Incarcerated: Eric Menendez and Lyle Menendez. Image: trapezoid
For brothers Eric and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murder, hopes of being released before the end of the year have faded. A Los Angeles judge set the next hearing in the case for January 30, 2025. The court date was originally scheduled for December 11.
The brothers, now 53 and 56, have been in prison since 1990. They were arrested six months after the shocking bloodshed in trendy Beverly Hills. There, they shot wealthy parents Jose and Kitty Menendez to death in the living room of their parents' home.
abuse allegations
Initially, the brothers denied the crime. They later explained that they had been sexually, psychologically and physically abused by their parents for years and that their behavior was motivated by fear of their parents. In the first criminal trial against a millionaire's son, there are accounts of years of abuse by his father. But the trial ultimately failed – in 1994 the jury failed to unanimously agree on the verdict.
At a second trial in 1996, the brothers were found guilty of double murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In these proceedings, the judges responsible have largely barred speech about the sexual abuse allegations. According to prosecutors, the brothers killed themselves out of greed to gain access to their parents' property.
Netflix is reopening the case
The case is now back in the headlines. Two Netflix productions offer a spectacle of murder and justice. The brothers have filed a clemency petition with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and their lawyers are insisting that the conviction be overturned. Acting Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón is pushing for a harsher sentence and a reduced sentence. This suggests that in the 1990s there was less awareness of men as victims of sexual violence. If a judge approves, the brothers could be released nearly 35 years after their arrest.
One of the reasons the court date was pushed back from December to January was the arrival of a newly elected district attorney. Nathan Hochman will follow Gascón in early December but has not yet become familiar with the case.
Relatives call for brothers to be released
The Menendez brothers are being held in a prison in San Diego, Southern California. They were contacted by phone for Monday's hearing in Los Angeles (local time). No television cameras allowed. According to US media reports, the brothers' two aunts sided with their nephews in court. According to CNN, Joan Vandermolen, the 92-year-old sister of victim Kitty Menendez, said that no child should have to suffer what Eric and Lyle's suffering. Jose Menendez's sister, Teresita Baralt (85), also campaigned for her nephew's release. (Sudanese Development Authority/Department of Political Affairs)
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