Menendez brothers resentencing decision to be announced Thursday
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is holding a 1:30 p.m. news conference to announce his decision regarding the potential resentencing of the Menendez brothers in light of new evidence in the case.
The news comes after weeks of renewed attention to the high-profile case, thanks in part to the release of the Ryan Murphy drama series, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" and a documentary about the brothers, both on Netflix. Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in 1989.
Prosecutors contended that the murders were committed out of greed. Defense attorneys argued that the killings were in self-defense following the brothers' allegations that they were sexually and physically abused by their father, claims that prosecutors cast as fabrications in the original trial. After a mistrial in those proceedings, the brothers were convicted in a second trial in which their defense attorneys saw evidence of abuse was excluded.
Gascón said that his office is split over whether or not they believe the claims.
"I have a group of people, including some that were involved in the original trial, that are adamant that they should spend the rest of their life in prison and that they were not molested," Gascón said. "I have other people in the office that believe, actually, that they probably were molested and they deserve to have some relief."
He said that he's been looking into the case for a year now and is to make an announcement Thursday afternoon regarding his decision. He said that the renewed interest in the case had spurred his decision-making process along.
The Menendez brothers' appellate attorneys filed a habeas petition in May 2023, citing new evidence — a letter from Erik Menendez to a relative in which he detailed the alleged abuse by his father — to challenge the convictions. The district attorney said he is reviewing the letter along with abuse allegations against Jose Menendez made by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo. The band had a recording contract with RCA Records, where José Menendez worked as an executive.
He says that he's been looking into the case for a year now and plans to make his decision by end of day on Friday, despite having a hearing on the matter already scheduled for late-November. He says that the renewed interest in the case has spurred his decision-making process along.
The habeas petition that led to November's hearing was filed by appellate attorney Cliff Gardner in May 2023, when the new evidence — a letter from Erik Menendez detailing alleged abuse to a family member — was first discovered. It also referred to similar allegations made by Roy Rosselló, a former member of boy band Menudo, which was managed by RCA where José Menendez was working as an executive.
