A prosecutor at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office is wary of new evidence that could help free Erik and Lyle Menendez.
Juan Mejía, who was a young deputy prosecutor during the brother’s second murder trial, questions the legitimacy of a new letter that entered into evidence in May 2023.
In the undated note, first revealed by DailyMail.com, Erik writes to his now-deceased cousin Andy Cano that he has “been trying to avoid dad” and that “it’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now.” “, alluding to the sexual abuse he suffers at the hands of his father.
Mejía, who opposes the brothers’ release, said he questions the evidence because the Menéndez brothers’ lawyers have not yet provided the original copy and the letter is undated.
“We can’t say if it was written before the murders or after the conviction,” he said. NBC News. ‘Are they trying to make another quick one on the court?’
Last month, District Attorney George Gascón, who lost his re-election bid on Tuesday, announced that he was recommending a new sentence for the brothers. The hearing on the brother’s new sentence is scheduled for December 10
Juan Mejía, who was a young deputy prosecutor during the brother’s second murder trial, questions the legitimacy of a new letter that was presented as evidence in May 2023. “We cannot say if it was written before the murders or after the conviction . ‘ said
Erik Menéndez wrote a letter to his cousin, Andy Cano, in which he alludes to severe and prolonged abuse at the hands of his father José.
Cano, who died in 2003, testified before a jury that Erik told him about his father’s abuse when he was 13. Their mother found the letter nine years ago and it was included in a 2023 petition to examine whether the brothers were unlawfully imprisoned.
Although Mejía agrees that the brothers meet resentencing standards, he does not believe there is any ‘justification for shooting your mother eight times with a reloaded shotgun.’
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison with parole for the 1989 murder of their parents, who were shot multiple times in their home.
The brothers’ case has returned to the spotlight 35 years after the murders thanks to the popular Netflix documentary series Monsters.
Many of their new fans believe the boys should have been convicted of manslaughter instead of murder. If they had been, they would have already served their sentence and been released.
District Attorney George Gascón, who lost his re-election bid on Tuesday, announced last month that He had recommended a new sentence to the brothers and said he wanted to see the couple’s early release.
Although Mejía agrees that the brothers meet resentencing standards, he does not believe there is any ‘justification for shooting your mother eight times with a reloaded shotgun.’
Gascón maintains that the brothers do not represent a risk to public safety since they have been “exceptional prisoners in every sense” during their incarceration and have paid their debts.
But on Election Day, Los Angeles County voters dramatically ousted Gascon and replaced him with Republican-turned-independent Nate Hochman, jeopardizing the resentencing process.
Hochman, 60, will take office Dec. 2 and has already said he plans to review Gascón’s decision on the brothers.
In a statement to CNN after his victory, he said: “Before I can make any decision regarding the Menendez brothers’ case, I will need to become fully familiar with the relevant facts, evidence and the law.”
The former federal prosecutor added: ‘I will have to review each brother’s confidential prison records, the transcripts of both trials and speak with prosecutors, authorities, defense attorneys and victims’ families.
A hearing on the brother’s new sentence is scheduled for December 11. But Hochman told CNN that if he needs more time to review the request, “he will ask the court for that time.”
Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Pamela Bozanich does not agree with Gascón’s request for a new sentence, nor does she believe the children were abused.
‘They killed their parents. They killed their mother,” he told NBC. ‘Why should they live among us?’
Mejia is also wary of the brothers’ history of lies, including Lyle’s alleged attempt to get people to lie during the defense trial, and the fact that they spent a lot of money after the deaths.
But Gascón maintains that the brothers do not represent a risk to public safety since they have been “exceptional prisoners in every sense” during their incarceration and have paid their debts.