Lyle Menendez, 56, and his 53-year-old brother Erik are serving life in prison without parole for shooting their parents in 1989, but new evidence is being reviewed which could lead to a retrial. The Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon confirmed on Thursday the brothers will get a court hearing in November.
This comes after new evidence came to light which allegedly supports Erik Menendez' claims that he was sexually abused by his father, who was a music executive. The brothers have always maintained they killed their parents in self-defence after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
The case has returned to the public eye after a Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers reached number one on the streaming platform. And Kim Kardashian, who often advocates for prison reform, has also urged prosecutors to reconsider the life sentences given to the Menendez brothers claiming that today they would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Lyle and Erik Menendez from Beverly Hills won worldwide notoriety after killing their parents in 1989 - allegedly, to get their hands on a $14 million dollar inheritance. It was August 20 and father José - a successful record executive - was sitting in front of the television, eating a bowl of berries and cream.
His wife Kitty was in the same room, filling out Erik's college application, when the two brothers burst in - shooting their dad six times and mum ten.
The murder scene was so gruesome and messy, the Beverly Hills medical examiner said it was the first crime scene he'd ever walked into where he needed an umbrella.
The brothers claimed they had returned to the house to find their parents dead. Yet, their apparent trauma didn’t stop them in the following months from launching a mega shopping spree - splashing out on neighbouring apartments in Marina Del Rey, California, a restaurant in New Jersey, and expensive gifts, including a Porsche and a Rolex.
It was only when Erik confided in his psychiatrist in March 1990 that they had killed their parents that they were then arrested.
The brothers’ defence was that they feared their father would kill them, after they threatened to expose him for years of sexual abuse. But, after two trials, both brothers were found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Almost 35 years on from the shooting that shocked the world, Lyle Menendez has spoken exclusively from prison. “This was never a case about actual innocence,” Lyle said in an interview broadcast in a new documentary, Menendez Brothers: Murder By Media, being shown on Crime+Investigation.
“It's always been a case about why this tragedy occurred and how Erik and I can ever reach a place emotionally... and I know as an adult that sexual violence in a household creates a space in which otherwise nonviolent people can do the unthinkable.
“I think looking back 34 years now on the trials, Erik and I and our family thought we were going into a manslaughter case with a district attorney that understood the traumatic impact that sexual violence creates in a person.
“We ended up with the same sentence as a serial killer. And every day we watched people get parole and 34 years later, Erik and I are still watching.”
The interview forms part of a gripping docu-series that examines the infamous true crime story from a fresh perspective, posing the question: ‘did media and cultural biases tip the scales of justice ending in the wrongful conviction of these men?’
One thing’s for sure, the story of the Menendez brothers is still dividing opinions more than three decades later. And while there’s no question who killed Jose and Mary Louise Menedez, the jury is still out when it comes to the boys’ motive.
As defence lawyer Leslie Abramson said: “There is no issue as to who killed Jose and Mary Louise Menendez. The only question in this case is why did these killings occur?”
For twelve years, between the ages of 6 and 18, Erik Menendez claimed he was sexually molested by his father. And during the first trial, the defence called more than 50 witnesses to testify to the strictness and abuse in the family.
The boys’ cousin Brian Andersen gave a statement saying how he witnessed father and son taking a shower together, which he found strange. He hinted that mum Kitty turned a blind eye to what was going on. “As soon as Jose took either one of the boys into their room the door was locked behind him, and Kitty made clear you did not go down that hallway,” Brian added.
But the witness statements didn’t convince everyone. High profile Criminal Defence Attorney Alan Dershowitz said: “I do not believe the Menendez brothers were molested. “I do not believe they were in fear of their parents who were sitting there eating ice cream when their kids blew their heads off. I’m not so easy on allowing excuses.”
The first trial of the Menendez brothers was classed as a mistrial. While six men said it was murder, the same number of women classed it as manslaughter.
More than 30 witnesses who testified for the defence at the first trial were excluded from the retrial and, in 1995, a second trial found the brothers guilty of murder.
They have now spent 34 years behind bars - more than three times the sentence they would have received if they’d have been convicted of manslaughter.
Fast forward to today and their story has captured the attention of a new generation, with TikTok viewers calling for the case to be re-examined.
The second trial didn't end until 1996 - only a few months after the LA District Attorney lost the OJ Simpson case. Journalist Robert Rand said: “I believe Lyle and Erik paid the price for OJ’s acquittal. The District Attorney’s office was determined to win at all costs.”
In May 2023 the brothers’ lawyers petitioned again for a legal review, citing new evidence which had come to light. Cliff Gardner, a criminal defence attorney specialising in post-conviction representation, says there are two pieces of new evidence that could help the brothers’ manslaughter plea.
Cliff said: “One, is a letter Erik wrote to his cousin, Andy. Andy Cano. Andy testified that when he was 13, Erik said to Andy, ‘does your dad touch your penis’.
“My dad’s touching my penis and says it’s the way fathers express love. Fast-forward to the December 1988 letter and Erik writes to Andy, ‘Andy, it’s still happening’. And this letter was written about five or six months before the shootings. That’s an extraordinary piece of evidence.
“The other piece of new evidence at the time back in the late 80s - José was an executive at RCA, And RCA had signed Menudo which was a boys’ group, a boys’ singing group.
“In the other piece of new evidence is testimony from one of the members of Menudo that he had been raped a number of times by José Menendez.
“His sexual assault claims are eerily similar to those made by the Menendez brothers. Supporters of the brothers are hoping this could lead to a new trial.”
Law and Order producer Dick Wolf says times and attitudes have certainly changed since the nineties and we now know a lot more about male on male abuse.
“The crime itself was horrific, but if it had happened now, they would have been sentenced to manslaughter not murder.”
Menendez Brothers: Murder By Media premiered on Crime+Investigation on Saturday 21st September at 9pm and is now available to stream on Crime+Investigation Play.