Family of Erik and Lyle Menendez responds to D.A.'s opposition to a new trial

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman opposed the petition made last year by attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez asking the court to reevaluate their case and grant them a new trial. 

"The people believe it should be denied," Hochman said. 

The two brothers., who have been in the spotlight since the 1989 killing of their parents inside the family’s Beverly Hills home, have been in prison for nearly 35 years and were sentenced to life in prison without parole. 

“Attorney Nathan Hochman took us right back to 1996 today,” the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, the family-led initiative advocating for the brother's release, said in response to Hochman’s decision. “He opened the wounds we have spent decades trying to heal.”

Last year, the family’s attorneys filed a petition that sought a new trial. But Hochman, who was elected three months ago in November, said after reviewing all the case documents, he believed the brother's case did not meet the standards required for a judge to order a new trial.

Attorneys of the Menendez had said that new contending evidence backs the brothers' claims that their father Jose Menendez sexually abused them. 

Erik Menendez, 53, and Lyle Menendez, 56, previously pointed to two new pieces of evidence, one being a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to one of his cousins in early 1989 or late 1988, months before the killing of their parents. The second piece of evidence is Roy Rosselló’s statement. Roselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, alleges that Jose Menendez also sexually abused him as a teenager.

Hochman, however, stated on Friday that he had already submitted an informal response asking the Los Angeles County Superior Court to dismiss the "habeas" petition, citing uncertainty regarding the abuse evidence. He also said the evidence was not pertinent to the case.

“Sexual abuse in this situation may have been a motivation for Erik and Lyle to do what they did, but it does not constitute self-defense,” Hochman said at Friday’s press conference. 

The family said Hochman’s remarks made them greatly “disappointed.” 

“To suggest that the years of abuse couldn’t have led to the tragedy in 1989 is not only outrageous but also dangerous. Abuse does not exist in a vacuum. It leaves lasting scars, rewires the brain and traps victims in cycles of fear and trauma,” the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition said in the same statement. “To say it played no role in Erik and Lyle’s action is to ignore decades of psychological research and basic human understanding.”

The two brothers never denied killing their parents during their trials, which were recently made more widely known by the Netflix series about the case. Instead, they maintained that they did so in self-defense. The brother's defense says that for decades, Jose Menendez physically and sexually abused both of the brothers and that their mother knew about it. During the trials, prosecutors said the family’s health and money had motivated the killings, pointing to the sumptuous spending sprees by the brother's days after the killings. 

Hochman's predecessor, George Gascón, had previously come out in support of the reviewing of the brother's conviction and sentencing before he lost his seat, giving many of the brother's supporters and defenders hope. 

Hochman did not completely rule out resentencing despite his announcement on Friday, stating that he would respond to a request for resentencing within the next few weeks. He said his office was still reviewing that matter.

Re-sentencing for the brothers would mean that they could serve a lesser term, which could allow them to seek parole or be released on time served, saying his office was still reviewing that matter.

"We have not finalized where we're going to end up," he said. 

In January, Hochman pushed the resentencing hearing to March 20 and 21 because of the Los Angeles wildfires during that month.

In their statement, the family said they hope Hochman will “follow the law and issue a resentencing recommendation that reflects Erik and Lyle’s overwhelming rehabilitation” and said they will also place their hope on L.A. Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic to examine the evidence without prejudice. 

“For over three decades, our family has lived with the weight of what Erik and Lyle endured—abuse that shaped their lives, fear that defined their childhood and a justice system that refused to see them as victims,” the family said. “We have fought tirelessly for the truth to be recognized.”