More than three decades after Eric and Lyle Menendez murdered their parents in a sensational murder case that shocked the nation, Los Angeles County District. Atty. George Gascón said Thursday that his office would review what he described as new evidence that the brothers were tampered with, a move that could anger them.
Gascón said there was no question that the brothers committed the murders, but the issue was whether the jury had heard evidence that their father had molested them. Evidence detailing sexual abuse was presented during the brothers’ first trial, which ended in a hung jury, but was largely halted during their second trial, where they were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. .
“We’re not prepared to say at this time whether we believe that information or not,” Gascón said. “But we are here to tell you that we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us and make a determination.”
The process could pave the way for the brothers to be retried, receive a reduced prison sentence or be released from custody. Gascón said he has not made any final decisions.
In 1989, Eric and Lyle Menendez bought a pair of shotguns with cash, walked into their Beverly Hills home and shot their parents while they were watching a movie in the family living room. Prosecutors said Jose Menendez was hit five times, including in the back of the head, and Kitty Menendez crawled on the floor wounded, before the brothers attacked again and delivered the final fatal blast.
Initially, police speculated based on the gruesome scene that the murders were a Mafia hit. In March 1990, Eric, then 18, confessed to the murders to his therapist, which ultimately led to Eric and Lyle Menendez being charged with murder.
Prosecutors argued that the brothers’ motivation in the murders was simple: to gain access to their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate. But the brothers’ defense lawyers disputed that they had suffered years of violent sexual abuse at the hands of their father before the shootings, and justified the killings as self-defense.
Gascón’s announcement comes more than a year after Eric and Lyle Menendez filed a writ of habeas corpus, asking the court to vacate their 1996 conviction, citing new evidence. The hearing on habeas corpus is expected to be held on November 26. Gascón said he wanted to “finalize” the case by the time of the hearing but did not say whether his review would be complete by then.
“They’re obviously looking at it closely, which is great,” said Cliff Gardner, one of the attorneys representing the brothers. “I’m encouraged by that because I think anyone who looks at that evidence will understand that those boys were molested as children.”
Since the filing last year, prosecutors had asked the court several times to move up the trial date to review the case, Gardner said. Despite the time it took to reach a decision, he said he found it encouraging.
“The fact that they’re taking their time lets me know they’re taking it seriously,” he said.
The petition pointed to evidence from the Peacock documentary, “Menendez + Menudo: The Boys Betrayedwho picked up Allegations that Jose Menendez Sexually assaulted a former underage member of the 1980s pop band Menudo.
A three-part series reported by journalists Neri Yanclán and Robert Rand alleged that the internationally renowned music group’s producer, Edgardo Díaz, raped one of the band’s underage members in the New Jersey home of José Menéndez. Taken there, where she was raped and drugged by the elder Menendez.
In the documentary, Roy Rosselló stated that he was 13 or 14 years old at the time, and suggested that the trip was to help seal a deal between the band and RCA Records, where Jose Menendez worked as an executive. used to work.
“This new evidence is indisputable,” Yanklan told The Times on Thursday, “and the lives of Lyle and Eric did not end with that terrible day.” The journalist said that the two brothers were model prisoners and had led rehabilitation programs for other prisoners. “After 35 years, it is now a thing of the past to show these victims of malpractice the compassion they deserve.”
brothers’ petition Said new allegations of sexual abuse reinforce his contention that the murders were an act of self-defense after facing years of abuse by his parents, and that he fears if his parents told him So they will kill them.
The petition also details a recently discovered letter, which defense attorneys say was written by Eric Menendez eight months before the 1989 shooting, that reveals he was sexually assaulted by his father. The abuse continued into his teenage years.
“I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy,” the letter submitted to the court reads. “Every night I lie awake thinking he might come in.”
The brothers’ first trial, which included testimony detailing the abuse, ended in two hung juries. According to the habeas petition, in the second trial, most of the evidence of abuse was excluded. Prosecutors argued at the time that the allegations of abuse were “completely fabricated”.
The news follows another show based on Menendez, the eight-part dramatic series “Monsters: The Lyle & Eric Menendez Story” on Netflix. The show focuses on the events leading up to the murders and the cultural moment in Los Angeles in which the brothers faced murder charges.
Last month, Eric Menendez’s wife, Tammy Menendez, posted a statement On social media about the series and how the brothers were portrayed, he described it as “inaccurate” and said that Lyle’s portrayal was a “caricature” that was “rooted in terrible and blatant lies.”
“Monsters” co-creator Ryan Murphy defended himself in an interview with The Times last month.
“I think it’s fake outrage,” he said. “I think this story, this Netflix series, is the best thing that’s happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years because it’s getting people talking about it, and it’s getting people asking those questions. “Doing things that are important.”
The renewed spotlight on the case has inspired support for the jailed brothers. Kim Kardashian visited him in jail three weeks ago wrote a personal essay In which he called the brothers “kind, intelligent and honest men” and said their sentences should be reconsidered.
He wrote, “We are indebted to the little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had the chance to be heard, helped, or saved.”
