Menendez brothers

Los Angeles DA to recommend resentencing in Menendez brothers' case | LIVE

Thursday, October 24, 2024 9:11PM

LIVE: Gascón to announce decision on resentencing in Menendez case

LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors will recommend Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family's Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.

This is a breaking news update. Below is previous ABC7 Los Angeles coverage.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Thursday will announce his decision on a possible resentencing recommendation for Erik and Lyle Menendez, the D.A.'s office said.

The decision will be announced at a 1:30 p.m. news conference near downtown Los Angeles, according to a news release. The development comes after prosecutors reevaluated the case, based on the emergence of new evidence.

The Menendez brothers have served more than 30 years in prison for gunning down their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.

WATCH | Watch 'Menendez Brothers: Monsters or Victims?' now on Hulu

Watch "IMPACT x Nightline" streaming now on Hulu for a look at the new evidence and reexamination of the Menendez family's alleged dark secrets.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison at their second trial after the first was declared a mistrial. They have never denied committing the crime; it is the motivation for the crime that has divided opinions over the decades.

Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 at the time of the murders. At their first trial, their attorney argued that they killed 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 newest legal filing expands upon the abuse that the brothers allegedly endured from José Menedez. New evidence includes a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin prior to the murders, detailing what his father was doing to him, according to the brothers' attorneys.

ALSO SEE: Menendez brothers' uncle says they should not be released

Kitty Menendez's brother, Milton Andersen, said through an attorney that he wants Erik and Lyle Menendez to remain in prison and serve their life sentences.

Another potential victim has also come forward: Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who has alleged that he was abused by José Menendez when he was 14.

Additionally, the passage of time has helped to cast their motive in a new light. A growing base of supporters argue that the Menendez brothers are victims themselves, and the crimes they committed out of a traumatic response should be reconsidered with a 21st-century lens on the psychology of male sexual assault.