POWER SHIFT
Menendez brothers’ freedom bid to be derailed after district attorney who pushed for resentencing fails to be re-elected
Plus, a lawyer revealed the pair could make millions if they're released from prison
THE Menendez brothers' bid for freedom might be derailed after the Los Angeles district attorney election ousted one of the notorious duo's biggest supporters.
Incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced last month that he recommended Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for murdering their parents in 1989 - but Gascón was voted out of office on Election Day.
7
7
Nathan Hochman, 60, will be replacing Gascón, who was sworn into office in December 2020 and has built a reputation for his progressive approach to criminal justice reform.
Hochman is taking over the case of the Menendez brothers, who might be released from prison by the end of the year after Gascón's push to reconsider the duo's 1996 sentencing of life in prison without parole for the first-degree murder charges.
While Gascón said the siblings paid for their crimes of shooting Kitty and Jose Menendez to death, Hochman said he has to review the case himself before sharing his opinion.
“Here’s my approach, whether it’s the Menendez case or quite honestly any case: you have to do the hard work,” Hochman told The CW affiliate on Wednesday.
READ MORE ON MENENDEZ BROTHERS
“You have to look, in that case, at thousands of pages of confidential prison files, you have to review thousands of trial transcripts from months-long trials, and you have to speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement and the defense counsel," he said.
The independent DA-elect also added that it's important to speak to the victims' families.
His remarks come after family members of Kitty and Jose Menendez held a press conference in Los Angeles last month where they begged prosecutors to release the siblings.
The Menendez brothers' case has been in the public eye since the highly publicized murder trials began in 1993 but has regained focus in recent years due to mainstream media coverage including Ryan Murphy's Netflix drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Most read in The Sun
Throughout the trial, prosecutors believed Lyle and Erik, who were 21 and 18 at the time of the murders, were motivated by greed for their family's $14.5 million fortune, which they spent millions of in a post-crime spending spree.
However, the brothers insisted they killed their parents in self-defense after years of alleged abuse by their dad.
Menendez family says brothers were only 'trying to survive' when they killed parents in emotional new plea for their freedom
Calls for the brothers to be released from prison have become louder over the years new evidence has come to light appearing to prove their dad's abuse.
In a Peacock docuseries released last year, Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, came forward with testimony alleging that Jose Menendez raped him in the 1980s.
Plus, a bombshell letter written by Erik months before the murders appeared to reference the alleged abuse by his dad.
Bryan Freedman, the attorney for the 24 extended family members of Kitty and Jose Menendez, told The U.S. Sun that the brothers and the family "should no longer have to suffer."
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez have been serving a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole since July 1996.
The brothers were convicted of shooting their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home in August 1989.
Timeline:
August 20, 1989 - José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 - Lyle is arrested outside his parents' Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 - Erik turns himself in to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
July 20, 1993 - The highly publicized trial of Lyle and Erik begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial.
October 11, 1995 - Lyle and Erik's second trial begins.
March 20, 1996 - The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 - Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 2018 - Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 - Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik - the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 - The attorney representing Lyle and Erik files a habeas petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez.
September 19, 2024 - Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024: Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said his office was reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik's convictions.
October 7, 2024 - The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
October 16, 2024 - Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.
October 24, 2024 - Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.
December 11, 2024 - The Menendez brothers are set to go before a judge in a scheduled hearing.
"Childhood sexual abuse is not gender based, and a failure to recognize that sets an extremely dangerous precedent," Freedman said.
"Politics should not stand in the way of doing the right thing.
"I would find it hard to believe Nathan Hochman would feel differently.
"The family of the victims and my firm will continue to exercise their victims rights and are cautiously optimistic that the DA, the DA elect, the Governor, and anyone committed to upholding true justice will join us," Freedman said.
Hochman said that he'll be able to weigh in on the resentencing decision after thoroughly reviewing the case.
“Only then can you be in a position to determine whether resentencing is the remedy in this situation or whether what is asked for in the resentencing is the appropriate request,” Hochman told KTLA.
“I’m not in that position now, but I can tell you if I do have to make that call, I will do the hard work to make the right decision.”
Hochman previously accused Gascón's support of the Menendez brothers of being a last-minute political ploy to try and help him win the election.
7
7
7
However, Gascón's office said the claims were "laughable and desperate."
"The filing rate for serious and violent crimes is in line with the average over the past ten years here in LA County,' Gascón's campaign manager, Elise Moore, told The U.S. Sun.
"That's over 100,000 serious and violent felony cases filed since Gascón took office,"
"Unfortunately, our opponent prefers to cherry pick to support his false narrative, and continues to misrepresent the facts."
POSSIBLE LIFE AFTER PRISON
Hochman takes office on December 2.
The brothers are set to go before a judge for their resentencing hearing on December 11.
If the siblings walk free from their life sentences, there's a chance they could get rich after their crimes, an expert revealed.
Full statement from family's lawyer
Multiple family members of the Menendez brothers support the push to release Erik and Lyle from prison.
Bryan Freedman, the attorney for the 24 extended family members of Kitty and Jose Menendez, shared a statement with The U.S. Sun about the recent change to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
"The 24 family members I represent are both victims and the family of those that have been sentenced. They should no longer have to suffer," Freedman said.
"It's time Erik and Lyle Menendez are released. For theirs and their family's sake.
"These men have served their time and proven themselves to be exemplary citizens during their incarceration despite no hope of release.
"It’s time they and the family are allowed to heal.Childhood sexual abuse is not gender based, and a failure to recognize that sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
"Politics should not stand in the way of doing the right thing.
"I would find it hard to believe Nathan Hochman would feel differently.
"The family of the victims and my firm will continue to exercise their victims rights and are cautiously optimistic that the DA, the DA elect, the Governor, and anyone committed to upholding true justice will join us."
Tre Lovell, Esq, an experienced trial attorney based in LA, told The U.S. Sun that Erik and Lyle could rake in millions due to possible deals.
"Previous 'Son of Sam' laws which restricted a convicted criminal from profiting off their crimes in California were found to be unconstitutional, and therefore the brothers would be allowed to profit off their story," he said.
"They can also earn money from speaking engagements, consulting on prison integration, working with sexual abuse organizations, and other opportunities that will come their way.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"They are household names and will have numerous opportunities to exploit themselves and their situation."
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
7
7
Topics