The Menendez brothers spent decades fighting for freedom. Why they suddenly have a chance

Oct. 4, 2024 Updated 3:48 PM PT

The Menendez brothers have fought a decades-long battle for freedom since being convicted in 1996 in the sensational murders of their parents at the family’s Beverly Hills home.

For years, they made little progress.

But a series of events in the last year have brought them closer to their goal after spending 34 years behind bars.

There is no question they killed their parents. But they have long claimed that the outcome of the case would have been different had the jury been allowed to hear evidence that they were sexually molested by their father.

Now, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón says he will investigate new evidence related to the molestation claims.

The process could pave the way for the brothers to be retried, resentenced to a lesser prison term or released from custody. Gascón said he has not made a final decision.

Why now?

There has been intense focus on the case in recent years.

In a documentary, a former member of the boy band Menudo said the Menendezes’ father molested him.
Attorneys for the brothers filed petitions citing new evidence related to the molestation claims.
Family members have rallied to get them released.
A new hit Netflix miniseries has focused more attention on the case.
Some have argued that times have changed, and that the brothers’ allegations of abuse might have been received differently at trial today.
Kim Kardashian, a celebrity who has also become a prison reform advocate, called on officials to release them. “We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved,” she wrote in a piece for NBC News.

The Menendez brothers smile in prison mugshots.

What do we know about the killing?

In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez bought a pair of shotguns with cash, walked into their Beverly Hills home and shot their parents while they watched a movie in the family living room. Prosecutors said Jose Menendez was struck five times, including in the back of the head, and Kitty Menendez crawled on the floor wounded before the brothers reloaded and fired a final fatal blast.

It was a sensational murder case that captivated the nation.

Initially, police speculated the killings were a mafia hit based on the gruesome scene in the home. Erik and Lyle Menendez were eventually charged with murder after Erik, who was then 18 years old, confessed the killings to his therapist in March 1990.

Lyle, in navy suit and red tie, and Erik, in gray suit and gray tie, sit in court.

What happened in court?

Prosecutors argued that the brothers’ motivation in the killings was a simple one: to gain access to their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate. But the brothers’ defense attorneys countered that years of violent sexual abuse at the hands of their father preceded the shootings, justifying the killings as a form of self-defense.

The first trial ended with two hung juries. In the second, allegations of abuse and supporting testimonies were restricted, and Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1996.

After their convictions, the brothers pursued unsuccessful appeals.

What about this new look?

More recently, attorneys and advocates have called for the court to take another look at the case amid new sexual assault allegations they say corroborate a history of abuse against the brothers.

A recently discovered letter that attorneys say was written by Erik Menendez suggests sexual abuse by his father continued into his late teenage years.

And new allegations made by a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo suggest Lyle and Erik Menendez were not the only alleged victims of abuse. Roy Rosselló, who raised the allegations in the Peacock docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” said he was raped in the 1980s by Jose Menendez when he was 13 or 14 years old.

A petition filed on behalf of the brothers in Los Angeles County Superior Court in May argues that the new evidence directly challenges the argument prosecutors made during trial: that the murders were about money and that Jose Menendez was not the “kind of man that would be abusing his sons.” They want the convictions vacated or a new evidentiary hearing scheduled.

Cooper Koch, left, and Nicholas Chavez in “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”

Why is the D.A. launching a new investigation?

Gascón said there was no doubt that the brothers committed the killings; the issue was whether the jury heard evidence that their father molested them. Evidence detailing sexual abuse was presented during the brothers’ first trial, which ended in hung juries, but was largely withheld during their second trial, where they were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

“We’re not at this point ready to say we believe or do not believe that information,” Gascón said. “But we’re here to tell you that we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us and make a determination.”

Gascón said that he had not made a decision about the new evidence, and that the move to review the case was not related to the recent Netflix series about the Menendez case, “Monsters.”

What’s next?

Gascón did not say how long the review would take. Depending on what officials decide, the brothers could receive shorter sentences.

Cliff Gardner, one of the attorneys representing the brothers, said that since the filing last year, prosecutors had asked the court several times to push back a date for the hearing in order to review the case.

“They’re obviously looking at it closely, which is great,” he said. “I’m encouraged by it because I think that anyone that takes a look at that evidence is going to walk away with the understanding those boys were molested as children.”