The defense of the two brothers requests their release, in light of new elements which would render their conviction for murder void. A judge set a new hearing for January 30 and 31, 2025.
Two aunts of the Menendez brothers, famous in the United States for having killed their wealthy parents in 1989, demanded their release from a judge this Monday, November 25, in this almost 35-year-old case, revived by a Netflix series.
Erik and Lyle Menendez, currently imprisoned under the minimum life sentence, “never knew, when the evening came, if they would be raped by their father” in the night, explained their aunt Joan VanderMolen. “It’s time for them to come home.”
Strong mobilization
The two brothers made headlines by killing their parents, José and Mary Louise Menendez, in their posh family home in Beverly Hills.
Their trial, one of the first broadcast on television, even before that of American football player OJ Simpson, remained engraved in the collective American memory. Prosecutors had accused the two young men, aged 18 and 21 at the time of the events, of having murdered their parents to inherit their fortune of 14 million dollars.
The brothers presented these murders as a desperate attempt at self-defense, claiming to have been raped for years by their father.
The fiction series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez as well as a documentary produced by Netflix have recently revived interest in this case, in a world where the #MeToo movement has changed the perception of victims of sexual violence.
The case is causing a real frenzy: the online mobilization in favor of the two brothers is supported by celebrities like Kim Kardashian and the house where the murder took place is now assailed by curious people coming to take photos in front of the facade.
A prosecutor deemed stricter
The defense of the two brothers requests their release, in light of new elements which would render their conviction for murder void: a letter from the time when Erik spoke of the sexual assaults of his father to a cousin before the murder, as well as the testimony of 'a former Latino boy band singer, who says he was drugged and raped by José Menendez in the 1980s.
The judge continued the suspense on Monday, refusing to rule on this request. He set a new hearing for January 30 and 31. “We hope that at the end of this period or a little sooner, we will obtain the release of the Menendez brothers,” declared their lawyer Mark Geragos, leaving the court.
Outgoing Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon recently ruled in favor of a re-evaluation of their convictions and initiated proceedings that could lead to their parole.
But his newly elected successor, Nathan Hochman, is considered stricter and his recommendations will weigh heavily. The postponement until the end of January should in particular allow it to carry out its own re-examination of the case.
The defense also submitted a request for clemency for the two brothers to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
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