Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP
Erik and Lyle Menendez
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will announce his decision about possibly recommending the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez on Thursday, Oct. 24, his office said.
Gascón will hold a press conference at 1:30 PT at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles, his office said in a press release.
He is making the decision after reviewing new evidence in the case as well as the brothers’ behavior and rehabilitation in prison.
Gascón can make a recommendation on resentencing, but a judge will ultimately make the final decision.
Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53, are currently serving sentences of life in prison without parole after being convicted of the first-degree murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Since 2023, Gascón’s office has been reviewing a Habeas Corpus petition attorneys for the brothers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which cites new evidence.
The new evidence included sexual abuse allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, against Jose, who he claims raped him in the 1980s. It also included a newly discovered letter Erik wrote to his now-deceased cousin Andy Cano describing his father’s alleged sexual abuse months before the murders.
Gascón spoke about the petition at a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 3, saying that his office was “keeping an open” mind about the Menendez brothers’ resentencing.
Last week, the brothers’ family members held a press conference in downtown Los Angeles asking the district attorney’s office to free the brothers.
At the press conference, numerous family members cited the sex abuse the brothers alleged they endured at the hands of Jose.
Acknowledging that the brothers “were clearly the murderers,” Gascón, who is up for reelection in November, said his office had “a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us” and to determine if such evidence could have swayed jurors away from first-degree murder convictions.
Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 when they fatally shot their parents using 12-gauge shotguns in the den of their Beverly Hills, Calif., home on Aug. 20, 1989.
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Jose, 45, was hit multiple times, including point blank in the head. Kitty, 47, was shot multiple times, including once in the face.
The killings, according to the brothers, came after years of sexual abuse by Jose — abuse which they claimed was ignored by their mom, a former pageant queen.
However, prosecutors at the time said the two brothers’ motive was greed and cited their lavish spending spree after the slayings.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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