Having spent decades behind bars for the murder of their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez are on the verge of walking out of prison.
The bombshell development came after the Los Angeles County district attorney recommended the brothers be resentenced for the 1989 killings after having examined new evidence in the case.
“I came to a place where I believe, under the law, resentencing is appropriate,” George Gascón said at a press conference held on October 24.
When will Erik and Lyle Menendez be free?
Gascon will further recommend that thanks to the substantial sentences they have already served, and their young ages, 21 and 18 at the time of the crime, the pair be immediately eligible to apply for parole.
If approved by a judge, and the state parole board, they could be released in a matter of weeks.
In the weeks leading up to the finding, the case was thrust back into the spotlight thanks to Netflix, with the release of Ryan Murphy’s series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and documentary The Menendez Brothers.
While Erik is not a fan of how he was portrayed in Murphy’s drama, Gascón revealed that the shows had resulted in a large number of calls to his office about the case.
Kim Kardashian, who visited Lyle and Erik behind bars in September to discuss prison reform, praised the decision. “Thank you, George Gascón for revisiting the Menendez brothers’ case and righting a significant wrong,” she said.
What did the Menendez brothers do?
For many in 1989, it was a clear-cut case of greedy rich kids wanting it all when Lyle and Erik Menéndez killed their wealthy parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.
Six months after the gruesome shotgun slayings of José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez, the brothers were arrested, with the prosecution claiming the motive for murder was their parents’ $22 million estate.
When police first arrived at the Menéndez home on the night of August 20, 1989, they found the blood-splattered bodies of music executive José, 45, and Kitty, 47, in the den.
Lyle and Erik, 21 and 18 at the time, said they had returned home to find their parents shot dead. Six months later, during which time they went on a conspicuous spending spree that included a new Porsche and Rolex watches, they confessed.
“The crime scene was horrific,” attending officer Sgt Mo Angel told CNBC.
There is no doubt they committed the brutal killings, however, prosecutors have re-examined the “degree of culpability” that the brothers should be held accountable for.
Lyle and Erik have long claimed that their actions came after a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father, which their mother knew about and did nothing to stop.
Lyle and Erik’s allegations against Jose and Kitty weren’t allowed to form part of their defense.
“I do believe the brothers were subjected to a tremendous amount of dysfunction in the home, and molestation,” Gascón said.
“They have been in prison for nearly 35 years. I believe that they have paid their debt to society.”
Following the press conference, Gascón further added that he was concerned by comments made from a member of the prosecution team at the time that men
could not be raped.
“Since the original prosecution … our office has gained a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding sexual violence,” he said in a statement.
What was the new evidence in the Menendez brothers case?
Among the new evidence that was looked at is a letter Erik wrote to a cousin months before the murders.
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening … Every night I stay up thinking he might come in,” it read.
And last year, a documentary titled Menendez + Menudo revealed accusations that José sexually abused singer Roy Rosselló, a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo.
José was an executive at Menudo’s label, RCA Records. “That’s the man here that raped me,” Rosselló said in the documentary, pointing to a photo of José, whose allegation was also reviewed by the DA at this time.
FBI pioneer Ann Burgess previously uncovered, through sessions with Lyle, their claims of years of sexual abuse by José that ultimately led the boys down an unthinkable path.
Yet, after nearly seven years and two trials, a jury found Lyle and Erik guilty of first-degree murder in 1996 and they were sent to prison for the rest of their lives.
“When you take away any type of hope from someone,” said Burgess, “I feel that’s wrong.”.
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