After spending over 35 years in prison for the murder of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, Erik and Lyle Menendez are now to reappear in court.
Their case has been revitalized by the popular Netflix series "Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez" and the documentary "The Menendez Brothers" from last autumn.
In 1989, the defense described the murders as a desperate attempt at self-defense, following years of rape and psychological abuse by the father and codependency of the mother. The prosecutors, on the other hand, portrayed it as cold-blooded murders for financial gain, committed by two spoiled boys, then 21 and 18 years old.
However, the defense is now presenting new evidence of the sexual abuse, including a letter that Erik wrote to his uncle Andy Cano in 1988, before the murders, in which he told about them. Additionally, artist Roy Rossello claims that Jose Menendez drugged and raped him as a teenager when he had a record contract with RCA Records, where Menendez was a manager.
Increased Support
Support for the release of the Menendez brothers has increased, following a campaign led by, among others, Kim Kardashian. She wrote to NBC News : "The trial and sentence these brothers received were more fitting for a serial killer than two individuals who endured years of sexual abuse by the people they loved and trusted".
Erik and Lyle, now 53 and 56 years old, were also recently defended during a press conference by about twenty people from their family. Joan Anderson VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, says that the sentence would never have been as harsh today.
The world was not ready to believe that boys could be raped or that young men could be victims of sexual violence, she says, according to BBC.
Seating Lottery
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón recommended in October that the brothers should receive a lower sentence, opening up the possibility of parole. He has also taken into account their good behavior in prison, where they have taken several exams.
Since then, however, a district attorney with a tougher stance on criminals has been elected. Nathan Hochman takes office on December 2, and a crucial hearing before the verdict is planned for December 11.
The 1989 trial was broadcast live on TV, and many have made pilgrimages to the house where the crime was committed. Even now, interest in the brothers is enormous – and 16 seats in the courtroom are being raffled off to the public.
35 years ago, film mogul Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their luxurious villa in Beverly Hills. They were shot with a shotgun, about ten times.
It was the eldest son Lyle who reported the crime. Initially, the brothers were not suspected, and they spent the time after the murder spending their father's fortune. The brothers were, however, arrested after the police obtained a recording in which one of the brothers confessed to the murders to his psychologist.
The jury was divided in the first trial, but the brothers were ultimately convicted in a second trial in 1996 to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
