The family of the Menendez brothers has pleaded with new Los Angeles District Attorney Nate Hochman to move forward with their resentencing, telling DailyMail.com exclusively ‘They should no longer have to suffer’.
Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53, have been locked up since March 1990 when they were arrested for the murders of their parents José and Kitty at their Beverly Hills home.
Last month, progressive Democrat DA George Gascón revealed he had recommended the brothers for resentencing and said he wanted to see the pair’s speedy release.
But on Election Day, Los Angeles County voters dramatically booted Gascon out and replaced him with Republican turned-Independent Hochman – jeopardizing the resentencing process.
Hochman, 60, takes office on December 2 and has already said he plans to review Gascón’s decision on the brothers.
Los Angeles County voters Republican-turned-Independent Nate Hochman to be the next Los Angeles DA – jeopardizing the Menendez brother’s resentencing process
Menendez family members insist it is time for the brothers to be released
Kitty’s niece Diane Hernandez wept during DA George Gascón’s resentencing recommendation announcement. Their family told DailyMail.com the brothers ‘should no longer have to suffer.’
In a statement to CNN following his victory, he said: ‘Before I can make any decision about the Menendez brothers’ case, I will need to become thoroughly familiar with the relevant facts, the evidence and the law.’
The former federal prosecutor added: ‘I will have to review the confidential prison files for each brother, the transcripts from both trials, and speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel, and the victims’ family members.
The brothers’ case has been thrust back into the spotlight 35 years after the killings thanks to the popular Netflix docuseries Monsters.
On December 11, a hearing on the brother’s resentencing is scheduled. But Hochman told CNN that if he needs more time to review the request, he ‘will ask the court for that time’.
In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com addressed to Hochman, the Menendez family attorney said neither the brothers nor their family should ‘have to suffer’ any longer.
The statement read: ‘The 24 family members I represent are both victims and the family of those that have been sentenced. They should no longer have to suffer.
‘It’s time Erik and Lyle Menendez are released for theirs and their family’s sake. These men have served their time and proven themselves to be exemplary citizens during their incarceration despite no hope of release. It’s time they and the family are allowed to heal.’
Referring to the sexual abuse allegedly inflicted on both brothers by their father, the statement went on: ‘Childhood sexual abuse is not gender-based, and a failure to recognize that sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
Gascón revealed last month that he had recommended the brothers for resentencing and said he wanted to see the pair’s speedy release
Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen (center), is greeted by defense attorney Mark Geragos at a press coonference last month
‘Politics should not stand in the way of doing the right thing. I would find it hard to believe Nathan Hochman would feel differently.
‘My clients and my team are excited to continue the pursuit of freedom for the brothers, alongside the DA elect, the governor and anyone committed to upholding true justice.’
Gascón announced his decision to pursue resentencing in the brothers’ case on October 16, after receiving a letter written by Lyle to a cousin, months before the murders, detailing the sexual abuse he claimed to endure at the hands of his father.
He also heard from former Menudo boy band member Roy Rosselló, who claimed Jose raped him during a visit to the family’s Pennsylvania home when he was 14.
Gascón announced his decision to pursue resentencing in the brothers’ case on October 16, after receiving a letter written by Lyle (left) to a cousin detailing the sexual abuse he claimed to endure at the hands of his father (center)
Both admitted to the gruesome killings, but said they snapped after enduring years of sexual abuse at José’s hands and did it in self-defense
Former Menudo boy band member Roy Rosselló claimed José Menendez raped him during a visit to the family’s Pennsylvania home when he was 14
Asked about the brothers’ case in the run-up to the November 6 election, Gascón said: ‘I believe that they have paid their debt to society, and I do believe the brothers were subjected to a tremendous amount of dysfunction in the home and molestation.’
Last week, family sources told DailyMail.com that the brothers’ release is a particularly urgent matter for them due to the declining health of their elderly family members, among them their aunt Terry Baralt, 85, who is battling colorectal cancer.
The Menendez brothers are currently both locked up at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, where both are serving life without parole for the shotgun slayings of their parents.
Both admitted to the gruesome killings, but said they snapped after enduring years of sexual abuse at José’s hands and did it in self-defense.
That argument fell flat at their 1993 trial, with prosecutors successfully arguing that the murders were carried out for financial gain after the brothers went on a $700,000 spending spree in the weeks after their parents’ murder.
As a result, they were both handed life without parole and sent to separate prisons – although they eventually reunited at the San Diego lock-up in 2018.
The sexual abuse argument fell flat at the brothers’ 1993 trial, with prosecutors successfully arguing that the murders were carried out for financial gain
Joan Anderson VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister, is one of the family calling for the brothers’ release
The brothers’ case has repeatedly hit the headlines since their 1993 trial, most recently following the release of the smash hit Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The blockbuster show powered a new round of stories to emerge and led to them being visited in prison by Kim Kardashian – who is a long-standing advocate for the incarcerated.
In addition to the resentencing decision, their defense team also submitted a bid for clemency to California Governor Gavin Newsom on October 28.
Newsom has yet to make a decision on the request.
