform launched with a documentary, entitled The Menendez Brothersin which Erik and Lyle speak. The release of the series put the two brothers back in the news and the Los Angeles County prosecutor announced a new hearing. In the meantime, the family of Erik and Lyle Menendez is calling for their release.
Recent revelations in the Menendez affair, 34 years after the tragedy
If they were sentenced to life without parole, it is because Erik and Lyle Menendez were never able to prove their line of defense. As they repeated during their trial, and several times since, the two brothers feared for their lives, after years of abuse and sexual assault at the hands of their father, José Menendez. In 2023, two new pieces of evidence came to support the testimonies of the two brothers. The first concerns accusations made by Roy Rossellóformer member of the boy band Menudo. In the documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayedthe latter accused José Menendez of having drugged and raped him when he was a teenager in the 1980s. The second evidence provided by the Menendez lawyers concerns a letter written by Erik to his cousin Andy.
What the letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano says
Found years after the events following the death of Andy Cano, this letter was apparently sent in 1988, several months before the assassination. She could prove that Erik was indeed the victim of sexual assault by his father. In the letter revealed by the Los Angeles County prosecutor, Erik Menendez mentions his mother in particular. “Sometimes I wish I could talk to him about these things, you know? One day… Mostly from Dad and me, but the way she worships him and tells him everything makes me afraid she'll tell him everything I could tell him. I can't take the risk.” We can also read the following passage concerning his father: “I'm stuck here all alone. I try to avoid dad. This keeps happening Andy, and it's worse for me right now. I can't explain it. (…) I never know when it's going to happen and it drives me crazy. Every night I lie awake thinking he might come in. I have to forget that. I know what you said but I'm scared. You don't know dad like I do. He's crazy! He warned me a hundred times not to tell anyone, especially Lyle. Am I a wimp? I don't know if I can handle all of this.“
Why the Menendez brothers could be released from prison
For now, it is unclear whether the new hearing will allow the Menendez brothers to regain their freedom, but clues seem to point in that direction. George Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, said in an interview with ABC News: “Considering all the circumstances, I don't think they deserve to stay in prison until they die.”.
You can read Erik Menendez's letter in full (in English) on the website CNN.
