Menendez brothers' family to speak out for their release in LA as DA considers resentencing
With the Menendez murder case again making headlines as it goes under review by Los Angeles prosecutors, several family members are expected to speak out during a news conference in Los Angeles.
Nearly two dozen family members are expected to gather Wednesday outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, with four relatives expected to speak in support of Erik and Lyle Menendez, including their aunt, Joan VanderMolen.
"They didn't deserve any of this," VanderMolen, 92, told Vanity Fair in an interview published last week. "They were used and abused and there seems to be no end to it."
Lyle and Erik Menendez have spent nearly 35 years behind bars for the fatal shooting of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in August 1989. With cultural and generational shifts around conversations about sexual abuse, the case has gained renewed attention — the brothers both accused their father of abuse during an emotional, highly publicized first trial.
Prosecutors maintained it the killings were motivated by greed and successfully secured first-degree murder convictions during a second trial in 1995. The brothers were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
VanderMolen told Vanity Fair that she speaks with her nephews often and said they are hoping for a good outcome as the office of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón reviews their case. Last year, the Menendezes' lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus calling for the review of new potential evidence, including a letter Erik Menendez allegedly wrote to a cousin that apparently references alleged abuse by his father.
The other piece of potential new evidence is a rape allegation made by former Menudo member Roy Rosselló against their father, Jose Menendez.
The DA's office has said it will provide an informal response to the habeas petition on Nov. 26.
Gascón has also said he could potentially recommend resentencing — another potential path toward early release — which he said he has done with more than 300 cases in Los Angeles County since taking office in December 2020.
"They're hopeful. That's all I can say is hopeful," VanderMolen told Vanity Fair. "We all are. I could cry just thinking about all the years that have gone on, and there they are."
Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner, attorneys who have been representing the brothers, and comedian-actress Rosie O'Donnell are also expected to attend Wednesday's news conference.