Menendez brothers murder case gets reevaluated due to sexual abuse allegations

The Menendez brothers face the possibility of freedom after serving more than 30 years in prison, with their case being reviewed for possible resentencing by the Los Angeles County District Attorney following the emergence of significant new evidence.

On Aug. 20, 1989, Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, gunned down their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. Jose Menendez was a wealthy 45-year-old entertainment executive, while 47-year-old Kitty Menendez was a homemaker.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison after being convicted at their second retrial, following mistrials in the first trial.

"It was from the jump, one of the biggest cases in Los Angeles and in the country; no one could believe that these two young men had killed their parents this way," ABC's Terry Moran, who covered the trial, told "Impact X Nightline."

The fact that they killed their parents 36 years ago was always clear. However, the reason they did it has always divided and captivated the nation.

During their initial trial, defense attorney Leslie Abramson contended that Lyle and Erik shot their parents in self-defense. She argued that the brothers feared their parents would kill them if they disclosed the years of alleged molestation they had suffered at their father's hands.

The first trial ended in a mistrial on Jan. 13, 1994, due to a deadlocked jury. After a second trial, the brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder in 1996 and received two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

A fresh legal filing has been submitted with even more distressing details of Jose Menendez's alleged abuse.

According to the brothers' attorneys, Erik Menendez penned a letter describing his father's alleged abuse to his cousin.

Another alleged victim of their father, a former member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, also spoke out in 2023 Peacock documentary "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed." Roy Rosselló alleged that he was abused by José Menendez when he was 14.

The Menendez brothers have seemingly gone from public enemies to victims as a powerful movement builds online to set the brothers free.

Their story is now under a modern lens, casting a new perspective on an alleged trauma that was barely understood at the time -- that men could also be victims of sexual abuse. Some people say this reexamination challenges long-held beliefs and prompts people to rethink their understanding of this complex issue.

"I have always thought that if the Menendez brothers were the Menendez sisters, they'd be free today, would have been convicted," Moran said. "But an abuse victim often gets some kind of clemency."

Prison reform advocate Kim Kardashian called for their release.

'We are all products of our experiences," Kardashian wrote in a personal essay about the brothers. "Time changes us, and I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18."

Actor Rosie O'Donnell has befriended the brothers.

"They were not horrible kids," O'Donnell told "Impact X Nightline." "They were severely, sadistically tortured by a pedophile predator father, and a very compliant and also involved mother, who had no interest in them."

In the '90s, Dr. William Vicary, a former psychiatrist, was a key witness for the defense in the case after defense attorney Leslie Abramson hired him to evaluate Erik Menendez. Vicary later received probation of his medical license for admitting to altering notes from those meetings.

"In the '80s and '90s, the public had very little knowledge about this type of sexual abuse, especially fathers abusing their own sons," Vicary told "Impact X Nightline." "Back then, there were many people that just dismissed this outright."

Others like Alan Abrahamson, who covered the trial for the LA Times, still believe the brothers killed their parents for money and that the jury got it right, given their lavish spending spree in the aftermath of the killings.

"The parents were sitting in the den watching TV," Abrahamson told "Impact X Nightline." "Did they have any weapons? No."

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced earlier this month that he was reviewing new evidence in the case against the brothers.

Some family members said the Menendez brothers should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder. A group of relatives, including Kitty Menendez's sister, agree.

The family members held a news conference in LA on Wednesday, hoping it would influence the appeal of their sentencing. The court has scheduled one hearing for November 2024.

ABC News Studios' "IMPACT x Nightline: The Menendez Brothers: Monsters or Victims?" streams on Hulu beginning Thursday, Oct. 17. A special "20/20" report on the Menendez brothers will air on ABC Oct. 18 at 9 p.m. ET.