The script twist in the case of the brothers Lyle and Erik Menéndez was not expected by Netflix. This Thursday, October 24, the attorney general of Los Angeles County, George Gascón, has announced that he will seek a new sentence on the case, that is, that he will try to reopen the trial and opt for a lesser sentence that would remove them from the jail The brothers have been serving a life sentence for 35 years in a prison in San Diego, southern California, in the United States, for the murder of their parents. It will be a judge who makes the final decision about whether the process is reopened and, obviously, about his possible release from prison. At the moment, there is a hearing on the case set for the last week of November.
The prosecutor’s highly anticipated and massive press conference was scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Los Angeles time (7:30 p.m. Eastern time in the United States; 10:30 p.m. in mainland Spain), although Gascón has been delayed for half an hour. Among those present, relatives of the convicts, such as their aunt Joan, Kitty’s older sister. All American television and many websites have connected live with the Los Angeles court. “We do not have a universal agreement; There are people in the office who believe that the Menéndezes should spend the rest of their lives in prison, and others who believe that they should be released immediately. After a careful review (…) I believe that under the law seeking a new sentence is appropriate,” Gascón stated. He has also said that they were 18 and 21 years old when they committed “these horrible acts”: “There is no excuse for this murder, even if they suffered abuse, they should have sought help or gone to the police (…) But I think they went through a home dysfunctional and many abuses. “They entered prison without the possibility of parole (…) Even knowing that they would never be free, they took the path of redemption and rehabilitation.” For the prosecutor, “they have paid their debt to society”, so for him they should have access to parole, and he states that he feels “very confident” that, therefore, they should be reintegrated into society. Tomorrow, Friday, they will officially present the case in court.
Three weeks ago Gascón already explained that His office was already re-evaluating the case after finding new evidence and after lawyers asked to review it: “We have an ethical and moral obligation to review what has been presented to us and make a determination from there,” he said. At the beginning of this, he commented that he would make an announcement regarding the case. Since then the expectation has been maximum. The case is extremely high-profile. First, because the city was shocked when the crime occurred, in 1989, and the young people unloaded their shotguns on their parents one August night while they were watching TV. Then, for his judgments: the one in 1993, the first televised one in US historyin which the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict; and the second, which took place in 1996, without cameras and in which were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
But now, the case is back on the crest of a wave. for the Netflix series about his story, which has put him in the spotlight with enormous global success; In fact, the platform has also released a documentary about their lives. The morbidity is such that in front of the doors of the Menéndez’s old house, in luxurious Beverly Hills, dozens of tourists accumulate every day, hanging around, looking through the fence and rummaging through the black metal mailbox, almost always open. Even Kim Kardashian has taken sides by the brothers, ensuring that “they are not monsters” and that they suffered public and media condemnation: “The case became entertainment for the nation,” said the reality television star, who is seeking to be a lawyer and who has visited them in prison and advocates for his release.
Lyle (now 56) and Erik Menéndez (53) were sentenced to life in prison for murdering their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, in their home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California, in August 1989. They were 21 and 18 years old; their parents, 45 and 47. At the trial, the brothers stated that they had suffered sexual abuse, but also psychological abuse, by their father since they were around six years old, that their mother knew about it and never stopped it, and that they feared for their lives. their lives. However, their testimonies were received coldly in court and did not serve as mitigating circumstances. In addition, the fact that when their parents died they were the heirs of 14 million dollars (more than 35 million, adjusted for inflation in 2024) and that after the murder they spent thousands and thousands of dollars on luxury watches, cars high-end luxury, hotel stays and setting up a restaurant in New Jersey, on the other side of the country, took its toll on his public image.
That the Menéndezes killed their parents is obvious, undeniable and even they have recognized it. The reasons are a different matter, and if they are re-evaluated now, they could change their destiny. After spending almost 35 years in prison, the sentences could be reduced if the sentence changes, or if the homicide is lowered in grade and is no longer considered murder. There are two ways in which the trial could be opened and, for now, the defense has requested both before the Los Angeles County Supreme Court. The first would be the call habeas corpusby which the sentence is reviewed in light of the discovery of new evidence. And, indeed, in recent years evidence has become known, such as a letter written by one of the brothers to his cousin, Robert Rand, now a journalist, dated months before the murders and in which he spoke of those sexual abuses. There is another letter, from Lyle to Erik, from 1990, when both were already in prison awaiting trial, where the abuse is discussed. Furthermore, in mid-2023 Roy Roselló, one of the five members of the well-known Puerto Rican youth band Menudo, which was successful throughout the American continent in the mid-nineties, He claimed in a documentary series that he had been raped by José Menéndez when he was just 14 years old. The defense has asked to incorporate that testimony among the new evidence.
In the first case, in 1994, much of the evidence of abuse was admitted, although in the end the jury reached no conclusion. In the 1996 report, however, this story went almost unnoticed, because many of those testimonies were excluded. Now, Gascón — for whom the case, with great public exposure, has been a boost in his race for re-election as district attorney — believes there is new evidence. “It is important to recognize that both men and women can be victims of sexual abuse,” he said at the beginning of the month, when he announced that they would review the case. The Menéndez defense lawyers also talk about this new evidence, which they consider sufficient to prove the abuses, and try to follow the same path as Gascón: “If they were the Menéndez sisters, they would not be in prison. We have evolved. It’s time.” On a television show a week ago, Gascón went a step further, stating that “given all the circumstances,” he believed that “they don’t deserve to be in prison until they die.”
That would be the second route, which is a specification of California laws whereby, if prisoners have excellent behavior and have been rehabilitated, Justice can be open to considering a new sentence. Hence, both the family and the lawyers want to show the good behavior of the brothers, highlighting their studies in prison or their good behavior collaborating with Alcoholics Anonymous or with the sick. They even try to provide letters from prison staff where they are imprisoned in which they are praised for their evolution and conduct. Both brothers are married to women they met by letter. In 1999 he married a woman named Tammi Saccoman, to whom he remains united, although conjugal visits are not permitted. Lyle married Anna Eriksson in 1996, whom he divorced in 2001, and since 2003 he has been with Rebecca Sneed, with whom he had been corresponding for a decade.
When it comes to family matters, the Menéndezes are not too united. Part of the family asks for his release. On October 17, family and friends of the brothers met in Los Angeles and assured that they are not a threat to society and that they should be released. “If the case were evaluated today, with the knowledge we now have about the abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, I have no doubt that the sentence would have been different,” said a niece of José Menéndez. “We are united here in the hope that these 34 years of nightmare will end and that we will be reunited as a family,” said the spokesperson. Instead, Milton Andersen, 90, Kitty’s brother, says his nephews should remain in prison. Even in the Menéndez family it is still, three decades later, difficult to agree on the guilt and the future of the brothers.
