A new court hearing will decide whether Erik and Lyle Menéndez‘s murder case could result in a resentencing or possibly even a new trial — but does that mean the brothers could be released from prison?
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced on Friday, October 4, that a new hearing has been set amid new evidence for Lyle and Erik’s murder case. Erik and Lyle’s legal team previously filed a petition with the court after singer Roy Rosselló alleged he was drugged and raped when he was a teen by the brothers’ father, José Menéndez.
The court documents requested a retrial while citing new evidence in the case, such as Rosselló’s allegations against José and a newly discovered letter Erik wrote to his cousin Andy Cano describing his father’s alleged sexual abuse months before the murders.
Gascón said in a press conference in October that there could be potential for resentencing or possibly even a new trial. The court date for the decision is set for Tuesday, November 26.
Erik and Lyle’s murder case has played out in the public for over three decades since their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were found dead in 1989. The brothers were both arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder. Two subsequent trials resulted in Erik and Lyle’s conviction and a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Erik and Lyle, meanwhile, have maintained that their mother and father were physically, emotionally and sexually abusive and that their actions were in self-defense.
The case received renewed support due to various TV shows and documentaries that highlighted Erik and Lyle’s story. Executive producer Ryan Murphy officially explored the Menéndez story in September with his Monsters series. Nicholas Alexander Chavez brought Lyle to life, while Erik was played by Cooper Koch. José and Kitty, meanwhile, were portrayed by Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny, respectively.
Erik, 53, released a rare statement denouncing Monsters for how it portrayed him and Lyle, 56. In response, Murphy has stood by his work and how it generated more interest in freeing Erik and Lyle from prison.
The Menéndez brothers got an opportunity to share their perspective in an October Netflix documentary three decades after they were originally arrested.
“I do worry and I think it is important that the seriousness of my crime not be minimized or diminished,” Erik said in the doc before admitting he still felt guilty. “I went to the only person that had ever helped me and that had ever protected me. Then ultimately this happened because of me. Because I went to him. Then afterwards, he was arrested because of me. Because I told Dr. Oziel. Because I couldn’t live with what I did, I couldn’t. I wanted to die. In a way, I did not protect Lyle. I got him into every aspect of this tragedy. Every aspect of this tragedy is my fault.”
While Erik blamed himself for getting Lyle involved, the older Menéndez sibling got emotional about not being able to protect their family.
“For me, I never could escape that night. That night just floods back into your mind a lot,” Lyle noted in the doc. “I never found understanding. I sometimes feel like I rescued Erik. But did I? Look at his life now. It feels impossible that I couldn’t do better. I couldn’t rescue all of us.”
