The Menendez brothers’ family has pleaded with new Los Angeles District Attorney Nate Hochman to move forward with their new sentence, telling DailyMail.com exclusively that they “should no longer have to suffer.”
Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53, have been locked up since March 1990, when they were arrested for the murders of their parents Jose and Kitty in their Beverly Hills home.
Last month, Progressive Democratic District Attorney George Gascón revealed that he had recommended the brothers a new sentence and said he wanted to see the couple’s early release.
But on Election Day, Los Angeles County voters dramatically ousted Gascon and replaced him with Republican-turned-independent 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.
Republican-turned-independent Nate Hochman, a Los Angeles County voter, will be the next Los Angeles district attorney, jeopardizing brother Menendez’s resentencing process
Relatives of Menéndez insist that it is time for the brothers to be released
Kitty’s niece, Diane Hernandez, cried during District Attorney George Gascón’s resentencing recommendation announcement. Their family told DailyMail.com that the brothers “should no longer have to suffer.”
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.
The brothers’ case has returned to the spotlight 35 years after the murders thanks to the popular Netflix documentary series Monsters.
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.”
In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com addressed to Hochman, the Menendez family’s attorney said neither the brothers nor their family should “have to suffer” any longer.
The statement read: ‘The 24 family members I represent are both victims and family members of those who have been sentenced. They shouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
‘It is time for Erik and Lyle Menéndez to be released for the sake of themselves and their family. These men served their sentences and proved to be exemplary citizens during their imprisonment despite having no hope of being released. It is time for them and their family to be allowed to heal.’
Referring to the sexual abuse allegedly inflicted on both siblings by their father, the statement continued: “Child sexual abuse is not gender-based, and failure to acknowledge it sets an extremely dangerous precedent.”
Gascón revealed last month that he had recommended a new sentence to the brothers and said he wanted to see the couple’s early release.
Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen (center), is greeted by defense attorney Mark Geragos at a news conference last month.
‘Politics should not be an obstacle to doing the right thing. I would find it hard to believe Nathan Hochman would feel any different.
“My clients and team are excited to continue the brothers’ pursuit of freedom, alongside the elected district attorney, the governor, and anyone committed to upholding true justice.”
Gascón announced his decision to request a new sentence in the brothers’ case on October 16, after receiving a letter written by Lyle to a cousin, months before the murders, detailing the sexual abuse he claimed to have suffered at the hands of his father.
He also heard from former Menudo boy band member Roy Rosselló, who claimed that José raped him during a visit to the family home in Pennsylvania when he was 14 years old.
Gascón announced his decision to request a new sentence in the brothers’ case on October 16, after receiving a letter written by Lyle (left) to a cousin detailing the sexual abuse he claimed to have suffered at the hands of his father (center) .
They both admitted to the horrific murders, but said they broke after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of Jose and did it in self-defense.
Former Menudo gang member Roy Rosselló claimed that José Menéndez raped him during a visit to the family home in Pennsylvania when he was 14 years old.
When asked about the brothers’ case in the run-up to the Nov. 6 election, Gascón said: “I think they have paid their debt to society, and I think the brothers were subjected to an enormous amount of dysfunction in home and harassment.’
Last week, family sources told DailyMail.com that the brothers’ release is a particularly urgent matter for them due to the deteriorating health of their elderly relatives, including their 85-year-old aunt Terry Baralt, who is battling coronavirus. colorectal cancer.
The Menendez brothers are currently locked up at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, where they are both serving life sentences without parole for the shotgun murder of their parents.
They both admitted to the horrific murders, but said they broke after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of Jose and did it in self-defense.
That argument failed at their 1993 trial, and prosecutors successfully argued that the murders were carried out for financial gain after the brothers spent $700,000 in the weeks after their parents were murdered.
As a result, both were sentenced to life in prison without parole and sent to separate prisons, although they were eventually reunited in San Diego jail in 2018.
The sexual abuse argument failed at the brothers’ trial in 1993, and prosecutors successfully argued that the murders were carried out for financial gain.
Joan Anderson VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menéndez, is one of the people calling for the brothers’ release.
The brothers’ case has repeatedly made headlines since their trial in 1993, most recently following the release of the hit Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The hit show fueled a new round of stories and led to Kim Kardashian, a longtime advocate for the incarcerated, visiting them in prison.
In addition to the resentencing decision, his defense team also submitted a clemency request to California Governor Gavin Newsom on October 28.
Newsom has yet to make a decision on the request.