Erik and Lyle Menendez's family members meet with LA County District Attorney Hochman

Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez advocating for their resentencing met with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman Friday, a meeting the newly elected DA described as a "productive" hours-long discussion.

In a statement, The Justice for Erik and Lyle Menendez Coalition said the meeting would include over 20 family members of Jose and Kitty Menendez. Family members supporting the brothers' release have backed their claims that they fatally shot their parents in self-defense and had been abused physically and sexually for years as children.

Erik and Lyle Menendez fatally shot their parents at the family's Beverly Hills home on Aug. 20, 1989. They were later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of first-degree murder during a second trial.

While former District Attorney George Gascón recommended resentencing for the Menendez brothers, the fate of their bids for an early release now rest with the county's new top prosecutor. 

Hochman said Friday he spoke with family members but has not yet made a decision on recommending resentencing.

Before he took office last month, Hochman said he would need time to review the case and reach his own decision. Currently, the next resentencing court dates are set for Jan. 30 and 31 after being initially scheduled for Dec. 11.

"I wouldn't engage in delay for delay's sake because this case is too important to the Menendez brothers," Hochman said days after his win in the Nov. 5 election. "It's too important to the victims' family members. It's too important to the public to delay more than necessary to do the review that people should expect from a district attorney."  

On Friday, Hochman said he and prosecutors in his office are still working to review thousands of pages of confidential prison records and thousands of pages of transcripts detailing the two months-long trials in the case. He said the case will take time.

"We're going to spend the time necessary to get this decision right," he told Friday.

Not long after the prosecutor spoke to reporters, the family-led initiative pushing for the Menendez brothers' release held a news conference their own alongside attorney Mark Geragos. They reiterated their pleas for the brothers to be freed from prison.

"This 35-year process has been incredibly traumatizing for us, as I'm sure you can all imagine," said Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of Erik and Lyle on their father's side of the family. "We are very much hoping that we can find path to manslaughter — that we can see the release of the brothers immediately."

If their first-degree murder convictions are vacated, and they are resentenced for manslaughter, they would be eligible for parole immediately. That's in accordance with a state parole statute since they were under 26 at the time of the crimes.

"As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion. Despite the abuse they endured as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation," reads the statement from the family-led initiative for their release. 

The family will be showing their support for the resentencing process that will reflect "Erik and Lyle's abuse, trauma, and demonstrated rehabilitation over the last 35 years," the coalition wrote. The statement said family members hope the meeting with Hochman will move them closer to spending next Christmas reunited as a family.

Hochman said looking out how far the brothers have or haven't come along, in their behavior behind bars and what they have accomplished while incarcerated, will all come into play as he decides whether to recommend resentencing. 

The meeting between members of the Menendez family and Hochman came months after the brothers made their first court appearance in years during a court hearing. Their attorneys requested that a judge review potential new evidence and consider resentencing them for a lesser charge such as manslaughter.

History of the Menendez brothers case

The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder for the 1989 killings of their parents. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July 1996. They have spent roughly 35 years behind bars in state prison.

The habeas corpus petition filed in 2023 argues two pieces of evidence were not presented during the brothers' trials in the 1990s. The 21-page petition states that the new evidence helps show Erik and Lyle killed their parents in self-defense.

During Erik and Lyle's hearing in November 2024, their aunts Terry Baralt and Joan VanderMolen gave testimony. They both spoke in support of their brothers.

"It was quite a moving experience, at least where we sit, to listen to Aunt Terry [Baralt] and Aunt Joan [VanderMolen], who are respectively, Jose and Kitty's older sisters," said the brothers' attorney, Mark Geragos. "Both made impassioned pleas with the judge to send the brothers home."

Strong support and calls for the brothers' clemency came after a Netflix show and documentary revived interest in their case.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom deferred his decision on the Menendez brothers' clemency petition to allow incoming DA Hochman to review the case. The new prosecutor was sworn into office on Dec. 3.