Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said the Menéndez murder case is being reviewed by his office, naming two new factors that prosecutors are looking at ahead of a court hearing next month.
Gascón said in a Thursday news conference that there could be potential for resentencing or possibly even a new trial. A hearing is set for Nov. 26.
Lyle and Erik Menéndez have spent nearly 35 years behind bars for fatally shooting their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, at their Beverly Hills mansion on the evening of Aug. 20, 1989. Prosecutors argued it was a murder motivated by greed — not long after their parents’ deaths, the brothers were alleged to have spent money on Rolex watches, cars and real estate investments.
But the Menéndezes testified that they killed their parents in self-defense. The brothers told the jury about the alleged sexual abuse they said they experienced at the hands of their father during an emotional, highly publicized first trial — with separate juries for each of them.
With jurors divided, the judge declared a mistrial.
The brothers were later convicted of first-degree murder during a second trial in 1995. Prosecutors argued the brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time of the killings, were lying about the alleged abuse.
On Thursday, Gascón mentioned a 1988 letter from Erik Menéndez to a cousin that appears to reference alleged abuse by his father, as well as an abuse allegation from a member of the boy band, Menudo, against José Menéndez, who was a record company executive.
Gascón said prosecutors are reviewing those potential pieces of new evidence as they consider the convictions.
Later on Thursday, attorney Mark Geragos said at a separate news conference that there was another piece of new evidence, which he described as a declaration by another alleged victim of José Menéndez.
“The combination of those two, we believe, provides an ample basis to set aside the result of the second trial,” Geragos said.
Geragos described the brothers as “model prisoners” during their more than three-decade sentence.
“I think we’re at a point now where any reasonable person taking a look at this case believes they should be out,” he said.
The Menéndez case has received renewed attention in recent weeks after the release of the Netflix true crime drama series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” A documentary on the case, “The Menendez Brothers,” premieres Monday on Netflix.
